Fair price for 2013 AR190?

[JDFester]

Greetings!

I am a total newbie and considering my first jetboat purchase. Iv'e grown up with outboards and I/Os, but am rapidly falling in love with the jets. I've currently got my eye on a 2013 AR-190 that is in great shape with a number of nice upgrades, but it does have reasonably high hours at 470. Should that scare me at all? Is there anything I should watch out for/check during inpection/check ride? What would be a fair price for the boat?

Thank you for all of the info I've already learned, and the untold wealth of knowledge I'll likely soon be utilizing!

Below are the details of the boat:

2013 Yamaha AR190

Single owner boat taken in trade early 2018

470 hours

Galvanized trailer w/spare tire

Thrust Vector XL

Seadek flooring throughout boat and swim deck

Deluxe Yamaha boat cover

Wakeboard/Wake Surf combo swivel tower rack

Dual Battery with ACR and switch

Bow Filler Cushion

Depth/Water Temp gauge (added a 192 transducer so the depth/water readings come through the digital display just like the 192 models)

Audio upgrades include: Kenwood head unit w/Bluetooth, Kenwood wired remote at the helm, Kicker interior speakers with 10 inch Sub all with LED lights, Memphis tower speakers all powered by Kicker amp with zone controls at the helm.

Winterized with plugs and oil changed after every season

 

[FLBulldogger]

Sounds like a great boat and that the original owner did the right upgrades and the required maintenance ( not much more than plugs and oil generally) the engines are pretty bulletproof proven marine engines from Yamaha. If you live in a salt water environment it is extremely important that the engine was flushed with salt away/salt terminator, etc (I would ask if the dealer has the flush kit, it may indicate whether or not the engine was flushed after each use). Look in the engine compartment (under the back seats) and examine for rust around the engine and mounts. The hours on the engine wouldn't necessarily scare me away, but I don't know how much they are asking for the boat. We bought our '13 last August and she had 75 hrs on her
(165 hrs now ) for $20K OTD. Here's a good article on Buying Used if you have any misgivings about the boat you can run a Boat History Check. Good luck and let us know what you end up doing, take pics especially if you think anything looks amiss, the folks on here are great with advising and technical knowledge is fantastic, everyone here will help.

 

[Matts18]

I am not really sure what a fair price is, but based on your description that boat sounds like it has some nice upgrades. The hours would not scare me away if it is priced right and seems well taken care of. As a price reference, there is someone on an East TN city's craigslist trying to sell a 2015 SX 190 with 143 hours, vectors, stereo, etc for $20k.

 

[JDFester]

The dealer is asking $18,500, and from what I can find on craigslist around Atlanta, that seems to be fair and reasonable, although the hours on those "comps" are lower. The range (on Craigslist) is all over the place, but this seems to be at the low end for the area, and I am assuming most CL listings build in negotiating room; 2008-2009 show up for $21,000 plus, and I can't find any local between 2009 and 2016 to compare.

I am fairly certain it lived its life thus far in Eastern Alabama and played in Lake Martin. I am fairly sure the original owner was a member on here and listed it for sale last year before trading it in early this year...

For sale thread

 

[Coffeecan]

Recently bought a 2013 AR from a Yamaha dealer here in Austin. Our boat was not as clean as yours sounds. I replaced the transom mats, speakers, captian’s chair, and it had above average dock rash and fine scratches from beaching. Added a color matched keel shield to cover those. Our boat had about a hundred hours on the hull but came with a brand new engine swapped by the dealership. Got it for $18.5 and was happy with the price. We have put about 45 hours on it so far this summer, and it runs like a champ.

Things to watch for:
If it’s at a Yamaha dealer, great, they should be able to run compression testing on the cylinder to ensure they are roughly equivalent

Check the captains seat for cracks on the under surface of the frame. These boats can pull more lateral G’s than most on the water and are a blast to drive, but the seats in our model are not designed well and prone to failing. Pull the seat off the pedestal and look at the bottom, if it’s cracked haggle them down. A replacement can cost upwards of 700$

Mechanically our boats are pretty simple and there is not much to fail or maintain.

Happy hunting.

 

[FLBulldogger]

The dealer is asking $18,500, and from what I can find on craigslist around Atlanta, that seems to be fair and reasonable, although the hours on those "comps" are lower. The range (on Craigslist) is all over the place, but this seems to be at the low end for the area,

I think I'd go in at $15500 or so and see where they end up.....Completly agree with @Coffeecan on the seats, and if you can get a compression test, especially with the hours used in mind. There is a fix for the seat on the forums here that @Coffeecan did on his broken seat.

 

[njmr2fan]

Dont forget to look around the tower mounts for gel coat cracking.

 

[robert843]

@jared24 how much should he pay for your old boat and any issues he should look for?

