I’ve found a guy selling a GX390 with ZWD4040G pump for $500 used. Some old canadian brand called Epps. I’m planning to meet the guy to check it out.
I don’t know enough about pressure washers to do anything more than walk up and say “eh, seems good” and I’m not savvy on engines either.
What standards would it have to meet as far as testing it goes, sounds and such?
Thanks
Use the search here and look for talk on direct drive units. You’ll eventually want a gear driven or belt driven unit. I feel you should start there and pass this one up
Thanks for this. I wasn’t really aware of the importance of direct drive vs the alternatives. I see what you mean. Looks like this is by no means going to be a long term investment.
It would keep my cost of entry low at least. I think I still want to check it out but now might have a bit higher standards as far as the condition of this thing looks to be. (once I figure out how to assess that)
This ^
I’ve learned that the pump usually goes out first, so I guess that is my main concern instead of the engine.
Would the bucket test be sufficient?
Methinks you are trying to talk yourself into something you know it’s a bad idea
The same thing that you do for any engine when some stranger tries to sell it to you 
This helps me with motorcycles, cars, pretty much anything.
Tell them you want to see it started up cold. Explicitly tell them that if it’s warm you are walking away.
When you arrive put your hands on/near (don’t hurt yourself) the exhaust is it warm? If it is, promptly leave. People will warm up carbureted engines to make them seem easier to start. Might take 15-20 minutes of dickering around with the thing at first but when warm, starts right up. Watch for that.
Ok. It’s cold…watch them start it. How big a pain is it to start? See if they have a routine to start it or if it starts easy. It’s started? Good. Now let it run. Tell them your life story. Talk to them a good 15-20 minutes with this thing running. Pay attention to their body language. Are they sweating? Getting anxious? Is it bogging down? Is the idle going up and down? Is there anything out of the ordinary going on? Use all of your senses. What do you see? What do you smell? Fuel? Oil? Etc does the window glass sight for the pump look like frothy liquid or paste? That means there’s water getting into the seals.
Ask them why they are selling it. Ask them what’s wrong with it. When they answer stay quiet a while. People don’t like awkward silence and will often give up more information. Sometimes that can be used to figure out if they are full if it, don’t know what they are doing, or are honest.
At this point if the pump isn’t leaking, the engine has ran good with nothing crazy happening, and everything seems normal you’re probably in the clear…at least for now. A prudent mariner would abide by the philosophy of 2 is 1 and 1 is none. That means I would probably buy a spare carburetor, pull cord, pump seals etc.
When you get it home change out the motor/pump oil. Replace the spark plug. Put fresh fuel in that thing. Run the heck out of it. Pat yourself on the back forgetting a good deal. Cuss out a guy in the internet because you wasted 500 dollars. The world’s your oyster 
No, the pump packings needs to be tight enough to make pressure. If the packings are worn it will open flow just fine but it won’t make good pressure
I’d say the big question is: what are you going to use it for? It’s not a great deal. Even if the pump works, it’s still ‘used’ & has most likely been ridden hard & put up wet so don’t worry about it getting away. I’d suggest using the search bar to do a ton of research & keeping that cash in your pocket. You’re going to need shoes first.
I suppose it’s not so bad to just buy a new one for ~1000 as opposed to buying this one for 500 and it breaking or not being worth a damn.
Thanks for the advice guys. I think I’ll shoot him an offer for 300 and move on if he doesn’t go for that
You can’t get a new machine for a grand unless it’s a homeowner unit.
I’d stay home if that’s all I had to wash with 
Id be stuck at home forever if that was the case but not for long!
Idk if you heard about the fiasco at MVP @Innocentbystander but they ended up shipping me the wrong unit. was a total cluster and felt bad for them. Annaron Ct subsidiary sent me a honda gx630 and a comet pump to my friends house. They are having to eat shipping of another unit to Arizona as well as the old one back to them. Apparently Diego was giving them an earful beforehand as they hadnt put antifreeze in it before shipping and im sure that next earful was not nearly as pleasant as the first.
Alls well and mistakes happen. They definitely took care of me and i am very excited to use a grown up machine…as soon as i can fly down there and get everything put together that is…
I can guarantee you his son didn’t have anything to do with it 
That’s a good deal
Could you imagine if I had really stretched my legs to find a better deal? I’m thrifty man, I could find that same washer for $800 lol
I haven’t heard about that. That store is 6 miles from my house and I’ve been in it maybe five times in the last decade. I deal with the Raleigh store and Diego. I’m glad it worked out though.
Thanks for this. Definitely saving this one. First I’ve seen a belt drive under 1k
@ShoelessPeanut Hold Up Amigo! I looked at the site when I got back to my pc and they have a few things going on that make it look fishy!! I WOULD NOT take a chance that they are a legit vendor. BUYER BEWARE
YUP it’s 100 percent a scam site sorry guys
