Should You Buy a Bayliner Boat? (New and Used)

[@BoatBuyersSecretWeapon]

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[@michaelalejandro3267]

I love all the negative talk about Bayliner. I have a 1994 Bayliner 1850LS Merc 3.0LX and it runs like a champ and looks like it’s a 10 year old boat. And it’s all mine. I have friends that have newer searays and tahoes and their boat look and run like garbage. And they have been paying for it for years. Like he said it’s all about how the owner takes care of and maintains the boat.

[@johncarter1137]

My wife won a new 1987 Bayliner 14 foot Capri Bow Rider with the 50 HP Force outboard in a radio contest. The boat has been a great little boat and still looks good to be so old. The Force outboard was always reliable until this year when the thermostat hung closed and it ran hot. I will probably hang a 50 HP Mercury 4 stroke on it in a couple of years. I also own a 2015 Sun Tracker 22 foot pontoon boat and a 2024 Bass Tracker Classic.

[@SA1NT53]

I love my Bayliner. It’s comfortable, it was cheap, it runs good, it’s reliable, I love it! Why don’t more people do that? People are weird. Btw, it’s a 2005 212 Cuddy Capri with a 5.0 V8

[@chrishackett554]

Cheap is the key word. Just like any industry there are quality and lesser quality. Given certain usage a Bayliner will work just fine like in small inland sheltered waters.

[@SA1NT53]

@@chrishackett554 My Bayliner handles chop just fine

[@alfalfa4009]

@@SA1NT53 what body of water to you mostly run and it’s not only about the boats ability to run through some moderate chop, it’s more about what is happening in the long term when Bayliner uses cheaper resin and glass, lag bolts all the hardware, electrical looms with zip ties and lags, plastic battery boxes or straps holding the battery. That’s where the quality of the boat is measured. Look at the behind the helm wiring of Renegade performance CC and then compare to what’s behind yours. Given operational limitations Bayliner and Tahoe are fine but don’t think in anyway they can come near even mid level boats in quality let alone top tier manufacturers.

[@paulkersey2179]

I recently purchased my third boat, a 2022 VR4 with 115 ProXS and I love this boat, for 35K it is 30-40% less than most competing models, I take it offshore regularly and it does very well. I can ski and board behind it. As you would expect the seats could be better, but I have not seen any unfished fiberglass anywhere. I would 100% buy this boat used, assuming as you said, it is treated well and maintained accordingly. And I looked at MANY used boats before I bought this boat and there is some real junk out there.

[@rob2738]

I’ve a 2012 175gt. Love it!

[@Nygar1]

Brunswick Marine owns them they are no longer a bad boat the Quality issues are resolved. Yes the Bayliners before Brunswick bought them out boats were trash . I own newer one it's a good boat before that I owned a Sea Ray, campion,StarCraft, Silver line. I own a Bayliner 160 and it's never let me down last year I plowed a big piece of driftwood in middle of lake it looked like a log thought the it be a crack in the bottom nothing not even a scratch 2 days ago got stuck in a severe thunderstorm the boat is still floating think this was discussed before . Anybody who buys a newer Bayliner will be getting a good boat comparable to more expensive brands without the fancy features.

[@Grant3758]

Im looking at a Bayliner 2050 1996 with a 5.7. Is that a bad year to avoid?

[@chrishackett554]

The only national brand boats built with even lesser quality are Tahoes. My neighbors purchased from local dealership and one day we found the bilge was swamped with water after a rain storm. Tahoe is so cheap the bilge pump was not automatic. I didn’t even think that would pass USCG Regs but they do. Based on my suggestion they took the boat back to the dealer and got an auto float bilge pump installed.

[@saabinit5457]

Any chance the M15 would be able to handle a harbor ( specifically the inner Boston Harbor) just to putt around in.

[@BoatBuyersSecretWeapon]

I’m not familiar with Boston harbor but On a calm day with little wind it could do ok it your a competent operator. Staying near shore and behind the islands you’d be more protected but 2’ ers would be miserable and potentially dangerous

[@nickwinn]

Someone gave me a 120 hp force outboard motor for free when I was a kid (around 1992). I slapped it on a 14 ft jon boat and that boat was wicked fast, to the point things inside the boat would start blowing out (rods, nets, buckets, etc).

