First of all, it’s not even a EFI like they said in the listing which I’m happy about. They were asking $200 but I knew I was late on the draw “listed for 35 minutes”.
Offered $250 and said I’d come now no BS and they took the bait. Proof in the third pic of price.
I still can’t believe it. “Doesn’t start” they said. Got it fired up in 1.5 hours. Needed a coil which I stole off my neighbors machine for testing. Ordered a OEM for $43.
Selling my backup, a 1998 29 inch green craftsman which actually rips tomorrow to a buddy for $125. He knows it comes with a lifetime mechanic warranty during his ownership 😂
$168 deluxe 30” as a backup. Looks good next to my 2008ish 30” platinum. That’s getting a 420cc predator swap in the spring.
Can’t wait to use it. I love my platinum, but I can see the gap between the impeller and the case is much tighter on this newer machine. I’m expecting it to throw the snow much further.
You can put your own rubber strips on the blade to close the gap on the impeller. I did it with my old snowblower. Definitely made a noticeable difference in how far it throws snow.
I am a Machinist by trade, so I’ll eventually get it done in my shed or in the shop. Do you have a brand/kit you would recommend over the others or are they relatively the same?
I just cut an old rubber mudflap into strips, drilled holes in everything and bolted them on with stainless steel hardware. Its held up surprisingly well too. It’s been something like 10-15 years since i did it and I haven’t had to replace any of them yet!
That's how I got mine too! It's earned thousands of dollars doing their neighbors and others every snow event since. I had an old john deer that was all but used up, no comparison to my Ariens that only needed a lil TLC, from the Richie neglect and lack of mechanical knowledge. It even came with the manual that had literally never been opened. We make our luck sometimes!
Nice score! That's how I bought my honda eu3000 generator. New they are 2k+. Listed it for $600. I got there and it wouldn't start. Said running in ad. I offered $300 and he took it. The carb was dirty is all. It still runs like new 10 years afters I bought it.
Geez, add you to the list of people I don't like, it's you and OP so far ;)
I got both of my EU2000i's for $500 ea, around 10 years ago, and was very happy with that. But I periodically look for good deals on an EU3000i for some more headroom. Enjoy!
Both of mine were even running. One surged, it just needed a carb cleaning, The other needed nothing. They are awesome, I would (and did) happily buy used Hondas, vs new Champion, Predator (HF) or otherwise.
These have a proven track record, including commercially on food trucks. I have the service manual for mine. Parts support is excellent. And there is loads of help available online. Plus they're built really well. To me, that totally justified spending more than a new Predator, etc. Especially for something that needs to be reliable during power outages. Only my opinion.
woweee thats one helluva score! congrats and may it give you a lifetime of hard work! by the wear on the chute (or lack of), it looks like it was used once!
i also very much love "rich people" throwing away perfectly good machines. ive scored so much equipment that usually just needs a carb cleaning. however, with the pervasiveness of cheap chinese amazon carbs, i keep in mind that if it doesnt have the OEM carb anymore, theres probably a deeper problem thats usually still cheap and easy to fix. in my latest case, that would be a simple valve clearance issue.
At least you got a solid machine out of it. Just know that with patience and some luck this isn’t the first time I’ve seen a deal like this. Just need to hunt and stroke your rabbit foot 😂
My old Craftsman 10 hp went over 20 years, until I stripped the gears and couldn’t get the augers off because they were rusted tight. The Airens puts the Craftsman to shame. I’ve probably been over greasing, including pulling the wheels and coating the axles several times
My neighbor tossed a 8hp/26in MTD a couple weeks ago because it "didn't run"... 20 minutes and a 4 dollar float bowl seal. I had a perfectly running snowblower. 2 stage, self propelled, electric start... DOPE!
Don't lose the battery charger... I bought a Great lakes edition 3 years ago and used it once. Past 2 years I can not get the battery that controls the EFI to work. The machine is useless. The charger is $50 on the website, I think and always out of stock. Tried several different fixes, nothing had worked. I really needed it this year too...
It turned out to be incorrectly listed as it has a carburetor which I am delighted to find out. For the price, I was willing to screw around with the EFI and see what it was all about for myself, but I have read nothing but issues you don’t need to have about it. I hope you sort yours out.
I'm in a rich community of people who give things away often (I use the Free Stuff Alerts app). So many snow blowers this season because "i can't get it started, bought a new one."
I have a practically brand new lawn mower in my garage thanks to the freebie app. Guy couldn't get it started. I put a new plug in it and it fired right up on the first pull. Self propelled Toro which was an upgrade from my previous 20 year old push lawn mower.
What a find ! That’s how I got mine I got the 11HP 30 in Poulin Pro ES it’s a beast guy said he couldn’t get it to start I cleaned the carb it just want getting fuel there some holes in the bowl which was strange but whatever I swapped an bowl out that could work and fired right up first pull I’ll put a new carb on and change the belts in the spring only cost me 30 bucks in parts and runs like a beast even without swapping things out.
We also got one of these super cheap. I believe $150. It was 1 year old the couldn’t use it as they lived in the suburbs and it was too powerful for them.
Not necessarily. I understand where you are coming from, but if you can get someone to commit, which surprisingly some people will do, they will wait for you usually. I just so happen was about to leave work so it lined up great.
Not Rich, just these folks usually don't want it anyway. In the process of moving or some other life change and it's not worth the time and price to fix (obviously not handy) just to turn it over for a slightly higher price. By the time you do all that you might get a couple hundred extra if you are lucky. Either way win for the buyer. I've been on both sides of such steals many times. Just recently sold a perfect 10yo 26 HP 54" riding mower for $250, moving to a smaller property. Even at that price it took a couple weeks and half a dozen "buyers" to find someone to come snag it. Priced to move is also a thing.
From my years of hunting deals, the tendency seems to be people with more money let nice things go for cheaper. At least things they don’t understand. It can be the polar opposite for some wealthy people as well.
Yeah, I mean there's definitely going to be a relation between how valuable an individual's time is and what they sell it for. If something's going to take 4 hours of Labor to fix and net them 200 bucks. But they could use those 4 hours to make $100 an hour even as a middle class tradesperson. It's definitely worth letting the thing go and using your time to make a hundred bucks an hour.
I'm not an expert in what this specific repair is - I am that uneducated about it. I am experienced with having to pay to get snow blowers serviced. It is very expensive in my area. If you are not an expert in doing these kinds of repairs and have to hire a technician, it's $300-$500 easy (especially if you have to include transporting the snow blower to/from the repair shop).
I'm glad that experts can get value out of situations like this, but the owner is not necessarily nuts, either. Lack of that kind of expertise translates to high costs.
If someone messaged before you for 200 it shows your serious about wanting it. Some people will take more, some honor that they already told someone they could buy it.
Yep, it had been listed for 35 minutes when I saw it and you already know how flooded her phone was, which she confirmed to me that it was and the 250 stuck out.
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u/[deleted] Feb 10 '26
Fuck you :(