How important are engine hours when buying a used boat

[WVBullet]

That’s a big depends. Did the person keep it serviced by a reputable shop or at least have preventive maintenance done regularly? Care of the any motor is a big part in the longevity of that motor. Reputable service men like our very own Don Weed would be a blessing. A motor can go at any time, but under normal conditions and situations you may be surprised the hours you can put on one. Check the motor history best you can.

[BDBR]

I'm definitely biased but would say an Opti with 500 hrs is a time bomb..... I've owned several and so have my team partners over the last 20 years... lots of compressors and powerheads replaced...big $... Personally I'd recommend avoiding any brand DFI 2 stroke. I'd be a lot more forgiving on hours with a 4 stroke.... especially if it's not a high performance 4S. it also depends on how many hours you will be putting on it.... I used to average 100 hours a year but lately Im adding 150-180 per year which is high to most people, lot's of guys put only 25-50. I'd also be leery of motors with extremely low hours..... if its been sitting for years, hoses and seals dry out and crack

[ECobb91]

Imo any motor can pop at any given time, whether it has 20 hours or 2000. My 1995 probably has quadruple the amount of hours that my 2003 had, but runs better and is much more reliable. Maintenance and how the owner pushes the engine is the biggest key to longevity, with a little bit of luck thrown in too. I might put on 20-30 hours a year, (assuming 10-15 trips per year and motor running 2 hours of that time total), and probably 75% of those hours is below 1/2 throttle.

I’d much rather own a motor that was meticulously maintained with a conservative driver than one that runs WOT without barely letting it warm up and is very passive about maintenance. If a seller says they run WOT because that’s how they’re supposed to run I probably would skip over buying their boat.

[AndrewM-Fishing]

If the seller isn't willing to put it in the water and touch max rpm that's telling you they don't have confidence in the motor.

[jaderhold]

Don't know if this is accurate or not but I have heard motors with lots of idle hours (scanning) isn't ideal. Engineers built motors to run, not idle around.

[dean c]

Its crazy to me that we pay as much as we do for boats and think that if they have over a couple hundreds hours on the engine it is wore out.

Totally agree…It’s a result of guys buying new boats every year, or couple years. In reality these motors could go thousands of hours with decent maintenance and proper operation.

[Woody b]

Hours don't hurt a motor as much as sitting all the time. I'll guarantee my 160 hour year old motor is in better shape than a 20 hour year old motor. My cylinder walls haven't had a chance to rust. It also hasn't been sitting around with stale fuel. (I don't have anything for sale, just an example)

[ssmithboats]

hours are part of buying used if it is a big deal to you buy new an have the piece of mind used you really have no idea how it was maintained.