What can a new boat do that an older one cant? Absolutely nothing.

Are 4 strokes the real deal? What brand? Never owned one, hear good things but no experience with em.

How many hours are to many? Not really a number on that, depends on how it was taken care of. A 250 hp engine is wound pretty tight....you need to have a reputable mechanic go over it before purchasing. I can vouch that the 2003 250hp Yamaha ox66 on my previous boat is still going strong today with zero issues. The new owner takes it in once per year for gear lube, water pump, and basic “tune up” service. Still fires up on the first crank.

My 2000 is still going. It has the Yamaha Ox66 that just keeps rocking along.

After owning my first 4stroke (bought it new in 2012...Yamaha F150) I'll never go back to a 2 stroke. No more mixing oil or even adding oil to an oil mixing reservoir. MUCH better fuel economy and MUCH quieter.
As far as older boats, they're heavier than the newer boats in many cases...but I rarely see bassboats with motors with thousands of hours on them anyway. Typically a freshwater motor gets run at medium and fast speeds and shut off regularly. Many offshore motors run at idle for much of their life (each owner does this differently though so your mileage may vary)
Much like a used car, there are creampuffs and there are junkers...you just need to be really careful as to what you buy when you buy used.

Buying an older boat is all about your mechanical abilities or your access to the right people to get the jobs done. The most important thing is taking your time and finding the right boat. It's not that hard to find a 10+ year old boat with less than 100 hours on the outboard.

some of the older boats are good values if you can do small repairs to keep them up if some one tells you that it hasn't been run for 2 years run from it because you will spend more time working on it than fishing out of it ,

I fish with a captain out of Galveston that has twin Yam 250 four-strokes on a Contender that both have 3,400 hours each on them. He told me all he does is change the water pump impellers and lower unit grease every year. Proper maintenance is the key on older boats not lower hours. I would buy a boat with 400 hours on the motor if I knew it had been properly maintained every year as opposed to one that had 100 hours on it and had never been to the shop.

actually with a 4 stroke, 100 hours is simply your first oil change.

my experience is there are 3 types of used boats, generally.
1. too many problems, that they just want to get rid of..
2. the one that has been taken care of better than a family member,
3. and a OK boat that is being sold so they can upgrade to a newer one rather than invest more money,..
age plays a part in decision making,..buying a used boat is a [censored] shoot unless you take the time

my 2001 20' nitro motor, trailer, and 200 merc outboard is rocking along... Don't really have a reason to get rid of it. I have looked into getting rid of it when I get that itch to buy a new one because of the "flash", then I remember this one has never left me stranded except when the starter went out (and that was my fault due to not taking care of it while it was hit and miss) and also fishes the same as a new boat. I do have to replace the leaf springs and gonna go ahead and replace the bearings etc.. in the trailer this year because its 19 years old.

So to answer your question, take your time on the used boat: LAKE TEST RIDE, bring it to a mechanic so he can do all the test and look at the transom. if your happy buy it! Just remember don't pass up a solid used boat because it's not already loaded with electronics... just my .02

Take the boat you want to a dealer and get the actual hours read off the motor. Most can also tell you how hours and what rpms it was ran. Don't be afraid of a 10 year old boat if the hours are low and it was kept covered. I have seen some real steals on that type of boat.

I’ve yet to see my buddy’s 2019 521l do anything my 2004 basscat doesn’t do. ....probably because he is behind me?

I think there is a severe cost curve that occurs around the 8-10 yr mark on an average use used boat. This is the point at which the price of the boat needs to directly reflect the costs to restore the boat. Carpet, seats, mechanical, trailer stuff, etc can be mutiple thousands of dollars....and much of those thousands aren’t spent at a convienient time. It’s usually right after a nice upgrade was purchased, then you have to drop 1-2k on a major repair. Etc.

I think a good starting point for a used boat , 8-10 years old, is around half of what it was new. Maybe less.

There are some nice boats even from the late 90's out there if you know what to look for. We're restoring a 96 champion 221 with newer components. When completed it'll be as good as anything out there plus you have the best ride possible. Comes down to how much you want to spend. Personally I'd rather get a "blank platform" and add everything I want. You can build a super nice rig for less than $25k

I do NOT want to be working a broke down basketcase boat. I have no problem installing all the goodies and repairing a boat every now and then but I want to be able to hop in it and go fishing at (almost) anytime. That being said, I know people with brand new boats that breakdown and it takes the shops forever to get them fixed under warranty.

Thats what im thinking. Drop $15k ish on a nice but plain boat then drop another $10k or so on the goodies.