Buying a snowblower in May

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Pop_Rivit

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I went to an estate auction yesterday; it was in a newer development of a fairly small (+-) 2,000 resident town. Being a spring auction and a fair distance from any larger town it wasn't well attended-maybe only 75 people or so. Among a few other things that I picked up was a snowblower.

Spring/summer in Iowa is probably the worst time to sell a snowblower. This one started at $25, went to $35, and I got it for $40. Despite being a few years old the driveway of the house was a typical small, 2 cars wide and 1 car deep driveway, so it's seen very little use. I'm reasonably sure that it was owned by the same person since new-I'm guessing 2006 or 2007.

After bringing it home I dragged it into the shop, changed the oil, put fresh fuel in it, and it started on the first pull. Everything seems to work as it should, even the electric start and headlight. I'll hang on to it until November and then probably sell it. I think it's a $250-300 snowblower in November/December.

Or I may just keep it to play around with.


 
Heck of a deal! Can't even see paint wear on the auger blades, unless they were re-sprayed. That size range makes for a nice machine. Larger than 26" is tiring to operate.
 
Not sure what year they stopped stating horsepower for
small engines, but that looks like an 8.5 (?) hp engine.
And the muffler isn't even rusty-that's a good sign too.
 
Originally Posted By: dwendt44
Not sure what year they stopped stating horsepower for
small engines, but that looks like an 8.5 (?) hp engine.
And the muffler isn't even rusty-that's a good sign too.


Yeah, I believe that was right around 2008. Same time frame Tecumseh small engines became no longer.
 
Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
I went to an estate auction yesterday; it was in a newer development of a fairly small (+-) 2,000 resident town. Being a spring auction and a fair distance from any larger town it wasn't well attended-maybe only 75 people or so. Among a few other things that I picked up was a snowblower.

Spring/summer in Iowa is probably the worst time to sell a snowblower. This one started at $25, went to $35, and I got it for $40. Despite being a few years old the driveway of the house was a typical small, 2 cars wide and 1 car deep driveway, so it's seen very little use. I'm reasonably sure that it was owned by the same person since new-I'm guessing 2006 or 2007.

After bringing it home I dragged it into the shop, changed the oil, put fresh fuel in it, and it started on the first pull. Everything seems to work as it should, even the electric start and headlight. I'll hang on to it until November and then probably sell it. I think it's a $250-300 snowblower in November/December.

Or I may just keep it to play around with.




How much did the JD tractor next to it go for??
 
That's a nice snag...MTD doesn't have the greatest reputation, but neither did Yard Man (which I believe was purchased by MTD) and my snowblower has been running for 20 years with one major overhaul. The plastic drive sprockets started shedding teeth maybe 6-7 years into its life, the replacements were also plastic but have been solid since then. Not going with a tracked unit next time...
I'd agree that the shape of the paint on the augur suggests it saw very little use...my driveway was gravel when I bought the snowblower and those things were chewed to heck in no time (even running it on the "travel" setting). Paved it the next year and have been planning to repaint it ever since, guess 19 years of inaction shows what a bum I am.
If that augur was repainted, they did a heck of a nice job on it...I'd say it's the original paint. Looks like a grey augur was common for the MTDs with the black hood.
 
I pray you will have a blizzard this next winter so that you can fetch even more money for it.
grin.gif
 
Originally Posted By: dwendt44
Not sure what year they stopped stating horsepower for
small engines, but that looks like an 8.5 (?) hp engine.
And the muffler isn't even rusty-that's a good sign too.

The engine says it's a 9.5 HP Tecumseh Snow King.

Originally Posted By: daddi
How much did the JD tractor next to it go for??

I picked that up at an auction this last winter for $7050. It's a 200 hour 2015 X738 4X4 with a 60 inch deck and autoconnect. Our local dealer also found a used snowblade and quick connect hitch for $800 for me.

Originally Posted By: andyd
Some of the newer ones have a power chute control.does this one?


It's cable operated.

Originally Posted By: Virtus_Probi
I'd say it's the original paint.

I'm reasonably certain that it's never been repainted. As I understand it the gentleman was in his 80s when he passed away, and I think he purchased it when they moved into the house around 2006 or 2007 and just used it for their small driveway. I think the children/beneficiaries were having the auction-his wife was never mentioned so I assume she passed before he did.
 
I keep an MTD like this one with the 9.5hp Tecumseh at my mom's house for when I need to clear her driveway out. The engine is a beast. One odd-ball thing happened to it over the years. The smaller coil under the flywheel that powers the headlamp broke loose, jammed the engine to a stop and smashed a small hole in the top of the crankcase! Pulled the engine, pulled the flywheel, scrapped the mangled little coil (no more headlight) and JB-Welded the hole shut. This was about 5 winters ago. Still lives on.

I don't recall if this engine has the dual counter rotating shafts on it, but that's the other odd-ball feature of many MTDs of this vintage. You can't (easily) transplant a single shaft engine on them.
 
Last edited:
I like the MTD ones since the first letter is an "M". Then since it's a Pro version it's probably Heavy Duty.
thumbsup2.gif
 
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