I just recently sold my jon boat and I am now looking to swing my profit towards a used alum. bass boat.

My friend has a 17 ft. Lowe for sale that is perfect, but he has it priced to high for what I feel it's worth.

All I need is at least 16 ft of boat and a 25 horse motor with power trim, along with all the other things that make a bass boat a bass boat.

So here's my price range...anything from about $4000-$5000. What have some of you found with or close to with this kind of cash?

http://chicago.craigslist.org/search/?areaID=11&subAreaID=&query=bass+boat&catAbbreviation=sss

idk where in Illinois you live but here is for Chicago, there are some nice ones in the 4-5k range. Pretty much if you look for a used boat, floor, transom, stringers and motor are big things to check. I have found craigslist great. In this economy people need the money so they will sell a boat worth 8-9k for 4-5k, just to match the market.

Good luck!

Something between a dependable boat and a money pit.

check craigs list alot of good ones on there once you seperate the scams from ligite ads a buddy of mine bought a 17 foot bass tracker for 3000 with nothing wrong with the guy just didnt use it keep your eyes open and you can get a hell of a deal

What lowe model, motor size, anything else on it and what year was it made?

I have a 16' Tracker with 35 merc and 46lb trolling motor that I paid $2400 for.  I added a new deep cycle and a Lowrance 522C IGPS.  That makes it right at $3000.  It has been absolutely dependable and it does everything I need a bass boat to do for the types of lakes we have around here.  The biggest water we have is ~7000 acres and the majority of lakes are <700 acres so its perfect in my way of thinking.

I have seen lots of boats in the price range you are looking at lately.  Seems like for $4000 you can get a 90's boat with up to a 50 horse or so.

Matt

i live in north alabama near guntersville lake,,i just bought a 1648 with decks and 43lb trolling motor with a 2008 model 50hp yamaha with eight hours on it for 4600 been on lake 8 weekends in a rtow now and knock on wood no problems boat does almost 40mph and plenty stable on the casting decks ,,,,,,

For 5 grand you can get a late 90's -early 2000's 17 foot fiberglass bass boat with a 115hp on it no problem. I just ended up buying a 2004 Tracker pro guide v16 with a 60hp motor for $4900 off of craigslist!!! I stole that boat for that kinda money. I shopped for 3 months. Keep in mind that most boat sellers on craigslist are hard up for cash. Craigslist is where ppl who are behind on their mortgage go to sell their boats fast. I wouldnt even think of going to a marina or used boat dealer. Stay away from a flat bottom aluminum boat tho. I bought one at first and regret it, they are basically jon boats with casting decks, they ride the exact same imo. Get a deep V aluminum like I did or a fiberglass with a hull in good shape. If youre fishing rough waters then get a deep v aluminum for around 5 grand and if you arent fishing rough waters then a good old 17 foot fiberglass boat will serve you well.

I got a 1990 17' tracker for $800, had a 80hp Mercury that needed some work, and needed a new trailer. I spent about 200-300 fixing the motor (did the work my self which saved alot of money). I had a buddy that worked in a metal shop so we ended up building a aluminum/galvanized trailer for about 600. So I spent about $1700 to get a fairly decent bass boat. You just gotta keep your eyes open for good deals.

Look at some of the used 16 foot model bass trackers, I think they are called Pro 16's. Or you can try and find an Alumacraft bass boat style jon boat like these: http://alumacraft.com/bass-style-deluxe-modified-v-boats/angler-sc.php or http://alumacraft.com/jon-boats/mv-1650-aw-sc.php.

The main problem I have had is there are not many boats out there with a 25 hp on them in the range I am looking at. Most have a bigger motor.

This would not be a problem but several lakes here are a 25 hp max. I am in no hurry and have until late fall before I will really want to be pulling the trigger if I can't find a good deal by then.

craigs list and ebay are 2 best choices im looking for something that I can get cheep and fix my boat budget is very low. for 4000.00 range I have seen alot!!!! on those sites

$4000 will get you a pretty decent aluminum boat, but you'd be better off trying to step up to the $6000-8000 range and getting a smaller, 2000-2005 fiberglass bass boat.

I was in a similar position as you earlier this Summer, looking for a Bass Tracker in the $5000 range.  But when I test drove one, I hated it.  I ended up finding a '04 Stratos 275 ProXL and Johnson 90HP for $8000 and its in great shape.  I'm glad I passed on all those Trackers I looked at.

Craigs List and Ebay are the way to go for shopping boats.  If you find a boat on Ebay from a dealership, call them and shoot em an offer.  They can end the auction any time they want.

Keep in mind, that you may pay a little more from a dealer than a private party, but I've found the boats from dealer are in better shape.  They may very well be a repo like mine was, and the dealer didn't pay very much at all to get it from the bank, so they'll have some flex.

This is a great time of the year to boat shop.  Good luck.

With wanting a 25hp motor I assume you're primarily fishing an Il. lake with a 25hp motor limit like Coffeen?

One thought is buying a rig with a slightly larger HP motor,  selling the motor and then purchasing the 25hp motor.  Craigslist usually has a bunch of motors in the 25hp range for sale.  

You could also consider getting a boat with a bigger motor and getting a 24 volt tm for use on those 25hp limit lakes.