Hello,
I'm shopping around for a Mini 2 Fly more combo, and I've seen prices varying a lot, so I haven't decided yet where to buy; but today I was offered a used Mini 2, with 4 batteries and the whole combo, plus more than one year left of care refresh, in perfect conditions, for a very tempting price.
The drone has totaled about 40-45 hours of flight time. I'm wondering: if there's no damage due to crashes and such, does the Mini 2 have a life span? I mean, does it have a limited amount of flight time before it needs servicing or replacing parts? I know the motors are brushless, so no carbon brushes that need replacing, but maybe there are other parts that wear out with use? Should I look out for some specific signs of wear?

Thanks,
Cristian

The batteries are the only thing with a known lifespan / # of cycles.  The mini2 has an infinate lifespan until it crashes.

Well, considering the Mini 2 was released almost exactly a year ago, I don't think any of them have gotten anywhere close to the designed lifespan.

I also think that 40-50 hours of use if it was bought around Christmas time last year would be about average. I'd check for cracks in the arms, wear on the propellers, and if the gimbal moves freely and smoothly. Also, if it is possible to start it up, listen for any whines or rattles.

Airdata Recommended Service Items:

Exterior Shell:

• Check that all screws are in place and make sure there are no loose screws. Use a flashlight and a small screwdriver to help with this.
• Inspect all the stickers on the aircraft and make sure there are no loose stickers. Loose stickers may fall midflight and obstruct the motors.
• If your country regulations requires, verify that the aircraft registration label shows up properly on the aircraft
• With propellers on, rotate each propeller with your finger and make sure all move freely
• Remove propellers, turn on aircraft and start the motors. Check if motors are rotating without unusual vibration and that the motor shafts rotate straight without any wobble.
  

Sensors and Vents:

• Verify all vents are clean and open
• Verify that the Sonar sensors and Proximity sensors (if equipped) are clean
  

Gimbal:

• Check gimbal vibration absorbers - make sure they are not cracked or stiff and that they are inside their housing
• Check the gimbal pins that are securing the vibration absorbers - make sure at least 2 are installed
• Inspect gimbal lens for damage
• Inspect gimbal arm and wires for damage
  

Battery Contacts:

• Remove the battery from the aircraft
• Check all gold battery plates inside the aircraft. If there are any stains on the surface, you can use a Q-tip dipped in pure (anhydrous) isopropyl alcohol (alcohol containing no more than 1% water) or electrical contact cleaner (typically comes in a spray can) to clean them to ensure good contact.
• Check to see if the metal contacts of the battery power and data sockets are damaged. If the surface severely burnt, use a piece of a fine sandpaper (Grit 150 or higher) to carefully clean the surface.
  

Sensor Calibration

• Perform IMU calibration. IMU calibration works best on a completely flat surface. After you’ve connected the remote controller with the mobile device, go to Settings – Sensors – Check IMU – IMU Calibration.
  
  Tip: Perform this calibration when the aircraft has cooled down to room temperature. This will assist later with the startup time of the aircraft.
  
  
• Perform Compass calibration
• Perform Gimbal calibration
  

hunterws Posted at 11-3 06:17
The batteries are the only thing with a known lifespan / # of cycles.  The mini2 has an infinate lifespan until it crashes.

Typical Lipo battery # of cylces lifespan is around 300 charges.

Thank you for your replies. That's what I hoped to hear
If it has 45 hours, and 4 batteries, let's say it's about 12 hours each maximum, and if we assume 20 minutes/charge, it's more or less about 35 cycles per battery. It doesn't sound too bad.
Since the asked price is about €200 less than new, it could be a good deal...


Cristian

Quaxo76 Posted at 11-3 07:31
Thank you for your replies. That's what I hoped to hear
If it has 45 hours, and 4 batteries, let's say it's about 12 hours each maximum, and if we assume 20 minutes/charge, it's more or less about 35 cycles per battery. It doesn't sound too bad.
Since the asked price is about €200 less than new, it could be a good deal...

I bought a used Mini 2 Fly More Combo and have had great luck with it.  The only thing I changed was props and made sure firmware for RC, Batteries and Drone were updated and the DJI Fly App was updated.  It is a beast for such a small drone.  But again, that is what is makes it so good and easy for traveling.  

If i bought one used, i too would change the props for a new (Official DJI) set, they are cheap consumables for piece of mind and shouldn't need changing again unless you nick, chip, crack or snap them

Quaxo76 Posted at 11-3 07:31
Thank you for your replies. That's what I hoped to hear
If it has 45 hours, and 4 batteries, let's say it's about 12 hours each maximum, and if we assume 20 minutes/charge, it's more or less about 35 cycles per battery. It doesn't sound too bad.
Since the asked price is about €200 less than new, it could be a good deal...

Go for it

Hello there Cristian. Good day and thank you for choosing DJI.  Just a reminder that before each flight, it is necessary to check your DJI Mini 2 propellers for cracks, wear, warp, corrosion, and loose screws. If any of these conditions are present, the propellers should be replaced. ​Damaged propellers can lead to unwanted incident when flying your DJI Drone. Thank you and fly safe always.

Sounds like a good deal.   

