I am in the market for a 9.9 four stroke motor. One came up for sale near me and the seller wants 850 for a 2008 mercury model.

I am a truck driver not a mechanic so I don’t really know how to check the motor for wear. The seller did indicate that he would fire up the motor in a bucket so that I could hear it run.

The seller thinks that the motor is a hard one to test the compression on. Has anyone ever done a check like this on a mercury 9.9?