Nothing wrong with buying a less expensive used boat. It is essentially fully depreciated and you should be able to sell it for what you bought it for even years down the road. Some of the older boats are more narrow which may be a consideration? The wild card is the trailer. Make sure it seems safe enough to get you to the river and back. Then plan on replacing the bearings. If you're lucky, they'll be good enough to just repack them but plan on replacing them. Good luck.