Re: New Boat Purchase Advice
This is from someone who didn't follow the advice above and bought a brand new boat as his first boat.
It was last year. Got a factory-ordered 17.5 foot aluminum fish & ski with full console and lots of options. Negotiated the deal at the boat show. The original sales price was pretty good, but they threw in a few extras we asked for to sweeten the deal, including their best trailer with disc brakes, spare tire, loading guides and folding tongue; a snap-on canvas travel cover; bow rails that weren't offered even as options on that particular model, but that the factory put on for us anyway; upgraded trolling motor and electronics; etc.
The motor we ordered was a Merc 115hp 4-stroke. The promotion included extending the motor's warranty from three to five years at no additional cost.
And now for the "knock on wood" part. Took the boat out 30 times last season and it still looks like new. (This is where the "wood" I'm knocking on is really the back of my skull!). I'll take most of the credit, though. After ordering the boat, but before taking delivery of it, I took a safe boating course through the U.S. Power Squadron. Neat class. Different instructors covering their area of expertise each week. I asked lots of questions and learned a lot, including rules of the road, lateral and non-lateral markers, and the things people do that wreck the finish on their boats. And before taking her out yesterday for her spring commissioning, I took the online MN DNR safe boating online course (it's been recently improved, by the way, and is great!).
Another good reason for our success was the GPS/Sonar unit with a lake charting chip. It lets you see where those nasty rock formations and shallow areas are AHEAD of time!
And, finally and perhaps most important, the thing that gave me confidence to even try this boating business came from what I learned right here on this forum!
Yes, I tried finding a young used copy of the model boat we wanted, but they were few and far between, and those that were available were priced unreasonably high. Buying new was a few thousand more, but everything came with a warranty.
When the time ever comes to sell the boat (actually, I plan on giving it to my son who is also my fishing partner and helped pick out the boat), I'll provide a 3-ring binder that shows it was professionally serviced by my factory authorized selling dealer every year, along with receipts for everything else we needed to buy that weren't included with the original purchase (Richter anchor, for example).
But do you want to know the REAL reason I bought new as a newbie boater? Well, last year I turned 60. Not sure how many good years I have left to have this kind of fun, but I am sure I don't want to spend any of that time trying to figure out and pay for any previous owner's problems.
So, new or used. Good grief; all this writing, and it really all boils down to your own personal situation...
