Looking at 2008 F250 With 560 Hours. Need Advice.

[tboylan]

I'm looking at potentially purchasing a boat with a 2008 F250 that has 560 hours on it. Other than the corrosion issues I've read about....

1. What should I be looking for in the maintenance history of the motor?
2. What can be done as part of a high level physical inspection without taking the unit apart?
3. What type of service work is due at the next service interval?
4. How many hours of reliable use can this motor provide with reasonable maintenance (ie. Is it common to see F250's out there with well over 1,000 hours on them)?
5. What is the approximate value of this motor if there are no issues with it and has a good maintenance history? (Might consider selling it and repowering to be under warranty).

Thanks Todd!

 

[Legend]

Boats I have purchased we had the compression checked for each cylinder. I would check the maintenance history for water pump replacement etc. I would not worry about buying new for a warranty unless you had lots of issues. My experience with these 4 strokes has pretty much maintain and run them. I know there have been some corrosion issues but I think the majority of that occured 2004 and before.
I have read of some commercial use of the 4 strokes topping 2,000 hours and still running strong

Good luck

 

[Fishtales]

I'd ask for the maintenance records and see if dealer or owner. If dealer, they pretty much follow a schedule to do preventative maintenance. If owner, check a little deeper. 560 hours should not be a problem at all. Assuming all of 2008 you are looking at 6 years, 90+ hours a year is fine, as Legend stated. Regardless, I'd get a survey of the hull and inspection of the motors.

There really isn't much to verify on the records - oil, lower unit lube changed every year, plugs every two, zincs, tstats should have been changed once or twice by now. You could always ask that the lower units be dropped and do a corrosion inspection. If they look good from this end, prob ok. If not, you may have to check the power head. If this - why not change them anyway? Maybe make the deal contingent upon a lower inspection that you cover, if they need to take off the power head and replace - that is on his dime.

Unfortunately you won't be able to extend the warranty. Yamaha gives 3 years, and was giving an additional 3 (basically the YES). Good luck!

 

[onoahimahi]

5. What is the approximate value of this motor if there are no issues with it and has a good maintenance history? (Might consider selling it and repowering to be under warranty).
!

You could check the motor value here - they were pretty close on my E-tecs according to my surveyor.

http://www.nadaguides.com/Boats/Outboard-Motors

 

[tboylan]

Thanks everyone for all your thoughtful feedback! With all this information I'm now looking forward to checking it over and feel much more confident about buying this unit!!