Well I have owned about 5 boats so far. I have purchased all of them used. Just like DW said with new boat dealers, well it goes true for used as well. You have to do homework and research on the boat. Also I dont buy until I have a mechanic check it out. I dont mind spending a couple hundred bucks to save a few thousand on a bad deal.

My favorite line is: The boat motor has less than 100 hours on it. Then once I have the mechanic hook it up to diognostics it shows 700 hours, DOH! lol Always have them checked out.

I am not a mechanic at all so I have to rely on a good marine outboard mechanic to tell me if some thing is wrong with the motor or not, other than obvious signs of course.

Wish I did understand the mechanical aspect more, probably would save a lot of money on routine stuff by doing it myself.