Large lot of 70's and 80's Johnson and Evinrude outboards

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How you list on FB Marketplace and CL makes a huge difference. I think two things are key.
1) The motor needs to be clean, good-running and tested, meaning that it MUST be a good motor.
2) A detailed description with photos and video. Fuzzy pics are a HUGE turn-off!

Over the years, customers who can't sell a motor or boat bring them to me, and so far, I've sold every one of them at or for more than what they were asking.

What is my process?
  1. First, fix anything needed. Often a carb cleaning is in order.
  2. Then I clean it inside and out, maybe even touching up paint. Clean is King!
  3. Then I take many clear photos and video. ALWAYS include video of it starting and running.
  4. Write a complete description, ALWAYS offer to run and do a live compression test
I want people to feel as if they were seeing it in person. Generally, they sell quickly for more than what my customer had been asking.

Sometimes, people drive very long distances to buy from me, as far as Cape Cod. I always ask why, and the answer is always because they felt confident that I would sell them a good motor. They are correct. I always make sure they run well before listing, so I am confident that I am sending them off with a really good motor. I guess that confidence shows through in the listing.

Maybe your area is tougher, but if you are selling good motors, I think you will do okay.
 
If I'm looking for a motor on CL or FB, I'm only looking at the overall condition. I assume it needs a w/p, plugs, and a carb cleaning. Every motor does, even one I ran last fall. Gas today is pure crap and there's no way I'd trust any carb, or anyone else's rebuild to not lean out and kill the motor. I'd far prefer to find one 'as left' or as found.

You also can't expect someone who's got 200 motors in a warehouse to go through each and every one to get it up and running replacing parts that may well need to be replaced before it finally sells next year sometime.

VA must be very different then NJ, up here things sit forever on CL, even if their free. More than once I've found items buried way down the list on the last page, that have been listed forever that never got a reply. I bought a minty clean still in the box Honda 100, (10hp), from around 1985 or so for $100. The guy had great pics, he clearly described it in his title, yet he sounded amazed that someone replied. I sent him a phone number, he called me back in 2 minutes. I hopped i the truck and went and got it about an hour and a half away north of me. I ended up buying a bunch of things off the guy who was trying to sell off stuff for an upcoming move. I got a top of the line vintage Radio Shack receiver, and two matching 15" speakers and a Pioneer turntable for $200, and a new in the box 1987 Minn Kota 3hp trolling motor for $50. All stuff he had listed for months but hadn't gotten a single email.

The OP is in for a long ordeal selling them at any price, and from what I've seen, if someone doesn't have $500, they likely don't have $100 either. However I certainly would not give them away either. They will sell its just going to take the right buyer who's not flat broke. $4/gal gas, and $8/lb hamburger and such is really what the problem is. People can't afford anything right now.

For me, if I don't get fair value for something it'll sit, I'd rather have a good motor I can use than dump it for less than i can buy one when I need it.

This is one of the only motors on CL right now and if what the ads says is true, it don't have much life left in it if its only got 90lbs of compression. (I have the same motor and mine has 148 on all four). Never in saltwater but in an area where there's nothing but saltwater, in a state with a gas motor ban in fresh water and only four lakes that allow 10hp motors.
90HP Johnson - boats - by owner - marine sale - craigslist
The problem is that this is the only one listed, there is nothing else, and certainly nothing else cheaper that's not outright junk or blown up.

The most popular motor here is any 9.9 or similar motor. two strokes are cheaper so they have the best chance of actually selling here. Larger motors sell but not very often. Its not a matter of what its worth but how much the buyer has to spend lately. If all a guy has to spend on a boat or motor is $400, then hes only going to buy a $400 motor. If that means its junk, they usually don't figure that out till their adrift in the bay with it. For me, i take a compression gauge with me, if its got compressions, and the lower unit shifts and feels good, and there's no broken bits off the skeg or cav plate, I'm not too concerned about the carb or w/p, because there's no way I'd hang and use a motor without pulling the leg off it and looking for myself, and if its coming off, its getting a new impeller while I'm there. The same with the carb, its coming apart no matter what just to be sure its not full of dirt, rust or corrosion. It don't matter if its 40 or only 4 months old. if its seen gas, the carb is coming off.
 
