Bowflex Max Trainer: Used Buying Guide & Which Model (M3/M5/M6/M9)

A used Bowflex Max Trainer in decent shape trades between roughly $500 and $1,700 depending on which model you land on, and the gap between the bottom and the top of that range is much wider than most buyers expect. On our own marketplace right now, an M3 lists around $505, M6s cluster between about $925 and $1,250, and a clean M9 with the 10 inch touchscreen sits past $1,600. Same brand. Same basic motion. Very different machines.

I help people buy and sell big fitness equipment for a living, and this is one of the machines I get asked about most. It’s compact, it sold in huge numbers, and the used market for it is a mess of model numbers that were never explained well. So here’s the version I give people on the phone: what each model actually gives you, what one is worth used in 2026, what breaks on them, and whether you should be buying one at all instead of a treadmill.

What a Bowflex Max Trainer actually is

A Bowflex Max Trainer is a hybrid of an elliptical and a stair stepper, packed into a footprint about the size of a loveseat. Your feet travel on a short, steep, almost vertical path rather than the long flat oval of a traditional elliptical, and the handlebars move with you, so your arms are doing real work instead of resting.

The whole product exists because of a space constraint. A normal elliptical needs a long chassis to give you a 20 inch stride. The Max Trainer throws that out and goes vertical instead. The result is roughly four feet long, about two and a half feet wide, and around five and a half feet tall. It fits in a bedroom corner. That is the entire reason it sold as well as it did.

Bowflex built its marketing around a 14 minute interval workout, and that framing tells you who the machine is for. Short, hard, low impact cardio in a small room. If your knees are done with pavement and your spare room is 10 by 11, this is a good answer. If you want to train for a half marathon, it isn’t.

One more thing worth knowing before you buy used: BowFlex Inc. (formerly Nautilus) went through Chapter 11 in 2024 and the brand was picked up by Johnson Health Tech. The machines still work and parts are still out there, but the original warranty on a secondhand unit is not something to count on. Buy the machine, not the paperwork.

Bowflex Max Trainer models compared: M3, M5, M6, M7, M8, M9 and SE

The single fastest way to read a Max Trainer listing is to look at the resistance level count, because that number alone tells you which generation you’re looking at. Eight levels means M3. Sixteen means M5, M6 or SE. Twenty means M7, M8 or M9.

Model	Resistance levels	Console	App / Bluetooth	Best for
M3	8	Basic LCD, button panel	None	Cheapest way in, walkers and light intervals
M5	16	Backlit LCD, media rack	Bluetooth	Older buyers who want more resistance headroom
M6	16	Larger LCD with built-in programs	Bluetooth, JRNY compatible	The sweet spot. Best value on the used market
M7	20	Wide backlit console with on-screen coaching	Bluetooth	People who top out the resistance on an M6
M8	20	Updated wide console, heart rate support	Bluetooth	Heavier or stronger users, 300 lb rating
M9	20	10 inch HD touchscreen	Built around the JRNY subscription	Buyers who want streamed classes on the machine
SE	16	Simplified button console	Limited	Big-box value model, fine if the price is right

My recommendation, if you’re shopping the used market with no strong opinion: buy an M6. The M6 is the sweet spot of the Bowflex Max Trainer lineup. It has enough resistance that a fit person can’t spin out the top end, a console that works completely on its own with no subscription, and it’s the most common model out there, which keeps the price honest and the parts easy to find.

Skip the M3 unless it’s very cheap. Eight resistance levels sounds like plenty until you’ve been on the thing for three months. The M9 is a different calculation, covered below.

