Nothing wrong with the 496 in any way. But the 496 on a standard Bravo is going to be a very expensive boat to own if the speed bug bites hard.
This would be a great first boat, and some breathing on the 496's could be fun. But he needs to relize that this is going to be a short-term stepping stone boat for him and he should be very wary of trying to get 95MPH out of it. Many people begin taking those steps before realizing the total cost involved and they're too far by the time they realize it would have been smarter to buy what they wanted rather than trying to piece at a time take this boat there.
It's pretty rare that a guy steps up like this and isn't ready to start feeing the 5mph bug a month into their season. The advantage to the 525/XR package is that with a few bolt-ons you have Merc 700 power and the same reliability. But you're right- it isn't cheap. But it is cheaper to do up front than piecemeal.
This would be a great first boat, and some breathing on the 496's could be fun. But he needs to relize that this is going to be a short-term stepping stone boat for him and he should be very wary of trying to get 95MPH out of it. Many people begin taking those steps before realizing the total cost involved and they're too far by the time they realize it would have been smarter to buy what they wanted rather than trying to piece at a time take this boat there.
It's pretty rare that a guy steps up like this and isn't ready to start feeing the 5mph bug a month into their season. The advantage to the 525/XR package is that with a few bolt-ons you have Merc 700 power and the same reliability. But you're right- it isn't cheap. But it is cheaper to do up front than piecemeal.