So NJ is a hotspot for cheap outboards. That is interesting, but not the greatest news for the OP.

I see nice motors in NJ on Marketplace, but the prices are so low that it seems suspicious. I want to upgrade the current 150 Evinrude on my 22' Offshore (which runs great,) to a 4-stroke, but they are asking ~$9-10K for anything with less than 1,000 hours around here. I would rather buy new for $14k with warranty than pay that much for a 10-year-old motor with a thousand hours on it.

Then I see the same motors in NJ for $5k.
I'll be honest. It's a bit scary driving 5 hours away with a pocket full of cash, to what appears to be a higher-crime area for a deal that seems too good to be true. I don't want to get ripped off or worse.

But I digress. Back to the original topic, if the OP, Freeisforme wants to bring a trailer full of good motors to VA, I would sell them all, and I'm confident I would get him a minimum of $500 each for anything over 9.9 HP, and I would still make enough to be worth my time. I sell every good motor I post, with no exceptions, usually for my asking price.

Serious offer. I only have 5-6 good ones ready for spring, so it would work out just fine.
 
Hey... I have a customer right now who is looking for a 70 HP OMC outboard.

I just read that you ran some of your 70's. Not sure he will drive that far, but let me know what area you are in, and I'll try to send him your way.

Check your personal messages.

-Tony
 
So NJ is a hotspot for cheap outboards. That is interesting, but not the greatest news for the OP.

I see nice motors in NJ on Marketplace, but the prices are so low that it seems suspicious. I want to upgrade the current 150 Evinrude on my 22' Offshore (which runs great,) to a 4-stroke, but they are asking ~$9-10K for anything with less than 1,000 hours around here. I would rather buy new for $14k with warranty than pay that much for a 10-year-old motor with a thousand hours on it.

Then I see the same motors in NJ for $5k.
I'll be honest. It's a bit scary driving 5 hours away with a pocket full of cash, to what appears to be a higher-crime area for a deal that seems too good to be true. I don't want to get ripped off or worse.

But I digress. Back to the original topic, if the OP, Freeisforme wants to bring a trailer full of good motors to VA, I would sell them all, and I'm confident I would get him a minimum of $500 each for anything over 9.9 HP, and I would still make enough to be worth my time. I sell every good motor I post, with no exceptions, usually for my asking price.

Serious offer. I only have 5-6 good ones ready for spring, so it would work out just fine.
The problem here is that freshwater doesn't allow gas motors. Gas engines can only be run in tidal waters and about four lakes throughout the state. Two are in south Jersey. One is contaminated and fish can't be eaten from there, although there's a fairly decent population of bass and catfish in that lake.
This means that most of our small motors are being run in brackish or saltwater and unless you find one from someone who was fanatic about flushing it out after ever use, most are pretty corroded up. For me, I always launch well up stream and make the ride to where I fish, that means the motor gets flushed out on the ride home up river a ways. If I launch in the salt, I'll make a point of stopping at one of the freshwater lakes and dunking the boat for a quick ride and back out to wash off any salt. I can't run the motor, or at least your not supposed to but a quick blast and shut down never hurt anyone and my boat has a trolling motor on each end so I can easily power in the sweetwater legally, although slowly.
My main motor is from 1978, my smaller motor from 1995, both are spotless as far as corrosion but I'm a strong believer in products like Salt X and similar to neutralize the salt, even on the inside of the hull and fittings. The biggest issue I tend to deal with is cedar water staining at the water line.

Price wise, a good motor, to the right buyer in the spring should sell for top dollar here, especially once they see the cost of a new motor. Those motors though are usually short lived because those who pay those top dollar prices are generally those who have no boating experience and they end up running them without oil or not doing any winter maintenance and they kill the motor in short order.

