Costco FreeMotion Elliptical 515 $599 $499 YMMV

Appropriate that the picture is taken with chips in the background

I was looking at the $599 elliptical on Costco.com which sold out as it said the regular price was $799.

I went in the store to look for an alternative or similar machine and found the Freemotion 515.
http://productvideo.co/videos/mob...L16112.mp4

18-20 Adjustable Stride
Built in fan and AUX
0-20 incline Ramp
0-20 Resistance
30 Workout Apps
Heartrate monitor
5Inch Display
1 year labor warranty. 2 Year Parts warranty

The price on it was also $599 and seems to be a better piece of equipment. It's similar to the ProForm 510E, but I'm assuming it is slightly better made or uses better parts. Here's why, after doing exhaustive research I noticed that almost all these machines whether Reebok, ProForm, Nordictrack are all made by Icon. They just change a few things and rebadge them under different names. Most of the machines in the 500-700 range have a weight limit of 220-275 and 1 year warranty on parts, this machine although in the same price range actually has a weight limit of 325lb. The deciding factor for me however was the extra year warranty on parts. I couldn't find ellipticals in the 500-700 price range that offer anything more than 1 year warranty on parts.

Most negative reviews I've read regardless of machine, seem to indicate that most of the damages happen in between the 1st and 2nd year of purchase. The 2 year warranty gives me peace of mind that the quality of materials is higher in this machine. I may be wrong in assuming that, but if I'm spending $599 on an elliptical, I'll buy one that has the extra year of warranty because at least I can get it fixed if anything goes wrong.

Here's another machine that compares that costs more and won an award as a best buy from TreadmillDoctor and I believe consumerreports.

http://www.amazon.com/Horizon-Fit...elliptical

Note that the weight limit on the horizon is 275 and the warranty is only 1 year. Also the stride length is only 18 while the 515E has a 20 inch Stride length.

Costco also sells the FreeMotion 570 for $1399.99
http://www.costco.com/FreeMotion%...27633.html

Considering there is a holder to put a tablet or phone on the display of the 515E, with my Galaxy tablet on there, I'd say it's similar to the 570.

I picked one up today, its pretty well built. The box is not too large, it fit easy in the back of my truck, it should fit in a van or larger suv.
Here are the dimensions of the box: 66-1/4" x 17-3/4" x 31-3/4".

I attached a picture of it in person and the tag in case someone needs the sku number 665053.

So, I bought this elliptical yesterday. Took me 3.5 hours to assemble. One of the bolts fell while connecting upright to main unit. it took me like 1/2 an hour to find it inside being stuck in between internal parts... After I assembled, I went to a local sport store in Texas (Academy) to buy a mat for elliptical. Found there Pro Form 510e which is almost identical to Freemotion 515e (Pro Form is also made by Icon). Quickly checked review for it on my cell, and I'm dissapointed.. It's too late since I aready assembled it and got it to the second floor of my house, but I would not buy if I knew that it's the same Pro Form just rebaged for Costco. Time will tell off course.. if it won't survive next two years I guess I will use Costco's satisfaction policy for refund..

Anyone else purchased it and what are you thoughts on it? I am thinking of getting on Monday.

Anyone else purchased it and what are you thoughts on it? I am thinking of getting on Monday.