IowaBass15 Posted April 25, 2016 Posted April 25, 2016 Hey guys I think I'm going to take the leap into buying a bass boat. I only want to finance about 7 grand since I just bought a 2005 silverado to pull the boat in cash so I'm limited to about 2 thousand or so to put down on the loan. So in the 7-10k range what would you recommend? I do want to fish tournaments so Im looking to get atlas a 90hp outboard. Im a college student so I can't spend much more than that. Id like my payment to hangout in the 150-200 range. I greatly appreciate it. P.S. I hate kayaks so thats not an option lol. Quote
GetJigginWithIt Posted April 25, 2016 Posted April 25, 2016 Any used tin boat out there will be a great option with your price range. 1 Quote
Kevin22 Posted April 25, 2016 Posted April 25, 2016 There isn't too much available in the area this time of year. I did see a nice Ranger, from the late 80's I believe, for sale at that storage lot down by caseys on 61 west of Dav, just before the turn to west lake. Not sure if its still for sale, but it was pristine condition. Probably not in your price range though. Try Moline Boat and Motor, he gets all of my familie's repair business and my Dad bought two boats off of him. Great people to work with! Quote
EllisJuan Posted April 26, 2016 Posted April 26, 2016 I started shopping in the same price range recently, but I do not feel the need to have anything overly fast. Personally I found a 2006 Tracker 175TX that I am hoping to pick up in a few weeks. I would think you would be happy with 17'-19' tin boat...something like a Triton VT 17, Tracker Pro Team 175, Crestliner VT 17, etc. Quote
IowaBass15 Posted April 26, 2016 Author Posted April 26, 2016 38 minutes ago, EllisJuan said: I started shopping in the same price range recently, but I do not feel the need to have anything overly fast. Personally I found a 2006 Tracker 175TX that I am hoping to pick up in a few weeks. I would think you would be happy with 17'-19' tin boat...something like a Triton VT 17, Tracker Pro Team 175, Crestliner VT 17, etc. I have checked out those pro team trackers and think they would be an awesome first rig. Just don't see many around me currently which kind of sucks. I am not going to jump into a boat since boat stands for BustOutAnotherThousand lol. 13 hours ago, Kevin22 said: There isn't too much available in the area this time of year. I did see a nice Ranger, from the late 80's I believe, for sale at that storage lot down by caseys on 61 west of Dav, just before the turn to west lake. Not sure if its still for sale, but it was pristine condition. Probably not in your price range though. Try Moline Boat and Motor, he gets all of my familie's repair business and my Dad bought two boats off of him. Great people to work with! If it was red I thought about buying that haha. its 9900 Quote
Justjigger Posted April 26, 2016 Posted April 26, 2016 I switched to a center console and I love it. I could never go back to a bass boat again. I spend most of my time in lake erie holds up the best to bigger water Quote
Super User Dwight Hottle Posted April 26, 2016 Super User Posted April 26, 2016 My advice might not be very popular but as a college student with other expenses/debt I would not finance a boat. Try and get involved as a non boat angler for tournaments. Once you graduate & find a full time job it will be more manageable to finance a boat or better yet pay cash. 2 Quote
Kevin22 Posted April 26, 2016 Posted April 26, 2016 10 hours ago, IowaBass15 said: I have checked out those pro team trackers and think they would be an awesome first rig. Just don't see many around me currently which kind of sucks. I am not going to jump into a boat since boat stands for BustOutAnotherThousand lol. If it was red I thought about buying that haha. its 9900 He came down quite a bit then. A buddy of mine looked at it last month and he was asking $12,500 Quote
Evan K Posted April 26, 2016 Posted April 26, 2016 54 minutes ago, Dwight Hottle said: My advice might not be very popular but as a college student with other expenses/debt I would not finance a boat. Try and get involved as a non boat angler for tournaments. Once you graduate & find a full time job it will be more manageable to finance a boat or better yet pay cash. This sounds like good advice. I'm planning to get my first boat soon here. Not interested in doing large tournaments, so I am getting a 1236 jon. It will be just the right size for solo or one other guy. And since I can get one for about $500 I was also able to afford a side imaging sonar for it as well. I think the whole rig, boat, sonar, 55 lb motor, battery, trailer, will wind up costing about $1500, all brand new. Quote
BassThumb Posted April 26, 2016 Posted April 26, 2016 About 7 years ago, I found an excellent bass boat on eBay after searching hard for about 9 months. It had been listed multiple times. It was a repo from Tennessee that was owned by a dealer in Arkansas. Everyone was lowballing and trying to jack the dealers around, so the auction never met it's reserve. I really wanted this boat and didn't feel like playing games on eBay, so I called the dealer and convinced them I was a real buyer with financing in place. Not surprisingly, they were receptive. They closed the auction at my request, and then surprised me with the amount of flexibility they had in the price. Quite a bit less than market value. Two days later the boat was being backed into my driveway by an old retiree with a southern drawl. That cost me $400 cash. It was in even better condition than I expected. It's a buyer's markets still, and boats are a dime-a-dozen, so don't settle. Let the seller know you won't settle, and you may be surprised at what sort of deals are out there. $7-10,000 is a lot of money that can buy a lot of boat if you shop smart and stay patient. Quote
IowaBass15 Posted April 26, 2016 Author Posted April 26, 2016 All great advice. I have a full time job now that pays me pretty well. I'm not struggling by any means. My fiancé just graduated and makes quite a lot as a NICU BSN nurse. She's all for me getting a boat seeing how happy it really makes me and she likes to fish too so best of both worlds. As long as I can keep my payments hovering 150-200 I would be extremely happy. I'm not the type to live outside my means. 1 Quote
IowaBass15 Posted April 27, 2016 Author Posted April 27, 2016 Hey guys I was wondering out of these two boats what your opinions are. The first is 1992 stratos and the second a 04 nitro. I mainly plan on just fishing local lakes but I do fish backwaters of the Mississippi a lot and do like to fish tournaments. Just looking for some more honest opinions since it's my first boat and don't want to regret anything https://lasalle.craigslist.org/boa/5555254591.html https://rockford.craigslist.org/boa/5531915808.html Quote
Kevin22 Posted April 27, 2016 Posted April 27, 2016 Both look like just what you need. Don't be fooled by the stratos speed, there's no way that boat is going 65 with the 150. should run a solid 52-53 though. The Nitro will run 40-45. Might make a difference in a tourney, don't know. I personally would choose the newer nitro over the old stratos. Quote
IowaBass15 Posted April 27, 2016 Author Posted April 27, 2016 2 hours ago, Kevin22 said: Both look like just what you need. Don't be fooled by the stratos speed, there's no way that boat is going 65 with the 150. should run a solid 52-53 though. The Nitro will run 40-45. Might make a difference in a tourney, don't know. I personally would choose the newer nitro over the old stratos. The only reason I lean more towards the stratos is because it's my girlfriends dads co worker and I could get it for less Quote
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