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

Whats a used Honda HS621 worth?  I found someone listing one for $275.  Says its about 5 years old and works good.  Any thoughts on if thats a good price?

Around these parts (southern New England) $400 or so seems to be the going rate. Prices might be a bit lower this winter due to the lack of snow and abundance of used snowblowers.

bdresch,

Before you buy please check the rubber set (and bolts), scrapper, and belt.  These are consumable goods and will cost you around $125-$150 if replaced with OEM.  So your initial $275 HS621 may end up costing you $400-425 in the end depending on what you have to do.  Then you have to ask yourself if this old HS621 is going to be better than a new Toro 621R with a 2 year warranty.  Not sure what type of driveway you have, I have a concrete driveway and the rubber will go much quicker on ths surface than the black top so you have to consider replacing rubber set much soon and Honda rubbers are not cheap.

Hard to say without looking at closely to see the actual condition of the machine.  If that HS621 is in the US, chances are it's more than 5 years old, 10 years is more likely.  If it is in good condition, little rust and no dent on the bucket sides, no twisted or bent metal auger, but the rubber auger scraper bars are in need of replacement, then $275 is a fair price.  Like MNrunner mentioned in pragmatic and economical terms, you have to consider adding $125-150 to replace those consumable items.  These HS621 are very well built machines and if taken care of, they will run forever.   

I don't know how much usage you intend for this machine.  If it's going to be a high usage machine on rough pavement, consider replacement costs of consumables every 2 to 3 years.  In that case, I will advise looking into a Toro 621R, the basic model, as an sensible alternative.  The Toro operating costs will be lower in the long run.  If you are using these HS621 on smooth pavement with low usage, those consumable items should last 5-6 years.

Anyways, if the condition of the HS621 checks out good with new rubber, scraper, belts, and spark plugs, these are going $400-450 around the Chicagoland area.  I don't expect them to be much higher with exception of a mint condition garage queen sitting around collecting dust.  There are new Toro and Ariens/Snapper single stage machines that can be bought for around $500.

b dresch,

I have only seen one first rate HS621 at the courtesy of aa335.  I have seen many on the craigslist but they were not in that great of shape due to rust or owners not taking care of them.  In MN, HS621 goes anywhere from $300 - 400 but generally you do have to spend some a bit of money on the rubbers soon or later.  If you can get a HS621 with new or mint rubbers and minimal rust, I think $325-350 is a fair price.  Also check for bent auger (engage the auger and feel for vibration or watch the auger spin since a used/new auger will set you back additional $200-300.  As these machines get old, you may have to replace cracked gaskets to prevent gasoline or oil leaks. If you see HS621 that you like, please post some pictures so we can bless it (just kidding).

In case anyone in the Chicagoland in search of a nice HS621, here's one currently listed on CL.  It's not mine, but looks pretty good.  Looks like it got brand new rotor and rubber paddles assembly which costs about $260.

http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/grd/2828965472.html

aa335 wrote:

Looks like the seller changed the price from $260 to $400 after seeing a little discussion here.

MN_Runner wrote:
Sorry, there's a little confusion, I meant to say that the seller has installed  a new rotor and paddle assembly, which costs $260 by itself.  

I read it wrong.  You are correct as always.