2008 AR210 Purchase

[gfiggy2219]

Hello All,

I just signed up today and wanted to get your opinion on something. I am an avid boater for 25 years mostly outboards and owned a 99 Yamaha exciter about 16 years ago. I am looking at a 2008 AR210 at a price tag of 19k, the owner was asking 24K and got him down. I have a few questions:

1. are these reliable?
2. Should I find out how many hours are on the motors?
3. how many hours to these motors last?
4. is it hard to maintain the jetboat?
5. do you have to winterize them? (i live just outside of Charlotte NC)
6. Is 19k too much for 13 year old boat?

Thank you all

 

[BradGoins]

1. are these reliable? My boat has been very reliable. I have only had my boat for 3 years (2008 212X) but have really enjoyed it.

2. Should I find out how many hours are on the motors? I would differently ask this questions. I believe on a Yamaha dealer can get these hours for you because there isn't anything on the boat to tell you. I asked for this information from my seller and he was able to provide a piece of paper from the dealer and offered I contact them with any questions about the boat.

3. how many hours to these motors last? I'm sure other have better answers on this.

4. is it hard to maintain the jetboat? Not at all, with this forum most can be done yourself.

5. do you have to winterize them? (i live just outside of Charlotte NC) I live in the Piedmont Triad (NC) and I have gotten mine winterized just to be safe but I believe I will do myself this year. There is a video in the FAQ section which shows what needs to be done.

6. Is 19k too much for 13 year old boat? I don't have a good feel for the market price right now as COVID has it all over the place. But a lot depends on the mods and condition of the boat. To me it seems a little high but there are a lot of factors that go into the pricing.

 

[Acard7]

Howdy, I have an 08 AR230, assuming you have the same engines possibly, which are the MR1s?

1. I've only had my boat for this summer, extremely reliable so far, I've taken my boat to the Ozarks 3 times now, no issues traveling over 70+ miles via water every trip. From threads in the past it seems these boats are very reliable as well.

2. DEFINITELY find out how many hours are on the boat, YDS software can do it or local yamaha dealer would do it. I would even offer to pay the dealer to get the hours for sure. I have over 660 hours on my boat, runs great, no complaints.

3. With anything, if you take care of it it will last a long time. I went with the MR1s because they have been known to last thousands of hours. More may chime in to this specific boat though if you don't have the MR1s.

4. So far I believe this is the easiest boat to work on that I have owned and seen, some things are harder to reach than others but I can lay across the air filter and get to anything. I recently had to replace an intermediate bearing which was way easier than I thought. This forum is definitely a Godsend when looking up anything you need to work on. Doing routine maintenance is a breeze though.

5. This is a debate for sure. I'm trying to convince my wife that we only need to make sure the water boxes are blown out of excess water. Some put antifreeze through them for peace of mind, others don't. Some wait to change the oil in the spring, some change it before winter. Either way, it's easy to winterize due to the flush ports if you want to do that. There are videos on youtube of some people on how they winterize their boats too!

6. In this market it seems like a decent price pending how many hours, any upgrades, and water test.

Whenever you do the water test just make sure everything works. Bilge runs, radio works, all the switches and lights work. Look in the engine compartment while on the water to see if its leaking anywhere while sitting and while it is in neutral running (run the blowers when looking in the engine compartment). And by looking I mean look down at the intermediate bearings, that is where mine leaked a ton, which is obviously a sign it needs replaced. Check the oil before and after the water test making sure it isn't milky. And for the love of Pete, make sure you can get the clean out plugs out and back in easy!!

 

[gfiggy2219]

Thank you all so much. I am actually buying a 2005 Sx230. Only 47 hours in each motor and you can eat off of them. All brand new custom interior, scupper valve replaced with stainless, new throttle cables. The guy I'm getting it from is very knowledgeable of these boats. He buys them as projects. Can't wait to get out on the water. I'll send pics once I get it.

 

[Acard7]

Thank you all so much. I am actually buying a 2005 Sx230. Only 47 hours in each motor and you can eat off of them. All brand new custom interior, scupper valve replaced with stainless, new throttle cables. The guy I'm getting it from is very knowledgeable of these boats. He buys them as projects. Can't wait to get out on the water. I'll send pics once I get it.

With that year of the 230 model make sure you seal up the ECUs. Some just use caulk on the top of the ECUs others have used some type of flashing to keep the water away as well. I am willing to bet if the guy is very knowledgeable of the boats he may have already sealed those ECUs!

 

[caseyacts]

Thank you all so much. I am actually buying a 2005 Sx230. Only 47 hours in each motor and you can eat off of them. All brand new custom interior, scupper valve replaced with stainless, new throttle cables. The guy I'm getting it from is very knowledgeable of these boats. He buys them as projects. Can't wait to get out on the water. I'll send pics once I get it.

I live in the Raleigh area and am also looking into Yamaha jet boats in the same age/price range. Can you share the guys name who sold you the boat? Sounds like a good person to know in the area!