mquiet
Well-Known Member
It's just a gasket cover over the sealed window. There is sealant under it, so it's more a matter of how it looks versus the functionality.
480 DB Owners Club
- Thread starter Four Suns
- Start date
LattitudeAdjustment
Active Member
- Apr 8, 2018
- 236
- Boat Info
- 2003 480 Sedan Bridge
- Engines
- Cummins QSM 11's
Caribe DL12 Center Console Tender
w 40hp Yamaha
Ahh....got ya. Makes sense. I can appreciate my boat looking good....wife and I take a lot of pride in that. Thanks for the help.
V
steve4566
Member
I need to bleed the Hynautic transmission/throttle control system on my 480DB with 3196 CATs. Where are the throttle slaves?
steve4566
Member
Found them. They're under the helm. They drive CAT throttle position sensors which are connected electrically to the CAT engine control modules.
SeaNile
Well-Known Member
Casually shopping for our next boat. The 480DB seems like a really nice boat with 3 staterooms which would be ideal. The internet is wonderful as we all know but I'll ask anyway (and yes i did a search and read the comments) how are the 3196 in the 480? Internet says run away and goto the QSM 11 but I can't imagine every 480 owner here with the Cats is unhappy.
Any major changes to the boat over the years?
Any major changes to the boat over the years?
Steve S
Well-Known Member
- Jun 5, 2007
- 3,123
- Boat Info
- 2000 400 Sedan Bridge with twin CAT 3116's
2000 340 Sundancer - SOLD!
210 Monaco 1987 - SOLD!
- Engines
- Twin Caterpillar 3116's 350 HP straight drives
I’ve casually looked at the 480s also. I’ve spoken with several people and one thing that came up was the transom on the early models coupled with the hydraulic platform.
The QSM-11s tend to be over propped. You need to get them to burn 20GPH@ 2,000 rpm. This keeps the exhaust manifold cool. Tony at www.sbmar.com has a ton of info on this issue.
I understand there can be some manifold issues with the 3196s also. Good luck.
scooper321
Well-Known Member
read this thread in it’s entirety. Then look in the technical forum for 3196 discussion. A well cared for 3196 should be fine. A dud should already have died. Get an engine survey in addition to the boat survey. Nothing to be afraid of, if you do your homework.
SeaNile
Well-Known Member
On page 46 and going. Great thread so far with great info.
SeaNile
Well-Known Member
Anyone either bought or sold a 480DB recently. Bank values range from avg retail of 192-238k based on the year obviously. I know the market is hot still but asking prices are significantly more than bank value.
Bank value aside if these are selling in the 215-275 range that is a lot of boat for the money!
Bank value aside if these are selling in the 215-275 range that is a lot of boat for the money!
mquiet
Well-Known Member
SeaNile, the 480 is great with either engine. When the Cat 3196 first hit the market the aftercooler cores were not built strong enough to handle the seawater running through them. This caused seawater to get into the engine (specifically the 5 and 6th cylinder as the engines tilt aft). Cat came out with a second cooler core which was better but not perfect. They finally came out with a third mod with a serial number that ends with 5147. This is a good core. Because of the early issue Cat recommends that you pull the cores every 2 years or 1000 hours to clean and pressure test, with a replacement every 6 years. Cummings also has the same maintenance schedule for cleaning, but I'm not sure about when to replace. I have the Cat engines with 3500 hours. The maintenance is not difficult and really just change the oil and clean the filters and you are good to go. I do pull my aftercooler cores every two years and clean them with a pressure test as well. By keeping them clean these Cats run very clean and you don't typically get a soot build up on the transom which is a great additional benefit. I run my boat year round and put about 200 hours per year on it.
In regards to you financial question....yes pricing has gone up as the market is scarce with good boats. I would not go by any book and be prepared to pay over the book price as sellers are in a good spot and will be for quite some time as people are flushed with cash and are doing new adventures versus the hassle of travel. You never find a perfect 480. All of them will have some minor issues, but for the most part people tend to really care for these boats. Hope this helps. Cheers!
In regards to you financial question....yes pricing has gone up as the market is scarce with good boats. I would not go by any book and be prepared to pay over the book price as sellers are in a good spot and will be for quite some time as people are flushed with cash and are doing new adventures versus the hassle of travel. You never find a perfect 480. All of them will have some minor issues, but for the most part people tend to really care for these boats. Hope this helps. Cheers!
scooper321
Well-Known Member
Three years ago I was looking at 480s. I ended up buying a 400DB instead. But I found that I could have gotten a 480 in decent shape with Cats (not the newer ones with Cummins) for under $200K. No more. Fast forward to today and with the recent surge in the boat market, these same boats are running $220k and more.
SeaNile
Well-Known Member
220 is one thing but 250, 275 and 300+ is another!
mquiet
Well-Known Member
A 1999 was listed for $295k at the Baltimore boat show. Figure they agree on 250k.
