optimax 150

[gar26lw]

hi,

im looking at buying a 2004 cruisecraft with a 150 opti, 213 hrs. its all in good nick but..
ive done a bit of searching and it seams some of these opti's of that age blow up unexpectedly. its out of warranty now so the question is do I buy it or pass and go for the new boat with a new opti, 5 yrs warranty.

im saving about 15k going the pre owned but i have no need for the trailer so really its a 10k saving over new. 4 months waiting to get a new one though.

cheers

[FNQCairns]

Yeah you have more chance of that happening with the DFIs when out of warrenty compared to the old tech engines when both have been maintained well but I think the opti has now been more or less fixed, they were a real time bomb years ago early 21st century but the problems got more or less ironed out due as usual to a very willing cohort of guineapigs to test on their time and dime, still not up to the expectation the 4strokes seem to have or the older carb and efi engines but better regardless. Once upon a time if an engine had a problem before 600 hours it was a dog, today it seems if the engine is trouble free for 200hours it considered reliable.

You situation is a bugger, to save 10k I would get it all new myself mainly because of the engine warrenty, the waiting time will be the decider I bet!

Be sure to get the entire history of the engine from mercury before paying paying a dime also a full workover including compression, if it will be the selling dealer who does the compression, be there to see the guage at each cylinder.

good luck

cheers fnq

[gar26lw]

yes, time is the decider. i keep thinking "good things come to those that wait" as 5 yr warranty sounds good plus id have a 7yr hull warranty so if i keep for 2-3 years im still selling with a warranty. thats nice. but then i figure, am i realisticly going to have 10k worth of problems with this engine after 200hrs use. i figured that if it was gonna blow, it would have done it by now. what i wonder is the resale value of this craft after i add 100 hrs to it. would 316 hrs reallly tip it into the area of serious devaluation?

thanks fnq

[FNQCairns]

I think it will not be the hours so much as the age, the optis are an amazingly complicated piece of machinery, the number of wearable ancillery bit's and pieces needed to keep it running is large, time, poor fuel, saltwater environment and siting around unused for good periods of time does damage, a small hickup and the boat is dead in the water and off to sit at the dealer, for weeks sometimes.

Just the need to replace a couple of injectors which is not uncommon out of warrenty hit's the boating budget hard, they are reliable when tested in the lab but under the above senario of real world recreational use are an expense to expect.

Of coarse it's all just my opinion but with another 3 years on that engine it will be hard to sell, a person will want the craft but be wary of the opti and price the package accordingly.

Brand new boat with an 08 opti for just 10K extra, 25k might tip the balance but 10k doesn't, how does a person tell someone it's probably best to wait, it may be worth it in time?;) Lot's of good times can be had in a few months.

Good luck

cheers fnq

[Reel Blue]

The motor is not your only consideration. My understanding is that a new cruisecraft has improved build quality and is foam filled with seven year warranty. I would spend the ten and get all new.

[Jabba_]

The motor is not your only consideration. My understanding is that a new cruisecraft has improved build quality and is foam filled with seven year warranty. I would spend the ten and get all new.
wait 5 weeks and have 5 and 7 year warranty.. That 5 and 7 years worth off free repairs if somthing goes wrong... I have just spent 20k on a new motor because the old motor was going to cost 13k to repair, and there was no warranty on the rebuild.....

Wait 5 weeks, get a NEW boat and motor 7/5 year warranty....

[gar26lw]

thanks fellas its hard as Im aching to get out there, mind you not in this wether atm :)

[NickCurrey]

I would wait the extra weeks and buy new, then have full confidence plus warranty with boat and motor and trailer. Also will find with a 3-4 year old boat all the "other bits" need replacing like bilge pumps, deckwash, trailer lights, radios etc. With the new year comiong in and traditionally a slack sales time (everyones broke after xmas) you should be able to negiotiate a good deal.

Cheers

NC

[gar26lw]

thanks. this is what im going to do. i hate negotiations with salesmen though, does my head in :)