never owned a deck boat but I ran a 2002 bayliner 185 for several years and it was a great boat!!! its all about condition and how well its been cared for .. I would not be scared to own another bayliner .. just keep in mind they are a entry level boat .. but if well cared for should give you years of great service !!
Bayliner is like the "Model T" of boats. It put a lot of people in boats, that could not otherwise afford them. Being an economy boat, it is not the best in terms of quality and longevity. Bayliner has stepped up their game in the last 15 years or so as compared to their prior quality levels, which were quite low-end.
Agree with Ted, 2013 or newer and you will be happy as long as the previous boat was taken care of. My cousin has a 2014 and it is a really nice deck boat. They have come a long ways since the late 80s/early 90s with those god awful 85 horse outboards on them
Bayliner sort of, kind of, reminds me of Hyundai. The early ones were sub par and that's being nice but the new ones are as good or better than their piers. I wouldn't at all say that bayliner is better than their piers but they have improved their quality dramatically over the years....but still intended to be a very entry level boat. The materials and components used in entry level boats are simply not as good by design as their piers. Hyundai got over their old reputation but Bayliner still holds onto some of it unfortunatly. I have one of those old Bayliners with the 85hp still...it's pretty low budget but that it was purchased new and not beat up like so many were so as mentioned about, condition really matters with used boats.
