First time nautique owner

Hello gents,
New guy here to the site. I have a few questions on an 89 nautique 2001
I currently own a 77 hallett jet boat that I fully restored and this summer rode on a friends 2001 hull and loved it.
I just put my hallett for sale and found an 89 correct craft nautique for $4000
It's in a different state so I can't see it in person till I get there but have a few questions.
The owner says its never been in salt water but I can't be sure of that. If it has are there any signs besides the usual things to look out for? I know to look at the stringers and engine bolts to see if it's soggy etc. it has all new interior and a few other new things.
One thing I did notice is that most 89's have a 2 piece front glass this one has 1 piece Is there a certain ammount of them that had 1 piece? I know the earlier models had 1 piece but this clearly has an 89 dash interior and the later model dash. I was a little confused with this. The gel coat looks good the trailer is a little less pretty but says it is structurally sound. And hints tips or things I should look out for? Is 4000 worth driving out of state to look if it turns out bad or good?
Thanks for your help
Rick

Working on loading pictures I might have to wait till I get home my phone is having a hard time loading the photos. From what I can tell in the photos it looks pretty clean hull and stripe are not discolored and still shine. The interior and carpet are new. Haven't seen the rudder and prop yet though he says everything is in great shape.
Thanks for the info on the windshield I was confused on it being one piece like the earlier hulls

Richard, how many hours on the boat? Is it the original engine or repowered? There are many things to look at no matter what the year but to really know if its worth 4000 you have to test drive to see what she's like. See how it runs. See if it vibrates or not. How does it run when cold/hot. Does it take in water. Check everything you can. Learn all you can from this site. Gauges work ?Trailer bearings good to get it home? Bones.

Thanks fellas unfortunately there is no water near by to put it in
And I have photos of it but can't figure out how to put them on the site with my iPhone.
May be a stupid question but what is the red exhaust you speak of? The boat is south of la in California I'm driving from Tucson az. It has 320 hours on it and is said to be original hours he is the second owner. I can text what photos I have to someone or email them to post on here if someone would like to help? If not no big deal. I'm very mechanically inclined so for the most part I know what I'm looking for just new to dd boats my jet has been a great boat for the past 6 years just time for a change.
Again thanks in advance

Spell check again on your email lol is it qmail.com? @q.com no work lol

Totally my fault bones sorry you should have mail with photos

I thought the same thing on the hours but my hallett is a 77 and just turned 550 hours but I know it's a totally different style boat normally nautiques are running more due to a lot more skiing going on and idle time.

It has the Venray muffler introduced as part of the "Power Plus" upgrade in 89 that includes the 1.23 trans that reverses the engine rotation in the unit. This allows for the use of normal auto rotation motors (LH) but still maintain a RH rotation prop.

4k sounds a little fishy for a low time boat in good condition. Maybe it's true and the owner just doesn't know the market for them.

I took a chance and bought my boat without running it first and it cause me a lot of stress. I got lucky and everything turned out fine but there are plenty of stories here where things didn't work out very well.

Talk to the owner and see how mechanical he/she is. They should be able to start it for you with the hose/bucket method. It would be better than nothing.

Chris

I read a little bit on the hose bucket method bucket of water with hose leading to a pick up on the bottom of the boat?

Right on thanks Gary. That was the bearing I was worried about I didn't know the proper name for it. You have all been very helpful I'm about 2.5 hours away from it now. When I see it in person I will keep the board updated as I know more. Again thanks to everyone for all the info I have so many ideas and things I want to do with this boat so u hope it turns up worthy of my time. One last question for the moment if anyone is reading. Is it worth using a straight edge on the drive shaft from hull to strut and strut to prop? Not sure if those are easily bent and or common to do so? Just skimming through things on the Internet people mention here and there that they are getting bad vibrations but never mention what's causing them I thought maybe this is why?

If it's bent you'll know.
Watch the shaft log for wobble, have the owner put it in gear and watch the prop for end shaft wobble.
But a bent isn't a deal killer if the rest of the boat is in good shape.