When you need to find a good used motor, you would be lucky to find one in even fair condition for under $800 or so, more for larger motors. An $800 motors is generally a decent looking motor with good compression, you would expect to have to replace the water pump and go through the carb at the very least. It'll have a prop, but its not likely going to match your boat.
The problem is thought that fewer and fewer are boating or fishing these days, they've made it difficult to register a boat by closing down most of the local DMV offices, and most boats and trailers need to be done at a regional office, over an hour away.
It leads to either fewer boaters or a ton of unregistered boats. This action put a lot of boats into storage back in 2020 and most never came back out. Little by little those are turning up on CL and FB.
Two strokes are still king, while most people would want a four stroke, they're still too expensive, with used motors bringing as much as $200 more than a two stroke, and many older boats, (which most are), can't handle the same horse power in a four stroke motor due to weight. My Starcraft SF14 is a good example, its rated for 40hp in 1993 on the plate, If I hung a 40hp four stroke on it it would sink. Yet a 40hp 2 stroke is no problem. (I tried a 30hp two stroke on it, a tiller steer 3cyl Suzuki, but I had less than a 1/2" of freeboard at the top of the transom with me at the tiller handle. with no battery or fuel in the boat.
Yet the 35hp two stroke I run on it is perfect.
I hoard 25-35hp OMC motors, I've saved myself about 15 of them so far.
I sell anything smaller. (I keep one 4hp and one 9.5hp for kicker motors), but the rest get sold.
I just picked up three minty clean early 15hp Johnson motors way out in PA off CL, the guy had one listed but when I got there he had three. I made a package deal for all three, two short shaft tiller motors and one long shaft remote with tiller handle. All three fired right up even in the cold the other day in the garage. All three idled fine, and pumped water. They'll be for sale as soon as the weather breaks. Right now they won't bring $10 here, but when people get spring fever, the prices go sky high.
 
Yes. I can get $500+ for almost anything that runs well, even an old 70's motor. 15 HP always outsell the 9.9's, of course.

A good-running 2010 Mercury 9.9 would quickly sell for $950 around here! More like $1,200, if it was in cosmetically good condition.

This area (Mid-atlantic region, between Richmond and Washington DC) seems to have higher prices than others. I sometimes have to travel over the mountains to get a good deal. Over there, (W. VA in particular) prices are much lower as well as southwest VA.
In years past the later four stroke motors bring nearly what they cost new if you wait it out. As long as new motors keep going up, they seem to pay more and more for the used ones. I sold a 2003 Mercury 4 stroke. short shaft tiller last spring for $1,500, it was gone in two weeks. It sold by word of mouth though, not CL. All the CL buyers wanted it for $300.
Since 2020 people won't drive far around here most won't go 10 miles any more. Not that I needed another motor but I trash picked an older Yamaha 9.9hp four stroke that looks like new, but has a spark plug broke off in the head.
The head is a mess. I looks like some ham fist has been beating on it with a hammer and he's got the plug hole and remains the plug all bunged up. Its going to need a head or some welding and some new threads but the thing looks almost new otherwise. My trash guys told me about it and I ran right over and grabbed it.
If nothing else its a pile of good parts otherwise. If I get the time, I'll pull the head and see how bad the inside of the hole looks, its likely worth fixing and its a long shaft with electric start too.
 
