Help! New to boating. Found an 89 242 LS to buy but came across an 88 272 today for about same price. What do I do?

Make a decision!!!

Seriously, lay the pro's and cons of each boat out on the table before you make your choice. They are both very good boats in my opinion, how many engines do they have? what specifications are they?

Please provide more information.

Buy the one in the better condition.

Ill go with you on that Cuda.

Me too.
I have a 272 SR1 and a friend has a 242 LS with bolsters , so I have a good comparison.
272 rides a bit better , more cabin room , twin engines...additional maintanance and fuel also more difficult to work on.
242 easier to trailer (lighter) , good right for a 24 foot boat , single engine , less and easier maintanance. loads of room in engine bay. Over twice the mpg than a 272 if cost is a consideration. Cockpit the same size as a 272.

Thanks for all who have responded. The 242 has the 454 365 hp. The 272 has twin 350's puched out to twin 400's. Will the 272 truly cost double the money to run? i was leaning towards the 272 because of the better ride. I will be spendinga lot of time in Lake Ontario. The 242 is like new with 245 hrs. The two concerns I have with the 242 is that the bottom is painted (they say fresh water only) and it doesn't come with a trailer. The two concerns I have with the 272 is that the motors have had some work (professionally done with all receipts); reliability and the cost of running. If it truly cost double to run the 272, I may lean toward the 242. If I decide to go with the 242, any advice on new/used trailers?

Where abouts is the 242 for sale Iman?

Although it is supposed to be a fresh water boat, it would need to be antifouled if it was staying in the water for extended periods.

The 272 will cost you almost double to run (fuel & maintenance).

The benefits for the additional costs are: more space, more speed & a slightly better ride as Mopower has already stated above.

If the condition & running costs are important, go for the 242. Either way you will not be dissappointed.

Cost of operation? My 272 with 454s got 1.5 mpg at 3000 rpm cruising speed. My buddys 242 with a single 509cu in/535 HP (new in April) is doing 3.8 mph. I find this hard to believe but I can say he can go a long way and the gas guage does move much.
Mine now has 540s and the best I've done is 1.3 mpg

That much difference in mileage is surprising.

Yeah , I have to keep an eye on him to make sure he's not cheating