I have access to lake michigan, and have been thinking about getting a boat for a few years.

I found a guy selling a bowrider from the early 2000's that has a new Volvo 4.3L motor. It's well maintained other than the previous motor overheating. JD Power says the expected selling price is a little over $7K, but that's with the original motor. He's asking about 2,500 more than that. He originally was asking 13.5.

How much does the new motor raise the value of the boat? I'm only concerned about this for possible resale in a couple years.
What else should I be concerned with on a 20 year old boat?

It's an older guy who's kids grew up. He has all the maintenance records and seems like a Shons.

4.3 would make it a V6? Or is that Penta a small V8?

In either case, an inboard marine grade motor is like 15 to 20K used without install here in FL. What brand boat is it?

20 year boat on a lake - should be nothing to worry about. But generally speaking, exhaust components like risers are the next thing to go if the engine has already been replaced.

Edit: If i was on that lake time, I'd prolly get one of those yammy jet boats with the twin Inline 3s. They're supposed to be bullet proof except for some overheating if you run them WOT for a while. Seems to do the job, and they're everywhere dirt cheap.

it's a V6 on a 18 foot bowrider 2500 lbs, Caravelle is the brand

It will get the job done. However, it’s very underpowered, eswpecially if you plan to go with 3-4+ people

Hmm, that plenty of engine for that size boat, for sure. I've no idea how reliable the brand is, but you're on a lake, so its not like the stringers would have taken any pounding - the hull is likely still 100% solid unless hes ever run it aground. Grab a rubber mallet and be sure to do a test on the hull to see if theres water in there (youtube it to figure out where to tap around the transom).

Thats a pretty small bow rider is my only other thought. I'd say you're fine for that price. How many hours is he claiming on the new engine?

not even close to under powered on an 18 ft boat bruh. Thats a V6 pushing only 2500 pounds dry. He could have 5 people in the boat and still prolly tow a tube at 25 mph no problem.

EDIT:Internet puts it at 225hp..on an 18 ft boat. You're ****in gooood to go bruh.

There are a lot of boats on the market this size with V4 3.0's. I figured the V6 would be plenty. This is going to be a fun time family boat. The guy says it does 45 on his GPS with 3 adults pulling kids on tubes. That's all I'm looking for. Do you doubt that's accurate?

The V6 is plenty - don't listen to the blaze above. I have a 250hp that pushes a 23 ft center console FFS and it'll do just under 50. Its plenny motor for that small of a boat.

I did start my search by looking at this exact boat. Bit it's 16 feet with a 90 hp outboard. By the time I upgraded the options to what I wanted it was close to 40K. Seems like I would lose more in depreciation if I wanted to sell or upgrade in a few years than the entire used price of the boat I'm looking at, so I was going to buy used to figure out if I wanted to commit to the hobby.

Def go used.

You're not gonna get the use out of a new boat to make it worth your while if you're trailering (I assume you are given its a lake boat). Plus you'll feel less bad the first time you run up on a sandbar, you'll get to figure out what **** breaks and whats typical, a few scratches here and there docking wont break your heart, etc. Used is whats up until you really know what you're doing.

Thanks, so with the new motor, you don't think there's much risk of some other major malfunction coming?

It converts to a fishing boat with the raised seats, and comes with 2 fishfinders and a trolling motor as well, the bimini is new but those are nice extras. My primary concern is having to put thousands of additional dollars into it for something I could have looked at before buying.


yes, I'm trailering - Lake Michigan is a big lake though

Ask him how many hours he has on the new motor, and ask him 'were the risers and manifolds replaced/done with the new motor'. If they were, you should be good to go with pretty much nothing but maintenance in the near future. If he didn't do the manifolds and risers with the engine swap you may have like $1500 dollars of exhaust work to do in the future as those degrade. But you're on fresh water, so those suckers prolly wont rot as quickly as they do in salt, so I bet you still have some time.

EDIT: Generally you can tell the state of the exhaust components by running the engine WOT in water for 15 to 20 minutes - keep an eye on engine temperature. IF the engine starts to overheat at WOT, you'll prolly have some work to do exhaust wise. If engine temp stays in green when running WOT, you don't have any near term problems. What'll happen is exhaust gases will bleed into the engine bay if the risers and manifolds are going and thereby overheat the engine.

Awesome, I'd rep you again if I could. Thanks a lot for the info

Gluck bruh, hope it works out. Boating is the goat once you get it down.

It will lack a decent holeshot. If you don’t care about skiing or wakeboarding. You’re good to go for your first boat. You’ll see what I mean. Never pull someone going 45 unless you’re trying to wreck them. That’s way too fast. Lake Michigan is massive. I would get a bigger.

One more thing to ask him about is the out drive (basically the lower end of the boat that delivers power). Ask him if hes ever hit anything with it (and inspect the prop for any damage or nicks). Its fresh water so having the OG outdrive shouldn't be an issue, but when you test drive it, do a few shifts into and out of neutral into reverse and forward, etc to ensure its not too clunky when shifting. The only other way the out drive could be stealthily ****ed is if the drive shaft is bent. Replacing a lower unit costs thousands of dollars and an drive shaft could be bent by hitting a rock or something else hard in the water with his prop (which is why you wanna take a close look at the prop).

If you really want to test it, you can buy a 'runout' measuring tool (maybe costs $50) to test the shaft deviation from center. You have to pull the prop to do it, but it'll make you feel 100% sure the outdrive is solid. Again you can youtube the process if you're interested.

We live in a cold climate. I highly doubt he will be able to get it in the water. He should take it to a shop

Eh, I don't know if a shop is necessary.

Typically in Florida most boat purchase are done with a marine inspector if they're expensive boats. And they don't do anything more than the hammer exercise on the hull and a once over on the lower unit. If it was me, and I couldn't test it in water, I'd buy that runout tool and measure the shaft deviation. Its a 15 minute drill and it'll give you a nice fuzzy warm feeling about the out drive.

EDIT: Thats if I saw any signs on of damage of the prop - if I didn't, I'd prolly just call it a day.

I’d want to at least put muffs on(cheap) and run the engine.

Edit: I’d check the bilge pump too, those can often be a pia to replace on an i/o

Fo sho. OP if you can't run her in water, make sure to run her out of water with a hose and some muffs. Solid advice.

Thanks guys, I'll see if we can get it on water. He's fine with me hiring a surveyor to examine it prior to purchase.

That’s why I was thinking a shop. Taking out a hose at your house when it’s 20f sucks and an inspection shouldn’t be too expensive. They should be knowledgeable and know what to look for and can check out other components

Sounds like fun! I love sailing....

Do not buy that nightmare. Stick to outboards, simpler maintenance/repairs. Easier to winterize. Stick to center consoles, open layout gives you seating plus choice to fish if you choose.

I repeat do not buy an inboard anything.