I'm looking at buying a used cruiser and the seller has not used it much in years. In fact he has not connected to shore power in 6+ years.В He says that as a result he makes no claim that the air conditioning may or may not work - he just does not know.В He seems to have been very honest about everything else and I don't think he is using this as an excuse for it simply not to work.В It is a 2000 Doral and I am just wondering - IF I go ahead with the purchase and IF I assume that risk and IF it doesn't work, what are the most likely causes of failure and the costs involved in repairs.В I have never had a cruiser before and the AC is one of the main reasons for my purchase so I will be repairing it if neccessary and using it so I really need to know a worst case scenario for this.В
Air Conditioning - What if I buy it???
- Thread starter sbbamafan
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If youre buying a boat with little use that is 20 years old, most of the systems are at the end of their expected life. That would be engines, outdrives, fridge, generator and ac. Buy it right and have some $$ set aside for replacements.
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How about this...
You plug it in and turn it on.
You start up the boat and take it for a spin to determine what does and what does not work.
Better yet, you hire a surveyor to check out the boat and all its systems and do a sea trial.
If the seller balks at any of this, walk away
You plug it in and turn it on.
You start up the boat and take it for a spin to determine what does and what does not work.
Better yet, you hire a surveyor to check out the boat and all its systems and do a sea trial.
If the seller balks at any of this, walk away
You should be at least dropping it in the water for a trial run. If so, plug it in and turn it on. However, if it doesn't work, it's no big deal. As long as you can get to it, it's an easy replacement. You can get current prices online -- probably about $2000 +/-.
https://www.marinaire.com/Products-...MI9JTVhYK_6gIVTNbACh3YkwQWEAAYASAAEgL0A_D_BwE
http://oceanbreezeac.com/
https://www.marinaire.com/Products-...MI9JTVhYK_6gIVTNbACh3YkwQWEAAYASAAEgL0A_D_BwE
http://oceanbreezeac.com/
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20 year old boat unused for a long time. Aircon may not be your worst issue. As to the AC, does it have one or two? If they re toast and 20 year old they may not be worth fixing. New ones will run $1500 each or so. Air con water pump Will probably need replacing. About $150
You cant survey a boat that is on land and not running. An in the water survey would tell you exactly where you are but you will have to do a fair amount of work to get it running and surveys aren't cheap.
Gas Or diesel? Old gas in the tanks should probably be removed. You would not learn much about the how the engines run on old gas. Gas boats are very subject to water intrusion problems.
If you know engines and can do work yourself you could do a compression test before anything else if it is gas, and if the batteries can still hold a charge.
As you an see there are a lot of things and expenses involved in just testing everything. Not to discourage you but it isn't simple.
There are may boats in good running shape on the market. This one would have to be almost free.
Gas Or diesel? Old gas in the tanks should probably be removed. You would not learn much about the how the engines run on old gas. Gas boats are very subject to water intrusion problems.
If you know engines and can do work yourself you could do a compression test before anything else if it is gas, and if the batteries can still hold a charge.
As you an see there are a lot of things and expenses involved in just testing everything. Not to discourage you but it isn't simple.
There are may boats in good running shape on the market. This one would have to be almost free.