Would you be afraid to buy an 02' 320 with a rebuilt engine

....The hard part of the deal is my trade since I owe about what the market will allow for resale...

They know about my trade. Made me an offer I can almost live with. I know I am going to take a hit but its ok since this boat has some room for negative equity.



I missed this the first time around.

My recommendation is to not buy the boat until you can pay for it without a loan.
 
\My recommendation is to not buy the boat until you can pay for it without a loan.

Presentation; that advice is something that is often (and heatedly) debated on this board. Suffice it to say that a boat is similar to a car in that while it might appear on your list of assets. . .this isn't a real investment.

Regarding this boat: I go back square one: Is this engine "new" or is it "rebuilt". The add states new, but the records indicate rebuilt? That is not a positive finding. You should view every word that comes out of the dealers mouth with suspicion. (This would probably apply even without the already known disparity between adds and records).

And what is the reputation of this dealer? Just because an invoice says "X" was done, that only means the customer was charged for the work. It doesn't necessarily mean the actual work was performed. I have one such $500+ receipt myself. (They no longer see buisness from me).

Having said that. . .I would go with Franks advice. Negotiate price. See the boat. Get the full mechanical survey. If everything checks out. . buy the boat and be happy. Oh. . .and be ready for one or two major repairs -> afterall, it *is* a used boat! I think it sort of goes with the territory.
 
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I missed this the first time around.

My recommendation is to not buy the boat until you can pay for it without a loan.

Good advice. I am going to finance the boat because it is the only thing that I have financed. I built my house in 03' and it is paid for so I don't have that expense to worry about. My vehicles are a deduction for my business. I feel more comfortable leaving my money in the bank than putting it into a boat that I don't need. Although interest rates are dropping faster than boat value :smt021
 
What exactly are the risers?

Great question! I believe the order goes from top to bottom..

4" exhaust is connected to the elbow which if needed sit on a riser to raise it up off the manifold to give more height to ward off possible water intrusion into the manifold. The riser is a rectangular column..

I could be way off others will correct me I am sure!!!:smt038
 
People mean different things by "rebuild", so you should see what all was done. Get the parts list and the service done. A full rebuild involves LOTS of work. It could have been something small to something large.

Also, what about a warranty on that?

My success with rebuilt engines is not very good, but at that price, you could just buy a new one and still be ahead.
 
Dealers in this area are not stupid on the rebuild vs. replace question. From the description given, it looks like the dealer owned this boat when the engine was fixed. Salt water is a killer and all dealers know they have to stand good for a boat they sell, or lose a customer over trying to cheap out on a fix. It is rare for a dealer here to do a complete rebuild. With under 300 hours, my guess is that this was a valve job, or an engine replacement with a remanned Mercruiser engine.

Also, this particular MM store was previously Sea Ray dealer owned and managed by the same people for 20+ years. I'd come closer to trusting their repairs than a store opened recently.

But the way to know what you are buying is to go look at the boat, ask for the servicce record and have a mechanical survey done.
 
Didn't make it down there this weekend. Still negotiating on price. I'll let you know how it turns out.
 
Dealers in this area are not stupid on the rebuild vs. replace question.

Also, this particular MM store was previously Sea Ray dealer owned and managed by the same people for 20+ years. I'd come closer to trusting their repairs than a store opened recently.

But the way to know what you are buying is to go look at the boat, ask for the service record and have a mechanical survey done.

I can't believe this boat is still for sale, I had a deposit on it back in 07 at 110k. They found the issue with the engine the day after I put down a deposit, I then immediately retracted it. The boat was in Orange Beach Alabama at the time and all work was done there as far as I know. I believe it was moved to Fl somewhat recently, guessing the market in Alabama isn't that great these days?? Anyone here familiar with Orange Beach's service? Good or not so good? I would definitely go over this one with a fine tooth comb, that engine issue couldn't have taken 2 yrs. to remedy so maybe there is something else about the boat causing it to not sell at that kind of price.

Pay Franks guys the 3 hr travel time to look over the mechanicals, he's known those guys for years so I'm sure they are the best around if he recommends them.
 
Hey Newbie,

Other than the engine deal how was the boat when you looked at it? Was the interior and exterior in good shape?
 

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