Why did better made bass boats from 20 years ago cost $30,000 less than todays models

[n2ratfishin]

Young people want to start with the 20'er and a big ole diesel truck. That is going to drive the market. I started like most my age, a 14' aluminum with a 25 hp tiller steer and I pulled it with a 20 year old beat up truck.

Yes insurance, utilities etc.. eat up a bunch of our disposable income. So do cell phone bills, Internet bills, cable bills. I may have had a 9.99 cable bill when I bought my first boat? I had no cell or internet bill. I have no cable bill today.

Im back in an 18' alminum in boat with a 115 4S. It was under 30,000 OUT THE DOOR. Our tax rate is 9.75%. It's light years ahead of any other aluminum boat I've had in the past.

Price is always what the market will bear.

P.S. How much is an extended warranty now? Those nice long warranties are built into the price of the EPA mandated motor technology. I bet my 115 was half the total cost of the boat motor and trailer. Then I paid another 1200 for an extended warranty. Back when boats were sub 10K I don't recall getting much over a couple years warranty. I vividly recall everyone appcepting the early V-6's were going to blow up in three years. I had a 1977 175 Evinrude for years.

[grey goose 01]

I bought a new corvette in 1981.

It was $10,100!! I thought the price was crazy...."over 10k....it better be the best vette ever". I bought another new one in '93. It was $40k. (Z06).

Which was better? Duh. The 400hp Z06.

Same with boats.

The old ones are crap. And no amount of "rose colored glasses" is ever gonna make em good.

You hardly see an older boat because they are slow, heavy, water logged, and rotten.

I beg to differ. My 92 Astro 20 FDX is in mint condition and still looks like she rolled off the showroom floor. Still slick as a baby's butt. Original carpet and seats. All gauges, lights, pumps, aerators, etc. still work. No stress cracks anywhere. Rock solid floors and transom. 200hp Merc EFI is immaculate, 120 psi across the board. Trailer and wheels still look new. She might be big and heavy, and may not win every drag race, but I could care less. She rides like a Cadillac and still turns heads! It all has to do with upkeep and maintenance...

Now would I love to have one of these brand new high priced decked out bass boats? SURE! Who wouldn't? But it means more to me when I don't owe a dime on the older one I have that still operates like a new one :)

Take care of what ya got!!!

[g-string]

Your paying so much more now today. Because the boat companies are paying the pros to use there boats.

[Cestratton]

All I can say is I'd love to have an immaculate Ranger 400 or early 500 with a new engine, PP, Ultrex, and new graphs. Those are the boats I grew up dreaming about and I've been seeing a lot more of that on Table Rock lately. I know they're hard to come by in goid shape before you update them but the ones I've been seeing are sharp.

[alli ss]

Your paying so much more now today. Because the boat companies are paying the pros to use there boats.

i remember watching TNN seeing all those fishing shows with the likes of hank parker, bill dance, jimmy houston, etc- the original free boat crowd. And thats back when they were free not the stipulation filled borrowing the pros do today.

[Dan21XRS]

Boat are a "luxury Item" thus you pay more for them. Car/ trucks are a necessity for work and getting to work. Plus there are a heck of a lot more vehicles made than boats... You'll pay more for an ice cream cone at Ben and Jerry's than you will at Dairy Queen...

A far as the question/ statement that boats of the past were of higher quality... I own quite a few new boats both "entry level" to "flag ship" and all have been quality. (1997 Sprint, 2002 Bullet 2007 Stratos, 2013 Stratos Elite)

As far as the engines on the market, you can thank the EPA for most our problems. The technology needed to meet EPA requirement is the culprit. The more moving parts/ computers the more potential problems. Not to mention the crappy fuels were forced to buy. Back in the day if a power head blew we took it off, took it to a machine shop, bought new pistons from Wiseco and put it back together with tools we already had in the garage. Today if that happened the first thing you'd have to do is invest a small fortune in tools and guages. You almost need a PHD to work on them. If you don't think for a minute Mercury, Evinrude, Yamaha, ect. wouldn't go back to the days of carburetors/ EFI engines your crazy... Dan

Again, boats are a luxury item... Dan