New to owning a boat - what to buy?

[3leggedcat]

I grew up on Canada's west coast and spent much of my youth in a sailboat, however I now live in Sydney and am lucky enough to have my own slip for a 40' on the inner harbor.

Plus I am basically lazy so a sail boat is out of the question.
What i want is a boat for day tripping, in style.
Occasionally in the future may do some over nighters.

What I have looked at are both used
Mustang 32'
Riviera 29'

I liked the Riveria the best but it had 800 hours on each motor (fresh water cooled), and even though the sales guy said they were well maintained I kind of felt it sounded tired.
Plus the boat was filthy and in disrepair, made me think it wasn't well looked after.
The Mustang I have been told is not as solid in the water as the Riviera or others.

So I am looking at a Sundancer 32, newer and with much fewer hours on the motors, but salt water cooled.
So my questions are;

- should I be waiting for a few months so prices come down
- is it worth buying salt water cooled and converting to fresh water
- is it worth traveling interstate, are prices better in QSLD or Vic?
- what should be on my checklist before I buy?
- I am going to get TheBoatGuy and a marine mechanic to check out everything before I buy BTW
- am I right to stay with Riviera and Sea Ray if I want better quality?
- what else am I missing? and am I crazy to buy a boat (you can stop laughing) and yes I've heard all the boat buying jokes.

Thanks to anyone now who provides any advice.

cheers