Used Snow Blowers
Buying a Used Snow Blower brings A Lot of Value
There is a lot to be said about buying a used snow blower, most of which are precautionary measures you should take to make sure you are not buying a lemon. We will get into those but we wanted to mention first that buying a used snow blower can offer a lot of value for someone and is the right decision in a lot of cases. People sell their snow blowers for a variety of reasons, one and of course the one you want to avoid is, something is wrong with it.
All of the other reasons however, are perfectly fine, for example they wanted to get a bigger one, they are moving, or perhaps they hired someone to do their snow removal. In any event, buying a used snow blower can save you a lot of money. Keep in mind most quality snow blowers are built to last, and often times are used very little in a given year. If the regular maintenance is done on them like changing the oil each year, and they are kept clean so rust doesn’t set in, a snow blower can last more than 20 years.
Used Snow Blower Checklist
Below are some things you will want to look out for when purchasing a used snow blower.
Is the Price Too Good To Be True?
Be aware of extremely low prices on snow blowers, each year thousands of them are stolen and it may be one of them. Also, you may have a situation where a person is just trying to get rid of it because something is wrong. You want to look for a used snow blower that is fairly priced, that way you know the person selling it sees value in it also. This can be an indication that it was well taken care of.
Know the Used Snow Blowers Warranty
This fact wont always come into play, but if you are purchasing a newer used snow blower you will want to know what the original manufacturers warranty covered and if the warranty is transferable or not. A snow blower with existing warranty will always fetch a higher selling price but in most cases it is worth it.
Take Stock in the Physical Appearance of the Used Snow Blower
Whether or not a snow blower was taken care of should be pretty evident in how the physical appearance is. Now we do admit the appearance can be misleading, especially if you are looking at one maybe a decade old but you should still see one TLC if the used snow blower ever got it. Rinsing off the snow blower, keeping the salt off it, and a variety of other things will help fend off rust, if the previous owner did these things your used snow blower should look considerably better than others in it’s era. Also take a look at the spark plug, it may seem like something small, but if it’s new, that could tell you they replaced it, and this is one of the few maintenance things someone can do. If the sparkplug looks old and rusty that can show they didn’t care even about the littlest things.
Some Other Important Things To Look For On A Used Snow Blower
Does the engine smoke or make any strange noises?
Does it run smoothly at ALL speeds?
Does it start promptly cold or hot?
What condition are ALL the belts (auger & drive belts)? Belts can run up to $30 each, plus installation if you're not able to replace it yourself!
Condition of tires? Do they hold air?
Is the auger & casing rotted or banged up? Means it was possibly subjected to rough use & neglect...
In what condition is the scraper bar (horizontal blade at the bottom of the machine - can be metal or plastic)?
On a single stage only - check the distance between the auger rubber & the BACK of the auger bucket. If you can place your pinky (1/2") in between the two parts, the auger rubber is worn appreciably - which means the snow throwing distance will be limited & performance will be extremely poor.
On a two stage only - ask the seller to remove the shear bolts & spin BOTH augers. If the augers don't turn with the bolts removed, DO NOT BUY THE MACHINE. PERIOD. This means the augers are literally welded to the auger shaft with RUST & WILL be extremely difficult to free up.
If equipped with a light, make sure it works. If not working, a simple bulb replacement could be the cause, or a bad ground, or the alternator could be bad.
IF the front skid shoes are worn, they are easily replicable & are not expensive to purchase.
If equipped with electric start, make sure its working. These small starter motors can be expensive. Some are very time consuming to replace.
Does the safety switch work? These protect you from SERIOUS injury! Some machines don't have them, so understand operation well BEFORE you use the machine & work safely & SMARTLY.
Is the owner’s manual included?
Where was the machine stored? If outside, its probably a rust bucket - pass on it unless it REALLY is rust free, clean & otherwise decent.