Got it...you don't like Nitro. I would say they have a come a long way since you bought your Phoenix in 2012. My Nitro has been a great boat and I think most that own newer ones would agree. Everyone has their opinion...
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I dont think boat prices will ever come down, why would they. Electronics cost more, motors cost more, and manufacturers claim materials warrant the prices etc... So I dont anticipate the new boats going down in price, and like was said earlier, it will force more people to look at used options and pay top dollar. This is probably the new norm, prices were going up every year before COVID, maybe not this quickly or as much, but I doubt prices are going to get slashed.
Bought a 2005 Ranger 519 with a 200 HPDI new for $33,000 and thought I was crazy. Bought a 2010 Z8 new for $34,000. I remember paying $20,000 for a new 2004 Triton 186.
Okay, get ready to get pissed off at me.
Dixie-Raven hit the nail on the head. This "Grow the Sport" crap is about nothing more than making money. It is veiled in so many ways, like "it's for the kids" etc., NO. The motive is cash plain and simple. Even the timing of pro tourneys are set to the time of year when the fish bite is at it's crazy best and it's all about getting you wound up and hooking you and your wallet. We all have fallen victim to it, some worse than others.
And speaking of Pro's,,, I'm sure most all of them are great guys as well as the best of fisherman, but they are, at the same time, "Salesmen". (Once they hit the big time). They remind me of the guys you used to see at an old Macy's or Sears department store. They used to be just inside the doors with a couple of tables and some amazing demonstrations of "The worlds Sharpest Knife" or "The World’s Best Pots and Pans". It was quite entertaining to watch them at it and it was a great way of sucking people into making a purchase or two. This is about what fishing has become to and it is, IMHO, greed gone wild.
It’s our own fault though. We’re easy marks. So many of us have become the Perfect Consumers, 'delicately' trained, manipulated and indoctrinated since childhood, into buying nearly anything regardless of price. Cars, trucks, boats, clothes, homes, entertainment, sports, including ours. Many of us even do it with a big goofy smile on our face.
In a way, it's kind of like a milking barn full of cows all hooked up to the milking machines that are pumping out milk. But in our case it is the same idea only the milking hoses are attached to our wallets. There's a human philological aspect to it that "those who make the world go round" know about and have mastered. They seem to have developed a way of keeping everything priced at what could be the breaking point for some people and "just" below the tipping point for the rest so no ones the wiser. Meanwhile, and just like everyone else, I spend more than I should, but I try very hard to make wise and prudent purchases.
As for the prices of used boats, with a well-kept 15 year old boat and a new trailer as a foundation, I'll do a re-power after 10 years, (Done in 2018) upgrade electronics every 3-4 years, etc., Which, basically means that my well-kept old boat will go anywhere and do anything that a new rig five times more than I paid for mine will do. So if I ever do sell it, the price I set will be based on that and will be a real deal compared to the cost of a brand new rig.
Well now..another boat price bitching session with a little brand bashing on the side…How original for the BBC!
What company does notcwant to make money? That is the main reason tgey are in business to start with. The more a company grows the more jobs they can create and the more that money goes back into local, state and national economies.
Fishing wise no one has ever made me buy something I did not want. At the end of the day it's a personal choice to buy or not buy. I don't blame the pros or the companies for that in any way. Ultimately I control what I do.
The harsh reality that a lot of people don't want to admit is that they really don't need all that fancy stuff to catch fish, they just want to look the part. 99% of guys who have all that stuff don't use it to it's potential and definitely aren't getting an ROI from it. The older I get and the more basic I make fishing the more fun it gets.
Just a random thought here...with the prices of glass rigs now I bet a lot of people who said they would never own a smaller tin boat are now either in one or thinking about buying one. Sadly, even one of those with a 115hp rigged the way most of us would want it is mid-upper 30's new.
absolutely agree.
i find it funny that most guys clamp onto the pros who beat their chest to “grow the sport”. They come off as wanting to get kids and more people fishing, when in reality it means growing sponsorship dollars and their own income. they are also the same ones who complain non-stop about recreational anglers fishing during tournaments.
i never once been on a lake or at a tournament and have people begging for more crowds and crowded ramps. I’m fact it’s the complete opposite. A lot of places I stop fishing because of the crowds like Oneida, Cayuga, 1000 islands.. sure there is plenty of water to share, but the lakes have taken a huge hit in numbers and quality. The frustration with crowded ramps or spot poachers isn’t worth it. Places are becoming so crowded with the influx from mainly out of state plates that it’s pushing most of the locals away. I live the 40 min Oneida, 1.5hrs from Cayuga, and 2hrs from 1000 islands. It’s been years since I’ve fished any of those. I’ll stick with the smaller places (even car top mountain lakes) that the grow the sport crowd hasn’t overcrowded… yet.
As always, it’s the bottom budgets that are getting cut out. There has always been an old boat market between $5-10K. They weren’t for everyone, but they were running and fishing for those that had little money, probably didn’t want or couldn’t get a loan. Just wanted a bass boat to fish out of. That market doesn’t exist any more at any age of boat.
Maybe it’s very different regionally or even by state, but I can tell you from first hand experience that the new boat sellers’ marketplace is much, much softer now. I contacted a dealer in October 2022 that had a fair number of leftover 2022 Rangers. They gave me what I deemed to be an excellent borderline shocking trade value for my 2008 Triton, discounted some extras and charged me a normal price for the new Ranger. Wasn’t planning on it but I ended up buying a new Ranger. Many of the dealers in Ohio have lots of new boats in their inventory. I suspect the market for used boats lags though-much easier to sell a lower-priced used boat in a recession than a brand new expensive boat. So, demand is still pretty high for used boats and it’s one reason I feel I got such a great trade-in value for my Triton.