If you were going to buy a bass boat for up to $7,000, what would you look for in a used boat.

Mfg.

Model

length

width

motor

other considerations

First of all, in that price range, I would stick with Aluminum. Fiberglass gets to pricey, and the price also goes up on fiberglass due to the wieght of the material and the big motor needed to push all that wieght.

             I would stick right around the 16 foot mark. I would also stick with Name brands. Brands that have 10 year hull waranties. Brands like Lund, Sylvan, Smokercraft, etc. As far as the motor, try and look for a 60. I have a 40 on my 16 footer, and I wish I had more. Good luck and let us know what you find.  

There is/was a 1992 17 1/2 foot Hydrasport bass boat on the swap board recently with a 175 'rude engine for $6k.  Looked like a very clean boat though it was overpowered by 25hp.  It's on page 2 of the swap board, it might still be for sale.  

You could probably get a pretty decent mid to late 90's fiberglass 17 - 17 1/2 footer for that price.  You'd be looking at a 90 - 135hp motor.  Stick with the name brands.  Have the engine checked out.

You could move up in size for that money to an 18-19 footer fiberglass but it will be older.  Make sure to have disposable extra cash for repairs if you go that route.

motor  should be the top priority    then  cleaniness and condition      it will tell a lot about how the previous owner  treated the boat

Definetly!!!! You PAY for the motor, the peice of fiberglass thats attached is just a signing bonus.

Make sure its a good strong engine FIRST, then look at the other features of the boat.

I'm with the others about the engine.  I put a brand new motor on my boat a couple years ago and trust me, its a great feeling knowing that your boat will always start when you want it to.

For that price I would think you would be able to find a good 16-18 ft bass rig, ntiro,procraft,astro, etc... with a 150 hp engine, in the 1995-2000 year range.  Go to ebay and look at the ended auctions for bass boats, that will give you a good idea what price things are selling at.  Take a look at the Amercian bass anglers website for boats.  Seems there was some great deals there on 2-3 year old boats, with guys trading up to brand new.  I think you might have to be  member to look at their forum though.

I have seen plenty of 16-18 ft Nitros in that price range.  I would prefer aluminum as well but that is just because of the locations I fish...I guess thats all a matter of preference.

Heres my .02

Take note of what everyone is saying about the MOTOR......THIS IS A MOJOR PART.  I just bought a 95' 278 Stratos for 6900 a few months ago from a dealer on consignment, they went through the motor and checked out OK (Susposedly) and it started right up and test run great....Took it out the first time and everything was perfect. Second time out everything was great until I was comming back in and the motor threw a rod through the block, needless to say that was the end of that motor.  It had an Evinrude 130 on it.  So after being out of comission for 2 months and COMPLETELY MISSING THE SPAWN, I now have it back.  I decide to up grade on power while I was payin out the money and bought a freshly rebuilt 96' Johnson 150 Faststrike.  Set me back quite a few bucks.  I had to pay for the brunt of it, but I did get help from the dealer, BUT STILL......

My Advice is MOTOR MOTOR MOTOR and when you test run it dont be a pansy on the motor, make sure its gonna hold and not stick you with a problem like happened to me.   AND JUST BECAUSE IT IS COMMING FROM A DEALER DONT ASSUME ANYTHING!!

I was in the market last year - about the same budget as you.  What has been said above about the engine is sooo important to get it checked out- run compression tests, etc.

I ended up with a 93 Stratos 201 pro XL with a E-rude 200 for $5,000.00 (gel coat toast).  She ain't perty but she is fully functional and runs like a striped ape.  

I don't think you can attack purchasing a used boat by determining what make and model first.  I think you should be looking for the cleanest deal, whether it be a Ranger, Pro Craft, Skeeter, Stratos doesn't really matter as long as the engine is good and you feel it is priced correctly and like the boat.