1964 20' Sabre Craft Sunliner -- help with price

[howellm70]

Hey all, I'm looking at buying my first vintage boat this weekend -- a teal 1964 Sabre Craft Sunliner. 20' long powered by a Merc 160. Does $2,500 sound like a good price for boat + trailer assuming it doesn't have any major issues? Pic attached.

Thanks for your guidance!

[Straycat]

To much in my oppinion...............................lot of nice classics out there in that price range. Keep looking!

[Helmar]

Thats a hard call.
If its truly ready to go and no repairs needed, its like a used car without a Blue Book.
What is the market value, hard one.....
It would sure cost you Tons more to do a complete restoration on something.

[Tim McCrain]

I agree with both Lon and Joe

It would cost you more than that to restore a comparable boat, especially if you paid someone to do it, but then you would have a restored boat, not a used one. Boats (or cars, trucks, etc.) that old that are in "pretty good" shape are boats that haven't been used much, and things that haven't been used much develop problems when you start using them. Like leaking seals, gauges that stop working, wiring that deteriorates, fasteners that strip and break when you try to loosen them to fix the above problems, etc, etc. Before you know it, you've paid for a boat in good shape and then restored it. Unless, of course, you go through everything up front, but then why did you pay that much for it?

And that does seem like a lot of money for that boat. There are better buys out there.

That hardtop is pretty cool (in my opinion it's the most appealing feature of the boat) but after using my Sabrecraft with the top on, I've realized I don't want to spend my boat time sitting under a low roof like a car and would rather be in the open. Have you spent much time on the water under a top like that? How would you like the boat without the top? Would you like the way it looks?

Tim

[Skagitguy]

Hey all, I'm looking at buying my first vintage boat this weekend -- a teal 1964 Sabre Craft Sunliner. 20' long powered by a Merc 160. Does $2,500 sound like a good price for boat + trailer assuming it doesn't have any major issues? Pic attached.

Thanks for your guidance!

I would say this person has some BIG dollar's numbers in his head. Tell him you would like WSP to inspect the trailer ( title ?) and that price will drop like a rock.... Also i get a little concern myself on old I/O's . See if he has some paper work on any repairs done to it. If the I/O needs repair's and the trailer as well it become's a $500.00 boat with a lot of engine work and the same with the trailer. Does he have the boat title ? How long has he own it ? Is he just trying to flip it and make quick cash ? Sorry about the news. Chuck

[Skagitguy]

.....

[howellm70]

Great feedback!

Thanks all for the great feedback. It's getting inspected as we speak. Here's what I know about it:
- The owner's had if for the last 5 years and has used it every summer
- There are 820 hours showing on the clock
- He had the water impeller and steering cable replaced 2 years ago
- He as the title for boat and trailer
- All the electrical works -- lights, outboard trim, blower, bilge, etc.

Per Tim's ask, I really do like the way it looks but do think I'll use it mostly with the top off. That said, I am will to pay a little for the "cool factor" because it is so unique.

He's also throwing in a Minikota trolling motor, original table and a spare prop.

Does that change any of the feedback? Otherwise I get the sense that I'd be paying too much. $2k?

[Straycat]

Granted the hard top may have a cool factor for some BUT I can tell you from experience that the side window glass & frame work will drive you nut's rattling and flopping around like a fish out of water without the top bolted on in a moderate or worse chop...................... JMO

I would say depends on the market. Where I am I've seen a lot worse sell for a lot more. Personally if it sold in my neck of the woods it would be considered a good deal as long as everything works good.
Mind you there are 40 000 people living in 440 000 sq mile area. Deals are few a far between here. I'm always amazed at the low cost of boats in the classified section. I'd end up buying them all if I was closer.

[Tim McCrain]

Some more questions to ask yourself ...

How are you with mechanical issues? Do you have the skill, time, money and tools necessary to work on that outdrive? If not, do you know any shops that will take on something that old and how much they would charge for working on old stuff assuming they can find parts for it? I would suggest that you search the net for outdrive parts and see how unavailable they are and how much you'll pay for what you can find. I did this a while back with an older (newer than yours) Mercruiser outdrive and it was rather sobering.

There really isn't any good answer to "what is it worth?", what you're really asking is "what would you pay for it?". Whole bunch of different answers to that question.

[halffast32]

Boat on!!

[howellm70]

Just heard back from the inspection. It got a very clean bill of health. Everything checks out between the trailer and the boat. Good compression, recent engine and out drive oil change, all gauges work, starts easily, smooth shifting, the floor is in great shape.

I think I'm going to take the plunge. When I look at the photos, I just get excited so I'll do what I usually don't, which is make an emotional purchase.

Tim, per your question, I have an old land rover that I love working on so this is another project for me. I'm a weekend mechanic that knows just enough to be dangerous but is willing to put in the time and effort to learn...and, above all, have fun with it.

Thanks all for you guidance. I'm really looking forward to being part of the club and meeting the Seattle crew at one of the events.

[skagit 25]

Enjoy your new boat!

enjoy your new boat.