I recently scored locally a nice compact 25 year old dual channel 25mhz scope for 120 au dollars (yes, couldn't help myself, again..
) a very novel CRO with built in 9vac component tester, probes, manual etc
because another buyer did a no show
(and the usual breed of leeching low life cheapskates were offering maccas money for it) I could see it had little use as per the sellers description and tested perfect,
so I paid the 120, the seller perhaps surprised I didn't bargain
(which I'm GOOD at btw) I put it on the bench and used it for a week solid and no issues.
If I ever decide to sell it working 100%, I will get $120 for it EASILY,
or give it away as parts if it dies and can't be fixed (unlikely, as it's easy to get into, and mostly bog standard parts)
If my DSO dies in a non-PSU related way, and more that $200 to fix, it will be given away as parts.
FWIW, I don't leave the DSO running all the time because I STRONGLY suspect it won't last 2.5 years, much less 25+ like many old school CROs
Again, if it's a 'first' scope don't be a cheapskate,
DO YOURSELF A BIG FAVOR and buy a WORKING one regardless of brand. Then you can buy (or dumpster dive) 1000 non working scopes after that, and chances are good you may be able to get a lot of them up and running,
or at least calibrate them on the cheap, following the service manual so they are useable,
BECAUSE you know how a perfectly
~WORKING~ scope should work!