I could never win a debate about this with you. I've never been in a Z7 with a 200 and probbaly not with the best drivers either and truth is you're probably right except for the snippet above. If I'n not mistaken banks like to loan based on a sweet spot of equity they'll have in the boat. I could probably get a 100k loan on a 300k boat quick than I could get 20k on a 22k boat.

I have a 2009 Nitro Z7 with a 150 Merc. The two lakes I fish are Falcon and Fork ( plus been on Martin one time). I have been on some really rough water on Falcon, and for a 18' 8" boat it handled it pretty well. Hole shot was horrible until Steve at SCP fixed me up with a better prop. It has been a good solid boat. The huge front deck fishes 2 guys well. My two main gripes are: the boat has 3 batteries and it came with a Guest 2 bank charger-I always had to take a portable charger with me when fishing away from home. The Guest charger only lasted 2 years before it quit working. My main gripe is that every storage unit leaks like a sieve. Every time I get caught out in a rain, I have to empty out everything in storage and take 2 or 3 days drying everything out. That is getting really old. Dealer support can be an issue as well.

I'll have to agree with you there, unless you know someone at a bank, they only want to give you a 4 year note on older boats (better rates and terms with a personal loan) and if you finance 25K for 4 years, you might as well finance 60K for 12 years...payment would be less plus you have warranty. (Granted, you may not get a great rate, but the banks will qualify you, they want to move boats and make money just as much as the dealerships.)

I appreciate everyone's input and opinions on this subject. I'm trying to get the newest year model,reliable, boat for my budget. I know people can be loyal to one brand and that's OK all I have ever owned is Skeeter's so I'm partial to them. I'm open to trying a different brand that is also a good dependable boat.

Look for boats that people have won in tourneys.

Hard to compare an 18ft vs a 21ft boat, dont matter the brand. 21ft wins every time.

[quote=buggin]I appreciate everyone's input and opinions on this subject. I'm trying to get the newest year model,reliable, boat for my budget. I know people can be loyal to one brand and that's OK all I have ever owned is Skeeter's so I'm partial to them. I'm open to trying a different brand that is also a good dependable boat. [/quote

Stick with skeeter, one of (I said one of) the best rides out there.