I recently inherited a garage full of outboards. An uncle who I suppose was a believer in the thought that you can never have enough spare motors left me roughly 200 or so in his garage.
They range from 4hp up to 135hp with most being in the 40-115 range.
I think a lot of it was because he had a buddy who back then owned a marina and repair shop and he got deals on good used motors all the time. Plus he bought anything that ran so long as it didn't need much work.
Most have been sitting for 10 or so years, or more. Most are super clean for their age being from the middle of PA.
I would venture to guess that every one of them would need a water pump impeller and a carb overhaul, but that's just annual maintenance.
I went through a bunch of them and all have excellent compression and he didn't save junk. There area few parts motors but they're marked as such, and all of those are Chrysler or Mercury motors. There's also a handful of lower units and a couple of odd Mercury motors in the mix as well. I think I saw a couple of older Keikhaeffer 400's (40hp) in the mix, and a few 3hp singles from the 60's or so, but other than a few 10 and 20hp Chrysler motors and one West Bend, the majority are all OMC.
There was two new 9.9hp four stroke Mercury motors but those staying with me.
I'd keep them all if I had the room but we're talking about four garage bays full of motors, all on various racks and stands he had built.
As someone who runs only 14 and 16ft aluminum boats, I have zero use for the larger motors and those will get sold first.

A few that I've listed got zero attention, not even an email. If they're nothing but scrap these days I may be better of just digging a hole and pushing them in it. No matter what, I'll have to load them all up and haul them 300 miles to my place to sell them, its too far to go back and forth if I list them up there. What I may do is load the contents of the place into a couple of trailers and haul it all back to sell so as not to end up being forced to dump anything in a rush if the property sells.

I basically would consider most of these as 'viable' motors, needing the basic maintenance to put them in use again.
There's a few with repair issues, I saw a couple with missing tiller grips, one with a tiller arm removed but hanging from a zip tie, (59 40hp). one with a chipped skeg, a couple with the wrong color lower units, and a few with broken recoil handles where the rope is pulled through or the handle is broken apart from age.

Out of the whole lot, I'm keeping two Mercury four strokes, four 35hp Johnsons, and four Honda 100 four strokes, and I'm not sure yet if I want the Honda motors or not, but a few of them look new. There's also a newer, 2000 something Honda 9.9hp that needs some work, mainly the paint is falling off the cover and the tiller linkage is off the carb somehow, and likely a water pump and carb cleaning of course. It does have good compression, but I have no clue where he got that one, its far newer than most of these motors.
There's a mix of long and short shaft motors as well.

A few have told me that the only way to sell them would be to tear them all apart and list the parts on eBay, but that could take years to sell off and I'd feel like I'm parting out perfectly good motors.
Good older motors can be scarce here. In an area where most motors live their life in saltwater, combined with owners who do nothing to clean or keep them from turning to a corroded mess, and new owners buying cheap used boats and motors who burn up their first few motors not knowing any better about 2 strokes or maintenance, the number of used motors that are worth owning dwindles fast.
Add in the fact that most boaters simply cannot afford a brand new motor making a used motor their only option.
The most I've ever spent for any boat or motor over the years was never more than I was carrying in my pocket at the time. Just the same, not many were turn key, but most took little more than a water pump and some basic maintenance to make them good boats and motors again.
A good many boat owners don't know a spark plug from a drain plug, those type of owners probably should never buy a used boat because every aspect of owning that boat is going to cost them a ton of money. Most marinas these days are well over $150/hr.

A neighbor of mine got quoted $2k at some dealer after his 2019 Mer 25hp sat through the pandemic and wouldn't start. He brought it home and parked it. He told me he was saving for a new motor because he couldn't see spending $2k on a motor he only paid $3k for new. He said he bought it new in early 2019, used it twice, then it sat for three years and wouldn't start.

