Importing Engines

[nipper525]

Any ideas on best people to talk to about importing couple of engines..I have address in USA and understand that warranty may be issue depending on who you talk to.. I,m guesssing there will be GST on value plus shipping and insurance costs???

[Spaniard_King]

warranty on most outboards will be at the country of sale, having said this there wont be any issues getting parts or service. The only other issue is if the engine gets an upgrade of some sort or is subject to a recall from the manufacturer you will also need to get that from the country of origin.

[mal555]

Think carefully about this one.

I just repowered recently, thinking long and hard about the weak US dollar etc. but decided on giving my local man the business.

My reasons were 1). There is no warranty once the engine leaves US shores,
2). Under the 'repower scheme' the old engine was to go back to the dealer, he didn't want it, so I sold it privately myself $$$
3). Others locally either lost money because of failed US businesses advertising cheap 'non-existent' engines or waited for many nervous months until it arrived, dealing sight unseen.

As it turned out within the first 9 operating hours, due to a production line over-site, water ingress damaged bearings and drive gears. Of course under warranty it was replaced, no question.

Right at that point was where any money saved importing, would have flown straight out the window.

Since then a factory recall indentified two issues which were promptly rectified, the dealer also threw in a freebie upper helm tacho installation. I've still got 18 months of warranty to go....

[TopBhoy]

I would think it depends on what the cost savings were.

How much is the engine here in Oz and what would it cost to land in Oz from the USA....answer that and you are half way to making an informed choice. After that,as Southern Boater says, there are warranty and support issues to consider!

[hilta1]

Hi, hey southern boater what brand are we talking about? It is so annoying the amount we pay for marine engines, we update to get reliability and the new motor turns out to be more unreliable than what was replaced! doesnt add up does it!

[mal555]

Hi, hey southern boater what brand are we talking about?

It was a Mercruiser 5.7L 300hp mpi.
Back on production line, the bellows clamps weren't tightened (or possibly glued also) and water got into the uni's gimble and tracked back into the upper gear set on the Gen. 2 leg. They changed the upper gear set because water marks were visible (nothing failed) and thought it was the proper thing to do as I had paid for a new motor package (key to prop).
Apparently there had been other examples of the same thing happening, just human error, it happens. I'm not bitter about it, just glad of the warranty.
The thing was I was still running a 20 year old (5.0 lt., carbed 230hp) and faced with throwing money at it to bandage up old technology, not that it had ever let me down, just wanted more cruise speed and grunt in heavy weather.
OK, there has been a slight hiccup initially, but with improved power, economy and most of all peace of mind, I've got big plans for offshore cruising.

[Skusto]

It was a Mercruiser 5.7L 300hp mpi.
Back on production line, the bellows clamps weren't tightened (or possibly glued also) and water got into the uni's gimble and tracked back into the upper gear set on the Gen. 2 leg. They changed the upper gear set because water marks were visible (nothing failed) and thought it was the proper thing to do as I had paid for a new motor package (key to prop).
Apparently there had been other examples of the same thing happening, just human error, it happens. I'm not bitter about it, just glad of the warranty.
The thing was I was still running a 20 year old (5.0 lt., carbed 230hp) and faced with throwing money at it to bandage up old technology, not that it had ever let me down, just wanted more cruise speed and grunt in heavy weather.
OK, there has been a slight hiccup initially, but with improved power, economy and most of all peace of mind, I've got big plans for offshore cruising.

importing outboards are a better option

[mal555]

importing outboards are a better option

Agree, certainly less installation issues.