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Advice on buying a 2002 Convincor 260

B

bikercrze1

New member
I just need to know from the community that this is a worth while buy since there are not enough for sale to compare the asking price to. It is a 2002 Convincor 260 with the upgrade to a 496 with 425HP. It has about 475 hours on it. Bimini top, Hydraulic trim tabs, Porta potti, Snap cover, Aluminum trailer is included and the guy is asking $25,000.00. The NADA is about $23,000.00 so I am really curious if this boat is worth what he is asking. Another concern of mine is after looking at hundreds of bajas and checkmates around the internet I have yet to find one with over 500 hours. What is the average life of one of these engines or can I pretty much expect to have to overhaul the engine soon? All help is greatly appreciated.
 
anything over 300hrs, its getting tired. there are lots of deals out there right now so dont jump the gun unless you have to have it:thumb: where is it located? or post up a link
 
bikercrze1 said:
This is the Craigslist ad I found of it: http://daytona.craigslist.org/boa/2195675291.html

This is the photo page the owner sent me of the boat:
http://s721.photobucket.com/albums/ww217/waterfalls2009/CHECKMATE%20CONVINCOR/

Let me know what you guys think? Yay or Ne on the purchase...
Click to expand...
That one has been for sale for a LONG time! I like it, don't know why it hasn't sold. Should be able to get a good deal on it! As for the hours, it depends on how it was run. If its beat on every time then 300hrs would be a lot. If its well taken care of and normal use is cruse speed you could see 600+ easly. Good luck with your choice! :bigthumb:
 
I always say 500 on a carb motor is getting tired, it still runs good but tired, older model fuel injected engines 600 hours. The drive I rate at 600 hours if not beat on. Average boat size with this is 23 to 28 single engine.

That boat is the old 242 mold, Checkmate started adding the platform as footage so the 242 became the 260.

I would leave that boat where it is sitting even at 10 grand. Thats a salt water boat plus look at the bottom of it. It looks like it sat a long time in the water. I know it has closed cooling but I would still walk away. 25 grand will buy you a nicer Checkmate that is a fresh water boat.
 
The 496's are known to fail early if they have not been taken care of like anything else.
I have seen them throw rods more than anything mostly due to lack of oil changes.
Look at the engine oil and the drive lube, Check for a wet spark plug. A lot of time people people neglect their drives and if it's well over due to change the drive lube you can judge it wasn't that cared for.
The ECM logs a lot of data you can check out but you need diacom or a merc program or a shop to do it.
A compression test should be done and if it has compression in the specified range no need for a leak down test because it will have normal leakage and tell you nothing.
And personally if it does not pass a compression test I would not waste my time with a leak down because you know it has a problem and there is a better deal somewhere else.
Unless you can get it so cheap it's worth fixing the engine. But on the other hand the metric 496 is not cheap to fix and I would not want to patch it up not knowing how long it would last.
If it checks out a sea trial will tell you a lot, see if it runs smooth and handles, make sure it gets maximum rpm at top end. Make sure all gauges, nav lights and switches work. And if you can put a scan tool on it after the run to make sure no one cleared any trouble codes before hand. Look at the bilge compartment make sure it a dry boat. Ask when the impeller and thermostat was last changed, Ask for proof of any kind of service and take it all in before you make a decision.

Drive repair is expensive too.With drive trailer up by hand grab the skeg and see if you can move the drive up and down to see if there is any slop in the gimbal ring. That's a $900.00 fix right there. Inspect bellows for cracks, Have someone hold the wheel then move the drive back and forth see if there is play in the steering. Then hold the drive and turn the wheel to see how much play there is before the drive will move too much means repairs.
look for corrosion inside and out and if it has been ran in salt water.

That's most of the basics and they can last a long time when taken care of. But with that kind of hrs on it I would say you can count on something happening in the future if nothing ever has been replaced or had any thing done to it. Maintainace is part of boating the repair end of it is what gets expensive.
 
ndaniels said:
I've heard stories about them motors lasting well over 1000hrs before needing anything.. all depends on how well they are taken care of. Compression test will tell you alot along with these tips from Raylar (he knows alot about these motors)

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/general-q/184411-496-ho-inspection-points.html
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The most calls I get at my shop are blown up 496"s I have not seen one with that kind of hrs on it yet but I'm sure there may be some out there some where.
I have serviced tournament ski boats with 350's that have 1300 hrs and still going but they turn low rpm. Over prop with a load or under prop turning to high all the time is the hardest thing on a marine engine even with care.
 
I disagree with most here and that's the first time I've ever heard of the 496 being known to fail early. Unless that engine has been severly beaten those hours would not be of concern to me at all. Most issues you see with the 496 are from those that either try and modify with headers, causing water ingestion issues, or try to make HP with them without taking account the internals of the 496 block.
I know of more then one 496 HO with over 1500 hours on it and never been touched. does not burn oil and never seen a drop of syntheitic oil. The engines push a good size cruiser and he doesn't just idle around with it. My 496HO has in the 325 hour neighborhood and is just getting broke in. A lot of the performance boaters I boat with run them as well and I know some are in the 6-900 hour range as well and not one has ever been apart nor showen any sign of being tired at all. I've never seen one fail other then from people who try and make them into something they are not.

Leave the 496 stock and it lasts, mess with it and your not going to see the results successfully you hope for. That engine if it's not been attempted to been modified is low hours and you have nothing to worry about with it lasting for many many more hours. Have it checked out by hooking the laptop up to it to get it's history and for more piece of mind have a compression test done on it. Not that expensive and you can get a Merc Techs input on it. He'll tell you to leave it alone, and it'll give you lots of happy boating hours.

That is a VERY fair price for that boat with that engine if it's been well taken care of and not abused!
 
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HAHA yea well cars are easy you know anything with over 100k on it and you have to be careful but boats It is tough to actually judge. Alot of good info guys I appreciate it. I will be going down in the next couple of weeks to take a look and take it for a Rip so I will let you guys know what happens!
 
i would have to guess that its been a saltwater boat, won't find me owning one. just my 2 pennies;)
 
Where not talking about a 496 in a cruiser we are talking about one in a speed boat.

What I base my findings on is that most Checkmates that are a deep V. Have had a engine replaced in the 500-600 hour range.
 
The boat was used primarily in fresh water up until last year. the guy said he got it from the bank which kept it stored indoors for a short time. He says it has 475 hours on it exactly. I plan to go take a look at it hopefully this week or next.
 
SunTime said:
I wish ! I could of retired by now with all these junk 496's out there needing replaced! :bigthumb:
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And that's the real deal sooner or later you should be able to, their obsolete. That's why Mercury is now making the new 380 & 430 HP 502 in a non cat model to replace the 496 2007 & older. The new 430 HP shares the same rotating assembly as the 525 efi from Mercury racing and is what is commonly known as a conventional Big Block Chevy.
The only reason someone would rebuild a 496 is because the 496 efi system can not be interchanged with the conventional 454/502 design. They are a white elephant of engines that have cluttered engine compartments for some years now. Regardless if one thinks they are reliable or not.
 
got to thinking when i read this post ...a 260 convincor?? i think in 2002 the 270 convincor was being built. my guess its pretty much the 253/259 series with the added bolted on swim platform included. so it appears in the pics to be a 270. at least i think
 
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