Good buy? Please asap

I wanted a jon boat to redo for a bass boat. I was going to buy a new 1542 tracker topper but just seen this deal on craigslist. https://omaha.craigslist.org/boa/3609506182.html

Its a 16 foot tracker panfish modle (I don't want a panfish but i will mod it) It comes with the trailer, boat, a 25hp evinrude (needs a little work but does run), a fish finder, a trolling motor. the price is 1200$

He does also have the title for the boat, not sure about anything else.

But is this a good buy to mod into a bass boat?

Thanks

That doesn't seem to bad price wise, I would find out more about what "needs a little work" really means. That could be $5 or $1000. Also it would take a lot of modding to get it to more of a bass style but you would get what you are looking for in a boat.

heck i'd buy it for the motor! if it is something simple to get running again. they arent bad little boats, kinda neat in some ways.

Looks like a fun project! Find out what exactly is wrong with the motor. Even if it takes a few hundred to get running it could be worth it.

Article says it's a bass boat so I'm guessing you talked to the guy and he told you it was a panfish model? It also says it runs but needs work. I can see the floor is missing but that's no big deal. If the motor runs and has decent compression I think it's a good buy. What is the width of the boat at the floor? That's one of the biggest factors of whether it's gonna make a decent bass boat I think.

Bottom width should be 48". The way I see it is you were going to spend 1100 on a new 1542, but for 100 more you can get a boat/motor/trailer.

JRyno10 said:

Bottom width should be 48". The way I see it is you were going to spend 1100 on a new 1542, but for 100 more you can get a boat/motor/trailer.

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My thoughts exactly! And it would be a bigger boat! Awesome deal!

JMichael said:

Article says it's a bass boat so I'm guessing you talked to the guy and he told you it was a panfish model? It also says it runs but needs work. I can see the floor is missing but that's no big deal. If the motor runs and has decent compression I think it's a good buy. What is the width of the boat at the floor? That's one of the biggest factors of whether it's gonna make a decent bass boat I think.

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Its a tracker 16PF it says on the side, PF = Panfish? I just googled it to find a couple specs. Hes taking more pictures in the morning and measuring

For $1200 that boat should be running with no work needed. I wouldn't pay $1200 for "work needed".

If YOU like the boat and have the money .... and you are looking for a project, go for it. But make no mistake about it, you are getting a project boat. It will take a lot of time, money, work, and frustration to get that boat in really good shape.

The most important thing to figure out before buying it is whats up with the motor. Boats, trailers, and accessories are usually a lot cheaper and easier to fix than a bad motor.

Absolutely don't buy it unless you hear the motor run. If he won't run the motor for you, don't buy it unless he comes way down on the price.

Take a compression tester and a spark tester with you and do those checks .... only takes five minutes. If it has good compression, spark, and it at least starts and runs (even if roughly) then you're good to go.

RiverBottomOutdoors said:

For $1200 that boat should be running with no work needed. I wouldn't pay $1200 for "work needed".

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