Selling Off Boat Motor

[kpg7121]

I have a 19 ft runabout with a bad transom. I'm not willing to put the time & money into a resto so I'm looking to sell the engine & drive. What I'm wondering is what's the best way to go about it? CL doesn't appeal to me with the all the scam artists out there & ebay presents it's own challenges with shipping. Anyone have any tips on how to proceed? Thanks!

 

[roscoe]

Well, if you don't want to advertise it, or auction it, it either goes to the scrap yard, or you give it to a boat repair shop that might want it. Don't expect them to give you much, or anything for it.

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,..... I guess it depends on what the motor, 'n drive is,......

'n where you are,.....

If it's an old OMC, yer probably gonna have to piece it out to get any money for it,.......

 

[MTboatguy]

Craigslist is about the best option if you don't want to deal with ebay, you just have to weed through the trash to find the right buyer, I am lucky on Craigslist, I have got real good at spotting scammers and I will only contact the ones I perceive to be real. I also have an email address set up that is used only for selling or buying stuff.

What kind of motor is it?

 

[kpg7121]

Craigslist is about the best option if you don't want to deal with ebay, you just have to weed through the trash to find the right buyer, I am lucky on Craigslist, I have got real good at spotting scammers and I will only contact the ones I perceive to be real. I also have an email address set up that is used only for selling or buying stuff.

What kind of motor is it?

It's an '87 3.0 OMC Cobra. Runs great & I kick myself for not taking a video of it running before I pulled it. It's been sitting in my garage winterized since last fall.

 

[wahlejim]

I think you have 3 options here:
-Part it out
-Scrap it
-Keep an eye on boats of that era coming up for sale that were improperly winterized, swap the engine, and sell the boat.

I don't think there is going to be much in the way of money gained in any direction you go. Selling those old OMC engines is not easy as they stopped making them. People are less likely to buy those since they know parts are hard to come by. Balance the time vs money portion of the equation here and decide what is best for you. If you are on social media, I have had luck with Facebook marketplace. Little to no spam and you reach a lot of people very quickly.

 

[Bondo]

I don't think there is going to be much in the way of money gained in any direction you go. Selling those old OMC engines is not easy as they stopped making them.

Ayuh,.... Strip the OMC stuff off it, 'n it'll work in a Merc or Volvo,......

A Runnin' 3.0l long block, with good compression #s oughta get ya a Grand,......

A workin' Cobra 3.0l outdrive oughta get ya another Grand, if you find somebody in need of it,.....

 

[kpg7121]

Ayuh,.... Strip the OMC stuff off it, 'n it'll work in a Merc or Volvo,......

A Runnin' 3.0l long block, with good compression #s oughta get ya a Grand,......

A workin' Cobra 3.0l outdrive oughta get ya another Grand, if you find somebody in need of it,.....

Thanks for the responses. Bondo, what do you mean by strip the OMC stuff? Do you mean the manifold? Carb? I'm not too familiar with Merc other then the shift mechanism being totally different.

 

[Scott06]

I think he means sell the long block as the same 3.0 long block was/is used for omc, volvo, mercruiser. Inst much market for an omc hence sell the engine to more likely use in volvo or merc buyers.

You can run it on the ground off the engine harness, measure oil pressure and compression to show buyers how good the engine is.
Bottom line if eBay and Craigslist bother you you're not leaving yourself many options to sell a 25 plus year old engine. Have had good luck with both, less issues with eBay but you have to ship it or list as pick up only. Never had a scam with eBay. Craigslist has goofballs who don't show up and some guys looking for PayPal accounts. Typically if the area code doesn't make sense they are FOS.

 

[Watermann]

I've found my last 2 boats on Facebook market place, it's easy to use compared to CL and you can tell the people are real.

 

[TyeeMan]

Craigslist isn't so bad. Just right an ad that very clearly describes what you have, that it ran prior to removal from the boat, if you could somehow get compression test numbers that would be HUGE.
Post a lot of pictures including serial numbers etc. And make sure you specify the this is a cash only sale, and if you don't want a bunch of people wanting to trade you something for it, specify "No trades please".

Don't be one of those folks that writes a 2 lined add and a has a couple bad pictures and expect to sell it, cuz you won't.

Oh, and for sure DO NOT answer the text or email that says, "I are interest in motor you have. I will send check (for full amount or more) if you ship motor my to address." Yeah, those kinda jump right out at ya.