I would ask for a 90 day warranty after what I just went through.

At least. If it has not been registered then why can't you have the full warranty on the boat and or motor?

I have a problem with them coming down so low with the counter. From a retail standpoint that is close to 18 percent or so.Most dealers don't go much more than 10%. They had the boat way overpriced to begin with so the large concession tells me something about their mark up.

Stand firm on the 5k.
----------------------------
They will sell it if:

They need to unload it

The book allows it and they made a good enough profit

Something wrong with the boat or motor.

Duck, Are you sure you want a tunnel hull? The reason I asked is we have sold some in the past and we got a lot of negative feed back from the performance in big water. If your doing the shallow thing then go for it.

Good Luck, Tommy Yetts
Rockwall Marine

The tunnel would mostly just be a luxury. I do make a few trips to the coast each year, so it would be great for that, but 90% of my fishing is in deeper freshwater.

I have not ridden in too many tunnels, but the ones I have been did not seem to lose much power because of the tunnel.

Still deciding on this one...

If there are liens on the title then it is possible that the dealer has this boat on consignment from the bank. Might be the reason they dropped the price so quickly. I would definately have the motor checked out if it is a repo.

Duck

I just got through buying a new boat. I looked really close at Tunnel Hulls by Xpress, Alumacraft, G3 and War Eagle.

I was interested in the tunnel hull simply because of my brazos river trips, but I too was concerned about the handling in open water on the lakes.

Every single dealer I spoke with told me that there would be a noticable loss of performance between the tunnel hull and a standard hull, and really steered my away from the tunnels.

The other thing I would cautiom you against is making sure you get this motor checked out.

I am pretty sure I talked with these folks about this boat when I was shopping, it was just smaller than what I was looking for.

If it is indeed the same boat I was looking at, I am betting that it was a saltwater boat. A saltwater motor that has been cared for properly is not a problem but if it has not been properly cared for you will have problems.

Stick firm to your price and make sure you get a 3rd party to take a look at that motor.

I do agree with some of the posts above though. If the dealer is willing to come off the price of the boat $1500 there may be a reason they are trying to get that thing off the lot?

Caveat Emptor!

Redneck

Got some good advice up above. I won't repeat anything except do have the motor checked out and don't use their mechanic.

LA - reread DJ's post it says "boat has not been registered since 00". With that said it has been registered and the warranty is long gone.

My experience with dealers and trade in is you can look at the low value in NADA and subtract 1500 - 3000 and that is what the dealer has in it. They just simply don't pay what the low value is.

So with that being said and the time of year it is they will take 5K if you show'em you are serious. Or they can keep it until spring and you can find another one. Now if you just have to have it 500 is not that much to complain and bicker about, talk them into giving you something for that $. Like lifejackets, Merc hats, etc...

That 90 is a good motor, I had one on a 17ft BassCat and it ran flawlessly the 3 years I owned it.

Good luck DJ, hope we helped but we may have muddied up the water for you

That boat is worth what you're happy paying for it. Stick to the price you have in your head that won't make you have buyers remorce. That number will be different to each person so, as long as you strike a deal you're happy with, do it.

If you are half way mechanically inclined, most all of the problems you have with motors that sit up can be done in your own driveway. A couple of carb kits and a bucket of carb cleaner will be the most complicated repair but, a manual will walk you through that with out a problem.

If you are the type of person that can only turn a key and not a wrench, then you had better be looking at new rigs because there is always something that needs to be done on a used boat.

That just my two copper disks.

If you are going to use it mainly for open water, your back is going to pay the price. Had a flat bottom for years, there was many a day that fishing was no fun because of the beating you would take from the wind and waves. If you fish the main lake majority of the time you will regret it going with a flat bottom. I believe you even mentioned in a post quite some time ago you would never own a flat bottom. I would hate to see you get in a new rig and then be unhappy, think about it long and hard.

As the old saying goes: two of the best days in a boat owner's life....the day he buys a boat and the day he sells his boat....

If the boat has sat for a while and it is a premix for gas and oil then you will atleast need to clean the carbs out. I took a frineds boat out for him once that sat for 5 years never even turned it over. It ran like **** for first 30 mins, he wanted to know if engine bad or not. Then it was like a whole new life it revved right up and picked up speed and been running good ever sence. It was a Merc and I know that that was probably once in a life time thing.

One thing I looked at at BPS is their large 21' flat bottom boats. They can easly take a 90hp engine and with a little work they are a center console with out the price. Look same as that pic above but not tunnel hull. Boat was fairly priced without motor.

First off...thank you to all TFFr's who have replied here.

This was my last email to the dealer:

"I have decided to keep my offer at $5000 (pending a complete inspection
of the motor). Main reason being that there is a BIG question with the boat not being registered for 4 years. There are no accessories attached to this boat of any kind. It is just a boat/motor/trailer.
There are no seats, trolling motor does not work, etc. I would easily have to put $300 - $400 into it before I ever took it on the water. I also would like to have the boat's motor looked at by an independent marine mechanic in the area. No offense to your staff is intended, but I would prefer to have someone look at it who has no vested interest in the boat.

The NADA price on this complete rig is between $4840 and $5860, and I do not feel that it is worth the mid-range price considering my notes
above...plus the fact that I can not take this boat out on the water...which I still do not understand.

I have the cash in hand to purchase a boat of this amount, but want to make the right decision with as much information as possible...and without knowing what that boat has been doing for the past 4 years, and not being able to take it out on the water...there are just too many
unknowns.

If the bank wishes to entertain the $5000 offer, then please let me know. The earliest that I could get down there would be Wednesday, October 20th."

Here is the dealer's response:

"This boat is really worth more than $5,500, & we have someone else that wants it, thanks for letting us know you are no longer interested."

So...I'll move on to the next one. As soon as I pull the trigger on one, my boat will be for sale...so keep an eye out for it

Duck, I think you should consider yourself extremely lucky. Someone else is going to get the grief that you would have had. The mere fact that they wouldn't let you take it out to try it out is the big no-no here. Who ever heard of such a thing?

I know one thing....the fact that they won't let you take it out on the water would be a BIG red flag to me. I think you're better off letting this one get away.

Gig 'Em!

....and look for a e mail from them early next week, when their "other" guy doesn't come through....