Engine or no engine?

[alex]

I'm considering selling my boat which has a very, very mullered engine (cracked cylinder head). I have been offered a replacement engine which appears to be sound for £650 and have been quoted £1500 + VAT to fit it - this would include everything, all the marrying up of electrics, control panel, lining up the prop, etc. I would have to take out a loan in order to do this work. Do you reckon it would be financially sound to replace the engine and then sell the boat (i.e. will I get more than my money back) or would I be just throwing good money after bad? The boat was valued at around £15k before the engine finally gave up the ghost.

 

Thanks,

Alex.

[Sir Nibble]

What engine? Would a cylinder head not get it running well enough to sell?

[stuart]

I'd be tempted to leave as it is. Perhaps let the potential purchaser buy the new engine themselves.

 

They may be keen DIY'ers and want to grab a "bargain" boat.

[John Orentas]

In cases like this we should ask 'what would I prefer if I was buying', I think I would like it as it stands, but then I would want it very, very cheap.

 

On the other hand why not do the minimum and get an exchange cylinder head as Snibble suggests, them you will be selling a fully functioning boat.

 

If I was going the replacement engine route i would be inclined to got a bit 'up market' and fit a fully rebuilt pretty looking unit with a 12 month warranty, make a feature of it.

 

Clear decisive advice !

[Alec Gatherer]

£15K doesn't come very high up the narrowboat price scale. Why not advertise it as is for £15 grand on one of the free ads options, not forgetting the For Sale/Wanted forum of this excellent website? You can haggle over the repair costs if a potential buyer emerges. At that sort of dosh, I think they will be looking at the hull/fitout, not so much the engine. If I saw a boat at £15K that I wanted, the state of the engine would be a side issue for a bit of haggling.

It depends on how quickly you want to move it on.

[gbmud]

"No engine, hense 15K" I have almost talked myself into it already.

 

Chris

[DHutch]

Yeah, i agree with whats above basical.

 

I guess it partly depends on the rest of the boat, and the market you aiming for.

- If the fitout is get past its best, the windows need new seals, and the paint jobs shot. Your look going to be selling to some who wants a DIY "project boat" And i'd proberbly sell it as it is.

- But if its otherwise a good boat, and "ready to run" (its an RC term) other than the engine, then the non-fuctional engine will put off a lot of potential buyers.

 

Also, as some of the have said, i dont know what stat the rest of its in, but if the engine is otherwise a go'er, i'd be temped to source a replament head, and get it running that way.

 

 

Daniel

[alex]

Hi and thanks for your replies. I might see whether I can source a replacement cylinder head. I'm not very mechanically-minded so I didn't realise you could just replace that. The fit-out is ok, just the paintwork needs renewing and there are a couple of minor problems, but it's certainly ok to take straight out onto the waterways, so as a couple of you said, it's probably worth having an engine that runs.

 

Thanks again, Alex.