Craftsman 21" 6.5hp

Hello all!!

I'm in the market for a lawn mower and a co-worker has a Craftsman 6.5hp 21" cut for sale (year unknown). The seller claims the mower needs a 'tune up'. I've called around my area (Grand Rapids, MI) and was told a tune up could run as high as $80.00. I'm all about doing things myself, I can handle blades, spark plug, air cleaner. But when it comes to carb adjusting, I check out. Can anyone offer advice on tuning up a mower for the more advanced home improvment guy? Also, I need to order a replacement 'bagger' for the rear, again, are these readily available? I attached a pick of the mower. I assume once I get the mower I can trace back the serial/model number. What would be a fair price for this particular mower? I was thinking $50.00????

Thanks for any help or advice!!
Jeff

The price of a bag and frame will likely scare you. I would pass. There are no adjuustments on the carb to worry about although you may have to remove the bowl to drain old/contaminated gas.

A tune up consists of checking the air gap on the magneto and the valve lash.

A full service is remove & clean the carburettor, there are no adjustments other than the throttle stop for idle speed.
Checking the position of the throttle cable so it closes the choke fully
Replacing the oil , spark plug & air filter
Checking & adjusting the valves
Removing the blower housing and cleaning the engine fins
Checking all 4 wheels and lubricating where needed
Checking the handlebar adjustments .
Checking / sharpening / replacing blades
Down here that lot costs you $ 45 + parts if I do it, $ 60 + parts if the mower shop up the road does it, $ 150 if one of the glass fronts does it .

The killer that is destroying the planet is the supermarkets sell brand new mowers for $ 150 to $ 300 so people quite literally run a mower for 2 years then toss it on the curb & buy a new one when the blades are blunt.
And these are $ A not $ USA