Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

Hey guys, new to the forum, I'm from Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada. I have a few questions about the above mentioned model that I hope you guys can shed some light on. I've been doing a fair amount of reading over the last week to try to educate myself before I purchase a snowblower. We were hit hard this winter and I swore I am not living another one without a blower from now on. So I went out today to look at a second hand 05/06 Ariens 926LE. It has the L head 9HP Tecumseh engine on it. Now I have a few concerns about this unit 1: The machine is 5 years old and has been used less then 10 times - I would think a sitting engine would be worse off then a lightly used one. 2: There is a fair amount of surface rust on the unit not sure how long a new one would take to develop this but seems normal I guess. 3: Now this is my biggest concern, he has done no maintenance. He did not even realize that a shear bolt had given out from his last use so I could not even give it a true test drive. The dipstick tube was a half turn undone and some oil has been weeping out, not a big deal. The worse in my opinion is he has done no oil changes. The oil on the stick looks fine but after 5 years I would think it would definately need a change. Also there is some nicks from him snowblowing his new gravel driveway in spots. I imagine normal wear and tear in that case but disappointed to see a barely used 5 year old machine with signs of oxidation everywhere and the auger nicks. Now he is asking $900 canadian, keep in mind it retails for 1300 new in canada. I think I can get it for $750 as I have him down to 800 already but disappointed with the lack of maintenance. Also the throttle cable needs some adjustment as it is either full throttle or off, I am not sure how much work it will take to adjust. Any advice and comments would be appreciated! Cheers, Mike from Canada