re: Shy away from older, used outboards?

if the owner is OCD and everything he has is well cared for then its worth the risk

beyond that its like going to a used car lot, 40% of what you look at will break down on you soon after purchase needing repairs

biggest issue is never knowing if the guy flushed the motor regularly or not. the only way to know this is drop the lower unit and see what the water jackets look like inside and most people arent letting you do that before you buy it