Steet

Well if you have anything that has merc and is over 10 years old then you may not be able to get parts either.
I have been around the mercury dealer in my area about 3 or 4 times a week and over the past 2 years I have
seen the merc dealer tell more and more customers that the parts are not available any more. Try buying a
mercury part that is over 10 years old, so IImor is no different.

Slippery

ok..just my sorta humble .02 worth

Boats are an extension of one's ego purchased with disposable income. Unless an option choice makes the boat truly a dead horse, I'd place more emphasis on getting what I want (if I can afford it) than over-thinking resale. I would think long & hard about doing Volvo power in a performance hull (even though they make great stuff) but if my heart was set on Ilmor power I'd do Ilmor.


The people on the boards that have Ilmor seem to have only good to say about them.

I'm not a huge Merc fan.

We were in the marine biz in the 80's & 90's, in Mi. Our season is short. We had a guy drag his boat in on the Monday of his week vacation. We diagnosed it, couldn't find parts (this was pre interne)t and ordered them from MerCruiser. I specifically told them we had a customer down, on vacation, who was willing to pay for next day shipping. I called on Wednesday afternoon. Merc confirmed that the parts would be shipped overnight but I was somewhat rudely told "overnight was merely a method of shipping and when they got around to pulling the parts they would be shipped overnight delivery".

We started ordering boats with either Volvo power or OMC's (then) new Cobra drive.

We have a kid in college and when he's done - hopefully next year - we're ordering a new boat & we were really leaning towards the Ilmor/Indy package but it looks like now we're back to deciding between custom power and an SCX or Arneson.

Canamman

Thanks for the input...why the switch from Ilmor to something else?...I have since talked to a few Ilmor owners and more than likely will try to have the deal come to fruition. I also have heard too many good stories about the top shelf service that both, Ilmor and Formula deliver. I am excited about joining two companies that sound like they truly care about their customer. In my business I run with my wife, it's all about customer service....and resale?...I think now, without a doubt, I will have no issue...

Slippery

Re. "why the switch from Ilmor to something else?"

We're (hopefully) a year from ordering. The boat is about an 18 month build and from what we're hearing Ilmor isn't producing the Indy drive anymore.

The weak link in the Merc pkg is the drive, so if we can't get the Indy drive….?

The total Ilmor/Indy package is what's appealing to me, especially as we're in Mi and Ilmore is in Mi.

We have an XR drive that we're replacing the gears in now - admittedly overpowered - but if I have to pay extra for Merc's next drive up the food chain, or for an Imco, I might as well buy an Arneson and put a BoostPower engine (which we have now) in front of it.

Just fyi the "not over thinking resale" comment wasn't just one of those internet "everyone's an expert with someone else' money" things, I'm living it.

We have a 24' boat with (too much) custom power (Boostpower) with an XR drive in a manufacturer that's practically unheard of on this coast.

Resale? That's a good one…. I love the boat and better yet my wife loves the boat, but I have no illusions about the resale - if we ever decide to sell it - of our package unless it gets sold to someone on the west coast who knows what it is.

So…if you can afford it get what YOU want…life's to short to second guess your recreation….if you're heart is set on something you've no doubt got your reasons for wanting it the way you want it…hopefully when the times comes to resell it you'll find someone else thinking the way you were.

Hope this helps...

NASCAT

If you can get your hands on a V-10 / Indy Pkg I assure you that you won't be disappointed from a sales, support, service & overall performance standpoint. I've owned 2 ILMOR powered cats, upgraded from Bravo style drives to INDY's on my own dime & nearly bought a 3rd ILMOR powered boat recently.

Just 1 man's $.02!

Canamman

Thanks for your insight. I agree with you on all points. Ultimately, with all things, they do come to an end and when the time comes to sell the boat, I may opt to simply move into another boat from a builder and trade it or sell it outright. I can say though, I am stoked about this upcoming purchase and as you are in MI, I am too so I believe the service will be there and locally to boot.

Regarding the Indy drive and MV10, I talked to Melanie from Ilmore last week and even though they discontinued advertising the package for sale, they did say they will still be offering it to select builders such as Formula amongst others.

Canamman

Thanks Nascat, I am moving forward with the purchase. I am truly excited about having an engine package that seems to be of high quality and that is naturally aspirated. The sound alone is something that is just unbelievable. I started this hunt looking for Mercs 700 SCI with the NXT drive package and inadvertently stumbled across this boat. I'll be going down to the factory on Friday to see it.

NASCAT

I think you'll be pleased w/ the pkg overall. Make sure you get Nick to give you a quick tour. The small block stuff is all built here in NC, w/ exception of the 570.
Keep us posted.

C_Spray

iTrader: (2)

Virtually ALL of the 2012-2014 Formula 382's were built with 725/Indy packages. The few that weren't usually had 700/NXT's. The performance numbers were very close (mid-high 90's), but the fuel burn numbers on the Ilmor boats were tons better.

For what it's worth, I had a 382 built with the Volvo (Innovation) power in 2000. The 600/DPX package was $37,000 less (not a typo) than the Mercury 575/Bravo setup, and has been rock solid once we sorted out an exhaust cooling issue. I now have 570+ hours on the engines, and the only major service was valve springs at about 300 hours. I scored a GREAT deal on a pair of new DPX drives a few years back, so I have a pair of brand new spares. Long story short - I'm miles ahead of where I would have been with the Mercury package...

Jupiter Sunsation

http://www.offshoreonly.com/classifi...o61236-en.html

This is the 382/700 boat to buy.....I believe the build is well documented on OSO