For a first boat, definetly buy used. Take your time. It may take months. Use Craigs list and this forum. Avoid dealers. They get most of their boats from auctions and they have no history on the boats. Go look at their boats, though, to see what's out there. Buy from an original owner, preferably a recreational fisherman (sorry tournament guys, but I don't what a boat that has been run at max rpm all the time). They should have original paperwork from the purchase, so you can tell they bought new. I would try to buy from an older owner, as I do think they tend to take better care of the boat. No guarantees on any used boat, but I think this strategy improves your odds. I bought my 5 year old Lowe 16.5 Fishing Machine (I really don't like that name, but love the boat) from the son of the original ower who was 86 when he passed away. The son was a tournament fisherman and did not need the boat. He had a nice big Ranger.

My next boat, which I hope won't be for a while, will probably be new and I'll be the older owner someone else can buy it from.

Anyone ever had one of those skeeter ss90's? I'm savin up to buy a boat and can't decide whether to get aluminum or a smaller glass. Tired of borrowing my dad's lol. And I don't think I'd ever buy a brand new boat, even if I had the money. You can just save thousands having someone else break in the motor for ya .

1.) educate yourself on ALL the aspects of the boat you want, including wear areas & weak points. Be confident when you....

2.) BUY USED!!! wait till off season (oct-feb)
you'll save a small fortune.

3.) www.usedboats.com
www.boattrader.com
www.nada.com

3.) good. fast. cheap. pick 2. seriously.
"best" & "cheapest" are not usually associated
with eachother.

4.) be prepared to spend a considerable amt of $$ to rig/repair
your new toy to your expectations., then add'l cash every
year in maintenance, storage, and INSURANCE.

hope this helps. post up pics when you get on the water
tight lines
-Brian

What ever you buy, buy it at a place where you can take it back for servicing and warranty without a bunch of [censored].
Ask who gives the best after sale service, is close, and convienient. I bought a boat at Cabelas, personally I won't do that again. I would buy my next boat from a boat dealer, with a full service shop, close to my house, with a good reputation.

If you are going to go aluminum and want the best for your money then you need to check out sea ark and alumaweld. Xpress are faster boats and ride better in my opinion, but they cost more. I'll keep my tracker opinions to myself. As far a Lowe goes, I have a friend who literally had to return it to the mfg twice before he got fed up and took it back to the dealer and got a fiberglass legend.

I suspect that at some time in the next few years I will get out of fiberglass and go to aluminum mainly because of the cost factor. The older I get the less important it is to me to fish in bad weather. That being the case, and aluminum boat with decent amenities would be just fine.

A LUND can handle that rough water when you get caught across the lake and that front rolls in. I crossed Rayburn in 3 foot waves a week ago and didnt get wet in my 16'8" long LUND. I challenge any glass boat that long to do that. And it didnt beat up my kidneys doing it.

I got a hell of steal on a 24ft Century last Spring. It was a demo boat with about 100 hrs on it and 2 yrs old. Had just about every bell and whistle you could think of. Got it for almost half price.

When I bought my last boat, I was looking at $15K for a "good" used fiberglass, less then 4 years old. I ended up buying a certificate from someones tourny win. I ended up with a brand new fiberglass full warrenties, for the cost of a used.

I also had boat looked for 2 years and hard shopped for 1year. Information and time are the key to "good deals".