Is Nitro the best value for for your money

[grayline]

you nailed IT !!

06.. Beings that you were from My home town I followed you.. I followed your Transom problem on your Nitro But I feel your not giving then Justice....
You Did Bash and I feel Its not fair Tracker IS a great Boat... Its not a Ranger for Quality BUT it a Dang nice boat for the Money..
We all LOVE BassCats but Jesus Man dont Shit on the Runner ups!!
My Z-7 Is Awesome Fit and Finish is PERFECT Not undersized

[hatcreek]

My first ('89 175TF) Nitro hull got replaced under warranty with a '95 180TF, which got replaced under warranty by a '96 180TF, which I had to have the transom rebuilt on my own dime. I gotta say they're a POS.

1989-1996 models? Newest being 22 years ago?

That’s an even better metric than the expert testimonial of a buddy’s second cousin’s ex-tourney partner who had the stuff to go pro if it hadn’t been for his crappy Nitro boat.

[Craigjc00]

I have bought 2 new ones seen in the above photo,..2015 Z8/250 Pro XS and 2017 Z20/250 Pro XS and have loved them both. I purchased Nitro because they where $11,000-$15,000 cheaper than other brands equally equipped and I am one of the lucky people who can't see the quality difference.

If you can’t see the difference your opinion is irrelevant.

[wentbroketryingtogopro]

l’ll post this again. 2018 Z18, 175 ProXS, 24p Fury prop. Decent Tm, needs some good electronics, a power pole, and I’d have a jackplate but it’s max’d on HP.

Sticker was $30,700. The layout was nice and the fit and finish was really good. This would be a good base to build a real nice rig out of.

You are probably looking in the neighborhood price of $40,000.00(taxes,dealer prep,freight,etc) for the other brand of boats especially with the 175 pro xs engine.Almost a $10,000.00 price difference.I could maybe see a $2000.00 to $3000.00 price difference.Todays nitros probably are the best boat for your money and as someone else already posted a used nitro that has been garaged and well taken care of is even a better buy.jmo

[Tone357]

If one is being honest and non biased by what is in their driveway then its hard to argue that it's not. Also I would ignore the "cousin's brother's had a friend they worked with and owned one and it was junk" stories.

I wouldn't.

[basscat21]

It's a fine boat, I have fished out of many, long time friend just sold his Original Nitro, non BPS Nitro. The new ones ride good fish good, for most people they are Absolutly a great boat. If you are fishing 180 days a year, 40 large events, they are still a fine boat.

[bshort]

This thread reminds me of kids in school arguing over whether Guess or Lee is the cooler jean. Same material, just one has a 300% markup for the triangle tag.

[grayline]

Are you sure ??

Mine appeared to come that way, but the rod straps were actually in the paperwork package with the kill switches and bilge plugs, unmounted, so you could put them where YOU wanted them on YOUR boat.

Yup... Mine was fully rigged I was surprised to see my pop up cleats actually have little drain tubes that pipe down into the bilge..that detail.. And my Live well is insulated...Ranger Don't even do that... Go look Hard at a Nitro don't listen to the Nay Sayers!!! I came out of a New Skeeter FX and my Z7 is so much better

[grayline]

Nitros are bare bones.......ever seen a Z21 Elite? Probably not, would require one to stop talking out of their ass for a minute.

Where do you get Bare bones? Do you personally know that they are bare bones? Why would almost 1/2 of the Pros run Nitros ? Any brand has their Bare Bones models My Z7 came FULLY loaded straight from the dealer..

Another talking outta his azz...

[APS]

There ain't 5k worth of value difference in any of the major brands of bassboats today. I do glass and gel work and warranty repairs on all of them and can find flaws in any boat. Some have nicer seats and gloveboxes, cleats and addons but the basics are very comparable. There are some exceptions, but Nitro's not one of them. Back 15 years ago it was a different ballgame.

[06 SB]

06.. Beings that you were from My home town I followed you.. I followed your Transom problem on your Nitro But I feel your not giving then Justice....
You Did Bash and I feel Its not fair Tracker IS a great Boat... Its not a Ranger for Quality BUT it a Dang nice boat for the Money..
We all LOVE BassCats but Jesus Man dont Shit on the Runner ups!!
My Z-7 Is Awesome Fit and Finish is PERFECT Not undersized

I really didn’t mean to bash but I can see how it comes across that way. I am certainly not a Nitro hater. I wish I would have taken pictures of the wood that came out of the transom. It was the single worst piece of wood that I have seen. It was knot filled and I was not surprised it broke from a realtively minor hit. It should have been thrown in the trash not put in a boat. Getting parts and supplies from Nitro was a non-starter. The plastic transom cap, I had to source from Great Lakes Skipper and cost me twice as much as it should have. The gelcoat I had to source from the manufacturer not Nitro. OBTW, Nitro gave me the wrong “Red” name even though I gave my Hull #. I had to order a second batch. Insurance was an issue too but that is not Nitro’s fault. It just soured me on Nitro. I needed help and their CS made things harder.

