Looking at "new to me" boats again and Im curious on what is too old in your opinion. Im really considering a 2005-2010ish year boats in the 20' and 250 HP range.

What can a new boat do that an older one cant?

Are 4 strokes the real deal? What brand?

How many hours are to many?

The boat will be rigged with PPs or Talons, Ultrex and probably Garmin graphs.

Why not the Garmin TM; so it will pair with the Graphs?

Ill look into it but I hate to be the guinea pig for new products.

Do you know anyone using one? Im wayyy out of the loop on the cool kid stuff at this point.

If you are going to add those upgrades yourself, I would argue that the basic capability of bass boats is essentially the same as it was 20-25 years ago. You didn't mention outboard warranty as part of your consideration, so you may want to look at an older, but well maintained boat/motor. For example, the Merc 3.0l EFI motors, when maintained properly, are known to be very reliable.

I will point to my '99 model major brand name 21 foot bass boat with the above mentioned motor. I have updated the electronics over the years, replaced the upholstery, etc. When I see the newer boats, I really don't see any game-changing differences. Small differences? Yes. But, big ones? No,IMHO.

Key for me would be to find a used boat that suits your personal needs and that has been maintained properly.

I have a 2007 I bought 3.5 years ago. I repowered it with another 2 stroke because I was in a time crunch but wish I could have found a 4 stroke in time. Other than that I have no reason to buy a newer model boat and love my boat. Hull technology isn't really changing so when this motor blows I will hopefully be able to find a 4 stroke for it and just keep going in the same ride.

Short of it, 2005-10 is not too old, I personally believe a 4 stroke is worth it but I fish 3-4 days a week and have to buy bulk oil every other month.

Im looking at boats similar to this one...

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/703542196778724/?surface=product_details

Thats a ton of oil. what outboard?

prepare to be confused

I'm currently having a rebuilt 2010 Mercury EFI 175 mounted to my 1996 BassCat Sabre.
When I smoked my previous 150 Suzuki I was confused as to which way to go....however, after carefully shopping all my options, the rebuilt Merc is a no-brainer. As far as "how old is too old"?
You gotta look at condition....not just hours.
I'd much rather buy a garage-kept boat with lots of hours than a boat with low hour that sits outside 24-7.
Good luck!

I have an hpdi 225. I should add, my son takes the boat out too. I would say it runs 5-7 days a week actually now that I think about it. But yeah, I buy 5 gallons every other month give or take a week.

Because it’s only available for pre order, which makes it almost impossible to have already equipped on an older boat. Lol.

You’ll get a bunch of opinions. There a plenty of late nineties to mid 2000s boats in great shape; that are just as good if not better than new hulls. You can save a lot if you look hard over the boat. If in doubt, pay a reputable shop to check it out for you. A 3.0 liter Merc EFI or Pro XS is hard to beat. Tried, true, and relatively easy and cheap to work on. No one take that wrong they can all be expensive.. but in the grand scheme of things the 3.0 liters are fairly cheap and easy. Everyone works on them.

Thanks for your opinions, fellas.

There is that green 99'? Champ 202 for sale down there that looks mighty tempting as well.

Amen!! Give me a higher hours motor that has been used and taken care of over a super low hours Motor that has set around any day!

I’m selling my ‘08 Cougar with everything you listed except an ultrex.