What a used Bowflex Max Trainer costs in 2026

Here’s what Bowflex Max Trainer models actually list for on Commonplace, picked up, inspected and delivered:

• M3: roughly $505 to $625 in good condition
• Max Trainer SE: around $625 for a recent, lightly used unit
• M5: high $900s for a like-new example
• M6: about $925 to $1,250, which is the widest and most active band
• M7: roughly $760 to $1,225 depending on condition
• M9: $775 on the low end, past $1,600 for like-new

Those numbers include pickup, a 30 to 50 point inspection, delivery into the room you want it, and a 60 day warranty. Private sale runs lower, and it should, because on a private sale you are the truck, the inspector and the warranty. Plenty of Max Trainers get listed cheap by someone who just wants the thing out of a basement, and plenty of those deals die because neither party can move 145 pounds of steel up a staircase.

The price signal to watch is model against condition, not year. A 2015 M3 and a 2024 SE can sit within a hundred dollars of each other, and the SE is the better machine.

What actually breaks on a used Bowflex Max Trainer

The good news is that the Max Trainer has no motor and no running belt, which removes the two most expensive failure points on a used treadmill. Magnetic resistance and a flywheel is a simple system. Most of these machines just keep going.

What does go wrong, in the order I see it:

Squeaks and clicks from the pedal arms. This is the most common complaint and usually the least serious. The linkage bushings and pivot points dry out. It’s a maintenance issue, not a death sentence, but a machine that clunks under load rather than squeaks is telling you something about how it was used.

Console failures. Dead pixels, unresponsive buttons, a display that won’t wake up. On the button-console models this is annoying. On an M9 it’s most of the value of the machine. Always ask the seller to power it on and cycle through resistance levels while you watch.

Resistance that won’t change. The resistance is set by a small servo motor that moves the magnets. When that fails, every level feels identical. Test this specifically: run it at level 1, then at the top level, and feel the difference. If there isn’t one, walk away or price it as a project.

Missing power adapter. These use an external AC adapter, and adapters get thrown in a junk drawer during a move. Replacements are findable but it’s an easy thing to forget to ask about.

Worn pedal grip surfaces. Cosmetic mostly, but it’s an honest odometer. Heavily worn pedals on a machine the seller calls “barely used” is a mismatch worth asking about. Overall, a Bowflex Max Trainer is a low-maintenance machine by home cardio standards, and that’s a real point in its favor against a treadmill, where the deck and belt are consumables.

Bowflex Max Trainer vs a treadmill: which should you actually buy

Buy the Max Trainer if space is your binding constraint or your joints are. Buy a treadmill if you actually want to run.

That’s the whole decision, and people overthink it. A treadmill gives you the most transferable form of cardio there is, walking and running, at the cost of a big footprint, a motor that eventually dies, a belt and deck that wear out, and impact your knees have to absorb. A Max Trainer gives you high intensity intervals with almost no impact in half the floor space, at the cost of a motion that only exists on that machine.

The honest tiebreaker is what you’ll actually do three times a week. If the answer is “walk while watching something,” a treadmill wins and a used one is cheap. Our treadmill vs elliptical comparison covers that tradeoff in more detail, and the used treadmill value guide prices out the other side.

If the answer is “20 hard minutes before work in a room that is also my office,” the Max Trainer is the better machine, and it isn’t close. It’s also quieter than a treadmill, which matters more than people think in an apartment. If small-space cardio is your real problem, our compact home gym guide is worth reading alongside this one. And if you like the low impact idea but want a longer, smoother stride, a conventional elliptical is the machine you actually want. A used Sole or NordicTrack elliptical costs about the same as an M6 and does a different job, and our Sole elliptical comparison is the place to start.

The JRNY subscription question

JRNY is Bowflex’s subscription app, and whether it matters to you depends entirely on which Max Trainer you buy. On the M6 and every model below it, the console is self-contained. Built-in programs, resistance control, time and calorie readouts, all of it works with no account and no monthly fee. JRNY is optional garnish.

On the M9 and the touchscreen models, it’s the opposite. The screen is the product, and the screen is built to run JRNY. Buy an M9 without planning to subscribe and you’ve bought a $1,600 machine to use it like a $600 one.

