Opinion's Please 1997 Monterey Montura 196

[MTribe08]

Hi guys, Looking for some experienced opinons on a potential first boat purchase. I've been looking for some time for a middle of the road bowrider for the family..Didn't want to go under 19ft and 21ft was pushin it. I don't want to spend more than 6k, so the search has been somewhat challegning, trying to find something decent.

I've done some research on Monterey's and the seem like a well built boat with some nice fit and finish. I'm on the West Coast so there isn't a whole lot out here, but I have recently ran into something I think might be just right!
Its a 1997 19.5ft open bow Montura. I'm going to add some pictures to this thread so you can see it along with the add for the boat.

I have a couple questions that I'm sure you guys can answer. The boat has a Chevy Vortec 5.7 290hp engine with a Duo Prop Volvo Drive. Can you give me the goods and bads about the Volvo Drive? I've heard that Merc is cheaper to have serviced, and cheaper to buy parts for. Is the drive itself as good in terms of reliablity? From my standpoint, that have to be a good drive because many many boats these days are sold with them, and seem to be competing just fine with Merc.

Second..My wife and I have been going round and round about the engine size. She is all concerned that the 5.7l is just going to crush the wallet compared to the smaller 4.3l. What say you? I don't have a heavy hand, I like to just cruise, so I'm not going to be flooring it for 5 hrs straight. We will occasionally pull a wakeboard or Tube and have 4 or 5 adults with some kids. Is it going to be THAT big of a difference, that I'll cruise around the lake once and watch the gas guage drop a quarter tank?

Thanks for your help. Here is the add description along with some pictures. He's asking $7,500, and if he'll go to 6k, I will likely be making a drive to see it. Any opinions on the deal or the boat itself would be great, along with things I need to check for..If I end up likeing the boat and want to move forward I'll be taking it to a shop to have a full eval.

Add:
1997 Monterey Montura 196
This is a sweet open bow boat with a Volvo Penta outdrive and Chevy Vortec V-8 290 hp It has the Duo prop set up and they are SS.
Comes with all the toys wakeboard,ski,tube,fish finder,trolling motor and all the vest's you could want.I installed a Bimini top for the sun and just put new tires on the trailer.I use only syn.oil and it is always covered.The hr meter says 310 but the engine has approx 200 on it.Water was left in the block thru the winter and it cracked so the previous owner replaced it with the Voertec so it has way more hp than the stock engine.I can send more pics if you need them. $7,500obo
No reasonable offer refused!
Thanks for looking

 

[MTribe08]

Re: Opinion's Please 1997 Monterey Montura 196

I dug up an old thread about Volvo drives and found this quote from Don S. I was hoping he might chime in here
"You won't find a better drive than the Volvo DP"

Sounds like we might be off on the right foot.

 

[marlboro180]

Re: Opinion's Please 1997 Monterey Montura 196

Don't claim to know about the comparison to Merc, but had the opportunity to run a Volvo drive on a friends boat a few weeks ago. WOW! Turned really great, holeshot really quick. Very nice to ski / board behind too.

 

[jkust]

Re: Opinion's Please 1997 Monterey Montura 196

I will say that is a beautiful 1997. You can really see that that Montura is an upscale model. I didn't quite get the upgraded to a Vortec...If it is a 1997 it could only have been a vortec originally prior to the swap...so I wonder if the upgrade is from a 5.0 to a 5.7 or something else?
As for the VP drive, in similar polls I have noticed the guys in the know prefer the volvo to the mercruiser drive and a dual prop is absolutly a huge upgrade. Just look at pictures of of the penta compared to the mercruiser and see how much more robust the penta is. I wouldn't even consider a 4.3 if I had a 5.7 in front of me. My 4.3 is such a gas miser and I spend so little on gas I would gladly trade for a 5.7 even if the fuel cost was 5x as much. I think all of us v6ers secretly (or overtly) lust for a nice v8.

Based on our prior PM conversations, this boat look likes a winner and wow that is a lot of boat for that price. I would be excited to own that boat. Based on the pictures, the only negatives I can see are the glued in carpet and the 90's green color but I would gladly overlook that. Get a sea trial and go buy it. That boat would sell in 10 minutes at that price in my market.

 

[superpop]

Re: Opinion's Please 1997 Monterey Montura 196

If you can get that boat for 6000 you will have stolen it. I would be surprised if the owner steps that far of the asking price, it looks like a trailer queen, that has been babied its whole life, and if it is originally from AZ then rot becomes less of a concern but still I would go over it very thoroughly and then make a reasonable offer.

 

[superpop]

Re: Opinion's Please 1997 Monterey Montura 196

I am also very impartial to the Volvo drive systems and think the VP DP is the best IO drive on the market today. In fact I turned away from a lot of Sea Rays when I was boat shopping because of this fact. You will be very happy with the Volvo setup. Don't worry about the Gas usage. If you put 100 hours a year on the boat you might pay an extra 100.00 or so in gas for the season. It is not like a car that you drive every day, you are not driving it a lot so gas milage becomes less of an issue. I had a 4.3 in my last boat and it was OK but I now have the Fuel Injected 5.0 and you cannot compare the two.

