Quote:
Originally Posted by fishincrazy
I have been thinking about going used but as mentioned you do not know for sure what you are getting so buying at a local dealer (with warranty) gives me good piece of mind. I will shop around as this is probably the second biggest purchase I have ever made next to my wife. I also believe in supporting the local economy, local jobs etc.
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I don't mean to be pushy, I'm just trying to save you some $$$.
If you're buying a newer boat (2002 or so and up) the outboards and boats themselves are so reliable you'd have a hard time damaging them. On top of that, with the excellent fully transferable warranties being offered, if you're buying a boat that's a year or two old, you'll be completely covered if there are any surprises.
Another factor is that boats and outboard's don't change a lot from year to year, you won't be missing out on the latest and greatest by going used. Lund for example basically didn't change the Pro V from 2003-2008. You'd be hard pressed to tell the year of them if you weren't really familiar with them. Mercury doesn't even have model years on their outboards anymore.
As far as pure dollars and cents, I'd be willing to bet that with a little effort on your part, you can find a used boat not more than a year or two old, with low hours on it, completely rigged out with $5-6000 worth of accessories, all in, tax paid, and in your garage for less than half of what you'll pay for a new one. The entire boat could be a write off and you could buy a second one for what you'd have into the first one you bought new from a dealer in AB.
Do some searching on the net. One of the easiest ways to do it is to simply search something like "Lund 1900 Pro V SE". You'll get hundreds of hits with links to everything from dealers to small town USA classified ads. There'll also be lots of boat classifieds websites. Once you find some of the sites, you can search them for whatever you want. Take your time, enjoy the hunt, and be prepared to strike quickly when the right deal comes along.
Not everyone has the temperment to buy used, I understand that, (and it's a good thing, someone has to buy new boats or I'd never get a good deal on a used boat lol) but I really wouldn't be afraid of it. The transport, import, and actual transaction are very simple.
At any rate, I won't comment on it any further. It's your decision to make, and there isn't really a wrong choice. New is nice...
Waxy
P.S. I'm a Lund guy, be sure to check them out before you commit.