Replaced engine, should buy it?

[Stevek]

Hello,
I am looking at buying a new (used) boat and Nautiques are top of my list, but price is a consideration. I have found a 2004 SAN 210 for a good price. The issue is the original engine had a catastrophic failure (the current owner described it as a piston disintegrating and throwing a rod through the block). The entire engine was replaced. The work was done by a reputable shop. I assume the original engine was a PCM 330, but it has been replaced with a 330hp Chev Vortec 6.2.
So my question is, should it even consider this boat? Resale is a concern and I don't want to be stuck with a boat nobody will ever buy from me. And of course performance and reliability are big concerns too.
is this a bigs enough deal that I should look elsewhere or is that engine common in Nautiques?
thanks for any input..
Steve..

[awakewilson]

Is it a team edition? That will also effect the resale value of the boat.

[Stevek]

No its not a Team. Just a SAN210. It looks like it's in very good shape otherwise.
And sorry for the typos in my first post, big fingers on an iPhone keyboard!

[seth]

How much are they asking? Does it seem like a good enough deal for you with a new motor? The 2004 would have a 330 chevy block in it to begin with, so it could be the same motor. Do you have pics of the motor? Can you test drive before you buy? Personally I would not be to worried about a new motor as long as everything else checked out. If the motor went due to neglect then that usually means the rest of the boat was neglected as well. How does it look overall?

[swc5150]

Who marinized the new motor? Is it a PCM? If someone popped an Indmar or other manufacturer in there for example, I wouldn't buy it. It still could be a good motor, it's just not original equipment, and you could get stung on resale. Plus PCM's are the best

[Stevek]

The work was done by RPM in California. They seem reputable, but they don't seem like a marine specific shop. The owner said it was not from neglect but a freak incident. It has about 150 hours total with about 25 on the new motor. The guy seems like he takes care if his boat, so I believe it was not a maintenance issue. He said it is a 6.2 l Chevy Vortec, so no it is not a PCM.
He is asking 28k, but I would not pay that for it because of the engine issue. But my question is, is it even worth it with this motor in it?
And I can not just take it for a test drive. It's about 16 hours away, so I would have to be pretty sure I was going to buy it before I drove there to see it. Of course I would test drive it first though.
I do not have any engine pics, I will ask him for some.
thanks for all the info so far, keep it coming!

[swc5150]

Without an OEM PCM under the box, I'm running away from that boat.

[vision]

Without an OEM PCM under the box, I'm running away from that boat.

Agreed.

The boat is worth what the owner is asking minus the cost to put a PCM motor in it. I would estimate around 17K.

[shag]

I don't think I've ever heard of one of those having a catastrophic failure like that, not due to something else. Also, if that was not a marine specific shop, I am a little leery.... Lust my .02

[Stevek]

After he said it was not a PCM motor I kinda thought I should stay away, but I wasn't sure if other engines were also offered as options. I have seen boats from other manufacturers with GM Vortec engines as OEM, so I wasn't sure if it was a possibility. From what you guys say it seems my first instinct was right and to stay away. Too bad, very nice boat otherwise.
Anyone have a nice 210 or 211 to sell for a great deal?

[beach]

PCM takes a GM engine block and bolts marine starters, alternators, cooling systems, etc on to it. Back in 2004, the available engines would have been a 330hp GM 5.7l and a 375hp GM 6.0l.

If it threw a rod through the block, then all it should have needed was a new block. It would have required a good amount of custom work to put a different block in than it had before and run it off of the same ECM(computer that controls the engine).

I feel like they are providing incorrect info to you. I'd guess that it has Chevy 6.0l or a Chevy 5.7l. They would have had to replace so much else to put a different block in. I don't see why they would do that.

[mike32]

If I had to guess I would say beach is correct. They probably just put a new gm long block in it and retained the original fuel injection. If that is the case, and they did it correctly I wouldn't be concerned at all. If anything it has a new motor in it right. But if they yanked it out and put something else in with a carb then that would be a different story.

[Swim]

Beach is 100% correct. If you're not going to buy the boat, tell me where it is so I can go pick it up. I would be all over that like a fat kid on a cupcake. Not to mention, you can probably negotiate the price down.

[Stevek]

He said it is a Chevy Vortec 6.2 litre with 330 hp. I asked specifically if it was a PCM and he said the PCM was replaced with this. I've asked him to send me a couple pictures of the engine.
I do understand that PCM uses a GM or Chevy block and build their engine from that. But I thought they only used 5.7 litre engines and when he said its a Vortec 6.2 it makes me think it's just a new engine dropped in. He said it was $8k to have it done.

[sean950054]

Run forrest run!