Every healthy home exercise program includes a treadmill. People everywhere know that walk and running is a great aerobic workout, and a treadmill makes it even better. But have you looked at the price of new treadmills? Many of us just can't bear to part with that much money on a single piece of equipment. If this sounds like you, cheer up. The solution to your problem is buying used treadmills.

The number one concern of people buying used exercise equipment is that it won't be reliable. They would hate for their treadmill to break down soon after buying it, and aren't sure if a used treadmill is the answer.

You want a treadmill that is going to be dependable for years to come. You really don't need to worry that you won't be able to find a reliable used machine. It just takes a little research and a willingness to hunt around.

The initial thing you should do is to hop online and learn about treadmills generally. What are the major brands, and which ones are generally accepted to be the best? You can visit each brand's website to find out more. Most importantly, you should look for reviews of each brand of machine to see how real users rated their treadmills.

Now that you've done your research, where do you find used machines for sale? You can look in a variety of places including the newspaper, garage sales, or even the message board at your local gym. But by far the best resource to use would be the Internet. Online auction sites and online classified ads are a great place to locate used exercise equipment.

Narrow down the list of treadmills to a handful that you think you might want to purchase, and get to work. You need to arrange a meeting with the seller to see the treadmill for yourself. You want to check that everything works and you want to get a feel for the machine to see if you will like it. It's a good idea to bring your running shoes along so you can even try it out for a few minutes. It may take a few tries to find the treadmill you really want, but it will all be worth it in the end.

When you finally find the treadmill you want, you need to settle on a price with the seller. Make sure that you know what a treadmill of that age, brand, and condition is worth. You don't want to get taken advantage of by the seller and pay too much for your used machine.

The final step is to congratulate yourself! You've made your purchase and can now take pride in setting up your treadmill at home. You can feel good knowing that you made a smart decision and saved money on used treadmills, too. Now strap on your running shoes and enjoy your treadmill.