Stripped of its motor and deck is a far cry away from one that's running, cuts grass with new filters, oil and blades.
If you figure the labor alone at the local repair shop to put that back together, your looking at maybe $300 for a use engine, $200 for a deck, and $450 or more in labor, not counting belts, hardware, blades, etc. The cheapest small engine place here charges $75/hr. Even if your doing your own work, its till money out of your pocket. Money saved is money earned only if you calculate it.
If you buy a clean roller like that, and it does look fairly clean, assuming its not been butchered when the deck and motor were removed and that another motor will bolt right up and plug right in, your looking at the better part of 10 hrs of work getting it attached, getting it all adjusted and working, installing the belts, fuel hose, cables, and other small parts. A machine like that is best for a guy who has that same machine and needs a frame, hood, transmission, etc. and has the same model to swap parts over from.
A quick look on CL and FB here and among only the Craftsman/Husquvarna/Poulan models (AYP built), I see none that don't need work, rusty decks, won't start, won't idle, won't charge, needs tires, threw a rod, no hood, no seat, and any other number of issues, all over $400. I see one 'running' MTD in the same class as the GT Craftsman models and that one has starter issues but says it'll run with a jump and some fiddling if you try hard enough.
All fixable issues but all issues that will cost money and to the average guy who's limit mechanically is putting air in tires and adding oil, it means getting it hauled to the shop for a $75/hr repair plus parts.
Its mostly why Lowes and HD keep selling new machines every year, there certainly isn't that many more lawns to mow.
The reason I feel that people junk or trash a tractor is because they've been through the repair process before and came away with a $500 bill on a machine they paid $1,000 for. I suspect that will change once the idea that new machines are over $3k now, many approaching $10k. The cheapest thing out there today in 2026 is a Troybilt Pony for $1,749 plus about $125 in sales tax. So out the door for a 11hp throw away mower is going to cost them $1,825 for a 36" cut lawn tractor. Step up one to the cheapest Craftsman and its $1,900, and up. All of which are models with tons of known issues with compression release failures, steering gear failures, etc. Your nearly $2k gets you maybe a year of trouble free mowing, maybe two but after that its on borrowed time.
Buying a clean older model that's been proven to last and one that's had all of its issues sorted, one that's proven it can survive year after year should mean more than it does these days. Unfortunately some can't fathom having $1,000 cash in hand these days to buy a used machine, they only have that piece of plastic to swipe to get it done. To someone already only making the min. payment on a near maxed out card, that they will never pay off, that extra $3k every couple years makes little difference.
I had a guy here this morning looking at the GT4000 I picked up, it runs, has new blades, new oil and filter, new fuel tank grommet, new air and fuel filters, and two new front tires. I listed it for $800. I get two messages, one offering $150, the other saying they want to come look at it.
The guy shows up, complains that NJ is farther than he though it was? He then starts picking it apart looking at scratches and the 1/4" split in the seat. He says a new seat will cost him $200, a repaint wll cost him $300, and its not really what he was looking for but if its cheap enough, he'll consider it. He's driving a 2026 F450 Platinum diesel with a shiny new enclosed trailer in tow. Easily a $120k rig both still with temp tags on them.
He offers me $200 cash. I said the price is firm, take it or leave it. He gets mad and complains that I made him waste $100 in fuel to get here. I advise the guy to leave while he still can.
If he had said $900, maybe even $800, maybe, but $200 and an attitude gets him nothing. It can rot where it sits before I'll give it away for less than the parts I put into it.
The problem is he's the typical buyer these days on CL and FB,
I had one on Wed go off on a rant about how the used brush hog he was looking at only cost $800 new back in 1980. I had it listed for $650, its got all new bearings, blades, and two new wheels with a new driveshaft, plus it never was an $800 machine. When I said no, can't do that he went ballistic. complaining that its used and 'guys like me' think we have gold when its only used crap. The item in question is a 10 year old, lightly used Woods unit that was closer to $4k new then. Its in near mint shape. The guy seriously though he was going to drive across the bridge to get a perfectly good working American made brush mower for next to nothing. He offered me $150, said he can buy a Chinese one that will do the same job for $300. The mower looks new, it was stored indoors by the guy who bought it then died a week later. Then his wife never touched it again. It sat hooked to the brand new tractor it was bought along side of that has a whopping 29 hours on it.
Then he starts showing me pics of Chinese machines on Temu or something for $75 brand new. I told him he was wasting his time, go buy the Chinese machine and have fun with it. He kept on about it and wouldn't leave. He finally said he'd do $200, when I refused and said the price was firm he nearly ran over the neighbors mailbox leaving burning tires and screaming out the window the whole way.
He was the only one to reply to the ad though after 19 days.
It seems CL is completely dead, I've not had a reply or sale from there in four or five years now, FB has only generated problem buyers who expect it for free, if its free they want to be paid I suppose. A buddy sells cars on FB, he's always got a half dozen listed, all fixer upper type cars and he said the same thing, he gets people who want a warranty on a $1,500 parts car or they complain about rust on a 40 year old car listed as is.
