I don't see why its so hard to believe that some one would have never tried to run a motor they can't use or don't want. If they don't have a tank or hose, they'd be looking at $75 or so to buy one just to give a motor away for almost nothing.
If your buying a $500 motor that normally should sell for $2k, I'd expect to have to do a few things to it.
I would think that if your looking for a deal you would go there, look the thing over, make sure its got compression and that its at least somewhat maintained and make an offer.
I've bought motors that people bought new on a boat who never once started them, they pull the motor, hang a trolling motor on the back and go fishing. The motor sits there till its an antique in the garage because our lakes here don't allow gas motors, and a 10hp is not enough in the river to combat the current on a boat large enough to be safe in the river.
I've got a neighbor down the street who buys anything and everything he can find cheap to resell and make a buck. He buys a lot of boats and motors at estate sales, he's never been in a boat, never fished, and likely has no clue how to start an outboard. He's retired/disabled and worked in a bakery his whole life. He finds some super deals, he just picked up a 17ft Grumman bass boat, from the 80's, with a newer, 2010 or so Suzuki 50hp on it. The boat is rough, he said he paid $150 for it. I looked the hull over and its junk, its got a ton of patches and the deck is shot, I didn't even want it for free. He pulled the motor, built it a stand, and gutted the hull with an axe and maul and scrapped it. The motor though looks almost unused. He said he'll list it for $300. He won't run it, with the boat gone there's no tank, no hose, and he's not buying one for it. The motor no doubt likely needs a water pump and carb cleaning. Its too heavy for my boat, and I'm not a Suzuki fan, but the last thing any buyer should want is a guy like that trying to run that motor on a stand not knowing anything about it. He'll list it on FB and it'll sit there for two or three years and not sell, eventually he'll bust it up and scrap it because no one will bother because guys theses days mostly rely on a shop to do all their work so the carb cleaning, water pump, and likely reprop to and new shift cables to match what ever boat it may need to be made to fit, will cost someone an arm and a leg.
A guy at work was just complaining because some dealer charged him $400 to change the water pump in his 9.5hp Evinrude and they wanted $165 for a new prop and the labor to change it.
In reality its a $20 impeller, and a $60 prop but since he's not capable of changing a light bulb, he's screwed.
Anyone who knows outboards can pull the rope and feel if a motor has enough compression or not, and chances are that Honda, by the looks of it is likely a motor that just sat and never got used.
Look at the prop, the paint, etc. it looks nearly new in the pics, so chances are someone bought the thing, used it a few times and it sat in a garage for the last 10 years. I've got dozens of buddies who have boats they only take out once or twice a year, if their lucky. they work all week, get the occasion free Sat. that's not pouring down rain to get out and fish for a few hours and back in the garage it goes. They spend more time running in a bucket getting read to go the next day then they ever do going anywhere on the water.
Here in NJ, there's not many places to run a small motor, so most are limited to being used on maybe three or four lakes and and maybe a back bay here and there.
It really don't matter lately whether or not it runs or not, it won't sell here because there's been no buyers.
He could list that with a video of it running and still not get a taker or even a reply.
When I read that ad I see a guy who has about as much interest in that motor as I have in a video game box.
It sounds like here it is, its cheap, take it or leave it to me. In reality , anyone who buys that will double their money even if its junk, the hood, the lower unit, or the power head area all worth more than he's asking and likely even more parted out even further.
I bought a 2007 Yamaha at an auction that dropped a valve and at up the cylinder head and piston.
I gave $200 for it. I was going to hunt down a used head and buy a piston and rings but I found a guy looking fro a lower unit and sold the lower for $500. I got $150 for the recoil assembly, $4 for the prop, $110 for the hood, $35 for the flywheel, and I junked the rest for about $18. I later sold off the rest of the parts and got another $310 out of the small parts and I got $75 for the carb. It took a year but it don't cost to keep something listed till it sells and a box of parts don't take up much space in the basement.
If I had fixed the motor, I'd have had $500 in it and it would still be sitting here likely listed for a few years already
If that Honda was closer I'd probably offer him $100 and see what he says, I wouldn't expect to get it for that but chances are he'll let it go cheaper after being listed for so long. A few on there have been up for over a year.
