Used vs new boat and when you make that decision….

[Gillsandtines10]

Geez be careful here, you don’t wanna bad talk Basscats, they have a cult, I mean group here and will come for blood

haha yea iv noticed … and I love the boats I really do , I really was looking hard at one point for the pantera IV and have seen a couple cougars/pumas I like but I don’t wanna walk out to the boat every morning thinking just don’t look at the console everything is great other than that �� what would be awesome is id you could buy the new console and it be an easy switch .

[bassdge]

Go ride in the boats. It’s Ford vs Chevy . Nitro’s may not have the highest quality trim and gauges, but the are great riding boats and are good fishing platforms. Ranger got where they are by building solid boats and a lot of marketing. So many pros fished out of them because they were sponsored, not because it was the best riding boat. The 520 you are referencing is a heavy slow hull that will beat you up in rough water.
You need to test ride the boats to see for yourself and ignore the names on the hull

[Gillsandtines10]

Go ride in the boats. It’s Ford vs Chevy . Nitro’s may not have the highest quality trim and gauges, but the are great riding boats and are good fishing platforms. Ranger got where they are by building solid boats and a lot of marketing. So many pros fished out of them because they were sponsored, not because it was the best riding boat. The 520 you are referencing is a heavy slow hull that will beat you up in rough water.
You need to test ride the boats to see for yourself and ignore the names on the hull

def the plan, just need to start maybe in the winter trying to find ppl with the specific boats… been in a z20 Ranger … have a neighbor with a cat… and to be honest from what I have watched online and seen I think nitro has come a long way and I love the z20 and could honestly see myself very happy in a z8 if the ride was ok

[99R93S]

Love/hate. I don’t think the 520 is the best, but beat up is harsh lol. I’ve never been beaten up. I’ve also had and quoted people saying in the pst that “it’s the worst riding hull ever made”. I mean really? That’s ridiculous. I think they ride quite well with a competent driver. Yes they are slower, but it’s not exactly slow. They also fish nice and feel stable. More so than say a champion imo. Hard to find a boat that’s awesome on big water and still fishes like your on a dock. I really thought the 520 series was a good compromise of both. Champion rides but doesn’t fish as well imo of course.

Also yes I agree with you, for the money spent you should like how your boat looks. Doesn’t matter how good it fishes if you walk out into the garage and don’t like it. I didn’t want a red boat, there are so many around. I left 2 really nice boats alone just because of color. It’s your money, get what you want. If your budget was 8k I’d say get what you can lol. But at your budget find what you want or damn close to it.

[sushi520vx]

I really dont understand why so many guys look for a good riding boat as their top priority. I spend 95% of my day fishing and about 5% driving. I dont fish big lakes or rivers so the "ride" of a particular hull is irrelevant. I live in an area that is very windy, I either deal with it or stay home. I want a boat that fishes well, dont get blown around in the wind, a solid stable platform especially in rough water, and storage.

[99R93S]

I really dont understand why so many guys look for a good riding boat as their top priority

I can’t answer that either. I can only answer for me, but I must be a minority on this. I chose my boat basing it on that as a primary along with size and fishabilty for me. I’m on the Great Lakes a lot. If you get caught sleeping or the wind changes it can get ugly fast. I wanted that price of mind that I’m serious water I can manage and get out. I also use the boat as a pleasure boat for wife and I, again Great Lakes. Might run a good distance in I’ll say considerable chop sometimes. But again I’m sure that’s not many people. But I have other places I fish and wanted a bass boat that I thought could do it all.

[Gillsandtines10]

I really dont understand why so many guys look for a good riding boat as their top priority. I spend 95% of my day fishing and about 5% driving. I dont fish big lakes or rivers so the "ride" of a particular hull is irrelevant. I live in an area that is very windy, I either deal with it or stay home. I want a boat that fishes well, dont get blown around in the wind, a solid stable platform especially in rough water, and storage.

well after two back surgeries including a fusion before the age of 35 that kind of becomes important … on the river yea it’s not a big deal to me but if I’m on the lake and one of these pop up storms jump on you it would be nice to have a decent riding hull… I don’t need a champion by any means but I know some ride softer than others and I don’t care or have the big urge to run 80’across the lake or waves I’m not a speed demon I just wanna make sure I get the best riding fishable hull combo I can is all

[Gillsandtines10]

I really dont understand why so many guys look for a good riding boat as their top priority. I spend 95% of my day fishing and about 5% driving. I dont fish big lakes or rivers so the "ride" of a particular hull is irrelevant. I live in an area that is very windy, I either deal with it or stay home. I want a boat that fishes well, dont get blown around in the wind, a solid stable platform especially in rough water, and storage.

well after two back surgeries including a fusion before the age of 35 that kind of becomes important … on the river yea it’s not a big deal to me but if I’m on the lake and one of these pop up storms jump on you it would be nice to have a decent riding hull… I don’t need a champion by any means but I know some ride softer than others and I don’t care or have the big urge to run 80’across the lake or waves I’m not a speed demon I just wanna make sure I get the best riding fishable hull combo I can is all

[Mcjenson]

yea I’m talking about the Ranger z20 sorry , we were talking about mid 2000s models and good hulls and the comparison of the 520vx and z20 came up … the z20 gets a lot of hate it seems but the one I rode in was fine I was just saying it’s something I could prob get over as far as the latch system … kind of like basscat , love the boats but dang it’s an ugly boat with those 1970s consoles on mid 2000s and up boats lol

Got ya. I was confused as hell what you were talking about

As for my z20 ride review, I was of course referring to mine and not a ranger z20.

[Gillsandtines10]

Got ya. I was confused as hell what you were talking about

As for my z20 ride review, I was of course referring to mine and not a ranger z20.

lol yea all good ! I’m not gonna lie iv def been eyeing a few nitro z20s like I said … seems like used prices in my area atleast are beginning to come down at least some . I see the boats for sale longer and price slashed on Facebook atleast so that’s a start… I really like the z8 too it just basically comes down to how much money I wanna spend on this one.

[Mcjenson]

lol yea all good ! I’m not gonna lie iv def been eyeing a few nitro z20s like I said … seems like used prices in my area atleast are beginning to come down at least some . I see the boats for sale longer and price slashed on Facebook atleast so that’s a start… I really like the z8 too it just basically comes down to how much money I wanna spend on this one.

I think boats around my year should drop down into the 40s. When pros choice is selling brand new ones for 58, these guys asking for 53 or whatever on a 4 year old are kidding themselves.