Buying 2005 Utopia 205.....need advice

[jlwardn]

I am buying a 2005 Utopia 205 and would like some thoughts and advice.
It is in fair to average condition.....seats a little faded and a few scratches.
I asked owner about how it performed. With his family of 4-6 people he would reach 38-40 mph and 5500 rpm. He thought that was normal. He said speedo would only work sometimes.
I bought it to a local Mercury dealer for inspection. Here is what he found.
Cylinder #2 has compression of 108
#6 has compression of 110
Two others were at 115 and the other two were at 125.
Spark plugs looked carboned up
It had 293 hours on it.
Alternator and air compressor were pretty rusty but functioned fine.
2 rear seats had cracks and blown out seems.
Bottom of hull had superficial scratches through gel coat....fill required
Was told impeller and pump looked very good. Owner told me this was new in 2013.

I can buy for $6500. I looked at 3 others....2 of them only 185.....all 2002 or 2003 model years. Not one less than $10k. Searching other 2005s they seemed $13-14k.

Should I buy and run the way it is.....buy and spend money to improve.......or run for deal.
I would love to hear your thoughts and advise.

 

[Coastiejoe]

The engines are all but done. As a general rule, once you reach 120 psi it is time for a rebuild. So,, if you buy this boat, you should safely assume you will have engine work in your near future.

Seats that fade and crack are common. Most have a local shop re-cover them.

Value,, I can't help you to much there. Others will give you some advice on that..

 

[AirSniper]

I paid about $350 for the two bench seats in my 205, the foam was in good condition, only needed vynl

 

[jlwardn]

I just took it for a test drive. It was cold and windy out but needed to be done. It was louder than I thought and definitely not as smooth running. Giving it a little throttle it felt like it made a lot of noise....rattled the dash but did not take off like a bat out of hell(like my previous 2 seater Sea Doo PWC). Once I got up to about 20mph I gave it more throttle and it seemed to take off. Between 30-40mph it seemed to want to pull/drift left. I was able to get it up to 48mph(phone based GPS Speedo app) I think I still had a little more throttle but it was cold and water was choppy from the wind. Loved the speed so my only concern was that it seemed a little slow and harsh getting up to 20mph. The rattling dash was not cool either. It has brand new plugs. How much of this is normal. It is a heavy big jet boat and maybe it just has a hard time getting up to speed.....
When it was inspected....they also mentioned Throttle Body Intake Dirty and Air Compressor Air Filter Dirty.
Codes stored in computer: Warning Horn Circuit High and Oil Level Sensor Circuit.
Any thoughts.....on the test drive and the codes would great be appreciated