How many hours is too much hours on a boat to purchase? Sounds like a dumb question, i know..but for example : <BR> <BR>98 sanger with 750+ hrs...is that too much and how long will it last with good maintenance and taking good care of it... <BR> <BR>thanks, <BR> <BR>naych

750 on a '98 is about average. If the owner can document service and maintenance, I would not be concerned. <BR>Looking at the boat will give you a great insight as to how it was maintained. <BR>I've seen 20 year old boats that I would rather own than some 5 year old ones.

naych, hours don't matter as much as maintenance. I just bought an '05 with 620 hours but it was regularly maintained, actually it was even stored at the previous owners dealer when not in use. The engine is in terrific shape and still got a great deal because of the high hours. A properly maintained boat with high hours can be a great deal.

I just checked my Suburban and it says it has 468 engine hours and 59k miles. So 750 hours is like a 100,000 car engine. It would be low miles if it's a car. Maintenance is the key.

thanks again guys...i sure do learn alot by asking questions....

K.D. i think you're numbers are a little off, its you really have 59000 miles on your suburban and it only had 468 hours that would mean you were averaging 126MPH every time your ignition is on ;)

I actually just looked at the hours on my truck the other day, 4412 hrs @ 170k miles. 750 hrs is just broken in!

I did a compression check and inspection on a ski boat with 2700 hours on the original engine and it checked out flawless.

As others have said hours are not nearly as meaningful as proper maintenance which is harder to establish.

Ryan...Pulling the boat at 126 mph is no problem, but pulling the 29'RV is a little challenging. <img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/rofl.gif" border=0> <BR> <BR>That's weird? I don't know how Chevy figures it? According to Trace's figures 750 hours is only 28.5k miles for a car.

Let's take a poll. You can check the hours on newer GM trucks by holding down the odometer button with the key off.

If they had left the key on some hour meters keep on running so its not 100% sure that the hours are correct they could be less.

Not really a fair comparison of hours on a boat to a car. A boat typically turns twice the rpm of a car and has a lot more resistance. That crap of a boat has the worlds largest radiator is just that crap. You still have a thermostat and it still gets to temp. <BR> <BR>You should be able to pile on the hours as long as maintenence is done properly. As people have said before if the boat appears to be well taken care of chances are they maintained it. If it looks like it has been abused well they prolly did not maintain it. <BR> <BR>I have a book that I keep track of every thing I do to our boat. What parts have been replaced and why. The amount of hours on the boat at the time of repair or maintenece. Works good for me.

One of my cars at work has 114694 miles on it and 3585 hours on the engine. Just fyi. But a lot of that time is idle.