Considering 1997 Bayliner 1950 to buy! Pro's - Con's???

[fishinrado]

Looking at the above boat here in Colorado for small lake use. My son is 20 and he wants his first boat so I thought an intro Bayliner
would do the trick. Going for a test drive in the morning at a local lake so what should I look for? It's in decent shape, a few scuffs here and there etc....Trailer looks real nice and is in great shape so not sure if it's the original.
Has the standard mercruiser with alpha drive 3.0 liter in it. Guy says it runs great so we will see.
He wanted 6200 but I know he needs the dough for his daughters wedding. I told him flat out we would be a buyer at 5K if it checks out at the lake. He agreed to meet us there on those terms. Comes with a few goodies but no tower or anything. Son wants to wake board with it so what do ya think? He's like a lot of 20 yr olds. About 170lbs soaking wet so I'm not concerned about it only being a 3 liter.
Any advice or thought s would be appreciated!!!!

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Considering 1997 Bayliner 1950 to buy! Pro's - Con's???

One thing to check is for any rot/softness in the floors. Open the ski locker and look at the stringers and feel the bottom of the floor from there. 1950 with a 3.0L is plenty for wakeboarding - takes nothing to get a boarder out of the water.

 

[fishinrado]

Re: Considering 1997 Bayliner 1950 to buy! Pro's - Con's???

ok will do. I've actually restored a 79 crest-liner a few years ago with my son. bought it for 200 at an auction. we gutted it out down to the fiberglass and handmade new stringers and restored the whole boat for about a grand. sold it 2 years ago for 2200 so it was a good deal for us, ran great even after I found out that the Chrysler magnum 105 was supposed to be a POS. That damn thing fired up on a half key turn time after time and ran friggen great. I never had one problem with it. tuned it up and it purred relentlessly. I'd personally get an older boat for a few grand and put some money into it but my son wants something "lake ready". He is not getting the reality we are in peak boat season so he will pay top dollar. I've scanned craigslist for over a month and there isn't jack diddly out there for 5 grand. when they come up they go quick. did a national search and I see this same boat ranging from low 5's to mid 6's so I guess 5 grand for a well running boat would be a fair market price this time of year. it also seems the mercruiser 3 liter with alpha drive engine is both economical and dependable. gelcoat is still nice but could use a good buff. seats and interior are probably a 7 but no rips or tears just a little wear and light fade.

 

[JefThompson]

Re: Considering 1997 Bayliner 1950 to buy! Pro's - Con's???

Looking at the above boat here in Colorado for small lake use. My son is 20 and he wants his first boat so I thought an intro Bayliner
would do the trick. Going for a test drive in the morning at a local lake so what should I look for? It's in decent shape, a few scuffs here and there etc....Trailer looks real nice and is in great shape so not sure if it's the original.
Has the standard mercruiser with alpha drive 3.0 liter in it. Guy says it runs great so we will see.
He wanted 6200 but I know he needs the dough for his daughters wedding. I told him flat out we would be a buyer at 5K if it checks out at the lake. He agreed to meet us there on those terms. Comes with a few goodies but no tower or anything. Son wants to wake board with it so what do ya think? He's like a lot of 20 yr olds. About 170lbs soaking wet so I'm not concerned about it only being a 3 liter.
Any advice or thought s would be appreciated!!!!

I just bought a 1997 in April this year. The boat appeared to be well taken care of. Paid $6500. Had a few extras thrown in. I thought it was a good deal.

So far I have dropped another $500 into engine repair. Tweaking, carb/idle, new flapper on exhaust, new shift cable. My mistake was buying it without test driving it. The little problems add up and they might have exposed themselves during a test drive. Just added a littler 9.9 kicker for some trolling and a little added security when the 3.0 decides to go on vacation without me.

Good luck with yours!

JefThompson
Westminster, MD
Chincoteague, Va