How many hours are too many hours ??

[Bathmagic]

HI guys and Gals from Down under in Australia

My family are looking at purchasing a SAN 21-TE 2008 model with 900 Hours on it

It has been serviced with all oils and impella each year and seems in very good condition to look at however it has 900 hours on it

I know this is a question like "how long is a ball of string" , however how far do you usually get before you need a freshen up of the motor and Vdrive ?

Were just weighing up boats between one with 400 hours and one with 900, one is obviously cheaper but is 500 hours that much of an issue ?

Thanks in advance

Dale and Katie

[NautiqueJeff]

I personally wouldn't be concerned about 900 hours. My last Ski Nautique had over 2,000 and was still going strong when I sold it.

[Bathmagic]

Jeff thanks for the fast reply

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-view-de...dId=1212884663

here's a link to the boat

what's your thoughts ?

Thanks
Dale and Katie

[greggmck]

Here's one way to think about it. Over the years, average speed in a car is something like 40 mph. At that average speed a car with 900 hours would have 36,000 miles on it. Would that concern you if you were buying used? I'd be more concerned with the maintenance records. Best of luck!

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[Bathmagic]

Greg

Thats a good way of creating a measure..

Thank you

[swatguy]

These engines will turn well into the 2k range with simple maintenece.


just get a compression check done. For more piece of mind , Here in US you can send a sample of your oil to a couple places and they can tell you how the oil looks and what is going on with engine. Not sure if there is anywhere in Australia for that.

[Nautiquehunter]

My 08 210 has almost 1200 hours never missed a beat. Only real problem is the hour meter stops at 999. I had to install a new one in the engine compartment.

[Miljack]

That's a nice looking boat and appears to be in great shape. 11 years old and 900 hours in approx 83hrs/season, which is about average and shows that most likely the boat was used on a regular basis which is better for a boat.
Ask if extra ballast was used for wakeboarding or surfing, the transmission in these are a weaker link than the engines. If you'll be wakeboarding with extra ballast, the 210 in '08 had a standard Zero Off antenna (round puck in front of windshield), the "gyro" antenna update will keep the boat from porpoising with extra weight.
Good luck, and by the way, the price in AUS is very much in line for what those are going for here in the states.

[scottb7]

My 08 210 has almost 1200 hours never missed a beat. Only real problem is the hour meter stops at 9999. I had to install a new one in the engine compartment.

Small correction...The hour meter will stop at 999.9. So yeah, if you plan on using it as a measure of when to change the oil you need to add one somewhere. Or change every x months or something.

P.S. I would add that that I agree with "the transmission in these are a weaker link than the engines." While, they can last for seemingly ever, the v-drive or tranny can go out once you get high hours even if properly maintained. Inside the v-drive are a few bearings and seals which do wear out.

[Nautiquehunter]

Yea that's what worries me the most on the newer boats totally dependent on video screens and no redundant systems. There is no known fix to the hour meter stopping at 999.9 I guess they never expected it to last that long?

[Blamey]

Yea that's what worries me the most on the newer boats totally dependent on video screens and no redundant systems. There is no known fix to the hour meter stopping at 999.9 I guess they never expected it to last that long?

I read if you replaced the control box it fixed the issue but that was a random post somewhere so not sure if that's true. I do know it is a control box issue. I just can't imagine it's a hardware problem. Seems crazy to me that this isn't something they can resolve with a firmware update.

Nautique Hunter, How did you wire up the hour meter?

I bought a cheap hour meter off Amazon for $12. It is battery powered and has a wire that you wrap around the spark plug wire to detect when the engine is running.

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[Blamey]

So I agree with pretty much everything that's been said. 2000 hours is a reasonable expectation of the life of the engine if it is well maintained and if you put on 100 hours per year you can expect about 10 more years out of that engine before it needs a rebuild and very likely a lot more then that if it is well taken care of.

So there is a lot more life left in the boat and the overall condition of the boat means more than the hours.

That said, I find that people are afraid of boats with over 1000 hours. You see a lot of posts for people buying mid 90s Nautiques (where the hour meter is very unreliable) make a big deal of the hours the boats has. They over estimate the importance of hours on the value of the boat.

So if you use the boat you buy for the next 5 years and put 500 hours on it you are going to have a harder time selling the 1400 hour boat then the 900 hour boat.

Personally I would take the boat in better overall condition. I would also get a compression check on the engine but even though I know the hours don't make a significant difference in the life of the boat vs overall condition. I would factor it into the price as it is going to affect resale.



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[Bathmagic]

Is there any checks you can make on the drive without pulling it apart when water testing the boat

generally with automatic cars switching from drive to reverse with a big delay or “slip in The shift” is a give away it’s not too good inside.....

any advice here guys ?

[scottb7]

there is nothing you can do but check for water in tranny and the v-drive. but that doesn't matter, as i said the bearings and seals simply wear out. these are very simple items with - in the case of the tranny - only having forward and reverse, and no gears to change in the vdrive. so you can't check for slip or anything.

my advice is too pay low enough to factor in a $3-4k repair including the parts and labor...

[jjackkrash]

I disagree that 900 hours on a boat is like 36K miles on a car. Boats and cars are very difficult to cross compare. Boats don't have wheels and don't coast like cars; they are always under a load when moving. Boats are also in a marine/water environment most of their useful life. Now, it is possible that a lot of those hours are idle hours, but if it was used like a ski-school boat that's a different story. Also, while some engines might last 3k hours or more before a refresh is needed, some start getting tired around 1500 hours. Frankly, it depends on how the boat has been used and a little luck. But I would also rather have a 10 year old boat with 80-90 hours a year than a boat with very low hours that sat around a lot. Time sometimes will kill a boat worse than hours if the boat doesn't get used and sits around and rusts and corrodes.

All that said, if the boat was used regularly and well maintained, looks and runs like its in good shape, and passes the compression tests, 900 hours would not scare me at all. It just depends on the price.