A complete change of course....stupid boat show! $$$

[This_lil_fishy]

So, some may remember my dilema regarding purchasing a bayliner 175 or 195 discovery. Well I went to the boat show today, what fun, a little info overload and a lot of eye opening.

Before going too far, I am not bashing Bayliner, they've come a long way and they are still nicely built boats from what I saw....

However...

I am now looking at Glastron or Maxum. The glastron is a GT 209 sport cuddy, with the galley package, brand new, 2009, with trailer camper back etc... The Maxum is a 2006 with the same features (except the galley package) and 10 full hours use. They both are very close to the same out the door price, and I am a bit torn. I am sure I can haggle the Maxum down a bit, as the guy was shocked when I told him how much the Glastron was going for. They both have 4.3L with the glastron having a Volvo standard or the Mercury as a no charge option (which is better??). The Maxum is just Merc.

Any thoughts? Which boat is better (build, appearance). I was not able to see either boat, but I was invited to the dealer show rooms to view them after the show.

PS: Both boats are about $6k more then the most expensive 195 bayliner bowrider with the fish package and 3.0l Merc. Seems like a whole lot more boat for a relatively small amount of money ($6k ain't cheap, but things being relative)

Ian

 

[ziggy]

Re: A complete change of course....stupid boat show! $$$

the 209 reads real nice. to bad it i don't see where it reads that it's got the vec technology... sweet lookin boat though...

got a volvo shop near ya for service? that could read into the equation for which one perhaps. or, maybe yer gonna do your own service....

 

[superpop]

Re: A complete change of course....stupid boat show! $$$

The Glastron is probably similar in build quality to the Bayliner, maybe a few more standard features and the Maxum is simply a nicer Bayliner. In fact the Maxum is made by Bayliner, or at least they are all part of the same parent company. I liked the Maxum the last time I looked at them and it looked like they were pretty well built so that is probably what I would buy. The Volvo is the better drive if you are comparing it to an Alpha 1. You do not need a repair shop near by as the thing is pretty much bullet proof. Mine is 13 years old and has never had a problem. Parts are more scarce for the Volvo but it is worth the hassle as they are very nice drives. I think you are going to get a much better deal on the 06 simply because you have NADA numbers that will make the Maxum look like it should be selling for far less then the new boat. It should be about 50% to 60% of the new selling price.

 

[chiefalen]

Re: A complete change of course....stupid boat show! $$$

All things being equal no question volvo is the way to go hands down.

However boats here by me are bargain basement priced right now.

 

[devnull]

Re: A complete change of course....stupid boat show! $$$

I have a Maxum 24' (2300SC). Great boat overall and it fit my particular needs/budget at the time. I've looked at a few Bayliners (and briefly owned one before my Maxum), they're great boats for the money and you get the cost savings from feature/trim deletions not quality deletions.

Maxum, Bayliner, SeaRay, Boston Whaler (and a couple of others I'm forgetting) are all owned by the same parent company. Bayliner does not "make" Maxum boats, but they do share a few things in common. The biggest commonality is that they'll all have MerCruiser power packages, as Brunswick (the parent company) also owns MerCruiser.

One thing to keep in mind, 2009 is going to be the last year for Maxum to exist as a stand alone brand. After this year they are ceasing production. This could cause the value of any Maxum boat to drop in 2010 and beyond, as they would be considered a dead brand. This is somewhat silly, as the biggest maintenance item on a boat is generally the power plant, and MerCruiser isn't going anywhere.

If it were me, I would haggle hard on the Maxum you saw. Bring up the brand discontinuation and see if the seller wants to be stuck with a dead brand going into the end of 2009/2010.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: A complete change of course....stupid boat show! $$$

personally, i'm afraid to buy any Brunswick product at the present time, they are in big trouble, they have mothballed 18 plants, and working toward atleast 27 plants closing. do your home work. if they totally fail, who is going to warranty.

 

[jacknbella]

Re: A complete change of course....stupid boat show! $$$

I agree with tashasdaddy. Be weary of Brunswick-built boats and Merc for that matter. If you can find a good 2008 left-over somewhere (with a Volvo motor), haggling the price much lower than invoice will be much easier than you may think. Do everything over the internet and forgot about visiting a showroom where salesmen will hound you. Above all, be patient. It takes time to haggle but it will be worth it in the end. For instance, I just bought a 2008 Four Winns left-over for $29K. I haggled (via email) for over 2 months before they "caved"... Good luck!

 

[H8tank]

Re: A complete change of course....stupid boat show! $$$

Whatever you do, do not settle for that 3.0, you will be very unhappy down the road with it.

The 4.3 is a fine motor for a <20' boat.