I told him to grab a carb kit, fuel filter, and impeller for it and I fixed it for about $60. If I hadn't intervened, chances are he'd have dumped it on some phone ap for cheap. The dealer had him convinced it was likely best to just buy a new motor. They may have been hoping for a clean trade in and a big sale but he didn't have the money so all they got was the $100 minimum charge for checking it out. I picked up a 15hp Yamaha last year that some dealer told the owner the motor wasn't worth fixing because it had sat for 8 years. It woudn't start.
I found two cracked spark plugs and I went through the carb and replaced the water pump impeller and it was fine. I got it for $100 on CL. and spent $70 on it. I sold it for $1,700 just before Christmas to a guy who drove up from VA. He said his options were buy used or nothing, a new motor would have been double and the one I sold was super clean and likely hardly ever used. (Most boat motors see very little actual running time, most die sitting not running. My boat is a 1979, I've owned it since 1985, its got an hour meter on the dash, and in 45 years its got only 460 hours of run time on the 35hp motor. Its lost no compression since when I bought it and sat four or five of those years over all that time. The reality is that most boats don't get out more than a few times a year, and when they do they're not running 100% of the time. For me I launch, run out to where I fish, anchor up then maybe move a few times over a few mile area, then head in at dusk. I only run if the weather and wind are favorable, and its not my only boat so the hours are low. On average, most people work during the week, and get one day on the weekend to take the boat out, then, in much of this area, the boating season is mainly late March to June, then Sept and early Oct. Maybe five or six weekends a year, then figure in how many of those weekends get rained out, or other things arrise and most are lucky to get out 5 or 6 times a year, and most don't go far. If your lucky, they put the boat away property, but most don't, the boat gets parked after June, the summer it too hot to fish for many, and if they don't get out in the fall, it just sits till next spring. About half are then elminated when they won't start, they can't afford to pay someone to fix it, so it sits until they realize they'll never be able to afford to fix it and the back registration is more than they can sell the boat for. Unless a cheap running motor falls into their hands, they're done.

Those of us who fix our own boats and know how to put a boat to bed for the winter, don't realize how so many boats get into the shape we find them in. I hear it all the time, We used bought it and used it until the the first kid came, then they were broke and couldn't afford it, or they bought it when the retired and their health went bad and it sat, or "It looked like a good deal but it died the first time out and they wanted $3k to fix it. so it sat".

The number of motors that survive in any sort of usuable condition is slim, most end up seized, either from sitting for decades, or from unknowing new owners who don't know to mix oil in the fuel.

Usually when you find a guy who has accumulated a load of motors though, they likely knew what they were buying and either saw that motor as an easy fix or good runner as it sat. I've gotten some decent deals off that type of owner, if and when they finally decide to sell off their hoard of motors.

For me, if I need a motor, I'd gladly spend $500-$1000 for a motor that may need even a few hundred dollars in parts to be $100% because its far cheaper than anything I can buy new or from a dealer in turn key shape.
One dealer I was at back in June had a 1983 50hp Johnson on the showroom floor for $2,200 plus installation. The hang tag said that shop installation was required to get that price, carryout was not an option.
Do you have any 120s, 130s or 140s from like 1987-1992?
 
Do you have any 120s, 130s or 140s from like 1987-1992?
I have a 135 and 140 but they're older, late 70's or early 80's. I had the 140 running but the lower unit is missing. The 135 was on a boat that a buddy bought, its got good compression but I haven't checked it out any further. It looked pretty clean having come from a freshwater only area.
The only V4 I have from the years you mentioned is smaller, a 110hp from 1989, it ran good but had no power tilt or trim. After that there's a 115hp 1994 Mercury that came from a boat that a tree fell on about 10 years ago, it had low hours on it and was very clean looking so I saved it thinking I'd find a hull for it but just never did. They're all slightly buried behind all the racks of motors I picked up over the winter. but at least those were mostly smaller motors.
 
Just an update on the lot of outboards, so far, after pulling out the best of the lot and listing them on CL and FB and letting the ads run two full terms I got zero replies.
I consider none of them in 'Running' condition, not even those that start right up when fuel is shot into the carbs.
I would guess that every one of them needs a water pump, and likely a carb cleaning and some basic maintenance.

I am not fixing anything. I see no good reason to dump money into something will will likely sit for years for sale and by the time it sells need the very same maintenance again from its time sitting. If I replace a water pump on a motor today, and it sits on the stand in the garage for two years because no one has the cash to buy a motor, that new water pump will have no doubt taken a set and be as bad as the likely never used impeller I removed from it in the first place.

