I have the opportunity to buy a 1998 four winns 200. I realize it's end of boating season here in the Midwest, and I've been casually looking for a couple years. I think this is the size of boat I want As it's all that will fit in my garage. It's not my dream boat but I think it's priced good and will serve my family well for several years; it would also allow us to jump into boating at a reasonable price to see if we'll actually use it.
So it's a 1998 four winns 200, with the Volvo 5.0GL (220 hp carbd), tandem axle trailer, has bimini, snap on covers. 470 hrs., bow filler cushions, sun deck was reupholstered last year, it has the bucket seats with rear bench like I think I want, seats 10. Always covered when it was on their lift, stored inside during winters, always maintained and winterized by local four winns dealer. I like the four winns of this era because of the swing away tongue which will allow it to fit in my garage. It isn't new enough to have snap out carpet...but is the floor fiberglass under the carpet in these models? I would guess it's old enough that there's wood in the construction but that's not all bad if it was cared for, right ? I can buy this boat for $6000.
Pros. I like the color and layout.
5.0 v8.
Swing away tongue.
Tandem axle.
Seats in good shape.
Bimini and filler cushions.
Two owner boat.
$6000 seems very reasonable to me.
Cons. Traditional carpet.
Is the carbd 5.0 enough motor?
I wouldn't want to buy anything older.
Should I hold out for efi model?
Is there fiberglass or wood under carpet?
Is 470 hrstoo many?
So I think I'm gonna go test drive it this weekend. Is it an absolute must to have a mechanic look at a used boat ? I plan on checking for soft spots and shaking the outdrive to check for weak transom. Check motor and lu oil. What else should I do? Owner said all gauges work...as I know some of these models had a ground wire problem on the gauge clusters. I'm pretty competent if I know what I'm lookin for. I think this boat could be a lot of fun for 6000 but I don't want to buy a 6000 anchor either and I would prefer not to have to replace the motor in the next 5 yrs. my thought is that this boat won't depreciate much in 5 years if it's still in good shape then. I'll take any advice PLEASE!! Thanks. Btw my wife is comfortable with me spending $6k vs. $12k since she doesn't think we'll use it. Hopefully I can convince her otherwise and buy the $15k boat in a few years. I have a 4 and 6 yr. old and feel like this is a good age to take em to the lake.
So it's a 1998 four winns 200, with the Volvo 5.0GL (220 hp carbd), tandem axle trailer, has bimini, snap on covers. 470 hrs., bow filler cushions, sun deck was reupholstered last year, it has the bucket seats with rear bench like I think I want, seats 10. Always covered when it was on their lift, stored inside during winters, always maintained and winterized by local four winns dealer. I like the four winns of this era because of the swing away tongue which will allow it to fit in my garage. It isn't new enough to have snap out carpet...but is the floor fiberglass under the carpet in these models? I would guess it's old enough that there's wood in the construction but that's not all bad if it was cared for, right ? I can buy this boat for $6000.
Pros. I like the color and layout.
5.0 v8.
Swing away tongue.
Tandem axle.
Seats in good shape.
Bimini and filler cushions.
Two owner boat.
$6000 seems very reasonable to me.
Cons. Traditional carpet.
Is the carbd 5.0 enough motor?
I wouldn't want to buy anything older.
Should I hold out for efi model?
Is there fiberglass or wood under carpet?
Is 470 hrstoo many?
So I think I'm gonna go test drive it this weekend. Is it an absolute must to have a mechanic look at a used boat ? I plan on checking for soft spots and shaking the outdrive to check for weak transom. Check motor and lu oil. What else should I do? Owner said all gauges work...as I know some of these models had a ground wire problem on the gauge clusters. I'm pretty competent if I know what I'm lookin for. I think this boat could be a lot of fun for 6000 but I don't want to buy a 6000 anchor either and I would prefer not to have to replace the motor in the next 5 yrs. my thought is that this boat won't depreciate much in 5 years if it's still in good shape then. I'll take any advice PLEASE!! Thanks. Btw my wife is comfortable with me spending $6k vs. $12k since she doesn't think we'll use it. Hopefully I can convince her otherwise and buy the $15k boat in a few years. I have a 4 and 6 yr. old and feel like this is a good age to take em to the lake.