Greetings everyone,
Longtime lurker, first time poster. Currently looking to get my first *real* bass boat. However, I am having a hard time determining if a used boat is a good deal or not. I seem to be stuck in the mindset that "For just a couple thousand more, I can get a brand new boat". When seeing 20+ year old boats selling for top dollar. My current budget is around $10k but if a brand new boat makes sense, I could go higher. I was looking at the Tracker Bass Tracker Classic/Pro 160 and Lowe Skorpion series boats. Both of these models would be perfect for what I need in a boat but are, as mentioned, a few thousand over my desired budget.
One used boat in particular though, has caught my eye. My quandry? I can't tell if it is a good deal or not.
2011 Lowe Skorpion 16 with 40hp Mercury outboard. Looks stock for the most part with the only additions I can see are an electric trailer winch and a boat cover. The marine shop selling it says it was used sparingly and has very low hours. Was garage stored. I have not seen it in person yet but the boat looks to be in excellent shape, inside and out. Their asking price is $10.5k. A brand new Skorpion 16 with the 40hp motor option is around ~$14k.
Is this a decent deal or are they asking waaaaaay to much for this boat? Do boats seriously hold their value this strongly, when considering proper care and maintenance occur?