A 2006 w/10hrs? Yeah, you should be paying half sticker for that thing, if not more.

 

[This_lil_fishy]

Re: A complete change of course....stupid boat show! $$$

That's some great help guys. Appreciate the info, I am liking the build quality of the Glastrons, and from what I have read so far, the volvo rigs are a bit more efficient, and the QXi 4.3 is more powerful and efficient then the merc 5.0. Servicing isn't a huge issue, but a lifetime hull warranty ain't worth the paper it's made of if they are discontinuing the brand. I typically do my own repairs, right down to engine rebuilds. Although I've never had an outdrive apart, I am about to undertake a rebuild of my existing Merc 50 lower unit, as I think the clutch dogs are about done (clatter like nuts in a barrel) and it's got a bit of a prop seal leak.

I will have to ask if the 209 has the VEC hull design. That's a very good point to. At the end, if they don't cave on the Maxum price, by a lot, then I think I may custom order my Glastron, the volvo drive, and mini-galley options are big plus points.

EDIT: The catalog does not list the 209 as VEC construction, so I would assume it would be the same as the bayliners, with encapsulated wood stringers.

Ian

 

[oops!]

Re: A complete change of course....stupid boat show! $$$

its a pretty solid bet the strings are foam encupsulated....

between volvo and merc motors.........they are both gm's......so its the drive you are concerned about.......and over the two.....go volvo hands down....(not to say the alpha isnt a great drive......its just the volvos are better

 

[This_lil_fishy]

Re: A complete change of course....stupid boat show! $$$

Yeah, I am intimately aware of the venerable GM 4.3 v6. One bullet proof engine, likely due to the marine engineering behind it. I too am more concerned about the quality of the outdrive and feel convinced the volvo would be the prefered option.


Ian

 

[tmh]

Re: A complete change of course....stupid boat show! $$$

How did you come to select two boats you did not even see at the show? Isn't getting in and looking around at a shine new boat what gets us "hooked" at shows? Why Glastron and maxum now? Just curious, nothing wrong with either.

truth is, every time we look at 19-21' boats at the shows (bowriders in our case) the Maxums always catch our eyes. First off, they tens to have more usable space for the size. Also, the upholstery/cushions feels better than the entry level boats, IMO. These are very similar to the top end Bayliner of the same design. The hulls may well be identical. However, Toyota and lexus share much of the "underneath" design and they are certainly not the same vehicles!

Glastron ...... just haven't looked at them much I guess.

 

[This_lil_fishy]

Re: A complete change of course....stupid boat show! $$$

How did you come to select two boats you did not even see at the show? Isn't getting in and looking around at a shine new boat what gets us "hooked" at shows? Why Glastron and maxum now? Just curious, nothing wrong with either.

truth is, every time we look at 19-21' boats at the shows (bowriders in our case) the Maxums always catch our eyes. First off, they tens to have more usable space for the size. Also, the upholstery/cushions feels better than the entry level boats, IMO. These are very similar to the top end Bayliner of the same design. The hulls may well be identical. However, Toyota and lexus share much of the "underneath" design and they are certainly not the same vehicles!

Glastron ...... just haven't looked at them much I guess.

Very good question. There were very very few cuddy's at the show, as it seems bowriders are the big sellers. So I had only the boats on sale to use as judgement for build and trim quality. Bayliner had the 192 cuddy on display, and Regal (Mmmmm...pretty!) also had a 22 foot cuddy on display. The Bayliner was almost utilitarian, certainly seemed well built, however it looked very plain jane. The regal was super pricey!! So I ruled that out. Also a lot of the manufacturers there seemed to ignore me, I guess I don't look rich...or even well off. However both the Maxum people and the Glastron people were very outgoing and I told them what I was looking for, a cuddy, but I was considering a bow rider cause it would fit in my garage and storage is a none issue. However it seems to me a cuddy is more versatile. They both told me they don't really sell many cuddy's anymore, as bowriders seem to be super popular right now. This means, that a similarly equipped bowrider will be a bit more expansive...for reasons that don't make sense to me..but I digress. Anyhow, they indicated the equivalent sized bowrider, and I was able to thoroughly go over the stock they had on display. After tearing the boats apart I felt that for the money, they were the best options at the show. I was able to view the boats in detail online since then, and both dealers said they would be willing to let me see the boats in question prior to making a purchase decision...to see if they are as pretty in person as online.

Phew...that was wordy.

Ian

 

[mphy98]

Re: A complete change of course....stupid boat show! $$$

i like new boats as much as anyone, bought a few new when i was younger, now i will buy a leftover new marked way down, or used because the depreciation on a boat is almost as bad as motor homes. there are a ton of almost new boats for half of what you would pay for a new one. just a thought.