I listed a new in the box 9.9hp Sears/Force motor, complete, new in the original foam insert and cardboard box it came new in. No fuel tank, just the motor. I listed it at $800 with the assumption the price will likely get negotiated down a bit. (It wasn't leaving for less than $700).
I got no buyers just page long emails telling me that they are junk motors, or how I'm crazy asking that much for a tiny little motor like that, or how I should do the world a favor and scrap it.
Funny thing is the one on my 12ft Duranautic has run fine for me for the past 30 or so years. If its not worth $700, its going in the garage attic as a spare motor for myself. I surely can't buy one for that amount anywhere else these days.

I listed a clean, Evinrude 50hp, that starts and runs with a shot of fuel down the intake but I have no fuel tank or controls. The motor is a remote short shaft in what appears to be nearly new condition. I listed it for $500. I got the same type of psycho rants and no serious buyers. Not even a low ball offer, just angry, crazy ****.

I listed a 30hp, Suzuki built Johnson 30hp four stroke. it runs on fuel spray but obviously will need to be serviced before being used. Its in nice but not mint shape with some scratches on one side where its likely been laid down for transport at some time. Nothing major, just scratches. I got only anti-four stroke rants, and several emails saying I should destroy the motor because its not a real Johnson motor and that its why the brand failed. etc.

I listed one 9.9 Johnson, a short shaft tiller motor that's in decent looking shape with great compression. It fires right up on a shot of premix from a spray bottle. The thing looks like its got a new prop, (Most of these motors have new looking props), and I'd give it a solid 7 cosmetically with some scratches and paint wear.

I got one guy who emailed about 15 times wanting to buy the prop off it for $10. Plus the usually bs emails telling me everything from its junk, or its illegal, its stolen and they want it back, or its pissing them off somehow. Its shown me how many people here have absolutely nothing better to do than to waste time sending page long emails ranting about something that doesn't concern them.

One guy emailed and said he lives somewhere in CA and that he believes the motor I'm selling is his and it was stolen last week out of his storage locker in CA. (its a motor I posted a pic of here back in Feb).

For years they always had a huge fisherman's fleamarket not too far from me here. I called to find out if they were having it this year since they had skipped the last few years after the pandemic, but I was told they feel its just too much trouble with all the issues it brought with it between buyers and sellers so its gone forever.
The local fleamarket has even banned selling motors of any type, and many other items where condition or longevity can be subjective.

The total count on the number of motors is north of 1,100 right now, I parted out a few that I felt were less desireable and sold the lower units and larger parts on fleabay. Apparently someone is still running those motors or they wouldn't be spending $400 for a used lower unit for a 40 year old 20hp motor. I shipped a whole 6hp to AZ, sold as parts on fleaby minus the lower unit and hood, which sold separately. The motor brought $320 with $62 shipping, the hood sold for $44, the lower unit brought $200 even plus $38 shipping to South America. Since it went through eBay's offshore shipping program, I can't imagine what the buyer actually ended paying for that thing. I ended up with roughly $465 out of the motor clear.

The problem is that won't work with bigger motors. Even the power head is so heavy its shipping will be an issue and I get the impression that most who tinker with outboards don't mess with larger motors.
I sold two 1962 4h Mercury motors, they had good compression, and came from a salt free area was all I know about them. I had five of them total. The two that sold went via FedEx for $97 and $135 shipping and $250 for the one motor and $191 for the other. Both went to the west coast, one to NM, the other to NV. The last one never sold, not even an offer so I let the woman who lists for me take them down for now.

I had a guy who wanted a 140hp V4 for a crab boat. I dug out the one I have here, brought it home and hung it on a stand. He shows up, looks it over, checks compression and finds it got 145psi dead even on all four holes. He brought controls with him and connects them and tries to start the motor. It fires right up, but the idle is high, about 1/3 throttle so he shuts it down, takes his controls and tank and leaves. He tells me the motor is junk, not worth is time. (one carb is stuck on high idle, with a piece of linkage hanging off it tied in place with a bit of mechanics wire.

