If its all gas it may be worthwhile...but it depends on price. A Viking that old would sell used for about $300-500 for a 30" and max about $1000 for a 48" one.

It is a gas 48" and the hood and new blower are included for $600. They don't know for sure if it works b/c bought at auction for a reno they wound up not doing. We are pretty handy. Could there be anything wrong with it that is just not fixable?

Probably not, but the risk is parts availability. Depending on the model and configuration, there is the risk of a part that is unavailable anymore because of age. However not being able to test it, is difficult to recommend.

Realistically $600 is very cheap...but here is the other note I'd make. Let's say you spend the $600 and install your kitchen with a 48" space. Then 3 months in the range breaks and you cant get the part...now you have a 48" opening that can only be filled with a $6-12k range or a small range and cabinet work.

Could be a pricey gamble

I had a Viking dual fuel range in my last house and I absolutely loved it. It is still working. I know because I sold my house to a friend.

It was a model from the early 2000s, but I can't tell you exactly which year. It was bought new but was a discontinued color. I never had any issue with it working. However, I can tell you parts are expensive. The granite fabricators banged up the back part (can't remember the term, but it is the piece that sticks up and the oven vents out it - backsplash?) and they also banged up the front landing strip. I was shocked at how much they had to pay for replacements.

Joe Henderson made an excellent point. If it croaks, what are you going to do?

We had one from 1998 and the build quality on it was awful. Warping parts, broken welds, ignitors that failed about every six months, every knob stripped out and broken, etc. We couldn't get the time of day out of Viking at the time, even a registered letter sent to the CEO produced no response at all, not even a "sorry for your trouble". It was like buying a new car, having the motor mounts and door hinges break and fall off, and having the company and dealer just completely ignore you.

It was a great range when it was working, but it was a real pice of expensive junk. We made it work, substituting third party parts and getting our local welder to put pieces back together when they broke, but I'd look very carefully at any one of that vintage I was thinking about buying.

I had an older Viking, I couldn't justify the repair costs, and finally unloaded it. I am pretty handy, but yes, there are things that can break that you can't fix. The hinges died on mine, and on my FIL's, and Viking said they don't make the parts anymore. I am pretty handy, but making hinges with springs was outside my comfort level. ( Even though I called them and the distributor and confirmed that the part was discontinued, I later found out that they had redesigned the hinges, and the new part actually fit ) If you read these boards a bunch you will find out that most ranges have a lot of electronics on them - and if they die, it can be expensive, or impossible, to fix without replacement parts. I am usually willing to buy used at a discount, and usually come out ahead, and that might happen in this case, but instead you could end up with something that could be a real headache. I don't know if that model came with a self clean oven, I had a Dual Fuel ) but even if it didn't, there is probably a computer board that controlled the ignitors, and also the oven, so you run the risk that one of those would go, would you be willing to put another $600, or $1,000 or whatever it cost to repair it. I agree with Joe, the replacement cost would be pretty high.

I've had my total lemon Viking dual fuel range since 2003. It's given me 13 years of misery since day one. It was replaced twice early on and repaired many times. The igniters haven't worked in at least 8 or 9 years so we use a lighter. Self clean never worked, proof doesn't turn on, broiler only turns on once in a while. Oven temps are nowhere near accurate. Hinges replaced a few times, but now we just deal with it. I've still managed to cook with this thing because I'm a good cook and have figured out how to make it work for me. My cabinetmaker wants to buy it, and despite my warnings he is not deterred. We haven't discussed a price but I will be grateful to be rid of it. I've already bought my Miele df and cannot wait to cook on it!