Admittedly, sometimes you have to take a chance and spend a few bucks. If a bottom is obviously warped or there's an obvious crack, then I walk away from it, no exceptions. Some really nice pieces of cast out there that are unusable. But I've taken a chance on some of the ugliest, crudded up pieces and ended up with a fine usable pan, like the smarts I bought today. It'll be a nice fryer.
Nice to have a place to ask for the questionable stuff too :)