I had told him $400 for it because I know the wiring harness which looks brand new, the SS prop, and the power head itself are all worth more than that. I also told him to check it out himself because I knew nothing about it.
As far as I'm concerned, a motor with 145 psi compression that starts and runs isn't junk.

I gave the prop to the woman who lists on ebay for me to list next week. The last one sold for $150 in that shape. The rest of it will get torn apart and sold off the same way I suppose. When I pulled the lower unit, it even had a brand new water pump in it.

I can see that the only way to turn these into anything worth while will be piece by piece.
There are no serious buyers locally and even those who are looking have no cash or they seem to think that a $500, 40 year outboard should come with a warranty.
 
How you list on FB Marketplace and CL makes a huge difference. I think two things are key.
1) The motor needs to be clean, good-running and tested, meaning that it MUST be a good motor.
2) A detailed description with photos and video. Fuzzy pics are a HUGE turn-off!

Over the years, customers who can't sell a motor or boat bring them to me, and so far, I've sold every one of them at or for more than what they were asking.

What is my process?
  1. First, fix anything needed. Often a carb cleaning is in order.
  2. Then I clean it inside and out, maybe even touching up paint. Clean is King!
  3. Then I take many clear photos and video. ALWAYS include video of it starting and running.
  4. Write a complete description, ALWAYS offer to run and do a live compression test
I want people to feel as if they were seeing it in person. Generally, they sell quickly for more than what my customer had been asking.

Sometimes, people drive very long distances to buy from me, as far as Cape Cod. I always ask why, and the answer is always because they felt confident that I would sell them a good motor. They are correct. I always make sure they run well before listing, so I am confident that I am sending them off with a really good motor. I guess that confidence shows through in the listing.

Maybe your area is tougher, but if you are selling good motors, I think you will do okay.
The problem with all this is that none of it makes for a $500 used motor. If you spend moeny on a carb kit, a can or two of touch up paint, and your labor and that $500 motor is now a $1500 motor that will never sell.

The buyers around me want cheap, with a lifetime warranty.

I had some idiot the other day emailed me through CL about a mower I have listed. Its a shaft drive 15hp Cub Cadet with 110 hours on it. roughly a 1999 model that belonged to a 92 year old man around the corner who bought it never used it, it sat in his garage for 24 years after he realized he hated mowing his own grass. I put a new battery in it a year ago and its been listed for that long now for $500 cash.
I get people who expect to buy it for $100, or trade it for their blown up Sears mower even up.
I had a guy email, whom I later spoke to on the phone who said he's got $450 cash and can come right away to get it. I tell him okay, he hangs up and I didn't hear from him again.

I got another email from a guy who left his number, I called, he asks if I'd take $480, I said sure, he shows up here the next day driving a Fiat 500 with $250. He swears he emailed me and offered me $250 and I agreed, I showed him the emails and called me a liar. At that point he's got to go. I told him to leave or be forced to leave. He's made because he drove 40 miles for nothing. How did the idiot expect to take a garden tractor home in a Fiat 500 anyhow?

I had listed a 9.9hp Suzuki motor that I bought at auction for cheap It needed a water pump impeller which cost me $11 online. It ran good, was in fair shape paint wise with a good many scratches all over it from riding in the bed of a truck I suppose. I listed it for $1,200 back in Feb. I got no replies at all till two weeks ago. I get a message from a guy who said he's got cash but only if I let him check out the motor first. I agreed and told him not a problem. He shows up with a compression gauge a trash barrel, and a gas can.
Its a four stroke so I checked the gas he had and it looked clean.
He checks the oil, then looks at it super close, then sticks the oil covered dip stick in his mouth and slurps off all the oil. He stands there looking at the ground for a bit and looks up at me and says the oil tastes funny??? He tells me it tastes like metal. I asked him if he was sure so he puts the dip stick back in and pulls it out for another lick. Then he tells me he thinks it needs an overhaul and its likely only worth $100 or so like that. I told him he needed to check his taste buds because the motor is just fine. He gets mad and leaves.

