mowsby,I bought my Grasshopper after finding it on Craigslist,I went to the guys house and ran it and made sure everything worked before I layed down the money.I ran into some glitchs after I bought it but with the help of KennyV and my brother was able to solve them asap.check oil and other fluids depending on the engine.check belts ,mower deck,spindels.if it a ztr check hydro motors ,lines for leakage.check tires.start and shutdown more than once.check that pto works,mow to make sure blades work and cut properley no leaks anywhere and if the engine smokes or not.look at the grease zirks that will give you an indication of how well the seller maintained it. also check the air filter. russ