On Wed, 26 Mar 2008 13:18:24 -0700 (PDT), "Robert M. Gary"
wrote:

On Mar 26, 12:46*pm, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:
On Wed, 26 Mar 2008 10:20:44 -0700 (PDT), "Robert M. Gary"

wrote:

Not sure where you live, but the difference in tax between $12K and
$14.5K isn't much considering the total value of the vessel. - like
maybe $100.

I live in a pretty high tax state so generally when you sell something
to someone you write two contracts. One for the state and another for
the actual sale price. Of course the dealer can't do that.

It's still a minor consideration.

Pre-owned boats can be problematic unless it's always been maintained
by the dealer, the dealer has service records on the boat and that the

What types of things do you see go wrong when boats are not maintained
well? Everyone has told me I should go out with the seller on the
water but other than making sure the engine doesn't die I'm not sure
what I'm suppose to be doing. I'm pretty handy mechanically (I've
rebuilt car motors, etc) so I could do some maintenance myself.

All kinds of things, but these boats are new enough that things like
water migration and such aren't really a problem. You just want to
take a closer look at an older boat - in particular the outdrive and
where it passes through the transom. On an older boat, like the 2003,
you might want to have the boot and seal changed to to be sure.

In general, just look at the hull, make sure there aren't any huge
gouges, etc. There probably won't be because it's still new and it is
being sold by a dealer - meaning that it probably was a trade in and
they don't trade junk boats.

The difference between a 175 and 185 is minimal believe it or not. You
would think the extra foot adds a lot but it doesn't.

One of the things I was thinking was just capacity. The 175 has a
Coast Guard sticker that says "7 people". We're a family of 4 and it
would be cool to invite another family of 4 on board. The 185 says 8
people so I was just thinking it would be better to have the 8. Of
course 1/2 those people will probably have to be little guys (pre-
teens).

The problem here is that little people become big people very quickly.
And remember, when the boat is loaded, performance suffers. You may
want to look at a 20 footer if you are serious about having eight
people aboard.

~~ snip ~~

The boat that you are considering is their entry level boat - it's
meant to be an introduction boat, run for a couple years and then if
you take a fancy to running the boat and the family likes it, trade up
to a larger or more powerful boat inline with your interests. *I've
seen buys go from these small Bayliners to wakeboard/ski boats and in
one case a bass boat because the guy loved fishing and the family
could care less about boating.

I was kind of thinking that. If I bought from the dealer I would have
the warranty and dealer support (which would be good for a newby) but
I would incur the large initial depreciation. If I bought used I could
let the previous owner lose the depreciation and be able to sell it in
a couple years for near what I bought it for.

Oh oh. :)

Unfortunately, that's not anywhere near the truth. Boats, in
particular entry level boats, depreciate very quickly - you will lose
at least 25% for just a couple of years of use. Don't think that you
will recover your investment like that - it just doesn't happen with
these types of boats.

Other boats - yes - you will not lose as much, but you will not get
what you invested. For example, I have a 2000 Ranger with a
relatively new 2006 200 hp ETEC HO (low hours/5 years on the warranty
left) and recently redone trailer. I have it insured for $34,000
because that's about what it's worth if I had to replace it. I'd be
hard pressed to sell it for $16K - more like $12K and I'd have to wait
a while for that. This is a quality boat by the way.

That's just an illustration. I've been in the used market looking for
that one boat that I will keep until I can't use it anymore and
prices, compared to new, are amazing in terms of what the owners have
lost even in used value.

Just a word to the wise.

Lastly, as another member mentioned, you need to see if you are
comfortable with the boat, what exactly you expect from the boat (ski,
wake board, tube, fish), how many people onboard at any time (max),
etc. *You need to get onboard and sit in the seats see if your are
comfortable and can move around sufficiently without restriction. How
much storage will you need - etc. *A secondary consideration is if you
can properly tow the vessel with what ever you are using to tow with.

Hehe, when we bought the plane I took the family over to the service
center and did a "fit test" to see that everyone fit ok. My wife was a
bit offended at the notion that she may not "fit" but it was helpful.
My boys are just so excited about getting a boat I think they'd be
happy to ride in a raft.

Some years back I flew sea planes for an operator in central
California. I loved spending time on the water (sometimes I'd land in
the middle of the lake and just jump in). We just got back from Mexico
where we would often hire local fisherman to take us around nearby
islands for snorkling. That kind of got the fire burning again.
Interestingly there are no inboard motors in Mexico, every single boat
I saw was outboard.

Seems like we've discussed this before - I have a strange sense of
deja vue all over again. :)

I'm an unabashed outboard guy - prefer them to inboards for any number
of reasons that I don't want to rehash as I've made my points so
often, it gets boring. :)