need advice! boat under contract engine hours question

[Baby Blue]

1998 Maxum 2800 which i have signed a contract on pending a boat and mecahnic survey.

boat being sold stating "466 original hours". During some research I've found that the hour meter that is mounted by the key is an aftermarket and not original to the boat. Broker says the seller stated that the tach which houses the factory hour meter was replaced before this owner. Also that the mechanical hour meter was added before his purchase. sounds a little fishy but broker says they can pull hours from compuer so no big deal.
then I find out that being a 1998 and not EFI engine they can't pull the hours from the computer because it doesn't have one.
Again... I reserached and found that you can get true engine hours from the ignition modual (thunderbolt V ignition). This is pulled with an older style scan tool (techmate). in fact it even displays hours in various RPM ranges..
so i have a mechanic lined up with the scan tool and will find out true hours in 2 days.
I know the 466 hours isn't 100 percent accurate but it needs to be somewhat close for the purchase to go through at the agreed price.
question is: how close is reasonable? 100 hours?
if it comes back at 600 or 800 hours how does that affect the market price.
current agreed prices is $19,000. Boat seems in fantastic shape and overall very well taken care of.
oh.. last tidbit.. the broker relisted the boat for sale today? 2 days before my mechanical survey.
any advice or input greatly appreciated.
BB

[pascavone]

good news is the boats not going anywhere in this market.....

hours don't matter 100 either way, like a used car 80k, or 90k?

more importantly:

look for wear, mis colored gel coat, means repaired.
trans pin bushing, look for white salt trails, as they only last 10 years, and have to pull the engine to replace.
engine coupler wear, another engine pull to repair.
manifolds, look for rust, pull an elbow.
wiring, make sure everything works.
unplug the boat, and try it the next day to see if battery are dead, this would be a short.
A/C boat, and windlass..... with out no resale value.
check ebay for similar, lot of hurricane sandy boats for sail.
check trim tab hinges, for rush, and broken tabs.
fill holding tanks for leak test.
offer 20% less

[biggerseagar]

If the surveyor does what you are paying him ,a mechanical survey of this boat ,it should include a compression test of all cylinders and testing the oil and after this you should have a real good idea what you are buying.

The last but not least act with your surveyor and you ...go for a test ride then if all is well you buy it.
He should have a gps and a thermo heat gun with him to check engine functions.

Good luck

Roger

[Baby Blue]

Thanks for the feedback. I guess my issue with hours is that from what I gather the lifespan of this type of engine is 1500 hours. At that point a rebuild or re power is required. So if the scan tool for instance reads 1000 hours instead of 466 a discussion on price reduction needs to happen or even walk away from it. Yes we are doing a compression test along with other things in the survey but if I have great and consistent compression on a 1300 hour engine that not that helpful being that the engine is towards the end of its life cycle. It just seems like true engine hours should be extremely important in the purchase of this type of boat (inboard big block)
Am I wrong to put that much emphasis on hours?

[biggerseagar]

yes and no.......the mechanical survey is your magic wand. Compression test and oil analysis are going to tell you what condition the engine is in. Yes....how many hours is on the engine can be helpful but......not always will tell you how long you got until a rebuilt.

Talk to your surveyor about hours, most will say a boat used on a regular bases, more hours, than a boat used sparingly, less hours, the engine is better off.

I think 1300 hrs is very low to think how much life you got left in an engine. So many variables that will come to play.

Roger

[mmwjr]

Baby Blue how many years has the current owner owned the boat? If he has owned it for 10 years he averaged ~ 46.6 hours per season which is typical of someone who uses his boat nearly every week. Using this one could estimate that the origional owner put 50 hours X 5 years = 250 additional hours on. So a total of 716 hours. Based on your 1500 end of life number you are only half way there.

Yes the Thunderbolt 5 allows hours to be read out using the correct tool.

Along with a compression test have an oil analysis performed. Also check operating temp of engine and exhaust with a handhelp IR thernal gun.

If you go thru with the deal I would replace all fluids, water pump impeller, and inspect or replace exhaust

[Baby Blue]

thanks everyone for all the good info. I did the mechanical survey today and everything went well. compression was consistant and engine hours were true to what was stated. very interesting how much info can be pulled from that iginition module. We are very excited about this boat and looking forward to the summer!
BB

496 total hours
190 hours at idle
1000-2000 rmp 100 hours
2000-3000 rmp 26 hours
3000-4000 rmp 178 hours
over 4000 4 hours

[mmwjr]

good news. Hope the rest of the deal is just as good.

[CGG]

Good luck with your new boat. Post pictures!