What to look for when buying a used saltwater motor?

richg99 said:

Only answer I can give you is to try to find out if the guy flushed the motor EVERY time after use. You might ask something like

" I don't have to flush this thing all of the time, do I ??"

and make it sound like that would hold up your purchase. You just might get an honest answer then.

A saltwater motor should be flushed EVERY time. I did it this afternoon, even though I was dead tired and would have rather just taken the boat to the boat barn. Oh, some guys don't flush them and seem to be OK. Not me. EVERY time!
regards, Rich

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Pappy said:

This price is about right on for that vintage plus the service items that have recently been done. Am seeing the prices in my neck of the woods climb like crazy lately. Fact is that you can't buy new lightweight two-strokes anymore. You have basically answered your own question about the engine. Regardless of the flushing of the engine ( and the previous poster was dead on in the fact that more flushing is better) the fact is that the fasteners came out without a torch and the service items that needed to be changed were done. That is peace of mind as far as reliability goes. If the engine is in good shape visually then go for it. Take the time when you get it to possibly split the lower pan halves and clean up the engine and do a good visual on it plus loosen some of the fasteners on the cylinder head, intake and exhaust covers, etc. and re-torque. Never hurts to do that to a saltwater engine to ensure that the fasteners will come out when you need them to. They are fantastic little engines and just about bulletproof if you take care of them and run them reasonably.

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