I have recently sold my 86 Cajun fish-N-ski. I am in the market now for a new boat. Id prefer fiberglass, 19' or more... 200hp or more and 1999 or newer. Iv been looking at nitro skeeter and triton only because those are the brands that seem to be in the price range im looking for. Iv looked on boattrader craigslist and on here and still am not sure on quality from brand to brand. I was told that Nitro has had some issues with electronics and wiring but was going to look at this on tuesday

http://www.boattrader.com/listing/2000-NITRO-901-CDX-93465462

If any one has any tips please let me know.... Im not sure if holding out a little longer in the year would result in a better deal or if now is an ok time to buy.... My priority is not NOW but GOOD DEAL ... My price range is around 10 -13 unless I found an AMAZING deal

Stix... welcome to the TFF. We are a close family here and really try to help each other.

So welcome, and jump right in..

Where are you from? This will know where to direct you for help.

If you are here in the Dallas/Ft Worth area, call me.. I will take a look at any boat you're wanting to buy at no charge. I try and show each buyer what they are getting and what is wrong with the boat, at least when they bring it to me.

Stix, Welcome to TFF !

Most everyone here will vouch for Mike Bristow( above). He has a solid reputation and WILL help you out, free of charge. Take advantage of it !

check out the javelin for sale in the boat section new trailer and a nice boat for under 13

Best time to buy any recreational vehicle, boat, travel trailer, atv, etc. is usually October through March (however, deals can be made throughout the year, you just have to keep your eyes open)...For instance, I bought a 1992 Spectrum 24 foot pontoon boat in March...It needed the upholstery to be recovered and new carpet (about $600 worth of material and I'm doing it all myself). It has everything, including a full camper enclosure, 2 bimini tops, porta potty, changing room, radio, livewell, trolling motor, etc. It also has a 120 hp motor and a very nice Road Runner tandem axle trailer....I paid $2750, basically I bought the motor and trailer and got a free boat...I've seen boats in worse condition with 50 hp motors going for around $5000 in D/FW...I had to drive to Belton, TX to pick it up, but oh well...

I would look on the TFF classifieds, boattrader, www.iboats.com and craigslist. On Craigslist, if you aren't familiar with this feature, you can click on Texas on the right side and it will pull up a whole lot of different cities that aren't on the front page...That's how I found my boat...

And if you are in the D/FW area, Michael Bristow and North Texas Fiberglass is a stand up guy and I'd definately have him look it over....

im in the dfw area yes.....Thanks for the heart felt welcome. I am an avid fisherman and outdoorsman.... hunted and fished all my life and find that fishing meets my needs for the outdoors while on a college budget. so my next question is..... ( and i hope the answer is not preference) what brands have more flaws than others? year range from 99 to present. I have been told that nitro has has some major flaws as far as hulls and electronics go. obiosly id love to have a ranger or champion, as those are brands i have come to see alot of and heard the best ratings over. However i know its not always the top names that are the best deals.. so maybe some tips guys on what brands to even look at? ( triton champion skeeter ranger charger?) ?

opinion on nitro?

i have a 2004 ranger 519 19 ft duell console 200 yamaha hpdi i will sell fully loaded 25000.00

dont care too much for nitro have a friend who has a state team boat riddled with stress cracks

Skeeter, Ranger, and Basscats are all good boats...as are many others. I prefer Skeeter myself, but that's just me. They seem to have a good resale value and I havent had a lick of trouble out of the two that I've owned.

Skeeter is hard to beat...plus the extra skeeter money at tournaments is nice....Buy a used boat...depreciation is a killer on a new one.....Cobra is also a good value.

20ft Nitro with a 200 --I would pass. Keep looking.

ok so iv pretty much deleted nitro from my slew of brands to look into.... too much negative fedback and the resale sucks on the them from what I can see.

Another question.. what about motors... last night at cabelas, A salesman (maybe just be salesman BS)told me that merc had major issues with powerheads in the 99-02 years and to look at yamaha. Now I dont know the difference in opti- hpdi-vmax- verado-or any of the newer lines of motorsso maybe some help with these?... \gas milage? service history on specific motors? glitches?

http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/boa/796463706.html

just saw this Im still lookinf for the 10-13k but may can make a deal ... any thoughts>

I'll sell you this boat (1998 Bullet 20XD) for $18,000 ........ Motor was completely rebuilt last year (1998 225 ProMax), cost me $4,000 and there is less than 50 hours on it, my guess. Lower Unit was rebuilt about 4 months ago and that cost me $3,000. Lowrance graphs and GPS. Boat GPS @ 86 M.P.H. Top end Light load. GPS @ 78 / 79 M.P.H. tops with two people and full tournament load / full tank of gas & full live Wells. I want a brand new Bullet 21XRD is why I want to sell it.