Used motors ?

[cigar-]

I have a few questions about all those motors I see for sale online. There are probably 1000's online at any one point in time. If a person were to be interested in....let's say.....a small block Chevy motor, how does he go about making sure he's not buying a boat anchor?

I look at all of the ads and see motors in all stages of repair/disrepair. Some are filthy as you know what, while some look as though they were just rebuilt. Fresh paint, no oily buildup, no vermin droppings on the intake and such. Then we swing the pendulum in the other direction and it looks like oil poured from every seal and orifice, then got sprinkled with a shovel full of fine dirt particles.

Some of the ads will state, "ran good when it was removed"....but how do you know? Do sellers provide a written statement that they'll take back the motor and refund your money if it doesn't operate to your satisfaction? I rather doubt that. So there's no way to tell if it smokes like a chimney or runs like a top. Noisy lifters? Deep throated rod knock? Or perhaps a bent push rod that tick, tick, ticks away?

Now lets look at finances. Most of these beauties have an asking price of $500 to $1000. Take into consideration all of the unknown in operating condition, performance, function of accessories (water pump, carburetor, distributor) and there's a lot left to consider.

A brand new small long block is around $4000 to $5000. That motor will run right of the box and seems like a worthwhile buy. So I sit here and wonder how a person can want the $500 to $1000 for a questionable motor.

Oh.....and a decent rebuild of my/your motor will run you about $4000 +/- based on parts needed that may be worn out.

It seems (at least to me) the used motor market isn't a good place to sell/buy a used product. Help me out guys. What am I missing?