I can not see anything in the Yanmar warranty manual to say the warranty would not apply on the imported engine:
www.powerequipment.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Recreational-LDC-Ltd-Warranty.pdfLast paragraph, p3:
"This Limited Warranty covers YANMAR Marine Products operating anywhere in the world where Yanmar approved service is available."
After establishing in the very first paragraph p.3 that the owner can install the engine:
"Before installing or using your YANMAR Marine Product(s), please read and understand this handbook and the applicable Operation Manual(s) carefully."
it is unusual that the Yanmar warranty does not say it requires the installation to be inspected by a Yanmar dealer in order to activate the warranty.
p. 7:
"Items Excluded from Warranty
...
* Any YANMAR Marine Product, accessory or part that has been, in YANMAR’s sole judgment, subject to negligence, misuse, accident, improper installation, water intrusion from the exhaust system, improper maintenance, racing or engaging in a contest of speed or endurance, use of non-approved attachments or non-genuine parts, submersion or unreasonable exposure to the environment or serviced by an unauthorized facility;"
So for Yanmar the warranty clock starts ticking as soon as the engine is delivered:
p.4:
"This Limited Warranty begins on the date of delivery to the original purchaser."
Vetus and Volvo Penta require the engine installation to be inspected by one of their dealers within 6 months of purchase. Vetus may charge for the inspection (it is best to negotiate this when buying the engine), and activate the warranty on the date of the inspection.
Beta, Vetus and Volvo Penta are fine with the user buying parts from anywhere on the planet. While as Yanmar dealers are only allowed to sell parts in their local dealer area.
It is easy to look up prices on Vetus and Volvo Penta parts at overseas suppliers. Beta seem to have a good reputation with owner installs, I can't find their parts prices though.
I can find Yanmar parts prices on the internet, but the suppliers are not allowed to sell them to me.
Yanmar only offer a 6 month warranty on their very expensive parts, and if the part is replaced under this short warranty, then the replacement has no warranty:
www.powerequipment.com.au/warranty/"PARTS WARRANTY
WARRANTY PERIOD
The limit of the warranty period for the parts shall be six months from the replacement date of the part.
...
(2) When a certain part of a defective part is replaced, the replacement part shall not be covered by this warranty."
I really like the Yanmar 3YM20 and 3YM30AE engines. They have great specifications, I love how they have K6 serpentine pulleys as standard.
Much as I like the Yanmar engines I'm unsure if I would buy one as I dislike their restrictive trade on not being able to buy parts on the internet, their expensive parts pricing, and the poor warranty on their expensive parts.
It might be tempting at a 23% discount though.
I like Beta except that I am unsure if the Balmar AT-165 alternator would fit on a Beta-20 or Beta-25. The heat exchanger seems too close on the Kubota engines.
I like the Vetus M3.29. I guess on a lot of sailboats with the engine behind the companionway steps that the owners would dislike the Vetus engine layout with the fuel filter at the rear of the engine, the water pump facing backwards, etc. A lot of the engines try to put the service parts at the front of the engine. Since it only has tiny vee belt pulleys, fitting a high output alternator would require machining a serpentine pulley kit (or maybe the Westerbeke 30C pulley kits might work since it is the same Mitsubishi L3E base engine).
Although I will need to buy an engine later, they are expensive. So I'm thinking I'll make a wooden model of the engine and install that instead, to defer the cost of buying the engine and to not start the warranty clock while working on the installation.