The Z7 is an awesome boat. I agree that an 18’8 is a perfect sized boat especially as wide as they are. I almost bought one. I have fished out of a couple of them. I just feel horrible when I read about folks just buying their first boat and then it turning into a nightmare when they find out it has a hooked hull. Owning a boat should be a wonderful experience. Like I said, Nitro should fix every one.

I rode with Chris Lane on Chatuge and his was really nice. It rode well, got on plane fast and had decent speed. It never back washed the rear deck no matter how hard he tried. It is one of the few things I dislike about my Basscat. I will NEVER think bad about someone who buys a Nitro. They have improved greatly since I owned one. They look a lot better too!

[Axkiker]

There ain't 5k worth of value difference in any of the major brands of bassboats today. I do glass and gel work and warranty repairs on all of them and can find flaws in any boat. Some have nicer seats and gloveboxes, cleats and addons but the basics are very comparable. There are some exceptions, but Nitro's not one of them. Back 15 years ago it was a different ballgame.

Bingo!!!!!

[basscat21]

This thread reminds me of kids in school arguing over whether Guess or Lee is the cooler jean. Same material, just one has a 300% markup for the triangle tag.

only G-Man would wear Guess......most wear wrangled W.

[skeeterator]

So much misinformation and straight up lying occurs any time a Nitro thread is started. All ego driven, nothing more.

[LDS922]

I was lucky enough to marshal for KVD on the Potomac and obviously rode in his Z21. It was while I was actively shopping for an upgrade to my Stratos and I was impressed with it to the point where a Nitro was on my short list. One thing I really liked was the net storage behind the seats....Out of the way but still accessible. I hate having the net on the deck so this was one of those little features that went a long way with me. Storage overall was great. It drafted very shallow and jumped on plane very fast, both good qualities in the tidal water around here. Front deck is massive and it did well in the washing machine chop of the Potomac on a summer day. Didn't feel like anything was 'cheap' about it.

My only issue was that to get a Nitro with the same features as the standard options on the other boats I was considering the prices ended up being pretty much the same for new, demo, or 1 year old used. I ended up buying a different brand, but I wouldn't knock a Nitro...Seemed like a boat I'd be happy to fish from.

[22RangerZ520R]

Neither would I.

I wouldn't.

[berudd]

I like to build boats at work lol
I built a z18 with an ultrex, twin helix 9s, hot foot, blinker trim,etc etc...the only motor choices were opti or pros 150 or 175

The same size skeeter zx190 I can only option colors and 150 or 175 yamaha. That edge troller is junk, and helix 5s? Come on why can't I pick from a handful of electronics?

Ranger offer lots of choices on the 185 but even then they are limited. Nitro seemed to have tons and tons of options

Go look at options for a Triton. Many more plus you get to pick from at least two engine brands. They seem to have recently taken Yamaha off. I don't know if that is permanent. Unless you've talked to a dealer, what you see online could be just the result of a limited website. Might have more options if you talk in person. BPS does have the advantage on electronics because they sell all of them in their stores. But's that's about it. Besides they charge upwards of $4-500 more than their own retail (which is not the best deal anyway) to have upgraded electronics installed. And there appears to be no credit for the standard unit. I've go no issue with Nitro boats but I think your also a bit of a victim of well designed marketing. They lure you in with the low base price and keep you hooked with a slick website.

[berudd]

You are probably looking in the neighborhood price of $40,000.00(taxes,dealer prep,freight,etc) for the other brand of boats especially with the 175 pro xs engine.Almost a $10,000.00 price difference.I could maybe see a $2000.00 to $3000.00 price difference.Todays nitros probably are the best boat for your money and as someone else already posted a used nitro that has been garaged and well taken care of is even a better buy.jmo

Once he adds all the stuff he said it needed, that nitro is going to be closer to 40 that 30 for sure.

[IndianaBassMan]

JM sales a lot of them for a reason. The resale is not good if you intent to sale in first few years.

That is just not true

[Casslaw]

"and I’d have a jackplate but it’s max’d on HP."

One of us is confused on this, because adding a jackplate has zero to do with maximum HP rating of a boat. Put on the biggest HP rating you're allowed by the USCG and put on a jackplate. Most boat mfg.'s don't approve more than 8" setback without voiding the hull warranty (if they find out about it). Having the adjustability of a jackplate is a huge help in dialing-in the setup and evaluating various propellers.

What I meant was the boat comes with a 175 ProXS, not a plain 150 4s like a lot of plain Jane models. So the HP for this hull is max’d out from the factory.

I would personally want a jackplate (Bob’s) so I could dial the p2p in for different conditions and since I’m in Florida I run in shallow water a lot so a jp would be in my list of add to’s.