My mini 2 flew error/issue free for about 45 hours. Then, I got ‘Motor error’ message, and drone behaved erratically in the air, but I was able to land it. I thought it was a onetime off event. Flew it a couple more times without any issues. Then, first flight on vacation on Aruba, getting ‘Motor error’ message, the drone was over the ocean. It made it 200 yards back home, still about 30 yards offshore, it stopped and swayed in the air, not reacting to controls. I got message ‘Something is obstructing motor. Contact DJI Support’, and it crashed to the water. I was unable to recover it.
So, in total it made 47 hours of flight time and about 75 flights. Not much! Expensive toy!
Spoiled my vacation mood

You probably should have investigated the first set of warnings.

ashim2651 Posted at 12-21 09:53
My mini 2 flew error/issue free for about 45 hours. Then, I got ‘Motor error’ message, and drone behaved erratically in the air, but I was able to land it. I thought it was a onetime off event. Flew it a couple more times without any issues. Then, first flight on vacation on Aruba, getting ‘Motor error’ message, the drone was over the ocean. It made it 200 yards back home, still about 30 yards offshore, it stopped and swayed in the air, not reacting to controls. I got message ‘Something is obstructing motor. Contact DJI Support’, and it crashed to the water. I was unable to recover it.
So, in total it made 47 hours of flight time and about 75 flights. Not much! Expensive toy!
Spoiled my vacation mood

How did you get 37+ minutes out of each flight?

ashim2651 Posted at 2022-12-21 09:53
My mini 2 flew error/issue free for about 45 hours. Then, I got ‘Motor error’ message, and drone behaved erratically in the air, but I was able to land it. I thought it was a onetime off event. Flew it a couple more times without any issues. Then, first flight on vacation on Aruba, getting ‘Motor error’ message, the drone was over the ocean. It made it 200 yards back home, still about 30 yards offshore, it stopped and swayed in the air, not reacting to controls. I got message ‘Something is obstructing motor. Contact DJI Support’, and it crashed to the water. I was unable to recover it.
So, in total it made 47 hours of flight time and about 75 flights. Not much! Expensive toy!
Spoiled my vacation mood

Apologies for misleading stats! It was 47 kilometers of total flight distance, not hours.
In terms of hours, it was 5.5 hours of flight time reported in DJI Fly app.

I would expect that until crashed, a Mini 2 or 3 would outlast me.

Only you will be the best judge, but if you have to take into account that they give you the unlinked aircraft to avoid future linking problems to your accoun

Can i use dji mini 2 10 years

djiuser_2dzs74xhkalZ Posted at 2-20 06:55
Can i use dji mini 2 10 years

You are in effect asking "how long is a piece of string?".
It all depends on how you fly, how much you fly, how you handle the maintenance of batteries etc. etc.
In terms of longevity batteries are probably going to be the biggest headache.

I have a DJI mini2 that has over 84 hours of flight time with over 810 miles on it. and its less than A year old I bought  April 2022
Each of my 3 batteries have 105 cycles on them that are still showing good health. so hopefulyl I'll get another 80 flights out them  I had numbered and made a habit of rotating them during flight missions
I never crashed my mini2 so it still fly' s like new. I have changed all 4 propellers twice, when i had reached the 200 take-off flight marks which what was recomended by DJI
I may sound bias.  But I would properly buy a used mini2  if I knew its never been crashed , they are nice little machines.  I plan on this one flying for a while longer. before I upgrade to the mavic3.
I hoope that helps you in your decision.

I was looking for a drone, then i came across the dji mini 2 fly more combo for 150 usd. It has flown around 11,5 hours and 82 km. The seller said that the drone is in flawless condition, completely damage-free without any defects whatsoever. Is it worth buying? If it is, do i need to check on the drone myself to be secure that it really is in a perfect condition?

Thank you
AXEaPE

AXEaPE Posted at 8-6 03:12
I was looking for a drone, then i came across the dji mini 2 fly more combo for 150 usd. It has flown around 11,5 hours and 82 km. The seller said that the drone is in flawless condition, completely damage-free without any defects whatsoever. Is it worth buying? If it is, do i need to check on the drone myself to be secure that it really is in a perfect condition?

Thank you

In the old saying, 'snap his hand off'. (Translation, buy it before someone else does).

AXEaPE Posted at 8-6 03:12
I was looking for a drone, then i came across the dji mini 2 fly more combo for 150 usd. It has flown around 11,5 hours and 82 km. The seller said that the drone is in flawless condition, completely damage-free without any defects whatsoever. Is it worth buying? If it is, do i need to check on the drone myself to be secure that it really is in a perfect condition?

Thank you

Actually because it is a very good price I would be very careful,
YOU MUST CHECK THAT THE DRONE AND CONTROLLER ARE NOT BOUND. The DRONE may be bound to the original owner's DJI account and the CONTROLLER may be bound to the DRONE.
You will need to google this binding and unbinding thing, there are quite a few threads about it in here and you should find sufficient information for you to know something about it.

If they are bound then get the seller to unbind them, if they can't unbind them for whatever reason DO NOT BUY IT.
How is the seller proposing you pay for this, if cash that adds another need to be careful.

I assume this will be using an grey controller that uses  a phone? If face to face then instal the fly app on YOUR OWN PHONE. Check that it can work on your phone and if so CREATE YOUR OWN DJI account and log into the App. Take your phone with you to the meeting.

Assuming the drone and controller are, or can be, unbound, connector YOUR phone to the controller and, when the controller is CONNECTED to the drone, check whether or not YOUR PHONE and the YOUR logged in App gives you any warnings about binding.

Check the drone for cracks in the shell and any non symmetrically wobbly arms etc. Compare the front arms against each other and the rear arms against each other. Comparing front arms to rear arms would be pointless. I would also check that you can see an image from the camera on your phone and check that the gimbal does its 'dance' when it boots and that there are not gimbal or camera warnings.
Check that EACH battery boots the drone.

Sorry but sometimes prices are just too good, so must be careful.

I flew the arse off a mini 2 for 18 months covered 1,400miles and rotors gave out and that was better than I expected

djiuser_w6x5eH2egfJL Posted at 12-16 10:47
I flew the arse off a mini 2 for 18 months covered 1,400miles and rotors gave out and that was better than I expected

define "rotors"?