Engine hours discrepancy-should we buy?

T

TrailsEnd

New Member
Aug 17, 2010
15
Sacramento area
Boat Info
2004-2006 Sundancer 260
Engines
Boatless
We did a sea trial on a 2004 260. The seller is the 2nd owner. Boat was advertised with 111 hours, but mechanic says 88 based on computer readout. Mercruiser confirms engine was replaced due to a thrown rod in 2005, but cannot provide service order or any documentation. Seller has NO documentation on the repair or number of hours on new long block. First we were told it had 35 hours, now his story is 10 hours. Warranty is expired. 10 hours with no warranty seems risky. Sea trial also resulted in water in bilge which seller would have to fix.

Is there a decent extended warranty we could buy or are we asking for trouble? Seller has changed his story on many, many things, actually almost everything! and has no service records. Price is pretty good, but the further we get into this, the more it smells.

Anyone who knows these engines have any advice?
 
I don't know enough about boats to make a specific judgement, BUT, in business, if I catch someone in one lie I become super cautious, if there are two lies, I walk away.
 
Not sure how the hour meter works on the newer boats but mine runs anytime the ignition key is in the 'on' position. Wouldn't be too surprising for someone to have turned the key on and forgot it a few times over the years. It would keep the engine hours low but would make the meter count up. Just a thought.

For the water leaking you will definitely want to get that fixed! I just had all of my bellows, gimble bearings, shift cables replace and also had the drives resealed and pumps changed. I had a slight drip into the bilge which would result in about a gallon of water at the end of a full day on the water. The scary thing is the bilge pumps will not keep up if a bellows completely goes and start pouring water in.

Don't fall in love with the first boat - there are a lot on the market right now so if this one doesn't feel right then look at the next one.
 
You may be better off just continuing to look. Just the same here is what I know about how engine hours are logged. The engine ECM records the engine hours and that really can't be tampered with. If the instrument panel has an electronic display of the engine hours, then that accurately reflects what is in the ECM (my 2006 has an LED display but I am not sure of the 2004 models.) The engine could have been replaced and the old ECM used which might explain part of the story you are getting on engine hours. If you consider buying the boat, I would get both a hull and a complete mechanical survey (engine and outdrive).

Dave
 
Thanks for your replies. We did have a mechanical survey but are waiting on the hull survey til the leak is fixed. We concerned about an engine that isn't even broken in yet with an expired warranty.
 
With so many boats on the market, why would you consider buying a boat with a questionable history?
 
You're right of course. After actually writing that post, we looked at it and said we already know the answer! We'll pass. There really aren't that many 260's here in CA that are freshwater only, but we're not in a big hurry.

And our BS Meter is red-lined.
 
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