1999 Malibu Sunsetter LX Project boat- do I take it on?

[Jrabes87]

Hello, thanks for adding me to the group! 
I just recently came across a 1999 Sunsetter that someone had torn apart, ready for a new motor. They bought a new motor, and then lost interest and didn’t finish it. I’m interested in taking on the project, and as such they are selling for dirt cheap. My main concerns are the fact that I have no way of checking out any electrical system components since it is taken apart. Are there any other red flags I should be thinking about? Is it even worth diving into? I’d appreciate any insight! 

[Bozboat]

If you can buy it dirt cheap and when finished have $15k or so in it, you should be ok. Realistically you could finish her out at $25k and sell after a few years and recover most of your money less the cost of fun. The electrical stuff on a 99 is not that difficult to figure out, and you could replace the gauges and the medallion dash computer with the alternative system and come out ahead. 

[mxmark4]

How does the rest of the boat look? Having just sold my sunsetter, the market for direct drive boats seems to be ever shrinking due to everyone wanting to surf. If its a fix and flip I would do it but not put a ton of money into it. If its for you to keep, the electronics are aging and getting harder to find gauges and such that arent a small fortune. That said theres not a ton of stuff to go wrong with the electrical system. I wouldnt hesitate to grab it and toss the engine in and see how she runs. Worst case you get it running and push it off on someone else and make a few bucks. Best case its a super clean boat and you keep it and enjoy it for a long time.