Fixing to buy boat, help me decide.

[geldridge2]

Greetings all,

I am a brand new member and this is my first post. I have been doing an enormous amount of research on boats to help me decide what to buy. I have been trying to keep an open mind and have no brand loyalty. I will be making this same post in other brand forums as well. My delimma is this. I have about $25K to spend on a new rig. This will be my first bass boat. I have narrowed my choices to NITRO Z-7, Triton 18x2 or TR-186, and Stratos 285XL. All three boats are in the 18.5' range and running a 150hp. The Nitro would be a 2009 model for $25K. The Triton 18x2 is a left over 2008 that I can get in the $23-24K range. The Triton TR-186 is also left over 2008 that I can get in the $22-23K range. The Stratos is actually a left over 2007 that I can get for $19.9K. As I said, I have never owned any of these brands, so I have no personal knowledge of their capabilities. I have been doing a lot of reading on BBC forums and it seems that NITRO has a bad reputation. I like the Z-7 looks and the spring fishing bonus of $1000 BPS card. I am also active duty military, so I will get an additional $750 BPS card. This is very enticing. I was hoping to get some honest feedback from STRATOS owners about theirs and the other brands I am looking at. Thanks for your help!

[F150owner]

Sent you an IM. Turn off your pop-up blocker on this specific website to receive. Thanks and good luck with your decision!!

[coleman]

OK, here's my .02 about the situation in general...not specifics to Stratos.

Backgroud info: I just bought my first Stratos after running a Skeeter for 7 years. Also my Dad owns a Skeeter and my brother has owned a Nitro (89 model - first bass boat) and two Rangers since. For power the family has owned OMC carbed, Mercury carbed, EFI and DFI and Yamaha EFI. And I have club fished for 10 plus years and fished as a no-boater in a variety of draw format tournaments so I have ridden in quite a few.

That's the background...take it for what it's worth. In your situation I would not buy a Nitro solely based on resale value. Regardless of the fit/finish (sub-par in my mind) you will have a very hard time getting rid of it if you were deployed or something that caused you to dump it.

Also I would not buy new in this current economy. There are some fantastic deals available from folks that have gotten layed off from work or had their boat repo'ed. My advice is to get prequalified from a bank for a certain amount and then be patient/ready to move on a great deal. Also historically spring is a bad time to buy...I prefer fall/winter when new model years have come out and guys have won boats in "fish-offs"

My proof that their are good deals out there: Wednesday this week I bought a 2006 Stratos 294 with an Optimax 200 with warranty until February 2012 for 16,700 out the door. It was repo'ed and in excellent shape. You just need to be patient and ready to move when the deal comes around.

Anyway good luck and thank you for protecting our freedom!

[geldridge2]

Thanks for the info. Ironically, I was just looking at a Ranger for sale here locally. It is a 2007 521VX for $31,900. I have always heard that Rangers are like the Cadillacs of bass boats. They are sure proud of them.

[ALF1]

I would agree with finding a good used boat. I just bought an 06 294 with a 200 merc for 16,000 from a guy that was layed off at GM and had to get rid of it. There are GREAT deals out there on used boats....

[Musky Mike]

All the boats are good. I would check on the extras, the Stratos comes with hydraulic steering, do the others? The deals that seem good may not be that good when you compare standard features on some boats are options on other boats. When I was buying my 2004 Stratos 285, I got just about every option and the price was the same as a standard Triton or Ranger of the same size with no options.

[beckleybassfanatic]

I have never owned, ridden in, nor fished out of a Triton or Nitro...I can not say one bad word about either of the 2, but I can say I have owned 2 Stratos boats both being '04 models (First was a 275 ProXL, Second being a 285 ProXL Magnum) and if I was ever able to buy a brand new boat it would definetly be another Stratos...

[201pro]

Contact C&O marine..They sell both Stratos and Nitro and can give an honest comparison between the 2 boats... If you can make the drive, they will probably give you the best deals also...615-797-4760...

[jk19421]

I second C and O. I also think on their webpage they offer a discount for military? Not sure, don't hold me to it. Great dealership to work with.

[Blue Steel]

I third C&0..on my 3 rd boat from them,one ChampioN and two Stratos's

[bassaddic]

i have a 07 285 with a 150 vmax, i love the boat it was my 1st bass boat. it is easy to drive, no chine walking great hole shot good ride i dont ever feel like im going to lose control or anything. fishes good, just watch out for extra rods on the deck its very easy to kick a rod overboard as i learned the hard way now i keep theem down with the straps till i need em. my only complaints are mine didnt came with shocks on the rod boxes makes for a pain when loading up rods also i didnt get hydraulic steering not to big of a deal but makes for a little work when making sharper turns at speed but overall a great boat at a good price