I never test one of those to see the quality of the sine wave they produce and since those are technology of the past without AVR or inverter tech in it, they are just good to power stuff with no sensible electronic in them like light , stove, etc. etc.... I put $500 in a good generator instead but you don't purchase this piece of history for his utility so the price can be pointless in this case.
Pay enough to keep your friendship! Now how much is enough?