Buy new 521L or repower my Z21 ??

[shollz]

Hey guys,


Trying to decide what to do this offseason. I run a tournament trail for my local Ranger Dealer. That being said, I can get a pretty good deal on a new Ranger and a Mercury Motor. But nowadays even a good deal is an insane amount of money on a new boat.


I currently have a 2005 Ranger Z21 with a 250 Yamaha HPDI V2 on it. I have it decked out like any newer boat. 2 helix 10's on the console, 1 helix 10 up front and a 10" garmin with panoptix. 36V ultrex, 2 12' Talons, all lithium batteries. Boat is in pretty good shape. right before I bought it, it had new carpet put in at the Ranger factory. It needs some new lower seat covers and if I keep it, going to get a coin box made for the center.

I bought it in 2015 with 167 hours on it. I generally put 40 hours per year on a motor, so my guess is it still has under 400 hours on it. Motor Runs fine, starts fine etc... I'm just tired of a 2 stroke. I swear it has an extra injector that just shoots oil straight into the lake because it eats so much. After riding in a new 520c with a mercury 4 stroke. I'm really wanting one of those motors. Not sure what I could sell my Yamaha for?

So what do you guys think?? I am for sure leaning towards just repowering with a new Mercury 4 stroke. But I could probably get pretty good money out of this boat right now, but that will go down every year.



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Thanks

[Matt1212]

Go new

[Legendmike]

If you like the boat keep it. It’s well equipped. I repowered with an XS 250 and I know why Mercury quit building 2 strokes. Once you have one you would never go back to two stroke. I do love mine I call it “Sneaky Power” compared to a two stroke. It only takes about a half an hour getting used to it and you never want to go back to two stroke! Motor runs great on cheap fuel and no more oil or oil tanks. Best part most of the service can be done by the owner very well engineered machine.

[printman71]

No matter what is said, it's your decision.
From a strictly financial point of view, if you re power it will take at least 5-7 years for the value of the motor to get close to the boat itself if you decide to sell.
If the HPDI works, keep it until it quits.
It all comes down to how much do you like the new boat smell?

[BloodRiverBandit]

I’d put that 20k towards a new boat. Better ROI imo

[oklaranger]

Id probably buy a new 521C or L. The Z21 and Z20 were good boats but when the Z5 series came out it was a serious game changer.
The older Z21's will set you down a lot harder than a new 5 series and the 5 series pulled the consoles back and gives you a much bigger front deck.

[jimsch]

Only you can make that decision. Some of use will say spend 80K on a new boat and others will say spend 20K on a motor.
If my boat was in good to great condition, it would get a new 4S. If it has issues, what's it going to cost to make great?
Again, only you know.

[trashmanssd]

Since you have upgrade trolling motor and electronics I would say keep it. Can't hurt to see what you can get for your boat I know used boat values are stupid high right now. But then again new boats are also. really biggest factor is do you want to spend the extra coin on a new boat or go into debt for it.

[mikesxpress]

Craig your possible upgrade to the V8 will also include the Mercury controls and gages if you have Yamaha gages now. Those costs will be significant.
I repowered my 2009 Z21 Intracoastal from an Opti to the V8 in July 2018 and sold my Opti 2 months before that. The bottom fell out for 2 strokes shortly after. I would never find another pebble deck Intracoastal and it does everything fresh/saltwater I want to do and looks like new. I could justify the engine upgrade cost but no way could I justify what they are getting for a new rig that costs more than a 2020 mid engine Corvette or a decked out F250 Superduty.

Performance of the V8 is a little better than the Opti but not much more. I don't have to feed it DFI oil. Biggest +!! The V8 uses more fuel than the Opti. 2 years of use and Merc monitor data comparison says 5-8% more. Your Opti props will not work on the V8. More $$$$ and time to get the 6200 rpms it needs for best overall performance. 100 hours till the V8 needs an oil change and the cost of that filter/oil is < 1/4 of the cost of DFI oil for the same hours.
All of your jack plate, trim, and holeshot presets change and you get to learn to drive your boat all over. It sounded like a good idea??

It's no game, and not much has changed.

[capt odie]

If a “good deal” from the dealer, Is a “insane amount of money” then repower or keep driving what you have.

[22RangerZ520R]

I would definitely buy a new rig...

Good luck

[Z-91]

Repower and don't look back.

[jtracc]

I repowered my ranger z118 with a Yamaha 4stoke and very happy. I sold my merc Opti pro xs for a lot more then I expected. And I picked up a new non current Yamaha for a lot less then I expected. The cost difference was the price of a new lower unit or lower head by the time all was said and done. Hear you on the 2stokes I was tired of it. But buying a new boat is always fun.

[GetReel]

I have a 2012 Z521 and I just popped my 2 stroke. I have my boat rigged with everything anyone would want and I love the colors of my boat. I’ll be repowering with a new V8 Merc. I got to that choice by a process of elimination. My boat with no working motor is worth about $30k (guessing), if I stick $20k into a new motor I now have $50k in it. If I spend $50k on a different rig, there is no guarantee I won’t be in the predicament I’m in now and have to spend even more $$$ and be behind the 8 ball. And the different rig might not even come rigged like mine which means spending more $$.
Its an easy choice for me to spend the money on a new motor.

[lunker56]

I agree with Mike. I just repowered my 2007 z21 with a Yamaha SHO 250. I had a HPDI and it blew up. I had enough money saved to pay for a motor 19k. I did not have 75k and I did not want a boat payment. LIke Mike said, the guys I know that have switched to the Merc 4 stroke love the savings on oil--however the gas savings is not there. Plus you will have to pay extra for the controls going from Yamaha to Merc. They are both great 4 stroke motors. At the end of the day, it is your decision. My decision came down to I had a boat with power poles, upgraded trolling motor and electornics. I just could not justify the money. But --if you have it go for it. Cant take it with you when you are gone!