Hi,

I have a Makita 12" 2012 which I think I finally killed, rollers are shot and I think a gear is damaged. I'm taking it apart but lets be honest it's a light duty planer.
I think what finally did it in is using it for rough softwood lumber because splinters etc dig into the rollers. By habit I just joint one side of my lumber and in retrospect it was dumb not to joint the second side to clean it up for the planer. On the plus side it seemed to be very accurate as I could plane long boards to within +/- 0.001 or so end to end.

I just started checking Craigslist for planers (obviously not considering lunchbox planers). I see lots of jointers but few planers.
There's a Powermatic 209 20" (single phase, standard cutter) available for about half retail.

Way overkill for a garage shop but i think it will fit under my workbench.
I'm a bit concerned about transporting and getting it in my shop (~800 lbs), if it did not have wheels I think I would pass as i don't have many (or any) friends.
I have a truck but I think best to rent a trailer as they have a very low deck and a long ramp.

I'm not really familiar with the planer ecosystem other than what I see on Amazon (Jet, Powermatic etc.).
Reviews on Amazon for the Powermatic 209 are mostly good with a couple of pros claiming it does not hold the thickness setting and a roller adjustment issue.

Should I seriously consider this or are there better choices for my needs that are likely to show up in the used market?
Obviously I don't need the Rolls Royce of planers but I don't want to buy a unit with known problems either.
Not really in a hurry and can spend up to $1500 or so.

Thanks