Wmamos,

I know how you feel, but just think if you bought a '98 car. They probably wouldn't give a warranty on a car that old. You did say they are backing up the sonar unit a little bit.

I bought a brand new boat in 2003 and my last trip in the fall the sonar quit working. Just reads 0ft. I put the boat on my lake just this week for the first time, and now the sonar doesn't even come on.

I am out of manufacturer's warranty with a 3 year old unit. You are getting 1/2 paid and no labor on a '98. I wish I could get that now.

Cheer up and get your boat out and fall in love with it. Just wait until you start scratching it on rocks and boat docks and ramp mess ups.

I know how you feel about the gas too. My friend was helping me with my boat this week because my leg is still bad and he accidentilly broke the pins holding the bilge pump in the housing, not realizing to push down and turn. Now I have to drive to Rockville to get another pump that will fit into that housing, no one in Terre Haute carries that model. About 80 miles round trip is about $12 bucks in gas, more than the bilge pump.

Anyway the fish are biting real well, so get your boat fixed up the way you like it and you will be happy. I bet that Ranger will serve you well over the long term. I wish I could have afforded a Ranger, but bought a Lowe, because I wanted to stay married.

I always feel bad when I have to put money into my '99 Jeep, until while waiting on the service I stroll down and look at the new ones and see what they cost.

topwater