 

[swatski]

The dealer is asking $18,500, and from what I can find on craigslist around Atlanta, that seems to be fair and reasonable, although the hours on those "comps" are lower. The range (on Craigslist) is all over the place, but this seems to be at the low end for the area, and I am assuming most CL listings build in negotiating room; 2008-2009 show up for $21,000 plus, and I can't find any local between 2009 and 2016 to compare.

I am fairly certain it lived its life thus far in Eastern Alabama and played in Lake Martin. I am fairly sure the original owner was a member on here and listed it for sale last year before trading it in early this year...

For sale thread

This is the boat, if I remember correctly - very nice!
https://jetboaters.net/threads/2013-yamaha-ar-190-ga-al.15933/#post-280797

I would think 18.5k is a great deal, assuming everything checks out. Can you do sea/water trial?

--

 

[Phreddei]

470 well loved hrs is different than 470 used hours. Due diligence required.

 

[JDFester]

Well, I went back out for another look and a test ride last night, and found a couple of (I think) minor issues; wanted to run them by you all to make sure they aren't potential signs of deeper issues.

1. Drivers seat mentioned above: checked this and it is fully intact, though being plastic, I will likely do some reinforcement to keep it that way if I buy the boat, as I am a big guy...
2. Tower mounts: no signs of cracking in gel coat; all looks and feels solid.
3. The Thrust Vector XL is missing one of the small screws in the front starboard side of the plate. Not concerned about the screw; I have them in my shop. However, I noticed that the boat rode a bit low on the port side anywhere under about 25mph, like I have come to expect from my stern drive boats due to prop torque. However, my assumption was that a jet drive would not show this issue, as there's nothing to cause it. The missing screw did make the TVXL hang slightly canted in the clockwise direction, so if it was trying to ride vertical in the water, it would tend to torque the boat down on the port side. I kind of doubt the plastic is stiff enough to really do that at speed; maybe I'm just rationalizing? Has anyone experienced anything similar, and/or is my assumption that jet drives would not torque the boat in the water reasonable? This seemed to hold true wherever the passengers sat, and I would estimate that the weight in the boat was within 50 pounds of balance port to starboard...
3. Electrical: Battery voltage alarm kept sounding: they will check that out and correct; salesman said the boat has been sitting since it was traded in, so he assumed it would just need charged. All well and good, except they had taken it out earlier in the day with the mechanic to make sure everything was good for my test ride; I would have assumed they would have already had a charger on it if it needed it... Boat has 2 batteries with an ACR... Also, the radio would not stay turned on; guessing that may have also been due to the low voltage. However, boat did start with no problems; guessing it doesn't take a lot to turn these engines over?
4. The metal part in the center of the stern on the bottom of the boat: is that the intake screen? There were a few bubbles you could see and feel in the black paint, and the paint was chipped in a couple of spots. Not surprising at all; just wanting to verify that this is purely cosmetic and not anything to worry about ... the boat is so clean and babied, I had to search to find anything other than sun fade on the registration number stickers! No signs of rust on or around the engine/mounts.
5. Salesman said a complete mechanical inspection was done when they took the boat in; he is supposed to send me the compression numbers later this morning.

Another incidental question: Does the front port section of the bench seat come out? It looks like it sits on an removable support bar at the front and snaps at the back, but the snaps did not release with what I would consider reasonable force; did not want to pull too hard on a check ride...

Thank you again!

 

[swatski]

Well, I went back out for another look and a test ride last night, and found a couple of (I think) minor issues; wanted to run them by you all to make sure they aren't potential signs of deeper issues.

1. Drivers seat mentioned above: checked this and it is fully intact, though being plastic, I will likely do some reinforcement to keep it that way if I buy the boat, as I am a big guy...
2. Tower mounts: no signs of cracking in gel coat; all looks and feels solid.
3. The Thrust Vector XL is missing one of the small screws in the front starboard side of the plate. Not concerned about the screw; I have them in my shop. However, I noticed that the boat rode a bit low on the port side anywhere under about 25mph, like I have come to expect from my stern drive boats due to prop torque. However, my assumption was that a jet drive would not show this issue, as there's nothing to cause it. The missing screw did make the TVXL hang slightly canted in the clockwise direction, so if it was trying to ride vertical in the water, it would tend to torque the boat down on the port side. I kind of doubt the plastic is stiff enough to really do that at speed; maybe I'm just rationalizing? Has anyone experienced anything similar, and/or is my assumption that jet drives would not torque the boat in the water reasonable? This seemed to hold true wherever the passengers sat, and I would estimate that the weight in the boat was within 50 pounds of balance port to starboard...
3. Electrical: Battery voltage alarm kept sounding: they will check that out and correct; salesman said the boat has been sitting since it was traded in, so he assumed it would just need charged. All well and good, except they had taken it out earlier in the day with the mechanic to make sure everything was good for my test ride; I would have assumed they would have already had a charger on it if it needed it... Boat has 2 batteries with an ACR... Also, the radio would not stay turned on; guessing that may have also been due to the low voltage. However, boat did start with no problems; guessing it doesn't take a lot to turn these engines over?
4. The metal part in the center of the stern on the bottom of the boat: is that the intake screen? There were a few bubbles you could see and feel in the black paint, and the paint was chipped in a couple of spots. Not surprising at all; just wanting to verify that this is purely cosmetic and not anything to worry about ... the boat is so clean and babied, I had to search to find anything other than sun fade on the registration number stickers! No signs of rust on or around the engine/mounts.
5. Salesman said a complete mechanical inspection was done when they took the boat in; he is supposed to send me the compression numbers later this morning.

