what engine
a few weeks back interacted with fpt on a different & contentious tread telling him about my experiences with volvo. it was a great engine until it came to support needing any serious parts. i also mentioned my son was in the market for a repower engine and was considering iveco based upon the fpt salesmanship in this forum. in so many words, he blew me off, but i am not a easy blow-off.
looking into support, since my questions to him, has led me to realize there is none except where he is located. no dealers, no parts, nothing. i even went overseas to australia where they are widely advertised. same thing. sell you an engine and then when it comes time for parts, well, that’s another story. ftp may be doing the same, all sales pitch with a few guys on his side, so i just walked away and decided to look around a lot more. locally where my son is, and overseas, prices and availabiliy are a even worst nightmare. i sure fell sorry for those guys as i was there about 25 years ago.
i even went to mac boring, i think a respected distributor, because they also tried to work with fpt.. maybe I should post their response? does fpt want me to ? or, maybe what came back to me from overseas? just ask and i am at your command..
anyway, to make a long story short, buy the engine based on after sales support & real history, not how good a deal you can get up front. thats what the red iveco salesman did 20 years ago. made you a deal that was hard to refuse, but later, what happened?
remember, engine manufacturers bases much on their profit on when you need parts years from now, not just the initial cost of the engine. also think about resale value. does anyone want to buy a used iveco? i sure don't.
if volvo has good support, then go volvo. for my son, the choice was simple, cummins, as no matter where you look, support is always there whether it be independent or at distributor level. and, answers to a question on many different forums is always just a few clicks away - never any smoke, never any mirrors.
thats just my take on spending hours, days & weeks researching on google, making phone calls, etc.
if my son was where you guys are, maybe i’d give fpt it a maybe. and maybe the motor is ok, but in alaska where a fishing season is measured in days and one glitch loses the entire year? better put real live support and a track record in first place, and put hype last in the outfield. maybe up there a 13 liter green engine is the answer?
jon
. Fisherman in Alaska know my boats perform well and they always want to know what engine is in the boat. The boat I built and fished in 2012 was a 37' sternpicker with 420hp 6.7, with fuel, gear, crew, it would consistently hit a true 23.5 knots. 28" prop, 2.5:1 reduction.
