Just wasted $200 on a cheap paint sprayer from a flea market

Saw this Graco knockoff at a flea market in Austin for $40, thought I was getting a steal. Spent 3 hours fighting clogs and uneven patterns, finally tossed it and got a proper one. Anyone else get burned by a deal that seemed too good?

3 comments

3 Comments

brooket4317d agoTop Commenter

...and that's exactly why I don't touch anything without a return policy anymore. I mean, $40 for a paint sprayer sounds like a steal until you're elbow deep in paint trying to unclog the tip for the third time. I had a similar thing happen with a pressure washer I picked up at a garage sale last summer. Worked great for about ten minutes then started sputtering like it was out of gas. Ended up taking the whole thing apart and found a bunch of rust inside the nozzle. So yeah, sometimes the cheap price tags just mean someone else already had their fun breaking it.

the_alice17d agoMost Upvoted

Hear me out though, sometimes a cheap tool with a little rust is just a good project waiting to happen. That pressure washer you found probably just needed a new nozzle and a good cleaning, which would have cost you maybe five bucks and an afternoon of tinkering. I actually prefer buying things that need a little work because you end up knowing them inside and out, and they usually last longer once you fix them yourself. A brand new sprayer or pressure washer might cost triple the price and still clog up just as fast if you don't clean it right. The real issue isn't the price tag, it's people not knowing how to maintain basic equipment.

the_viola17d ago

My last "fixer upper" tool was a $20 weed whacker from a church sale. Cleaned the carb, replaced the fuel lines, spent maybe six bucks total. Got it running for about 15 minutes then the whole head flew off and almost took my neighbor's mailbox with it. So yeah, I'm with you on the "cheap just means someone got the fun of breaking it already" train. Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you get a mailbox-seeking projectile.