I was in a similar situation last year when buying my 510 with 3196's. Plenty of negative info on the 3196 but as mentioned above the issues were centered around the early aftercoolers and primarily the failed coolers were those that ran in salt water. My 2000 510 was pushing 2000 freshwater hours and believe it or not the aftercoolers were original which according to the internet was impossible. The previous owner took good care of the boat and was a fanatic about fluid changes but hadn't had to do any major engine work as the boat ran flawless during his 15 years of ownership. Caterpillar gave the engines a good bill of health on the survey but out of an abundance of caution during last winter's layup I had the aftercoolers pulled replaced with new Cat cores. The original coolers were sent back to Cat to be cleaned and tested which they came back perfect, again impossible according to the internet. To date I have replace the turbos, aftercoolers, and injectors as piece of mind and they run as perfect now as they did when new. I'm very happy with the 3196's and expect many more years of service out of them. As mentioned, do your own homework and buy the boat that best suites you based on overall condition not what the internet says about the engines.
SeaNile
Well-Known Member
Seems like the 3196 suffers the same internet stereotype as the 3126.
Hoping to see a 480 within a week or so. If the interior and overall look isn’t “too dated” according to the wife then this could be the boat for us.
Love the 42/44 but the prices are out of control.
Hoping to see a 480 within a week or so. If the interior and overall look isn’t “too dated” according to the wife then this could be the boat for us.
Love the 42/44 but the prices are out of control.
SeadawgVB
Active Member
There were interior changes thru the run of the 480s. I think the first year they may have used Vitricore laminates which have issues if the interior is allowed to get hot and humid in the summertime.
Also there are some upholstery differences starting in 2002. They got away from the sort of bunching while sewn for a smoother finish.
SeaNile
Well-Known Member
Walked by 3 of them today, nice boats for sure. Spoke to two brokers so far with listings, hoping to see them both this weekend.
Brent Nutting
Well-Known Member
- Mar 24, 2016
- 664
- Boat Info
- 2002 480 Sedan Bridge
10' Aventus RIB w/ 9.9 Merc
- Engines
- Cat 3196
Good Luck with your search. We just put ours away as the season is quickly coming to an end for us up here in Michigan. This was our 6th season with our 480DB and we still love it.
mquiet
Well-Known Member
If you don't mind sharing what you find, I would be interested in the years and prices you are seeing, and the first look condition of these boats. I am on the fence about ours. I truly love the boat but might be time to think about what we need next. You can send privately in the messages if that is a better option. Thanks!
SeaNile
Well-Known Member
I don't mind sharing the info, as long as everyone is OK with it.
Spoke to 3 brokers about their listings. The one was pretty funny and came right out and said "I'm a terrible broker, these are all over priced and my seller wants about 260. As a buyer it's worth about 195." LOL Guy was funny. Also sounded like the boat was a little unique, as in the guy completely removed the swim platform and fiberglassed the transom, etc.
2nd broker....owns the boat and the previous owner spent "about 100k" in redoing everything, going over the engines, new carpet, new interior upholstery, new bridge upholstery. Apparently the owner was OCD about his boat and spent like money was going out of style. Asking 350k and not coming down a penny. Say's it'll be sold by Sunday as two very interested parties are viewing the boat this weekend. Again, admitted the pricing is crazy, due to lack of new boats being produced the demand for this type of boat will only go up for the next 2-4 years and although wildly over priced compared to the NADA/bank values, the 480 in general is a good deal, a lot of boat for the money and his particular 350k is the high end of the spectrum but well worth it. For 350k what else are you getting with 3 staterooms, etc. Lotta boat for the money.
3rd broker...boat sounds pretty nice, nothing wildly crazy done just well maintained asking 310 and just lowered the price a bit to under 300k. Sounds like a good boat, well cared for and possibly the most reasonably priced.
I know its redundant to say but the 10% broker fee is what is really throwing all these prices into lala land. Market is hot, boat is worth 215, owner wants 250 (dare I say reasonable?) then the broker has the boat at 300k. Work the math backwards and if you remove the broker fee most of these boats are prices decently considering the market. 10% on 200, 250, 300,325k boats adds up very quickly.
Spoke to 3 brokers about their listings. The one was pretty funny and came right out and said "I'm a terrible broker, these are all over priced and my seller wants about 260. As a buyer it's worth about 195." LOL Guy was funny. Also sounded like the boat was a little unique, as in the guy completely removed the swim platform and fiberglassed the transom, etc.
2nd broker....owns the boat and the previous owner spent "about 100k" in redoing everything, going over the engines, new carpet, new interior upholstery, new bridge upholstery. Apparently the owner was OCD about his boat and spent like money was going out of style. Asking 350k and not coming down a penny. Say's it'll be sold by Sunday as two very interested parties are viewing the boat this weekend. Again, admitted the pricing is crazy, due to lack of new boats being produced the demand for this type of boat will only go up for the next 2-4 years and although wildly over priced compared to the NADA/bank values, the 480 in general is a good deal, a lot of boat for the money and his particular 350k is the high end of the spectrum but well worth it. For 350k what else are you getting with 3 staterooms, etc. Lotta boat for the money.
3rd broker...boat sounds pretty nice, nothing wildly crazy done just well maintained asking 310 and just lowered the price a bit to under 300k. Sounds like a good boat, well cared for and possibly the most reasonably priced.
I know its redundant to say but the 10% broker fee is what is really throwing all these prices into lala land. Market is hot, boat is worth 215, owner wants 250 (dare I say reasonable?) then the broker has the boat at 300k. Work the math backwards and if you remove the broker fee most of these boats are prices decently considering the market. 10% on 200, 250, 300,325k boats adds up very quickly.