 

[FSTHUH]

Re: Opinion's Please 1997 Monterey Montura 196

I have 08 Monterey and I absolutly love it. However mine has 4.3L MerCruser in it..

It's smooth and overeall an AA++ boat.. If I had to do it all over again it would be Monterey in a heart beat. just my $.02

 

[MTribe08]

Re: Opinion's Please 1997 Monterey Montura 196

Thanks Guys...I'm trying really hard not to get too attached to this thing. I've had 2 boats sold out from under me in the last 3 weeks and it sucks. But i guess that means it wasn't meant to be. But I REALLY like this one.

I had put in on offer yesterday that was accepted on a 1999 Reinell 19ft. The whole day I just didn't have that "fuzzy" feeling about it, and I called the guy back and said I wanted to think about it...About an hr later I get an email saying that this Monterey is still available...hopefully thats a good sign.
Stay tuned.

 

[MTribe08]

Re: Opinion's Please 1997 Monterey Montura 196

If you can get that boat for 6000 you will have stolen it. I would be surprised if the owner steps that far of the asking price, it looks like a trailer queen, that has been babied its whole life, and if it is originally from AZ then rot becomes less of a concern but still I would go over it very thoroughly and then make a reasonable offer.

If 6000 is a steal...what is reasonable to you, $6500?? Trying to be preparred for his response.

 

[AZBoatDreamer]

Re: Opinion's Please 1997 Monterey Montura 196

Can I get the Phone number for the Seller. Im going to offer him $6,100 for it and try to buy it before you do. Jusk Kidding.

 

[jkust]

Re: Opinion's Please 1997 Monterey Montura 196

If 6000 is a steal...what is reasonable to you, $6500?? Trying to be preparred for his response.

IMO the asking price is reasonable and anything under that is a bonus. Seriously that is a nice set up, I wouldn't wait around for it. Go get it and enjoy the rest of the season.

 

[MTribe08]

Re: Opinion's Please 1997 Monterey Montura 196

IMO the asking price is reasonable and anything under that is a bonus. Seriously that is a nice set up, I wouldn't wait around for it. Go get it and enjoy the rest of the season.

I'M TRYING I don't have his phone number(didn't leave it in the add)and I'm sitting hear waiting for a email to come through. The anticpation is giving me an ulcer. Ok calm down....breath.

 

[MTribe08]

Re: Opinion's Please 1997 Monterey Montura 196

UPDATE!!!!
So I was sitting here waiting for his email and nothing was coming through. So I looked back on a previous email he sent me and I noticed that he took those pictures of this boat with his cell phone, then sent them to his email and then on to me.....his phone number was attached to the original pictures he sent to himself

Got myself sat down and calm and dialed him up. Really nice guy, seemed very upfront and honest..nothing to hide. Said he's the second owner and the first was a good friend. They live up in a higher elevation and you know the story about the water in the block, cracked. So the first guy had a new 5.7 along with a new duo prop installed all together. Intererior is perfect..the only blemish, if you call it one, is the carpet is a bit worn in the high traffic area..not ripped..just worn a bit. Thats it.

Drive has been servied regularly..synthtic oil in motor ect. Has had no problems with it, and has no problems with me furthering a survey on the boat.

So I told him when I originally started looking, I didn't want to spend much more than 5k..I got the wife up to 6k and she's pretty adamant(sp) about staying there.

He's was very understanding...and willing to work with me. He said he just had an offer fall through of $7,300...and would consider $6,500 cash possibly.
Needless to say this guy is working with me..the Nada value is about $6,700 average retail..and he's throwing in all sorts of extras.

NOW..I have work on the wife

Any more feedback..would be great.

 

[jkust]

Re: Opinion's Please 1997 Monterey Montura 196

Just to give you an idea of how good a deal that is and to some extent how much we pay for boats in MN...take a look at this older, smaller and much downgraded Montura.

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/ank/boa/1316832332.html

 

[MTribe08]

Re: Opinion's Please 1997 Monterey Montura 196

Guys..I have another update...I think I'm going to get sick writing this. I would value your opinions on how to handle the situation.

So the original email I get from the guy says "The boat is still for sale, I had it sold and they called and backed out. Money Trouble"

Ok, so the boat is back on the market, sweet. I call him this morning, we have a very nice conversation, he's exciting for me, I"m obviously ecstatic..the whole nine yards.

He sends me his address so I can send him a deposit to hold the boat until I get home from my season. He says no problem, I'll keep it covered for you and we'll go out for a ride when you get here, you can have the engine and drive looked at, and if anything is wrong with it, you can have your money back. Sweet, ok. I said, I've been let down 3 times now looking for a boat, I DO NOT want it to happen again..this is the boat I've been looking for and I want your word that its off the market...He says it is.

So, I write out a check, put it in the outgoing mail..everything is great, I'm looking at more pictures he sent, showing my teamates..my wife is excited the whole ball of wax.

Fifteen minutes before I'm heading out for my game, my phone rings..Its the seller.
"Yea Dave, its me"..

I said, hey whats up?

"Umm I really hate to call you about this, but I have some bad news"

What do you mean?

