Good Starting Bass Boat Price

[clayton86]

Well bein single again not having a wife to drain money I'm finally putting my foot down to buy a bass boat. I've taken on all the active duty I can for the fiscal year going to try for more maybe even AGR/ADOS if I can to help put towards the boat. I've been searching Craigslist looking at boats finding some for 2500-10000 for a used rig.

What would be a good starting point for a boat iv found a old ranger '89 383 for $4000 a couple 18' stratos and champion boats for $3500-$7000 in good condition.

I know when the time comes I'm gonna have to go and looks hands on what I'm getting and check for rot and transom for cracks and what not.

What's a good starting boat price I'm thinking 5000 give or take a little is a good point for me to look for I've been watching CL an eBay for years wanting to buy a boat and seems like 5000 would get me a decent beginner boat. Ill have roughly that saved come October which brings me to my next decision do I buy in the fall and try to get one cheap off some one not wanting to store it or wait till winter when people are sick of storing it an the wife wants it gone.

[Montanaro]

I was looking into some at the 8k mark.  One is a '94 so relatively new.  We would be better off buying now to winter than start of summer.  It really goes back to what you can comfortably afford.  If you want to spend 25k on your first bass boat, more power to you, if you want to spend 5k you can surely find something.

[JCOX2011]

I found myself asking this same question earlier this year.  I had a budge inline with what you had.  The best time to purchase is going to be the Fall / Winter time.  You can find boats from people who thought they wanted one and bought it, only to find out owning a boat was a little more work and money then they thought.  If the top end of your budget is 8k I would set your price point at 5 - 6k.  Because you need to factor in any immediate upgrades you might want to have done on the boat.  In my case I picked up a 93 Skeeter 200SX with a 93 200HP Mercury for 5900.  That left me some money to fill the gas tanks all 48+ gallons, and replace the old Eagle electronics with a middle of the road Lowrance Elite 5 and 4X for the boat.

 

The remainder of my budget sits aside for any repairs that may pop up unexpectedly.  Which I just had to have the steering fluid drained and replaced and new set of plugs.  The parts where cheap but the mechanic was not.

[slonezp]

Maybe you could work out a deal with JFrancho. At least you can trust him.

[clayton86]

If he still has his xpress for sale when the time comes I just may.

[Catt]

NADA lists boat prices

[martintheduck]

Really happy I went with Xpress. Wanted glass but decided on aluminum because I figure I'd be making a few mistakes along the way. Really happy I went aluminum after being on the water constantly for the past month! A couple h17's have popped up on my craigslist and sold for $11,000... in top shape. 

 

 

I stated looking for a boat in a similar price range to you. I quite a few people, called quite a few people, and went and actually checked out 4 boats. In that price range I was running into a ton of stuff with problems and frankly I didn't want to deal with any of them. I just wanted something I could get in and be worry free. Finally gave up after the last boat I looked at, decided I'd up my budget ONLY for something in mint shape that was either an Xpress h18 or a Stratos w/ 150. Couple days later an H18 popped up on CL's and I jumped on it.

 

Just be ready, at your price point, to keep a level head. Don't jump into anything. Check everything!

[clayton86]

Yeah I'm definitely not gonna jump into something. Some repairs I'm ok with I'm pretty good at fixing stuff I've been working on a friends 21' Boston whaler had a 2'x1' hole in the back needed patching and all new wiring ran and a few other small issues. I'm thinking I want to go aluminum for my first boat also for same reasons but if a good deal on a fiberglass comes up i won't pass it up after all I'm 100x better at patching and reenforcing glass then I am at welding aluminum lol.

[clayton86]

There are a lot like this one in various conditions and price points all over near me. Thing I hate about looking now is I see deals I wanna jump on and don't have the cash and when I have the cash no ones selling lol. http://buffalo.craigslist.org/boa/3944843734.html

[Fishes in trees]

I've got a 2002 Lowe  W 180.  Any Lowe Stinger, from 2000 to 2004 or so (prior to being made out of lighter weight aluminum) will be made like a tank. I routinely  drive over/slide off stumps that make buddies who own lesser tin boats cringe.  The down side of that series, is that dry storage kind of sucks and nothing is lockable.  It is very comparable to an Express in terms of sturdiness, not so much in terms of well thought out storage.  New, it was $6000 or so cheaper than a comparable Express.

[martintheduck]

There are a lot like this one in various conditions and price points all over near me. Thing I hate about looking now is I see deals I wanna jump on and don't have the cash and when I have the cash no ones selling lol. http://buffalo.craigslist.org/boa/3944843734.html

 

 

That's literally 10x nicer than ANYTHING that popped up on my CL. Sweet boat...

[CxThree]

I think that 5 - 8k price range is a good spot.  You can find some really nice boats there.  I suggest not falling in love with any of them.  Make a list of what you really want in a boat and keep on it until you find that.  There are LOTS of boats for sale and more selling every month.  I jumped in early and paid 2K for a 15.5 ft Tidecraft Spitfire XL.  Fun boat but way too small for me.  I sat down and thought about exactly what I wanted.  I loved the Stratos boats so I began searching.  I found a 97 285PE that had been garage kept and well maintained with a jack plate, new prop, hot foot, etc.  He asked 7K and I paid him $6500.  I feel it was well worth the price for the shape this boat was in for its age.  Nobody that sees it believes it when I tell them its a 1997. 

 

 

You can get great boats in the range you mention.  Good luck with it. 

[Montanaro]

there is an 89 hydrasport near me for 3k.  Sooo tempting

[J Francho]

You can take my Bullet for $10K.  Liquidating the fleet, lol.