Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

hello to all!!! a little about us... we are a family of 5 with 2 young boys (4/8). we just bought our 1st boat 4mo's ago (2003 chaparral 300 signature cruiser) and quickly found out the type of boating provided by that chaparral was not for us. I'm also not too proud to admit that it was way too intimidating (big) for my 1st go at boating. my wife grew up on the lake and our kids are in love with being out there. so, after selling my boat last week, I'm on the hunt and ready to pull the trigger again! btw, we're in the n.e. oklahoma area and will be boating at grand lake.

now to the good part... for our 1st tri-toon i decided to go with something that has the ability to last us a "very" long time, while also keeping in mind that i don't want to take a serious bath if worse came to worse...
after a week of all day/night research, i finally came to a mindset of finding a Premier. i am lucky to have a great Premier dealer on our lake, but unfortunately the only thing they have available at this time is one used one. so, my next step was to do unlimited internet searches, lol....
what i ended up finding were 2 options. one sounds to me like a great deal, and the other like an ok deal (all my opinion), but both should serve my family well for "many" years, as well as keep my out of hot water if unfortunate times ever came and i were forced to sell.

let me know your thoughts here:
option 1:
used with 53hrs 2012 Premier 260 Grand Isle PTX, Mercury 250 Verado Pro (w/hydraulic steering and electronic shift control), led lighting inside and underwater, and all other normal features. i would say this boat is a 9 of 10.. nice boat that just needs a few holes in bimini patched, a good detail and a standard service. comes with trailer. i can purchase this boat at $45k otd. not our favorite color, but definitely not letting color keep us from a good deal!

option 2:
brand new "leftover" 2015 Premier 270 Grand Isle PTX (36"), Mercury 250 Verado Pro (w/Hydraulic Power Steering, Smartcraft and electronic shift control), seagrass flooring, and all the other great standard features that come with this boat. true msrp on this boat including destination (shipping) and prep is: $99,100. I'm able to purchase this boat for $55,849 OTD... no trailer included (not a big deal to me) pics attached are of the actual boat.

all thoughts and opinions are welcomed!!! and i think the pontoon world will serve my family much better than our previous choice!!!

glad to be part of this group, and once i get familiar with what I'm doing, i really hope to be able to contribute!!!

Both good deals, The leftover/new is a great deal. Having holes in the bimini could be a sign of stupidity or carelessness on the PO's part which would lead me to be cautious. New one all the way, Great price.

I agree with ron nh. Holes in the bimini is not normal wear with a boat this new (or even older). No telling what torture this boat withstood. I think their pretty proud of the price they quoted too for a 4 year old boat.

It seems with the new boat your getting a pretty darn good deal.

You'll know the history of use when YOU start using it and you won't have to take it back in with the inevitable nitpicking repairs that a used one could present. For $10K more I think it is worth your state of mind when the little ones are on board.

Sometimes you just owe yourself so have at it.

ron nh wrote:Both good deals, The leftover/new is a great deal. Having holes in the bimini could be a sign of stupidity or carelessness on the PO's part which would lead me to be cautious. New one all the way, Great price.

I agree also... If you can get 'new.' Sometimes used boats look like a good deal on cost but, I've heard several times, buying a used boat is buying someone else's problems. Get New!

I say always buy new if you can.
Welcome to the club.

If you are paying cash this won't matter, but I know most banks have much better rates and terms for new boats as opposed to pre-owned boats. The nice thing with the new boat is that if anything is slightly off they should fix it no questions asked, but on the old boat only faulty workmanship or parts will be fixed not normal wear and tear. Personally for that small of a difference you are getting a better deal. The smartcraft alone, depending on which gauge setup, is worth a pretty penny. I also agree with the other posters that holes in the bimini should be a red flag on how the boat was treated.

just wanted to say thank you for the responses i received... decided to go with the new one. we're pumped to head out thursday and take delivery!!!

2003 Chaparral 300 Signature as your first boat? You sir, are very brave lol.

My brother and I had to go through that same learning experience when he bought his Rinker 260 Express Cruiser. ...Talk about stress!!!

As with everyone else, go new if you can.

Congratulations

I think you made the smart choice going NEW, and the deal sounds very fair to me.....

We factory ordered a 2015 Berkshire 233 RFX with 200 Yamaha about 18 months ago, Loaded with the power steering, pumped up stereo, LED's, etc... and with a good discount it was about $50k ...... Like you, no trailer, but didn't need it. As I priced out engines and looked for the best performance, economy, and price for us the 200 hp worked best........ It seemed to be about a $5k increase for each additional 50 hp ..... Yours is a bigger boat, with more HP on their higher end engine.... I'd love to have another 50 or 100 hp, just because.....

I'm sure you will get many years of great times !!!!! Way to go. Enjoy,