Bass Boats, if resale is #1 then...

After years of searching I am closer than ever to closing the deal on the boat but I am really struggling with my budget. I’m involved in THSBA and try to fish a couple tournaments a year and typically try to get out once a week but saying that the boat is a Toy. Losing money on deals is something I don’t enjoy so I have to consider that as I’m ready to buy. At the same time everyone says Bust Out Another Thousand so that doesn’t lend itself to keeping to my trend.

Considering the above, do I shoot for a cheap boat and leave for repairs so I can stay ahead on the deal? Try to buy something as close to new as possible but after the depreciation hit but where is the cap for Quick resale. There are tons and tons of boats for 30k and none seem to sell. Boats in the $10k range sell quick but what are the rods of getting something reliable enough to take HS anglers out at that price point?

All I need is something that goes close to 60mph and fishes three comfortably. Pretty stuck on Skeeter, Ranger or Nitro as they hit the price point better but resale is suspect.


What do you say?

Well if you want the best resale then 2 of the 3 companies you named will give you that.

You can get a rally nice barely used boat for 30K.

To get one that fishes 3 comfortably it would have to be on up in years to be 10K.

Best wishes and hopefully you find something that you and the Team can get out on the water safely in.

But how hard to do you have to work to sell a $30k class boat?

Sometimes it’s hard for people to get financing in that zone. It makes me want to puke thinking about used boats that are going to cost $50k-$60k in a few years, used boats with zero warranty. I don’t like where there pricing is going, rising way too fast.

If you’re buying with resale value in mind forget it. You think there’s too many used boats on the market now wait and see what happens if the economy slips. Can’t predict when but it does every decade or so. Find something you like and is within your budget that you can live with for several years or longer.

the reason 10k boats are so much in demand is a lot of folks can come up with that amount. boats as with many other toys as the price goes up the folks that can buy them goes down. nada is a worthless tool in boat values it has the price inflated more so on newer boats.

How new does a boat need to be to greatly rededuce expected repair costs?

Using a Skeeter ZX 190
2000-2005 $7500-$12,000
2006-2010 $12,000-$19,000
2010-2015 $19,000-$23,000
2015-2018 $23,000-$33,00 new

Which years/price point would I expect to be towards the end of depreciation but remaining very reliable?

Age has less to do with realiability than use. You have a number you are comfortable with spending. If not, get that set first. From there you can go shopping. There are decent boats at most price points if you know how to look. Even new boats have failures. Used boats should be evaluated on an individual basis. Things to look at are the transom, top end computer read out, compression, and lower unit condition. Do you want used with up to date electronics or do you want used and then you go buy up to date stuff? All these things have affect on price

I have an 03 TZX190. With a 4s Yamaha. The boat is very reliable and well built. My new Ultrex costs me money every now and then. The trailer is sketchy. I paid top money for it, but it had low hours. I then spent significant money on servicing the motor and replacing the batteries. New trolling motor, new graphs.....

My advice? Buy as big as you can for the least money and plan on spending a little (or putting aside) each month on maintenance and upgrades.

I bought an 04 Skeeter ZX225 in 06 for $26,000. Today it is almost still worth that much. As solid as this boat is I figure I can get at least another ten years out of it. My 14 year old boat cost about the same to operate as a new one minus the payments on a $60,000 boat, how ever much that is.

Are bass boats at least main stream manufactures getting to be like diesel trucks? New ones are so crazy expensive that even used ones fetch a premium and as long as they run the bottom price is much higher?

As new boat prices keep sky rocketing the used boat values are holding strong and have talked to many people (including myself) who have bought and sold a 10 year old boat for the same price after using it for a few years. But that is not guaranteed to continue. I would suggest buying the boat that you can afford to keep if the economy goes to [censored] and its value is cut in half. If you can't afford that don't buy it. And be patient and find the right boat for you and how you want to fish.


Just so you know I follow my own advice.... I bought my first boat around 3 years ago a 2008 Lowe Deep V that I sold earlier this year for $500 more then I paid for it (I did put some money into it but nothing major). I wanted a Center Console Bay boat instead and looked at many in the $20k range but ended up buying an older boat for $10k that had very little use but none of the bells and whistles and spent a few grand to get it where I wanted (motor maintenance, new fish finders, new TM, trailer tires, bunk boards, keel guard, etc...). It is a great boat and I couldn't be happier that I didn't have to take out a loan to get it.

By a used boat that needs some work. Do the work yourself and make it better than new - it is easier than you think and Youtube is your friend. If you can put in a little elbow grease, the boat will be worth more than you paid for in and have in it for parts for years to come. Plus, you get the satisfaction of knowing the repairs were done correctly.

Resale is also indicative of quality of the build. Quality in anything is higher resale.

Buy what you can and if you plan to keep it a long time "resale value" equates to quality.

Just remember....

There are guys with boats for sale, and then there are guys who sell their boats. The price determines which is which.

Price, or value?