last year I bought a 32' outlaw on ebay the ad said it had 502's with the motors only having 30 hours since the boat was repowered. well after much searching I found out they were 454's I need to have a value on the difference on engines. I don't know how to find out how many hours are on the motors. I also wonder without tearing the motors down to know if it is a high output 454 with rollers

do you have any pics of teh engines? does it say anything onthe air filter like"454 magnum"?

I have some pics of the engines but the top covers are gone before I got the boat it is a 1997 boat. that's why it was so hard to find out they are 454's we got the numbers stamped on the block just below the head and called Mercury Marine and they told us they were 454's. we will have to figure how th send you the pics we click on manage attachments but it doesn't do anything maybe we can e-mail them to you

oh yea I do have pics of the original motors and they were carborated and the engines that are in the boat now are EFI's

an easy way to tell if you have mag engines is how the boat is propped (you would have to asume that its propped correctly)..if the boat red lines at 4600rpms then it is not the mag engine. if it red lines much higher than, either the guy who propped the boat is an idiot or you have a mag motor

well I am running 21 3 blade props and at WOT I am running 60 mph at 4400 rpm's I tried 3blade 23's and gained 200 rpm and 2 miles an hour but the hole shot was much worse. as for the previous owner I guess he isn't gifted thats why I am trying to get a value difference for my lawsuit against him

Sounds like an adventure for sure. What a bummer. a 97 motor should have been EFI if I am not mistaken??? I think that the heads are different from the small HP motors to the Mags. Pull a valve cover and get casting numbers that way.
Now to answer your question. First you need to identify what motors are in there. Sounds like you are on your way to that. I would go to the NADA guide for boats and value your boat with the small motors vs. the big motors and there is your difference.The value you are looking at is probably a small claims court case. I would have a reputable surveyor look at the boat and give a determination. One with 502's & one with small 454's just for ammunition.
Bottom line is you need a lawyer who knows his/her stuff in this field. But probably you will spend more $$ on legal fees than what it would cost you to buy a set of 502's.

i thought of bringing up the nada, but then i thought about it. i have used the (lack of difference) of value to beat people up on price.....but we all know here the real difference in value is huge between twin 454's (probally not mags) compared to twin 502's-----think about it, having 502's is a huge selling point in that size boat!

Just rember that the only book that ever bought anything is the check book.
I get new books every week from Black Book for cars & they offer them regionally. Go figure.
A good rule of thumb is to take whatever value you think it should be and then cut it in half, then double it. That method will get you close.

I would say the difference in 502's to 454's (non mags) would be 10k. just a guess. The older the boat, the less the difference, but it sure does hurt resale.