Is it legal to sell a used CPAP machine in India?

Private resale of your own device is not prohibited, and plenty of it happens. The practical problems are warranty, hours and hygiene, not legality.

Can you service a machine I bought second-hand?

We can read its data, supply ResMed masks, filters, tubing and humidifier tubs, and tell you honestly what the hours counter says. What we cannot do is claim warranty on a machine we did not sell.

How many years does a CPAP machine last?

With nightly use, most run well for roughly five to seven years before the motor becomes noisy or pressure delivery drifts. That is why a machine's run hours matter far more than its model year.

Should you buy a second-hand CPAP machine in India?

Last updated: 2026-10-28

Quick answer

A used CPAP sells for a third to half of new, and sometimes that is a sensible buy: a machine from a known person, with low hours, a readable SD card and an intact humidifier. Usually it is not. You cannot see blower hours on most listings, the manufacturer warranty does not transfer, a worryingly large share of resold stock is recalled or grey-market, and the mask — the part that decides whether you keep using therapy — is not reusable between people. If the aim is to spend less while you find out whether CPAP suits you, renting an Auto CPAP at ₹2,999 a month is the lower-risk way to do it.

What you are actually buying

A CPAP is a blower motor that runs eight hours a night. The thing that wears out is the motor and its bearings, and the number that tells you how worn it is — the run hours — sits in the machine's menu or on its SD card. A machine with 2,000 hours has barely started. One with 20,000 is near the end of a normal working life.

Almost no resale listing quotes hours. If the seller cannot show you the hours counter on screen, you are not buying a machine with a known history, you are buying a photograph.

The warranty does not come with it

ResMed's 2-year warranty covers the original purchase. Buy privately and a motor failure in month seven is entirely yours. A replacement blower assembly plus labour, if it can be sourced at all for an older model, can come to a large fraction of what a new AirStart 10 costs at ₹26,000.

That is the arithmetic that undoes most used purchases. Saving ₹15,000 on a machine with unknown hours and no cover is not a saving, it is a bet.

Recalled and grey-market stock

A very large number of bilevel and CPAP devices were recalled worldwide in 2021 over degrading sound-abatement foam, and a proportion of those units found their way onto resale markets regardless. Serial numbers can be checked against the manufacturer's recall list, and you should check before money changes hands.

Separately, machines bought for other markets — US, Gulf, European — are common in Indian resale listings. They will run here if the power supply is the usual 100–240 V type, but they have no Indian warranty, and the local distributor has no obligation to you. See bringing a CPAP machine to India from abroad.

Hygiene, honestly

The machine body and the air path are not the problem, as long as the filter is new and the humidifier tub is replaced. Tubing and especially the mask are. A mask cushion holds the shape and oils of the face it was fitted to, and silicone hardens with use. Budget for a new mask, a new tub, new tubing and a new filter whichever way you buy — and once you have, the gap between used and new narrows further.

If the previous owner had an infection, or the machine sat damp in a cupboard for two years, no amount of cleaning makes it a confident purchase.

A better way to spend less

Most people considering a used machine are really trying to avoid paying full price for therapy they are not yet sure about. That is a reasonable fear — only about 30 to 40 per cent of first-time users stick with CPAP long term. Renting answers it properly: ₹2,999 a month for an Auto CPAP, mask included, refundable ₹5,000 deposit, and someone else carrying the repair risk. See rentals and CPAP rent vs buy: the real math.

And if you do want to own, a genuine new ResMed at ₹26,000 with a full warranty beats an unknown used machine at a similar price every time. Compare all four, or read the price guide first.

Should you buy a second-hand CPAP machine in India?

What you are actually buying

The warranty does not come with it

Recalled and grey-market stock

Hygiene, honestly

A better way to spend less

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