I say go for it. For that kind of money you will be hard pressed to find something 1998+ in good running order. See if you can knock him down to $1000, run it till something goes wrong and then look at fixing it/replacing it. Even if you buy a reman'd L/U for $1000 you are out 2G's and you have a solid, reliable motor.
I have been in your shoes, shopping for a cheap replacement and have found that if everything is perfect, ie. no cracks in the L/U, you are going to pay a ton more for it vice buying a motor with the chance of something going wrong and fixing it yourself. Just my .02
-Svence
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1984 V-20 Steplift
1998 Johnson 175
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