How old is too old?: Boat buying

Looking at "new to me" boats again and Im curious on what is too old in your opinion. Im really considering a 2005-2010ish year boats in the 20' and 250 HP range.

What can a new boat do that an older one cant?

Are 4 strokes the real deal? What brand?

How many hours are to many?

The boat will be rigged with PPs or Talons, Ultrex and probably Garmin graphs.

Why not the Garmin TM; so it will pair with the Graphs?

Ill look into it but I hate to be the guinea pig for new products.

Do you know anyone using one? Im wayyy out of the loop on the cool kid stuff at this point.

If you are going to add those upgrades yourself, I would argue that the basic capability of bass boats is essentially the same as it was 20-25 years ago. You didn't mention outboard warranty as part of your consideration, so you may want to look at an older, but well maintained boat/motor. For example, the Merc 3.0l EFI motors, when maintained properly, are known to be very reliable.

I will point to my '99 model major brand name 21 foot bass boat with the above mentioned motor. I have updated the electronics over the years, replaced the upholstery, etc. When I see the newer boats, I really don't see any game-changing differences. Small differences? Yes. But, big ones? No,IMHO.

Key for me would be to find a used boat that suits your personal needs and that has been maintained properly.

I have a 2007 I bought 3.5 years ago. I repowered it with another 2 stroke because I was in a time crunch but wish I could have found a 4 stroke in time. Other than that I have no reason to buy a newer model boat and love my boat. Hull technology isn't really changing so when this motor blows I will hopefully be able to find a 4 stroke for it and just keep going in the same ride.

Short of it, 2005-10 is not too old, I personally believe a 4 stroke is worth it but I fish 3-4 days a week and have to buy bulk oil every other month.

Im looking at boats similar to this one...

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/703542196778724/?surface=product_details

Thats a ton of oil. what outboard?

prepare to be confused

I'm currently having a rebuilt 2010 Mercury EFI 175 mounted to my 1996 BassCat Sabre.
When I smoked my previous 150 Suzuki I was confused as to which way to go....however, after carefully shopping all my options, the rebuilt Merc is a no-brainer. As far as "how old is too old"?
You gotta look at condition....not just hours.
I'd much rather buy a garage-kept boat with lots of hours than a boat with low hour that sits outside 24-7.
Good luck!

I have an hpdi 225. I should add, my son takes the boat out too. I would say it runs 5-7 days a week actually now that I think about it. But yeah, I buy 5 gallons every other month give or take a week.

Because it’s only available for pre order, which makes it almost impossible to have already equipped on an older boat. Lol.

You’ll get a bunch of opinions. There a plenty of late nineties to mid 2000s boats in great shape; that are just as good if not better than new hulls. You can save a lot if you look hard over the boat. If in doubt, pay a reputable shop to check it out for you. A 3.0 liter Merc EFI or Pro XS is hard to beat. Tried, true, and relatively easy and cheap to work on. No one take that wrong they can all be expensive.. but in the grand scheme of things the 3.0 liters are fairly cheap and easy. Everyone works on them.

Thanks for your opinions, fellas.

There is that green 99'? Champ 202 for sale down there that looks mighty tempting as well.

Amen!! Give me a higher hours motor that has been used and taken care of over a super low hours Motor that has set around any day!

I’m selling my ‘08 Cougar with everything you listed except an ultrex.

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.

To be honest with you, I consider any boat about 2005 and newer a newer boat.. And guess what? You won't be the stupidness paying a house note a month for a damn boat that is gonna lose its value as soon as it leaves the lot.

Find you a nice 2000's rig that was taken care of that someone already lost a bunch of money on and take her home!

I wouldn't hang a 4 stroke on a bass boat unless it's a Yamaha SHO.

Find one with an ETEC, Optimax, HPDI S2, and you'll be happy.

Just take your time looking. There are so many nice used bass boats out there that were honestly taken care of that there's no need to jump on the first deal unless you know she's the one!

Whew! Feel better now. I thought you were going to be talking about how old is too old for a person to buy a boat. I just bought a new one and am an old codger. :-)

Did you think they was gonna ask for a doctors note before they financed your boat for 240 months?! Lol

They told me no loan for you and by the way, don't buy no green bananas.

I agree plus might get a helluva deal on a boat with a two stroke.
Nothing wrong with a top shelf boat that has been cared for.
J D