[Ed in Tx]

I think that's one of the JVC models from the mid-late 80s that would have intermittent mechanism malfunction due to a screw on the bottom deck board that would come un-grounded from the board. That screw (actually 3 screws see pic) grounds the circuit board to the chassis. A simple star washer under the screw and tighten 'er down would usually fix it. A shot of Deoxit in the mode switch and work the mechanism with a tape shell "dummy tape" too, but you kinda need to know what you're doing.

Might try and work a deal with the seller to get a part refund if you have someone local that still knows how to properly repair a VCR.