www.iFourWinns.com :: View topic - ? about a 1996 Horizon 190

I am looking at buying my first boat and found a nice 1996 Horizon 190 5.0 Volvo Penta at a dealer. Haven't seen the boat yet in person but it is a 2 owner boat. The original owners traded it in in 2010 and then the dealer sold it to a guy who became ill and sold it back to the dealer last fall. I am going to look at it this week and possibly buy it. Anything to look for? The dealer replaced the fuel pump, cap and rotor, the exhaust boots and changed all the fluids and winterized it. Any help would be great. Also, no trailer for it but they are trying to find me one. Any suggestions on a trailer. It was in fresh water only and I will be using it in fresh water too. Thanks Pete

Rule #1. Don't trust your dealer to tell you ANYTHING unless you've personally known the guy for at least 20 years. Once he has proven himself trustworthy, then take good care of him.

Rule #2. On a boat that old (and it may be a fantastic boat, don't get me wrong), do NOT buy it without a sea trial. You can be amazed at what you might only find once the boat is in the water and running.

Talked to the dealer today. They said the exhaust bellows were changed bc they were cracked and the were upgraded to a newer version too. They agree that when the lake unfreezes and i we run it on the lake that they will repair any mechanical issues if any would come up. Pete

They agree that when the lake unfreezes and i we run it on the lake that they will repair any mechanical issues if any would come up. Pete

I will get it in writing that any and all mechanical issues will be repaired by them. The price is in line with other boats i have seen. Pete

Author:	pete2833 [ Thu Feb 16, 2012 4:19 pm ]
Post subject:	? about a 1996 Horizon 190
I am looking at buying my first boat and found a nice 1996 Horizon 190 5.0 Volvo Penta at a dealer. Haven't seen the boat yet in person but it is a 2 owner boat. The original owners traded it in in 2010 and then the dealer sold it to a guy who became ill and sold it back to the dealer last fall. I am going to look at it this week and possibly buy it. Anything to look for? The dealer replaced the fuel pump, cap and rotor, the exhaust boots and changed all the fluids and winterized it. Any help would be great. Also, no trailer for it but they are trying to find me one. Any suggestions on a trailer. It was in fresh water only and I will be using it in fresh water too. Thanks Pete

Author:	ric [ Thu Feb 16, 2012 4:27 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: ? about a 1996 Horizon 190
pete2833 wrote: I am looking at buying my first boat and found a nice 1996 Horizon 190 5.0 Volvo Penta at a dealer. Haven't seen the boat yet in person but it is a 2 owner boat. The original owners traded it in in 2010 and then the dealer sold it to a guy who became ill and sold it back to the dealer last fall. I am going to look at it this week and possibly buy it. Anything to look for? The dealer replaced the fuel pump, cap and rotor, the exhaust boots and changed all the fluids and winterized it. Any help would be great. Also, no trailer for it but they are trying to find me one. Any suggestions on a trailer. It was in fresh water only and I will be using it in fresh water too. Thanks Pete Cool boat, you'll love it. It's going to haul @$$. Just look for rotted/squishy floors. They were still wooden stringers back then. It's a design prior to my style but they are pretty close to being the same. I have a thread about how I'm modernizing it called Rick's Mods. A trailer is a trailer but just avoid the "painted" ones they rust. I picked up a new bank repo galvanized one for $700 a few months ago. Four Winns info: http://www.fourwinns.com/past_product/catalogs//1996/15%20%20...%20Specs%20(p13).PDF

Author:	pete2833 [ Thu Feb 16, 2012 4:47 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: ? about a 1996 Horizon 190
Thanks for the info. I will look for soft spots. I would trust that the dealer would tell you if they found any soft spots when going over it !!!!!!

Author:	230 Mike [ Thu Feb 16, 2012 5:19 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: ? about a 1996 Horizon 190
Rule #1. Don't trust your dealer to tell you ANYTHING unless you've personally known the guy for at least 20 years. Once he has proven himself trustworthy, then take good care of him. The story about the 2nd owner selling it back smells to me. Rule #2. On a boat that old (and it may be a fantastic boat, don't get me wrong), do NOT buy it without a sea trial. You can be amazed at what you might only find once the boat is in the water and running.

Author:	ric [ Thu Feb 16, 2012 5:22 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: ? about a 1996 Horizon 190
230 Mike wrote: Rule #1. Don't trust your dealer to tell you ANYTHING unless you've personally known the guy for at least 20 years. Once he has proven himself trustworthy, then take good care of him. Rule #2. On a boat that old (and it may be a fantastic boat, don't get me wrong), do NOT buy it without a sea trial. You can be amazed at what you might only find once the boat is in the water and running. EXACTLY! You don't know/won't know if the manifolds are rusted up until you're out doing a few laps and see if it overheats. The oil pressure might be 20psi at idle with muffs on... but under power at 3500rpms.. it still might be 20psi. Bad. Unless you're paying $1500 for it. then who cares.

