need advise on maybe buying a boat

[reggis]

A friend of mine has got a 2004 17.5 tracker with a 4 stroke 60 hp mercury that he has offered to sale me for 8000.00. Its in super-super great shape. I need to know if thats a decent deal? I looked under nada prices but it only priced it with a 25hp engine. Any info would help greatly.

[Wannabe...]

What you need to do is is look up the value of the motor, add that to the package price, then look up the value of the 25 and deduct it from the total. That'll get you close.

I'm not up on tracker values, but I'd say that sounds fair, but not a steal assuming it's rigged pretty well. Might even be a little on the high side. I'm assuming this is a bass hull mod V rather than a deep V. If it's a deep V, disregard my comments. I've got no idea on those. Also keep in mind, 2004 sounds new, but is actually already 4 years old and very shortly will be 5 model years old. Some 09s are already out.

Before I'd commit to it, I'd do a good search on the internet to see what similarly equipped boats are going for.

Wannabe...

[gabulldog]

yea i would look around and see what other boats in same shape are goin for around you it does change from state to state
but the bigest thing to ask yourself am i goin to be unhappy about paying < what ever> for this in a week or 2

btw wannabe i have one of there deep v's for years was one of the first ones that came one i still kick myself everyday since i got rid of it

[lhumphre]

i think canepole on this site just sold his and this sounds like his exact specs he had on his..might wanna pm him and see if that price is close...

[CatFan]

TRACKER Boats

You can build an equivalent current boat and see what it would cost new. Many dealers have 08s on sale for $1000 off right now.

[TeqSheriff]

Well, I have a slightly different perspective. It's only a good deal if you know that you are going to get more than $8,000 worth of use out of it. If the answer to that is yes, then it's a good deal. If you own it for 8 years and fish out of it 10 times per year, then it costs $100 per fishing trip, plus maintenance and operating costs and insurance and taxes. If you fish out of it 20 times per year (and many boats don't get nearly this much use), then it costs $50 per trip. If at the end of every fishing trip, you'd pull a $50 or $100 bill out of your wallet and say, "Now that was worth it!" then it's a good deal.

When buying a used boat, who the previous owner was is an important factor. You say the boat is in super-great shape, like the guy really took care of it and knew what he was doing. Knowing that going into the deal puts you ahead of the NADA value.

[SpeckWick]

While I love my Tracker PT175, you may want to check around first. With gas prices a lot of boats are for sale out there. You might be able to get a lot more boat for $8000. My biggest regret is that I didn't get a bigger motor. Think of all the things you will be using the boat for and how big the lakes are you will fish. If the lakes are big, a bigger motor might be better.

[reggis]

Thanks for the replys.

[NoMinners]

I have a 2005 Pro Crappie 175 with the 50 two stroke and I love it. I think that boat is worth the price with the four stroke for sure. I say this as long as it has low hours and the rest of the boat is in very good condition.