New or used

Here is the deal. You have $20,000...do you A.) Buy a new boat like the Stratos 186XT w/115 'Rude or B.) Look for a good deal on a used 19-21 footer with a bigger motor?

Advantage of New is obviously warranty and dependability
Advantage of used is you get more boat for you money, but have to worry bout how the previous owner treated it and if he is hiding some issues to get it sold...

Also for those of us getting loans, you can get better rates and longer terms on new boats...,

Lets here your guys thoughts.

Depends on you're needs and or wants. Me I would love to have new but I would love even more to have 21' with a 250.

To narrow down some...

I dont tourney fish, so doing 70 could be fun on smooth water, but i prolly wont go over 40...

I want a large casting deck...which most NEW 17 footers work ok for that, where as some older 19' rangers have crap for a casting deck.. go figure.

I want a rod locker that will hold 7'6" rods but doesnt need to hold 100 of em... alot of older boats, even 21 footers have rod lockers that are too short or are hard to use thanks to teh dual console in the way.

I want enough dry storage to hold my limited lure selection without big tackle bags in teh floor and under consoles...i am a neat freak, so being organized and EVERYTHING under a lid somewhere is important.


The more i say this stuff themore i realize the boat monkey is whispering in my ear to get the new 186XT....

buy 21 ft boat. 18 ft will beat your brains out. you will have all the storage you need for you and your friends more fishing deck also.
good luck with your decision

IMO, you'd be better off with a used boat. you can get a 20-21fter thats 4-5 yrs old for that kind of money. You can find a lot of 19ft 07's in that range and probably still have some wty on them. Here's the catch, those boats won't drop as much in resale in the next 2 yrs as a new 186xt. If you resale one of them in the next 2 yrs, you come out ok. You resale that 186xt in the next 2 yrs, you probably come out upside down. Honestly, you aren't getting much with that 186xt either, it's a cheap boat for a reason, it don't have much too it. Now, a 20-21ft boat sounds huge, but I promise you can fill it full of gear in no time. Go with a bigger boat thats a couple of years older, you won't be sorry.

I was faced with the same dilemma a few years ago. I bought a used 21' boat. I would buy used all the way. You may want to spend a $100.00 to have a mechanic check the lower unit and the compression to make sure it is solid. That would be my only concerns.