Need some un-biased opinions

[Phish555]

My brother and his family just spent the 4th of July at the lake with us on our boat. He is interested in buying a boat now and has found a boat for sale on the internet that is close to his home. It is a 1989 20' VIP Victory open bow with a 5.0 Cobra V8 with "new exhaust manifolds". What do you Mercruiser folks think of this engine/drive combination?
Would really like you techies to chime in here please.
I could ask this on the Cobra forum, but like I said, un-biased inputs please.
Thanks a million guys!

 

[chaddemler1980]

Re: Need some un-biased opinions

personal opinion only... do not like it! MERC AND ALPHA OR BRAVO. not merc and cobra.

 

[jerryjerry05]

Re: Need some un-biased opinions

Volvo is the best Mercruiser is second.OMC dont buy old style.Jerry

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Need some un-biased opinions

Phish you aren't going to get an unbiased opinion, sorry.

But I'll you a question: Would you buy a mechanical device that is no longer made, the company doesn't exist, and mechanics that are certified to work on them are getting scarce?

If you answer is yes, tell your buddy to buy that boat. If the answer is "that doesn't sound like a great idea" then run away.