Re: Buying an older boat
jobofly, go here:
1988 Bayliner Marine Corp CIERA Series 2455 SUNBRIDGE (SB) Price, Used Value & Specs | NADAguides
and plug in what options the boat comes with. Depending on where you are located the price seems a bit on the high side. A good surveyor should catch anything big before you agree to buy but things you can check out yourself are:
1) soft flooring
2) leaking windows (water stains on the inside of the boat)
3) milky looking oil from the dipstick
4) Does the oil smell burnt
5) is the trim pump oil milky or fresh
6) does the drive look beat up or is the skeg damaged
7) excessive rust or corrosion on the drive
8) does the wiring under the dash look reasonably neat or does it look like a rats nest
Basically if you look at least several boats you'll start to see fairly quickly which ones have been taken care of and which ones and which ones haven't. Pick the best one and then bring in the surveyor. You'll want to make sure he does a compression test on the motor and removes and pressure tests the drive unit.
