URGENT Evinrude 115 2001 IS IT SAFE

Considering buing a boat with

Considering buing a boat with a 2001 115 Ficht.
Seller stated it was a 2002 but the engine code
E115 FPLSIF states it is a SI=2001 engine.

Is this a "new" Ficht design?
Is it safe....?

"The V4's weren't plau

"The V4's weren't plauged by the fuel leak and explosion problem the 3.0L/3.3L V6's were. It's safe.

It's the latest Ficht design OMC had before filing for bankruptcy. Most of the engineering challenges had been overcome by that point. Quality control issues would be your main enemy, as the '01s were only built for a couple months before the company folded and shut down.

When BRP resumed production with the '02 model year, it was nearly the identical engine. The difference was that BRP went through the parts stock and threw out everything that didn't meet QC."

On the label of the engine cov

On the label of the engine cover i can see where it has been made and the serial number.
Any way i can very the quality of the engine?
Buing an item built with the last scrap parts of a company at its knees does not sound as a smart investment.....?

not where to very but to verif

not where to very but to verify the quality..

"there are plenty of other dea

"there are plenty of other deals out there,dont buy the first thing that looks good,it took me 3 months to find a real nice unit its the photo to the left"

"Might be best to have it look

"Might be best to have it looked over by a mechanic. That motor is 7 years old now. If parts were going to break from poor quality control, they would have broken by now. An Evinrude/Johnson dealer should be able to look at it's service history. They'll also be able to look at the computer data log to see if any issues are apparant. Basic tests like compression are extremely valuable as well."

Well..... Service history is p

Well..... Service history is pore.
Not because the ovner neglected to do so.
But the first owner died. He used the boat only like 20-3o hrs in fresh water.
Then it was stored on a trailer. But the engine had protective service each year.
Last year it has been used for 20 hrs in salt water.
The engine looks new from box.
The price is a great bargain.
Very hard to turn your back on.
But i need to be able to trust the engine.
Thats the reason for this discussion.

"Ultimately, It's a decisi

"Ultimately, It's a decision you need to make. With any motor or boat, you can't buy it and trust it. Trust comes from experience.

One course of action might be to price out a carb 2-stroke from the late 90's. If the Ficht doesn't prove trustworthy, would the price of the replacement motor plus what you paid for the boat still be reasonable?"