Need some advice on a new motor

[wayne]

Hey Guys:

 

I am contemplating buying a second hand evinrude 25hp motor. Its a long shaft and its a 1985 motor. Current owner seems like an honest credible guy and assures me it runs really well and has been looked after. Could anyone venture a guess at what it might be worth? I have looked through kijiji and cant really find anything comparable. Any advice/speculation much appreciated

 

W

[Bernie]

Hello and welcome to OFC.

 

Wayneg,if he is assuring you it's in good condition, it must be OK....Ya, where have I heard that before!

An engine of that age has little or no value if it needs a lot of work.

On the other hand, if indeed it is in good shape it could be worth more, $500 say?

This is 2011 so that makes it over quarter century old.

 

Ask the seller if you can get it checked over by an experienced marine mechanic before you buy it.

If it's OK the marine guy may give you a few tips on what it does need, or if it's junk you saved yourself a pocket full of cash for spending little.

 

 

There's my advise, some others may throw in a few more bits of wisdom as well.

[Big Cliff]

What Bernie said X 2. If the impeller hasn't been changed in a long time, if it needs a carb kit, new plugs, lower end seals....... you could easily spend another $100.00+ on it even if you did the work yourself.

 

At the very least have a qualified marine mechanic look it over first or don't buy it.

Edited March 15, 2011 by Big Cliff

[SmokestackLightnin]

What was said above and one more item, and this one is personal preference. I had a 20 Evinrude back in the day that was late 70's and one thing that was a concern for me was the prop was a shearpin design. Being a kid the thrust going from reverse to forward would weaken and finally break shearpins. It was never a convenient time, we had a cottage on Stoney and it was usually coming home late at night from the movies that played in the pavillion on Juniper Island. I would always carry a spare but it meant changing them in the middle of the night. If the prop has a thru hub exhaust then it's not shearpin. But, if there is an exhaust port coming out the anti-ventalation plate then it has a shearpin. Make sure the boat has spare pins and cotter keys.

 

As an aside, if it does get good marks from a qualified marine mechanic the motor is a tank. I just purchased a small pontoon boat in the fall that has a 1994 Evinrude 30hp, same engine and they are realiable.

[glen]

$800 if it is working perfect and needs nothing.

[wayne]

$800 if it is working perfect and needs nothing.

 

Guys... thanks so much for all the advice. In fact there is more to this story.... the reason I asked was because I am thinking about buying a boat from this guy. He's got this evinrude on the boat and I am really not keen on evinrudes (always been a honda/yamaha fan myself). Anyway the boat looks really good (in the pictures... still have to go check it out). But after doing some research last night I can't seem to find much info about this type of boat. It is a 16 foot aluminum fishing boat but I can't for the life of me find out anything about a boat manufacturer called "Wilson". The owner also pegs the year of the boat as an '85 and after the comments you guys made on the age of the motor I am not also concerned about the age of the boat. I was less concerned about the motor because my intent was to buy the package and sell the motor so understanding what motor is worth would help me negotiate cost of package. But the boat itself was something I was going to hang on to. Now I am wondering. Anyone ever heard of wilson boats? Any thoughts on boats that are 25 years old? Is it the same story as the motor. I have attached pics of the motor and boat. Seller is asking about $3K for the package and so I would be paying $3K less the sale of the motor for the boat and trailer.

 

Again all advice and opinions are very welcome.

 

Thanks (and loving this forum!)

 

W

 

[bushart]

That price sounds extremely high----another thing that motor really likes gas

[Fish4Eyes]

Seeing as the motor is attached to the boat, take it for a ride and see how it works. Make sure the existing owner did not warm up the motor before you came to see it, incase it has starting problems. If it starts after a couple tries, runs good and idles ok, I would give it the green light. If it runs rough don't believe the guy when he says "it just needs a tune up". Hope this helps.

[fishrking]

In my opinion he's on the high side of 'fair'. It's not unheard of to see packages like this sell for $3000 but it's also not uncommon to see them go for between $2000-2500 either.