Another incidental question: Does the front port section of the bench seat come out? It looks like it sits on an removable support bar at the front and snaps at the back, but the snaps did not release with what I would consider reasonable force; did not want to pull too hard on a check ride...

Thank you again!

Sounds really good. Really this soudns like the boat was BABIED.
If the batteries were dead charging them would be not much help. You would want to swap those. Even when charged, they may show initial charge but it will dissipate quickly.
Chipped pain on the intake grate is normal and expected, IMO.

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[JDFester]

Ok, so it looks like I am buying the boat!!!

One other question: the dealer is offering an extended warranty on the engine/drivetrain; $1200 for a year. I'm normally not one to buy extended warranties, as they are statistically a huge money maker for the dealer and a pain if possible to collect, etc. However, since the boat does have 490 hours, I'm at least considering it. Reading through some of the other posts, it appears an engine replacement can easily be 10 times what they are quoting, and the peace of mind may be worth it. On the other hand, these engines appear to be rock solid; any of the issues I've read about here, at least so far, showed up much earlier in the engine's life. I've done what homework I can, and it appears this boat was WELL cared for, so in all likelihood, I would not collect on the warranty. On the other hand, if I did have a catastrophic engine failure, I would not be able to afford to fix it for QUITE a while.

What are other people's opinions of extended warranties? This one is offered through a company called FPC, in case anyone has experience/opinions on them.

Thank you again!

Jon

 

[Coffeecan]

Stick to your guns and pass on the extended warranty. I saw the charge sheet for our boat and an engine swap runs about $4-5k. Other than a timing chain failure there is little that I would expect to cause a catostrophic failure with our boats. These aren’t rotax super chargers with a 100 hour ticking time bomb under the hood.

 

[Beachbummer]

Try for a discount or extension on the warranty... As you say these are greatly marked up.

 

[veedubtek]

These aren’t rotax super chargers with a 100 hour ticking time bomb under the hood.

This also isn't 2007 when they used a ceramic washer in the supercharger.

 

[FLBulldogger]

Ok, so it looks like I am buying the boat!!!

What are other people's opinions of extended warranties? This one is offered through a company called FPC, in case anyone has experience/opinions on them.

Thank you again!

Jon

Personally, I'm not to keen on these things, primarily they are just another form of income for the dealer and the "FINE PRINT" is always a pain in the butt to cypher through sitting at the dealer and doing the other paperwork with all the distractions and the NEED to get the hell out of there and get on the water or road. I know there are other companies that offer these extended warranties that you can check out and take your time and read the fine print. If you are considering one then ask the dealer to give you a copy of the fine print so you can review it at your leisure, so you can make an informed decision. BOATUS has a good article on all the in's and out's of the process. Congrats and good luck!

 

[JDFester]

Well, I hope to be picking it up first thing in the morning!

As stated above, im not normally one for the extended warranty, but I got them to come down to $900 for the first year and throw in the second year free. I did read the conditions and procedures, and they don’t look too restrictive, and I have found a few who have gotten significant repairs could ceded by them, including two with engine replacements, and couldn’t find more than trivial complaints. Given the hours on the boat, and looking at the hours survey on here, it looks like I will be starting at the top, so I think the peace of mind will be worth it.

Also got them to do anothet full mechanical inspection including compression/leakdown, which came back even at 170 on all cylinders, and to replace the batteries rather than just charge them since it sat most of the year. They also repaired and realigned the Thrust Vectors. Supposedly detailing and waxing it this afternoon.

Anything else I should check on before I sign on the dotted line tomorrow to bring her home?

Thank you again for all the tips and advice; I look forward to sharing photos and stories soon, and to learning all I can from this great group! Changing my tag from “boatless” will also be a highlight of the weekend, I’m sure!!!

 

[Coffeecan]

Congrats! Sounds like a great boat.

 

[FLBulldogger]

Enjoy the boat and sounds like you did your due diligence, its all going to be good!