"Well, I just got a call from the people that backed out, and well, they want the boat again."

I said, What do you mean..you already sold the boat to me, I have the deposit in the mail, we agreed on everything, you said you took it off the market ect ect. The original people backed out.

"Well, I still have their deposit, and I gave them a reciept"

Ok, so call them and tell them to come pick up their deposit, the boat is sold.

"Well, I'll call them and tell them you have got a deposit together, that you really want the boat, and see what they say"

At this point, I should have said, "no, you call them and tell them to come pick up their money..they had their chance".

I ended up writing that to him in a later email.


So, this goes on for about 15min..I was trying to be nice to the guy because he was in a tough spot. But this is just flat out bad business in my opinion..how do you tell somebody the boat is for sale, the first party backed out..you resell the boat, and then when they call back, you take it back again? Am I wrong in thinking, the first party lost out when they called and said they were backing out of the deal? I guess a man's word means nothing any more?

What do you guys think?

 

[MTribe08]

Re: Opinion's Please 1997 Monterey Montura 196

Can I get the Phone number for the Seller. Im going to offer him $6,100 for it and try to buy it before you do. Jusk Kidding.

Bro..you don't even know. I'm so pissed about this whole situation.

 

[jkust]

Re: Opinion's Please 1997 Monterey Montura 196

Ouch but this type of flakey situation is actually semicommon at least from what I have read here and have experienced. The worst part is when you then see the item for sale the next week for 30% more which happened to me once. When I bought my boat, I made the offer and the owner had to check with the guy who had just sea trialed it to see if he was going to buy or not even though he walked away already. This wasn't exactly flakey but really puts a damper on the excitement.

 

[skysurfer2010]

Re: Opinion's Please 1997 Monterey Montura 196

I hope things work out for you. I was boat shopping for 2 months at the beginning of this season and had quite a lot of similar experiences. I had a deposit down on a steal... a 99' 20' Crownline 202BR for $6500. I got a call 2 days later from the broker saying that the owner made a deal with his realtor without him knowing about it and sold the boat with his summer house and papers were signed the other day. I could have said, "great, but we signed papers the day before that" but I decided to let it go and not create a hassle for the seller.

I ended up with a really well taken care of, fresh water, 97 Monterey Montura 186. It's not quite as nice as this 196, but I've been extremely happy with it. It was owned by 1 owner and he had all the maintenance receipts from day one. It never had anything more than winterizations and tune ups done to it! I'd say that's extremely reliable for a 12 year old boat. It's a little bit higher quality than other boats I looked at. I also really like the lines compared to the other boats I checked out. The best thing about it? It's the smoothest riding boat I've ridden on in this size range. It honestly rides better than all of the 20' boats I've been on. It's also an extremely dry ride.

Hopefully things work out for you. You'll definitely be happy with that boat. If things fall through I'm sure that just means there is a nicer boat right around the corner waiting for you.

Good luck.

 

[AZBoatDreamer]

Re: Opinion's Please 1997 Monterey Montura 196

Bro..you don't even know. I'm so pissed about this whole situation.

Hey I didn't mean to sour the situation even more for you. I posted before things started going south for you. Good luck and keep your eyes open on Craigs List. I see more boats out there today.

 

[MTribe08]

Re: Opinion's Please 1997 Monterey Montura 196

I hope things work out for you. I was boat shopping for 2 months at the beginning of this season and had quite a lot of similar experiences. I had a deposit down on a steal... a 99' 20' Crownline 202BR for $6500. I got a call 2 days later from the broker saying that the owner made a deal with his realtor without him knowing about it and sold the boat with his summer house and papers were signed the other day. I could have said, "great, but we signed papers the day before that" but I decided to let it go and not create a hassle for the seller.

I ended up with a really well taken care of, fresh water, 97 Monterey Montura 186. It's not quite as nice as this 196, but I've been extremely happy with it. It was owned by 1 owner and he had all the maintenance receipts from day one. It never had anything more than winterizations and tune ups done to it! I'd say that's extremely reliable for a 12 year old boat. It's a little bit higher quality than other boats I looked at. I also really like the lines compared to the other boats I checked out. The best thing about it? It's the smoothest riding boat I've ridden on in this size range. It honestly rides better than all of the 20' boats I've been on. It's also an extremely dry ride.

Hopefully things work out for you. You'll definitely be happy with that boat. If things fall through I'm sure that just means there is a nicer boat right around the corner waiting for you.

Good luck.

I appreciate the words of encouragment. The deal went south, I took every angle I could take with the guy and he felt some stupid obligation to sell the boat to a party that left him with a $1,000 deposit and is giving the rest of the money to him in December. And already flaked out on him once.

I told him my wife would drive up this weekened with the entire amount...nothing.

Bottom line, this is a shady world we live in and these days a man's word means nothing. I even have a written email from him telling me the deal was done and that the boat was off the market..I just needed to put the checks in the mail.

We try to live our lives and teach our kids to treat others the way we would want to be treated and it sickens me when I get this in return.

I know there are other boats out there...This was just a huge letdown.

I hope a lesson is learned with this...If you are ever dealing with a deposit situation..do it through paypal instantly, that way its secure and done.