Considering buy used generator

[dlmprovit]

My wife and I are considering buying a camping trailer on Craigslist to serve as "guest quarters" at our camping club site. Currently, we own a Winnebago Minnie 2455BHS travel trailer. The seller is including a used Yamaha generator inverter in the price. I would only want the generator if I was confident the trailer and the generator combined was a good value.

I have a pretty good idea about what the trailer is worth. I presume that generators maybe valued in part by how many hours they have run. Beyond that, I have no clue about how to price the generator inverter. Any suggestions?

Note: I have asked the seller what type of generator inverter he is selling.

[BFlinn181]

How many watts is the generator? A 1200 w would never be worth as much as a 4000 w one, everything else being equal. You could also do a compression test on the engine to see how worn it is.

[Chuck_Hammer]

search on the internet the make and model of generator... for some kind of price.. or similar and the used one if working correctly is worth about 1/2 of new price.


a couple of years ago..
I got a used Generac 7,000 watt with electric start with 90 hours ... for 2/3 the price of new. and it also looked New.

[TQ60]

Do go look at it and be interested.

Take your smart phone and Google the model number of the genny so you can see value and other information that pops up.

Do take a voltmeter and have seller demonstrate use.

Look in gas tank and check level.

Fire up genny and measure voltage then turn ac and whatever else on and watch voltage as loads increase.

Leave it running while checking out the unit and take your time.

Observe noise level constantly as you go as well as smelling for odor.

Check voltage often.

Listen for stumbles.

When finished look for oil leaks and check fuel level.

Ask seller maybe to pull plug before starting and also check oil before and after.

Just like buying used car from shady guy in bad part of town...performed repairs for one of those guys as a teenager...Some of the things they pulled off...

[Ray,IN]

Adding to TQ60's good advice; take along an electric space heater to make sure the genset works under load, both in eco-mode and standard mode.
Value depends on age, hours of use, storage conditions, etc. I'd never pay more than 1/2 price for any used genset.

[mojoracing]

By all means check out the operation and condition of the generator but Yamaha makes a good gen set, almost as good if not equal to the honda.