Possible Purchase - Opinions Needed, 17ft 1989 Sea Ray Seville Bowrider

[mgmidget72]

Hi All,

I'm looking at potentially purchasing a 17ft 1989 Sea Ray Seville Bowrider with the following features:
- am/fm/cd with 4 speakers
- depth finder
- bilge pump
- 100hp merc outboard, compression 119, 120, 118, 120
- trailer with 2 new tires
- 1 stainless prop and 1 aluminum prop
- new bimini
- saltwater use

Seller is asking $3,500. Is this reasonable?

Are there any specific problem areas I should look out for? What would regular maintenance be like for a boat like this?

I grew up around boats, but this will be my first purchase, so I don't want to overlook anything.

Thanks,
Scott

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Possible Purchase - Opinions Needed, 17ft 1989 Sea Ray Seville Bowrider

Potentially nice boat. I always thought those era SeaRays with the SeaRay-branded merc outboard were sharp. However, that price is way high. 20 year old boat. I'm thinking $1500, especially with the saltwater use. Outboards can get really trashed after years of saltwater use.

 

[BF]

Re: Possible Purchase - Opinions Needed, 17ft 1989 Sea Ray Seville Bowrider

I bought a 1990 I/O version of that boat earlier this summer. It's in exc. cosmetic condition, but needed some catchup on maintenance. I paid $3K with no trailer (bought in Minnesota). Up here, the boat I bought would bring >$5K easy.

Upshot is, the price of boats is VERY dependent on location/local markets. If you fill in your location in your "profile" it shows up in the header to your post and you might get some people more familiar with your local market chiming in.

 

[nlain]

Re: Possible Purchase - Opinions Needed, 17ft 1989 Sea Ray Seville Bowrider

I had a 1987 SeaRay Seville 3.0L I/O, there is a lot of wood in that boat, if it has been taken care of properly the wood could very well still be good but even with good care there is the possibility of rot, check the floor (deck) for soft spots, that is an indicator of some bad wood. Other than that those are great boats, I still like the looks of the older ones.

 

[109jb]

Re: Possible Purchase - Opinions Needed, 17ft 1989 Sea Ray Seville Bowrider

The 1987 Sea Ray was a different hull than the 88 - 91. I have a 1988 Seville that I just finished up a restore on. The boat does still have a wood deck and stringers. Mine was in bad shape and was obviously neglected but had a very nice 1997 Mariner 115 HP outboard. The compressions when I bought it were all about 130 psi. I live in Illionois and here a good condition Seville that age would sell for $3000 to $4000 dollars. By good condition I mean good interior upholstery, solid deck, everything works, and good running outboard. Location has a big impact on what a boat sells for. Some places $3500 may be way high but not around me. As for the saltwater issue, I can't say because it isn't an issue in Illinois. Getting back to the wood in the boat, walk all over the floor paying attention to whether you feel movement under foot. If you feel movement it has rot. Also, poke around in the bilge area, ski locker and if possible in the fuel tank compartment. Of note, the wood for the stringers and deck are only fiberglassed on one side. The stringers are glassed on the inboard sides and the deck on top. The other side of the wood only has a resin coating with a scant amount of chopper gun glass. The transom is pretty well protected in those boats because it doesn't go all the way to the bottom of the bilge. You'd have to get about 3 inches of water in the bilge before it got high enough to get to the transom. On mine the transom was wet and starting to rot, but as I said it was terribly neglected and had obviously been left outside uncovered for years. Oh, almost forgot to mention the 4 screws driven right through the hull. The drains were also plugged. Look in the anchor locker in the bow and see if you can tell if the drain for that compartment works. That one drains into the ski locker, and then the ski locker drains into the bilge. Now that I've told you what can be bad, I'll say that I saw a boat identical to mine last year on vacation and talked to the owner. He bought it new in 1988 and has owned it ever since. That boat was original and was perfect because the owner cared for it.

 

[SeanT]

Re: Possible Purchase - Opinions Needed, 17ft 1989 Sea Ray Seville Bowrider

Up in Canada that boat would probably seel for $6000 easy, maybe more. Yeah, we use funny colored money, but even with exchange rate it's quite a difference from where a lot of iBoaters live.

What's the going rate on stuff in your area?

 

[mgmidget72]

Re: Possible Purchase - Opinions Needed, 17ft 1989 Sea Ray Seville Bowrider

This is great!!! Thanks for such detailed points!

I'm located in Southern CT (in my profile now, thanks for the reminder). The price seemed reasonable to slightly high based on what I've seen.

As I've mentioned in another post, the boat will probably be sitting on the bottom at low tide. Will this cause any issues on this particular boat?

Thanks,
Scott

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Possible Purchase - Opinions Needed, 17ft 1989 Sea Ray Seville Bowrider

Tilt your motor up (obviously) and consider installing a Keel Guard to minimize the wear to your hull.

 

[Utahboatnut]

Re: Possible Purchase - Opinions Needed, 17ft 1989 Sea Ray Seville Bowrider

Make sure if you are serious, that the transom is solid its easy to assume all is good when the rest of the boat is very nice. Tilt motor up and really get busy with the lower unit, look for ANY flex in the transom or better yet have a big buddy with you to put some weight up and down on the lower end while you closely watch the transom. If it is questionable at all either keep looking or use that as a bargaining tool on the price. Don't ask how I know this so well. Also coming into winter months the owner may not want to store it another winter so offer him a bit less (don't insult him) but remind him that the season is almost over and boats aren't selling real good right now. If you do get it you will be able to use it a bit later in the season as outboards don't require nearly as much to winterize as an I/O does. Here in Utah if the boat is that nice it would go for about that same money but then we don't power boat in salt water. Ask the owner what his flushing maintenance has been if never might be something to think about, salt water can do some pretty nasty stuff if never flushed away after use.