Merc Powered Noob has a couple pre-purchase questions.

[Sandman251]

Have a 97' challenger 110 but looking to go bigger/faster. Looking at a 2002 Challenger 2000. I love the floorplan and overall looks of the 2000 very much. The owner swears its a 240 but, several reference sources indicate its a 250. The owner claims no maintenance in last 5 years except for plugs and "lube", whatever that means. Has a printout from dealer which indicates 221 hrs. The boat is in very nice cosmetic condition and he claims it runs like a top. I'm going to look at it tomorrow morning. If we can make a deal, I intend to find a shop proficient in optimax mercs and have the thing gone over. Anything special to watch out for? Ive read that a rebuild can cost $6K, which makes me a little nervous. Plus, EVERYBODY Ive talked to says turn and run.
Does $9K sound like too much?
Thanks everybody.

 

[rteichman]

I bought a 2001 Challenger 1800 last winter with the 240 engine. Somewhere I listed a link that shows what engines were available in which year. I'm pretty sure the 2002 still had the 240 engine (though it might be the newer version of it). I actually am responding because of a red flag I see. When I bought mine I had it taken to a Merc shop for a pre-purchase inspection and asked them to get me the number of hours on the motor. They said they couldn't get the engine hours off my engine. Hence I'm surprised that they can tell you 221 hours. Maybe it has newer electronics that kept that but I'm surprised. 221 hours is kind of high I think. You definately want them to run a compression test to see how the engine is performing. When you take it out you should be able to do 50+MPH. If not, be concerned.

As for price I paid $6,000 for mine which is a year older and 2 feet shorter. I also liked the layout of the 2000 but only the 1800 would fit in my garage...

 

[Sandman251]

Thanks for the thought on that. I read that sometimes its hard to find dependable service on these boats. Seadoo guys don't work on Mercs and vice versa. As for reading the hours...I'll know more about that tomorrow. My guess is that he took it to a seadoo dealer. I'm surprised to hear you think 221 is high on the hours. I thought it might be getting a little worn for a Rotax, but I thought the Mercs were a little more sturdy. Hope somebody that knows will chime in.

 

[Dr Honda]

Almost no seadoo dealers will work on them, simply because they can't get parts. But, as the years go by... I have found that almost all Mercury dealers WILL work on them.

But... as I say all the time... if you are relying on a shop to work on the boat... you will be better off buying something new, with a warranty. Wile the merc boats are reliable, and generally very dependable... it can get expensive VERY quick, when paying $100/hr labor.


Also... if you are in Michigan... then the price is high. The reason is... it will be cold, and potentially snowy in the next month or so. End of season, and the prices should be dropping. The only way I would pay $9k for it, at this time of the year... is if it had a new/rebuilt engine, and was in perfect condition.


As far as what engine it will have... unfortunately, that's hard to say, until we see a picture. The 250 was always a special order, so there were less of them out there. They showed up in the Islandia and the 2000. BUT... that "Special Order" could have been a dealer requesting one for stock. The 240 was a regular EFI engine... and the 250 was an DFi. So... a couple pics, and we can tell you what it has. Both of the newer engines will be reliable... but since it's an '02... there is a chance that is has the early 240 EFI engine. (like my 2002 Islandia has) If that's the case... then I would be inclined to remove the oil injection, and go pre-mix. The plastic drive gear in the oil system is tough, but after +10 years, they do have a tendency of failing.

 

[rteichman]

I agree, I have found that Merc dealers have absolutely no problems working on the boat in my area. It might be though that in the northwest there are a lot of Merc Jet drives. Its very common to find them on the aluminum fishing boats everyone seems to has. I only said that the hours were high because when I was looking around most boats of that age were at around 100 hours. You are up north so the season is short, and most people run the engine for only a few hours per outing.

In any event, I didn't even think about it being late September. You should be able to get a much better deal. Check around on craigs list for other offerings within a couple hundred miles of you to get a better indicator. Remember those listings are asking price so the sale price will be lower. I found that I was able to get the boat for $500 under the lowest price I saw advertized even though the sellers were asking many thousand dollars more.