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Author:	LouC [ Thu Feb 16, 2012 5:25 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: ? about a 1996 Horizon 190
Soft spots can be hard to find sometimes, I'd walk around the entire deck, bounce up and down, grab the helm seats and pull on them, see if the deck flexes or the mounting screws are starting to pull out. Is it a gel coated fiberglass deck or carpet over plywood? If it's carpet over ply, be very careful, unless it was stored very carefully that type of construction is very suseptable to rot, because often the screw holes were not sealed and the carpet holds the moisture in which is the ideal conditions for rot. Having replaced most of the deck on my '88 when it was about the same age, I would not consider any open boat with carpet over plywood. It just is not a good way to build boats, unless you are in a very dry climate. Long Island where I live is very damp. So my new deck is gel coated 'glass and no carpet. BTW, if they had to replace the rubber exhaust boots, I'd want to know, if the engine was overheated badly. Normally you do not have to replace those, unless it was a bad overheat. I have replace the manifolds on my boat twice (salt water) but it still has the original rubber exhaust boots. Look for blistered paint on the manifolds/risers, and check everything carefully. Do an extensive sea trial, run it up to max rpms, check oil press, water temp, look for leaks, water in the engine oil and water in the drive oil. Make sure it shifts properly. Best to pay your own mechanic for an inspection.

Author:	TrentDickson [ Thu Feb 16, 2012 8:26 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: ? about a 1996 Horizon 190
First thing i do when i inspect a boat is make a B line to the ski well, open it up grab around the lip and pull and push to see it gives any make sure that the ski door does not bow any when u stand on it, and wiggle, take your knuckles and beat on the sides of the ski well (stringers, and the back of the ski well in front of the gas tank, crawl in the damn thing and look where the thresh hold from the bow meets the carpet, make sure THERE IS NO ROTTED WOOD! if you find some that looks repairble use it to your advantage, the guy that i bought my boat the dealer quoted him 3k to fix his floor i got the boat for half of his asking price and put a floor in it with new carpet for about 350 bucks and 6 hours of labor. i have seen some boats that have carpet in the ski well, that is a red flag for rot. also grab the lower unit and give it hell make sure the transom doesn't flex or leak, my 94 had a leak in the transom,

Author:	pete2833 [ Fri Feb 17, 2012 10:00 am ]
Post subject:	Re: ? about a 1996 Horizon 190
Thanks for the info. It is hard to run the boat now since it is cold here in Pa and the boat is in Deep Creek Maryland where they still have snow. Any idea how to proceed in this situation? What should the price range be on this boat with a trailer if it is clean? Thanks Pete

Author:	Cap'n Morgan [ Fri Feb 17, 2012 10:19 am ]
Post subject:	Re: ? about a 1996 Horizon 190
I have bought 2 boats in the winter, and had to wait until spring for a sea trial. You can put some money down on the boat if you really like it, and have the sale contingent on a full structural and mechanical inspection along with sea trial in the spring. If the boat passes, you proceed. If it does not, you get your deposit back and walk. Have you looked at this one in Pa ???? http://www.boats.com/boat-details/Four- ... /121643531 You can also use NADA as a "guide" to what a ballpark figure would be of the boats' worth. http://www.nadaguides.com/Boats/1996/Fo ... ORIZON+-19

Author:	ric [ Fri Feb 17, 2012 10:57 am ]
Post subject:	Re: ? about a 1996 Horizon 190
Some boat shops have test tanks.. my local one does. Throw it in the water and give her a good yanking with a 3rd party mechanic doing an inspection.

Author:	pete2833 [ Fri Feb 17, 2012 12:20 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: ? about a 1996 Horizon 190
Talked to the dealer today. They said the exhaust bellows were changed bc they were cracked and the were upgraded to a newer version too. They agree that when the lake unfreezes and i we run it on the lake that they will repair any mechanical issues if any would come up. Pete

Author:	ric [ Fri Feb 17, 2012 1:00 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: ? about a 1996 Horizon 190
pete2833 wrote: Talked to the dealer today. They said the exhaust bellows were changed bc they were cracked and the were upgraded to a newer version too. They agree that when the lake unfreezes and i we run it on the lake that they will repair any mechanical issues if any would come up. Pete Oh wow, cool. You must be paying a premium for it then

Author:	230 Mike [ Fri Feb 17, 2012 1:41 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: ? about a 1996 Horizon 190
pete2833 wrote: They agree that when the lake unfreezes and i we run it on the lake that they will repair any mechanical issues if any would come up. Pete I would want that in writing with an emphasis on "ANY and ALL." And I'd still be uncomfortable.

Author:	pete2833 [ Fri Feb 17, 2012 2:05 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: ? about a 1996 Horizon 190
I will get it in writing that any and all mechanical issues will be repaired by them. The price is in line with other boats i have seen. Pete

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Author:	Cap'n Morgan [ Fri Feb 17, 2012 2:19 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: ? about a 1996 Horizon 190
pete2833 wrote: I will get it in writing that any and all mechanical issues will be repaired by them. The price is in line with other boats i have seen. Pete I would also ask that "all mechanical and structural issues will be repaired by the dealer at their cost" be written as well.