I really wanted to see him slurp down another gulp of used motor oil though. He emailed me with a $200 offer a few weeks later. A guy I work with sold it for me to someone in PA that he works with. He got me $1,400 so I gave him the extra $200.
Thinking about it now, I wander how much oil that first idiot things he needs to taste before he finds one that tastes right?
 
Wow... The area you are in SUCKS for outboard sales!

Around here, I could do a quick carb clean and sell every one of them, ESPECIALLY that 4-stroke Johnson.

CRAZY!

I need to come up with a trailer and buy a bunch of those motors.
 
The problem with Suzuki dipsticks is the metal they used. Pre-2000 recycled Cambell Soup cans have that metallic taste, even fresh out of the stamping dies.

Licked the dipstick? Oh my... I'm in tears. Did he want to eat some paint chips too?
 
He checks the oil, then looks at it super close, then sticks the oil covered dip stick in his mouth and slurps off all the oil. He stands there looking at the ground for a bit and looks up at me and says the oil tastes funny??? He tells me it tastes like metal. I asked him if he was sure, so he puts the dip stick back in and pulls it out for another lick. Then he tells me he thinks it needs an overhaul and its likely only worth $100 or so like that. I told him he needed to check his taste buds because the motor is just fine. He gets mad and leaves.

I really wanted to see him slurp down another gulp of used motor oil though....
Thinking about it now, I wander how much oil that first idiot things he needs to taste before he finds one that tastes right?
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WHOA!!! How did I miss this? You definitely live in a crazy area!

You should have taken an interview video, asking him to explain the different flavors. That would become a viral video!
 
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WHOA!!! How did I miss this? You definitely live in a crazy area!

You should have taken an interview video, asking him to explain the different flavors. That would become a viral video!
My main thought at the time was to get him to just leave. If they're screwed up enough to go tasting engine oil, used black oil at that, I don't really want to know what other issues they may have. This sort of thing didn't happen years ago. It certainly seems to be a recent thing.

I was the fleamarket a few weeks ago and I watched a grown man pick up a stun gun and stick it to his own chin and hit the button. Then he looked surprised as he was trying to get up off the ground.

I was at the register in HF a few years ago and they had one of those electric fly swatters sitting by the register and the cashier was swinging it at something flying around. I asked her if those things really worked and she spit her gum out on the thing making a huge spark. Then she turns around and smacks her own back side with it making an even louder pop and leaving a likely long term waffle burn as a result.
Of course the hog rings in her nose, and dozens of piercings and facial tattoos showed off her decision making skills.
 
With good batteries those electric fly swatters are the equivalent of a mini cattle prod.
I had one of those here in the garage and a buddy stopped by with is kid tagging along the kid picks the thing up, presses the button and sticks his tongue on it. He only did that once.

I worked with an old timer years ago who used to taste transmission fluid to decide whether or or not it was 'bad' or not. He pull the dipstick out, wipe it clean on his shirt sleeve, then take a fresh dip and taste it. At the time we thought he was like 80, but when we saw that had passed away a few years later the newspaper said he was only 56.

When it comes to selling motors these days I don't sell any complete motors, I part out everything, even a blown up motor will bring more than a complete running motor piece by piece even if you throw half of it away in the end

I just parted out an 80's 35hp, a short shaft tiller with only rope start, It ran great but after a year on CL and FB I got only two emails and no serious buyers even at $250. I got that for the lower unit, another $50 for the prop, $75 for the bracket, $25 for the flywheel, $125 for the carb, $120 for the hood, an $175 for the power head. I dumped all the misc hardware in a bag and that sold for $40. The mid section and exhaust tube never sold and got scrapped. It was listed as a running motor for two years, it took a month to sell it in pieces.
In pieces I don't have to worry about someone calling back and saying it blew up the first time they ran it, or that some mechanic said they overpaid, or the dealer charged them $800 to tune it up and replace the water pump.
 
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