My son who's 32 and well grounded has the itch. First boat for him but he grew up on our boat. He's found a 1996 Checkmate 242 Convincer In Essexville, MI that he wants to put an offer on. It looks good in the pics (I know, I know) but does anybody happen to know this boat? Apparently has a newer or new motor and was upgraded to an HP500. Does anybody know a good surveyor in Michigan we can hire if they agree on a price? The owner is asking $24,995.00 I would like to have all my ducks in a row before we go down there to water test and maybe haul it back. I've never bought a used boat and I'm very skeptical.
Thanks for any input.

The price seems high to me....@ 24 years old make sure you can get it insured be for closing the deal

Says his son is 32, he will have no issues with insurance on a boat like that.

edit: age of boat is 24 yrs old, with a proper survey and it passing, why wouldn't it be able to be insured? Is it a state issue in MI?

Insuring a boat from 96 shouldn't be hard. I believe boats much older are more difficult, as my dad found out with his 1960...

Dennis Biel 586.219.7219. Great surveyor. For that money it should be mint.

yes dennis biel is good ,,,he did my boat.
insurance shouldnt be a problem , i have 1989 38 scarab insured thru AAA
formost is another ins company had boats thru before.

The boat will be kept and insured in the state of New York. He already has a quote from his insurance guy that does his truck, house and other stuff so that's not a problem.
I also thought the price was high so he's going to make an offer. If this becomes a reality we'll call Dennis. I've tried to imprint on my son the importance of a surveyor when it comes to buying used boats. Thankfully he agrees and there's no push back.
Thanks,

X3 on Dennis Biel, honest guy

Not sure if he's buying outright or is planning on getting a loan. Financing an old boat is tough. Insurance shouldn't be an issue.
Survey for sure including compression test. You usually have to insist on the compression test since it can be a pain depending on the installation.
I would also want a test drive if at all possible to make sure it doesn't have any oddball handling issues, weird vibrations, water leaks, etc.

How many 1996 checkmates are there in Essexville? This one is $21k
https://www.boattrader.com/boat/1996...incor-7294672/