Thinking about buying a boat? Make sure you read "Terms to Know" first to help you learn what to ask before you start looking... :wife-fishin

www.theonlinefisherman.com/component/con...w-when-buying-a-boat

:angry: Where were you a year ago.

Buying a used boat, always have a pre-purchase survey done, I highly recommend not buying a boat that the seller says you can not test run it on the water for some excuse.

research the manufacturer!!!!! I bought a boat a few years ago, brand new, the hull cracked, insrance claimes manufacturer defect.....wont pay, the manufacturer went bakrupt the week before, I was screwed on the deal, everything finally shook out ok for me but it has taken 5 years! DO NOT BUY A BAY STEALTH BUY
VIP!!!!!!
Of course the dealer told me I was on my own...dont know what to tell you.... Power Source Marine.. they will not even look at me when I see them at the boat shows, he know I asked about the stress cracks, he knew that I had some concer that the gel coat inside the hull was cracking and chipping, but he also knew VIP was about to go under, so much for standing behind a product!

capttim wrote:
Thanks Captain Tim, but I think you might have had a typo...I'm not sure I understand if you're telling me to buy a VIP or not...and power source marine is where you bought the boat? So don't buy from them either?

had some typos....lol
Power Source Marine is where I bought the Bay Stealth made by VIP, I even spoke to the new owners of VIP to see if they were willing to do some good will.....they declined, If every business would treat their customers the way Power Pole does, there would be alot of happy consumers,they stand behind what they sell and go over and beyond to help you out!
Can't say that for VIP and Power Source, the sad thing is I really liked those guys there, I offered to get it fixed and split the cost, nope!
I asked them to fix it....nope!
They told me I was on my own, and basically sorry for your luck!

Wow...thanks for clearing that up. I definitely won't shop there! lol

20 years ago I sold a powered boat and stepped out of fishing/boating for awhile. We have now stepped back in and started with kayaks - good information on this site. Not quite happy with them (we are older) we stepped up to the NuCanoe Frontier, a new offering NuCanoe just released this year and all was good, they are wonderful fishing platforms.
I love looking at boats and going to boat shows and we started going around. Then we started looking at dealers 'cause there were no boat shows, should have known better.
The inevitable happened and we bought a used boat from a dealer, did my home work on the boat motor and trailer - compared to same in other parts of the country, read blogs, forums - this site as well and was OK with the boat and deal.
That said, promises are like butterflies unless written in the sales agreement. As nice as your salesman seems, make him put things in writing. When you pull the paid boat from the lot you are no more than another customer for service. Simple thing like the live well tube drain - it was awhile before I realized it was not the right one. You look in the live well and see the tube drain and even turn it on to make sure it works... Wrong tube - dealer? silence, shoulder shrug.
The biggy was the trolling motor (you may have guessed by my other posts), I wanted a trolling motor and wasn't going to take the boat until there was one one there - Salesman - "Let's close on the boat and you take it for a week or so and get it out on the water, in the meantime buy the trolling motor you want and then bring it back in and we will get the charger and batteries at our cost and install everything at cost"

Where did that darn butterfly go........
So now I have to buy everything myself (have the trolling motor) and find a place (reputable) to have them installed at my cost.

All in all it was not that bad an experience but once you get the loan - It becomes like a restaurant trying to turn tables!

Used car salesmen don't die - they just go sell boats.

One thing I would highly recommend when researching a boat to buy is to ask people who have actually owned the brand about their experience.

I have seen so many times people asking about boats to buy on open forums only to get advice from members who have never owned the brand or even a boat for that matter. Some haven't even been on the boat they recommend.

My advice to first time boat buyer/owner is to buy used and cheap.

Several years back I was in the market for a boat. I wanted to buy new(or so I thought).
I finally settled on a on an 18' Fly Craft after visiting dealers and attending boat shows looking at boats.
I had the financing set and was ready to go when I got a call from an aqaintence telling me of a used Bay Boat for sale at a fraction of the cost of the Fly Craft.
I looked at the Bay Boat,weighed the cost and bought it. After about a year I looked back and realized I was about to make one of the biggest mistakes of my life.

Not only did it turn out the fly craft would of been to small for my needs,I dont even think they are around anymore and I would of been stuck in easy payment hell!

I ran that Bay Boat for 4 years and sold it for 300.00 less than the original purchase price.

You will be hard pressed to do that with a new boat purchase.

To this day I would not buy a new boat unless I just had a wadd of cash to burn and even then I would give the used market consideration.

If you are looking to be really serious with what you are doing and you are also interested with being able to get to places, I think that it would be a great investment as you can save a lot from renting and you could get to newer places if you have been used to stationary fishing. Though personally, it would be more about getting to the nitty gritty that not a lot of people are really familiar with.

I completely agree with Capt Steve,buy used even if you have to replace the trailer right away,it can be used as a bargaining chip.And especially find one with a rough or non working motor.
The idea is to get a good enough deal on the boat that suites your needs and then get on the phone and call marine dealers within a 75 mile radius to find the best deal on last years motors still in crate with full manufacturers warranties and rigging.you will be surprised how inexpensive a 1-2 year old still in crate motor will be,especially if it is a 2-stroke engine.