So the rule is simple. If you don’t want another monthly bill, buy an M6. If you want classes on the machine, buy the M9 and budget the subscription on top of the purchase price. Deciding that before you shop prevents the most common regret in this product line.

How to buy a used Bowflex Max Trainer without getting burned

Run this list in order. It takes about five minutes and it catches almost everything.

1. Confirm the model from the console, not the listing title. Count the resistance levels. Eight means M3, sixteen means M5, M6 or SE, twenty means M7, M8 or M9. Sellers guess at model numbers constantly.
2. Power it on and cycle the full resistance range. Level 1 to top level. If the feel doesn’t change meaningfully, the resistance servo is bad.
3. Ride it for two minutes under real effort. Squeaks are fine. Knocking, grinding or side-to-side play in the pedal arms is not.
4. Check the power adapter is present and that it’s the original brick.
5. Look at the pedal surfaces and handlebar grips and see whether the wear matches the story you’re being told about usage.
6. Check the weight rating against your household. Most Max Trainers are rated around 300 pounds. If anyone using it is close to that, find the sticker and read it.
7. Measure your doorways before you agree to anything. It’s compact once assembled but it does not fold, and it’s heavy and awkward on stairs.

That last one is where most private-sale Max Trainer deals die. The machine is only about four feet long, so people assume it’s easy. Then it turns out to weigh close to 150 pounds, all of it high in a top-heavy frame, and there’s a landing with a 90 degree turn. This is exactly the problem the way we run pickups and deliveries removes. Our drivers do the lifting, the machine gets inspected before it leaves the seller, and you test it in your home for an hour before any money moves. We’ve done walk-up apartments five flights up.

Bowflex Max Trainer FAQ

Is a used Bowflex Max Trainer worth it?

Yes, if you buy an M6 for around $1,000 or less. The machine has no motor and no belt, which are the parts that make used treadmills risky, so a well-kept Max Trainer has a long life left in it. The value case gets weak on the M3, where eight resistance levels limit how much the machine can grow with you.

Which Bowflex Max Trainer model is best?

The M6. It’s the best combination of resistance range, a console that works without a subscription, and used-market availability. The M9 is the better machine only if you genuinely want streamed classes and will pay for JRNY every month.

How much does a Bowflex Max Trainer weigh?

Most models land close to 145 to 150 pounds assembled. It’s compact but top-heavy, which is why two people and a proper strategy beat one person and enthusiasm every single time.

Do you need a subscription to use a Bowflex Max Trainer?

Not on the M3 through M8. Those consoles have built-in programs and full resistance control with no account required. The M9 and other touchscreen models are built around JRNY, and without it you lose most of what you paid for.

Is a Bowflex Max Trainer better than an elliptical?

Different tool. The Max Trainer is better if you want short, hard intervals in a small space. A traditional elliptical is better if you want a long, comfortable stride for 45 minute sessions. Pick based on the workout you’ll actually repeat.

Can a Bowflex Max Trainer go upstairs?

Yes, but not casually. It doesn’t fold, the weight is high in the frame, and it’s wide enough at the pedals to catch on a railing. Measure the narrowest point of the path before you commit.

The bottom line

If you have a Max Trainer sitting in a spare room collecting laundry, it’s worth real money right now, and the used market for these is genuinely active. You can list it and have us handle the sale without ever meeting a buyer, without a truck, and without the four rounds of “is this still available.” We pick it up, we inspect it, you get paid, and it’s out of your house. That’s the whole pitch. Our Bowflex page shows what comparable units are moving for.

And if you’re on the buying side, the used Bowflex Max Trainer market is one of the better deals in home cardio right now, mostly because a lot of people bought one in 2020 and stopped using it in 2021. Browse what’s available and already inspected, get it delivered into the room you want it, and test it for an hour before you pay. We have well over a hundred Google reviews and the line that keeps coming up is some version of “I was skeptical at first.” That’s the right instinct for buying a stranger’s used gym equipment. It’s also exactly the problem we built the company to solve.