Considering buying a V20

[peiserma]

Originally Posted by Destroyer

At what part does it become a deal? When he gives you a price that you like and that you know you can afford, including any work that may have to be done on the engine.

You're right, its not what I was hoping for, but it did cause me to think about what it's worth to me. By attempting to do it myself, I'm essentially trading my time for my money (e.g. paying someone else to fix the motor). I'm also gambling that the motor is fixable for X amount - the exact dollar value at which this makes sense is what I'm trying to figure out.

For example, someone on this site (Willy maybe?) was asking $4500 for his V20. I'll use that as a starting point - I assume that I can find something similar with a working motor for $4500. Now what's a good estimate for a decent used outboard? I would guess $3000 at least, based on some limited time spent internet surfing. Now the value of package is $1500. But that doesn't account for the time and hassle required to install the replacement motor. I see little fairness paying the same total amount (having to repower vs working motor) because of the time and effort I'd have to do in repowering. That ought to be worth something (as in reduced price). And the boat still needs the back-to-back chair replaced. That can be bought for maybe $250? Again, the time and effort to install needs to be accounted for. This boat has no electronics, either (unlike Willy's). The trailer does have cash value, but I'm not planning on entering the used-trailer business, either.

Back to the motor. My first post showed the middle cylinder on the port side with 95psi compression. All the others were much, much lower. Also recall that I said the port side wasn't getting any fuel, while the starboard was. So one could hope for at least half the cylinders firing. The motor turned over, but no cylinder ever fired. As Genie Aye pointed out, the compression is too low to ignite the fuel. And therefore, instead of it being a question just of re-lubricating the rings and getting it to start like I was hoping, its looking more likely that a major or complete teardown of the motor is required. And all of a sudden, having to throw $1000 to $2000 into the motor doesn't seem so far-fetched. Never mind the amount of effort involved...

Based on the above line of thinking, $2000 is too much, and $1500 is on the high end of what it's worth to me. Feel free to point out errors or flaws in my thinking, since I've never owned my own boat and may be misrepresenting or not fully comprehending some of the costs.