When I see 2012 rigs that cost 50-65 thousand dollars (and more).... that do not come with decent electronics I.E. Side imaging.

Rant over. Boat manufactures need to get on it.

also normally have a 24v trolling motor.

Regarding HIGH bassboat prices, it's simply the cost of LOW-VOLUME manufacturing and sales.

There's lots of stuff I can NOT afford.

If I had the money I would gladly pay an exta 4 grand(I means what's 4 grand after 60?) For some hb si instead of a 16 scale black & white

You could buy 3 Pickups for 65,000.

or half a house lol

see the problem is most people see 65,000 as 345 dollars a month but for 40 years.

maybe a base model single cab with a 6cyl. Truck prices are crazy these days too.

Nobody looks at the bottom line for what they pay on a 20 year boat loan. A $45000.00 boat will cost them well over $100000.00.

4-door/4-wheel drive F250 diesel lariat package mid 50's.....After rebates--- Really ??

21I - 250 sho mid to upper 50's after rebates............ Really ???

You have to be on a good roll to(risk)buying that stuff in this economy..

I agree Barrett

I guess somebody is buyin' 'em. I, on the other hand, would rather buy a one or two year old boat. Get all the extra's I want, plus warranty, at a drastically reduced price.

hope you feel better now that you vented your opinion.

I buy 2-3 year old trucks and 4-6 year old bass boats usually. I'm older and over that "gotta have new" phase. I let some other guy take the hit on depreciation because it's just not worth it to me. Now if I could swing a 30k downpayment on a new boat without puking from writing the check, I "might" consider buying new but then I'd also get sick everytime I bumped a stump or beached it etc.

Boat prices are a joke. There is not one model out that comes close the 2/3 of the MSRP. You could by a corvette for the price of these higher end boats. No way do they compare in manufacture cost.

Most people don't look at the bottom line on anything they finance. All they want to know is what is the payment.

It hits pretty hard when you buy a $120k house and the figures on the paperwork show that you will pay over $300k overall if you make just the minimum payment every month.

Here's the way FZ1 rolls. 10 year old boat and vehicle and hope to never buy,either,again. What I spend my money on,is good MK variable speed TMs,Optima batteries,and good Rods and Reels. The boat and tow vehicle just get me to where I can fish. I enjoy the TM and Rods and Reels on every pitch or cast. Guess I'm more of a fisherman than a boater.

I couldn't make myself pay that much. Thats why I went and bought an 03 triton. Its only 18.5' but it has side imaging and its paid for. I can do alot more fishing without a $500 a month boat payment.

Had a 8 year old Ranger 521 that was out of warranty but paid for and loaded. I bought it 3 years old. Great boat but at that age it was costing me average $ 200 to $ 500 a month fixing all the things that were breaking. I traded it in a couple months ago and got within 2,500 of what I paid for it. I bought a new Ranger Z521 loaded. Twin power poles, twin 1198's, Hydro plate, and Hydrowave. Net cost every month is similar because of not paying for the repairs. I hated to pay that but in the end, it is what we love!

My thoughts exactly. I'm looking to buy a bigger boat in the near future, but am paying cash. I'd rather have an older boat that's paid for than something I'm making payments on. I figure the money I save on payments can be used for gas to go fishing.

If you have the money, buy new. It helps with the overall industry and keeps us tightwads buying better deals out there. Lots of folks just can't afford new. Of course you may not be the first one to scratch your boat unless you buy new. I'd rather not have a chance to put the first scratch on a new rig. I bought new ONCE, and only ONCE, back in '97. I lost more on that boat w/ depreciation than the other three used boats I've owned and sold. Buy right and sell right!

As for Barrett's question, mfg's need to put the best electronics on the new boats. I don't think it's because they are trying to keep the costs down when you see $60,000 price tags. If the new boat buyer can afford the ridiculous prices today, what's another 5-6 grand? That way he can put everything under the finance plan. I would wake up in a cold sweat every night if I knew owed that kind of money for a toy I like to play with. For those who can afford it, please keep buying new. Eventually it gives me a better selection when I'm ready to upgrade. Thanks a bunch!

Barrett-
I know from Skeeter's standpoint, they put the basic graph on boats. This helps with the bottom line dollar to the consumer. The main reason they go with the lower end graph is because graphs are the #1 upgrades on boats. and almost every buyer wants something different. So, if you start putting 998's on boats, everyone will be wanting 1198's, and vise versa. So, Skeeter goes with the base 788 and lets you choose from there.

But if you take a base boat priced around $40k, and add SI to front and back, you are gonna bump that boat price up around $50k before anything is ever said and done.

I guess that I am too old to change but I was told if you can't afford to buy a toy for cash, then you can't afford it anyways. I am not talking about tournament fisherman but the regular Joe on the water relaxing. I have bought and traded up the next time never financing a boat to what I have now. In these days I am glad not to worry about a toy payment on top of everything else.

If your paying 60-70 thousand dollars for a brand new SKEETER boat it should come with twin 1198s.... 65 thousand dollars is half a nice house. YOu trying to tell me it costs and takes that much to build a 21 foot boat. Give me a break. No offense but brand new boats are EXTREMELY overpriced for what you get.

I agree, but as long as people keep paying it, they will keep charging it.

Yeah, the only thing that 99% are concerned with is whether or not they can make the payment, not whether or not they can afford it. No telling them any different either. Nobody ever wants to put money down and then get mad if they don't qualify because financing out 10-20 years still overextends them. You guys buying used with cash have it right!