[@nickwinn]

Ever wonder why they're called bayliners? The bottom of the bays are lined with the wreckage of these boats.

[@someonethatwatchesyoutube2953]

😂😂😂

[@markdimaio8396]

Can you provide documentation of that from the Coastguard or you just parroting what someone also repeating ?

[@nickwinn]

@@markdimaio8396 It's a well known joke in boater groups. I've never had a bayliner personally but have friends who had a lot of problems with bayliner hulls (specifically transom and fuel cell issues).

[@MBKindell]

What are you talking about? You can tell when somebody is making a joke, right? A company won't name their brand after some sort of huge negative, and we all know that. That doesn't mean they are good boats. I have a Bayliner 23 foot bowrider. It's got some cheap instrumentation and such. It's been a good boat though. But sheesh, learn to notice when somebody is making a joke.

[@MBKindell]

I should've added in my comment: Mine has been pretty good and very enjoyable!

[@Checkthefineprint]

Girlfriend had a 1994 bayliner Capri 19’. We put the engine block resealer stuff in it cuz her Ex husband didn’t winterize. been running great for 12 years now. Recently due to inadequate cover the rear transom has deteriorated to the point last August we lost the outdrive and we’ll now she is sitting. It was an awesome boat until that bit of neglect from previous ownership reappeared. No the fit and finish were basic at best. But we were on the water pretty often on it. Thought about paying 3k for the new fiberglass for the rear transom? Opinions: repair or not?

[@BoatBuyersSecretWeapon]

3k in… if that’s the final amount and you have a 3-5k boat… not the worst especially if it runs good and you’ll use it another 5-10 years. My concern is that the repairs are going to be bigger once you dig in and that 3000 balloons to 5000 or more..

[@Checkthefineprint]

@@BoatBuyersSecretWeapon my underlying fear also.

[@MegaSling]

A thirty year old Bayliner. Nice

[@Checkthefineprint]

@@MegaSling she is sitting with a rotten transom not sure if she will get repaired already saw a 2005 cobalt

[@MegaSling]

@@Checkthefineprint Yea, She got her moneys worth out of it IMHO. It's time to move on as they say.

[@dwayneroberts6616]

I have a 1996 Bayliner trophy pro 1903 CC. It's in ridiculously good shape and solid. I don't have a force engine I have a Mercury black max 150 hp 2 stroke. I'll put this boat up against any 19' boat out there. The force motor was what screwed Bayliner. The false tales of the hulls breaking and Bayliners going down is total BS. The reason there's so many Bayliners in the junk yards and for sale is they were the first real production boat produced with a package of boat motor and trailer that the average person could afford. A lot of first time boat buyers bought them and didn't give them any proper maintenance and the force motor was a bad choice by Bayliner. I'll personally take a Bayliner in great shape over a more expensive boat that needs a bunch of work. The money Id be putting into restoring it can replace the cheap hardware with a better quality hardware.

[@richarddebeer9081]

In the world of boating there are two things you cannot get rid of;......... Aids and a Bayliner

[@zackriden79]

like asking if you should buy the most poorly rated cheap car available on the market , Um should you ? no can you ? sure but why

[@clarknawrocki9718]

I wouldn't buy a Bayliner because nobody will buy it when its time to sell it because of the reputation

[@jonsmith398]

Some bayliners are built in Mexico i was told

[@BoatBuyersSecretWeapon]

Yep, so are the smaller Sea Ray SPXs

[@tomjahn6896]

Make GM and ram pickups are built in Mexico as well. The boat will match the truck towing it. 😅

[@bertram46]

Oh my gosh! Make sure you have life jackets, and coast guard number. Absolute junk in great lakes or god forbid the ocean. Good on inland lake. Extremely low build quality. And the people who own them place the flag in the bow maybe a certain ethnicity? Look at all of the donation websites always a million bayliners and sea rays. Buy a bertram or a tiara

[@SuperSuperPork]

🤡

[@petergodfrey4783]

You wouldn’t catch me in a Bayliner. Better perhaps but still garbage.

[@SA1NT53]

L take

[@SuperSuperPork]

@@SA1NT53 agree 125%