2005 Lightning C4 Storm Series Value?

[Bkohler 0]

Hi all,

I am looking at getting a 2005 Lightning c4 storm series with around 390 hours. I have talked with the seller, and he said that he'd do $28k on it. All it really will need is one area on the vinyl redone, but it is a small seam. Overall, it looks like a clean boat; snap-out carpet, new wet sounds audio, RGB lighting. It has a teak swim platform as well. Is this a good deal? I'm not in a rush to get a boat, but I would like to know what to look out for before I drive 4 hours to go get this one. 

Thanks

[Troy. R 199]

Does the bull have cutouts on each side of the transom?

If so, I’d pass. You’ll have real difficulty a + surf wave out of that hull. If not, that means it’s the newer deep-v bull and that thing will throw a pretty nice wave.

Another question I would have is whether or not it’s been run in salt water. Salt water is very corrosive and significantly devalues boats.

If it’s the newer hull, and fresh water only, $28K sounds like a good buy.

[Avy06 5]

7 hours ago, Troy. R said:

Does the bull have cutouts on each side of the transom?

If so, I’d pass. You’ll have real difficulty a + surf wave out of that hull. If not, that means it’s the newer deep-v bull and that thing will throw a pretty nice wave.

Another question I would have is whether or not it’s been run in salt water. Salt water is very corrosive and significantly devalues boats.

If it’s the newer hull, and fresh water only, $28K sounds like a good buy.

I’d second what Troy said. 👍

[Troy. R 199]

18 hours ago, Troy. R said:

Does the bull have cutouts on each side of the transom?

If so, I’d pass. You’ll have real difficulty a + surf wave out of that hull. If not, that means it’s the newer deep-v bull and that thing will throw a pretty nice wave.

Another question I would have is whether or not it’s been run in salt water. Salt water is very corrosive and significantly devalues boats.

If it’s the newer hull, and fresh water only, $28K sounds like a good buy.

Damn! Autocorrect really ruined this comment, but I think you get what I meant. Hahaha!

[Bkohler 0]

On 5/12/2023 at 3:47 PM, Troy. R said:

Does the bull have cutouts on each side of the transom?

If so, I’d pass. You’ll have real difficulty a + surf wave out of that hull. If not, that means it’s the newer deep-v bull and that thing will throw a pretty nice wave.

Another question I would have is whether or not it’s been run in salt water. Salt water is very corrosive and significantly devalues boats.

If it’s the newer hull, and fresh water only, $28K sounds like a good buy.

It is freshwater only, but by cutouts do you mean the sideswipe exhaust? Here's a link to the pics of the boat: https://imgur.com/a/ilcCREp

[Troy. R 199]

I can’t tell because the transom is covered by the swim platform in the only transom pic.

Speaking of which, that platform needs some TLC! A good sanding and teak oil and you could probably restore it.

If I had to guess based on what I can see, it appears to be the newer hull. When I was referring g to “cutouts” there is a version of that boat that has large voids in the transom on both sides. Not sideswipe.

No Tower? Not a deal breaker, but understand you’re going to be a good $6k + into tower, Bimini, speakers, amp, board racks, etc. depending on how fancy you want to go.

The other think that seemed odd was, what are the cables running in front of the sub?

[Bkohler 0]

17 hours ago, Troy. R said:

I can’t tell because the transom is covered by the swim platform in the only transom pic.

Speaking of which, that platform needs some TLC! A good sanding and teak oil and you could probably restore it.

If I had to guess based on what I can see, it appears to be the newer hull. When I was referring g to “cutouts” there is a version of that boat that has large voids in the transom on both sides. Not sideswipe.

No Tower? Not a deal breaker, but understand you’re going to be a good $6k + into tower, Bimini, speakers, amp, board racks, etc. depending on how fancy you want to go.

The other think that seemed odd was, what are the cables running in front of the sub?

It has a tower, it was just taken off for storage. I'm not too sure what those cables are...

[Troy. R 199]

4 hours ago, Bkohler said:

It has a tower, it was just taken off for storage. I'm not too sure what those cables are...

Gotcha.

In that case, $28k seems like a pretty good deal if it is the newer hull.

here is what the older style hull with the cutouts looks like:

https://moreboats.com/boats/centurion/lightning-c4lightning-c4/174994