Buying Sea Ray 200 Select with New Outdrive

[chrisolson91]

Hey all, I'm brand new to the forum and also looking to be a new boat owner this year. My wife and I are currently looking at a 2004 Sea Ray 200 Select. The question I have is the dealer told me that the owner smoked the entire upper and lower outdrive and it was just replaced with a brand new one from Mercury. THe motor is a 350 MAG. I'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to boat engines (or engines in general) and so wanted to get everyone's feedback on thoughts about buying a boat when this had to be replaced. Obviously the previous owner hit something hard that destroyed the outdrive and even though it's brand new, I'm not sure if there could potentially be any other connected problems resulting from what happened that aren't directly tied to the replaced parts. As a side note the boat has also been in storage at the dealers for 4 years since it was last ran. The dealer is going to go through it all and make sure everything is good with it but it still makes me a little uneasy knowing this happened. I'm also going to require there be a open water test drive as well.

What's everyone's thoughts about considering the purchase of a boat like this? Would you run away as fast as you can or do you think this is an ok boat to still consider?

 

[Espos4]

With your admitted lack of knowledge. Get a surveyor and have them give it a pre purchase inspection.

The survey should include both out of water inspection as well as a good in water evaluation.

20-30 minutes of run time including brief WOT operation should be included.

A good surveyor may cost a few $$ but potentially save you thousands.

 

[techmitch]

With your admitted lack of knowledge. Get a surveyor and have them give it a pre purchase inspection.

The survey should include both out of water inspection as well as a good in water evaluation.

20-30 minutes of run time including brief WOT operation should be included.

A good surveyor may cost a few $$ but potentially save you thousands.

+1 and make sure it's a third party surveyor, not one that the dealer recommends.

 

[skibum]

As long as the hull wasn't damaged, a new drive is a good thing.

 

[blaster]

If the previous owner had an underwater strike hard enough to destroy the out drive I would definitely have a very close look at the rest of the hull and transom. Was insurance involved in paying for the repairs? Just like a car there would be a claim history that would outline all of the damage the insurance appraiser noted. A third party survey would be wise before you pull the trigger on a purchase. Look for documentation from the repairs done.

 

[GypsmJim]

My boat ownership spans 56 years. I have owned boats that were 35 years when I sold them with never an issue. When I sold them to get a bigger boat, I always got above blue book value.

You are looking at a 20 year old boat. With the way people care for their things today, that's really old.

If the drive in that old boat needed to be replaced, how much else is need of repair due to poor maintenance?

Pay a marine surveyor and then lowball the price. New boat owners are the ones that usually get taken advantage of. Also, a good percentage of "new boat owners" never turn out to be "long term boat owners".

 

[Eluther3]

+1 on the surveyor. I never buy a boat without one. A good surveyor kept me from getting into a bad deal.

 

[blaster]

Looks like the OP disappeared.