Jriggy - Chris isn't interested in helping you? Did he say that, or just that you haven't been able to get in touch with him? I know he used to be full time with building BPT stuff, but when things slowed down a couple years ago, he took a full time job somewhere else. I think the BPT stuff is the best price/performance conditioning out there, so would say keep trying him. He's usually very good at getting back with customers quickly. Maybe he's been on a vacation?
But you are probably right about buying new. The big balanced units are VERY heavy, so a couple extra trips in shipping would probably eat up any savings over buying used.