Best place/ time to find a boat?

Ilivetoski

We are about to get a new boat (new to us) for this upcoming season. After reading a thread, it sounds like if we buy a 2002-2007 Nautique we can put ZO in it for $4400. I feel like this would probably be a cheaper route than buying an 08 or 09 Nautique or a 2010 Carbon pro. Ideally what I am thinking is an 05-06 Nautique. Everything I can find (which is a total of about 5 or 6 boats) they are going for $25-$29k. Seems outrageous to me for a 6-9 year old boat. Will there be more of these boats available during the summer?

ForrestGump

There will likely be less. Those boats go as fast as they become available, for the most part.

oldjeep

Same price range that a 05-06 LXI goes for. The tougher thing for me would be spending 25-29K with the intention of adding on another $4400. What is the price range of boats that already have ZO?

liquid d

It's like buying a great car/truck...a year from now, you're not going to care whether you spent 25k or 30k on it. Get the boat, get 'er done with zo, and get skiing! That boat will provide many years of great skiing, and you could have for spring! And having zo in it makes it worth more when you do sell.

MISkier

@Ilivetoski,

How about this one:

http://www.ski-it-again.com/php/skiitagain.php?topic=Search&category=Comp_Boat&postid=26435

Not sure how far you are from Kentucky. The hours are a little high, but many on here have commented that it should not be an issue.

All this talk makes me appreciate my 2009 Malibu Response LX (with ZO). I bought that in August 2010 as the original titled owner. It was in great condition with 150 hours on it and remaining warranty for $32,000. I wasn't sure how good of a deal I got then, but, as @liquid d mentions, I don't care a few years later after many good sets.

Wish

Yr newer. Few less hours and way less expensive.

http://www.ski-it-again.com/php/skiitagain.php?topic=Search&category=Comp_Boat&postid=26615

6balls

http://www.ski-it-again.com/php/skiitagain.php?topic=Search&category=Comp_Boat&postid=26365

bdougherty

The boat @MISkier referred on SIA is located in Texas at Buxton Marine. Brandon Cruse with Central Kentucky Inboards is representing the boat. Brandon is really connected nation wide and is a good reference in buying or selling a boat. If you are serious about a boat it would be worth your time to give him a call. He sold a former boat of mine, the transaction was to a buyer in Australia and was flawless. Almost bought that boat a week or two ago but will save my pennies and ski my 97 SN one more year

The_MS

Hang tight and you will find a deal on a 2002-2009 196. There are a few out there with under 500 hrs and can be had for under 25k. If you can find an 02 with the 5.7 Ex, that is the perfect boat to upgrade to ZO with.

Ed_Obermeier

...Everything I can find (which is a total of about 5 or 6 boats) they are going for $25-$29k. Seems outrageous to me for a 6-9 year old boat...

@Ilivetoski I don't think you can look at buying a good condition used boat the same as buying a used car. IMO a boat isn't the depreciating asset a car i.e. is. Example - I bought my '05 LXI in December 2008 for $29K with something like 275 hours on it, boat sold new for $37K m/l. Today with 525 hours on it I'm confident I could still get around $25K for it (according to current market anyway) and sell it fairly quickly. Compared to the price of a new boat, $25 - 29K for a well kept, well maintained item that isn't depreciating rapidly doesn't seem like a bad deal to me at all.

The_MS

http://www.ski-it-again.com/php/skiitagain.php?topic=Search&category=Comp_Boat&postid=25956
Not sure about the engine.

MISkier

@MS, that looks like a really nice boat. But, how is the 5.0 liter engine and is that a model that can be converted to ZO? I wondered if the 5.7 was required for the conversion.

The_MS

The 5.7 is needed, so that boat is out.

rodb

I have a 2012 Carbon Pro with 400 hours, i would make you a great deal on it.

Kelvin

Here's another one. Meticulously maintained by an OCD engineer.

http://www.ski-it-again.com/php/skiitagain.php?topic=Search&category=Comp_Boat&postid=26423

disland

One other option is going a little older and or high hours and putting in a new engine with ZO instead of an upgrade

andjules

@Ilivetoski to answer your question, in my experience, the used market heats up a little around march-april-may (earlier in southern states, later in northern states). Then again in September-October, which is obviously more of a buyer's market. Prices are highest mid summer, in general, and winter is pretty quiet. For a couple of years (especially after the financial crisis) I'd surf classifieds, find a well-priced boat, bring it back to Canada, ski it most of the summer, then sell it in late August for a modest profit (our used market wasn't as full as deals as the US). I didn't see nearly as many deals last year. Anyhow, searchtempest.com is a pretty good tool, scraping ads from all the craigslists within __ miles of wherever you live.

6balls

KLP's boat:

http://www.onlyinboards.com/Details.aspx?ID=41727

A number of Nautiques in age range specified:

http://www.onlyinboards.com/Advanced-Search-Options.aspx?MakerName=&YearFrom=&YearTo=&PriceFrom=&PriceTo=&Keywords=&State=-1

fu_man

Guys, could someone give a little bit of insight regarding putting a new engine in a boat? I have a friend with an '04 LXi. He maintains the boat pretty well. It has no speed control and it has a little over 1000 hours on it. He wants to upgrade to ZO so he is thinking about buying a TXi club boat. However, he is not made of money so I suggested he either install Perfect Pass (and just live with the slight differences between PP and ZO) or he just repower the boat with a new engine and ZO. I would have to think that even repowering the boat would be cheaper than buying a new-ish boat since his tug is still in really good condition.

So, aside from finding a qualified person to install it can you just order a new engine directly from Indmar? Are there issues with retrofitting the new engine into the older model? Are there avenues for selling the older engine? What is the approximate cost to repower a boat with ZO?

ozski

I have an 04 LXi and just installed the stargazer zbox upgrade and the easy installation and low cost makes it pretty hard to ignore. There are greater variables in play IMO however the 04 is a darn good slalom hull so if you went down the ZO path you won't regret it.

MISkier

If I were looking for a boat, I think KLPs Centurion would be an awesome opportunity. Can you imagine how dialed in that boat must be?

Ilivetoski

@rodb What I actually think we are going to end up doing is waiting until next year and buying a Centurion. I skied it at a tournament and loved it. I feel like it has a very similar wake to the 200 and the ZO feels smoother.
@Ed_Obermeier We bought an 04 Lxi about 5 years ago for $20k with roughly 600 hrs on it. Right now I think that we could get about what we paid for it (we are at 950 hrs).
Thanks to everyone for posting these Nautiques, I know that around 1000 hours is not a lot on a Nautique, but we just feel like it would be nice to own a 2009 low hours, or a 2010 or newer Centurion. We are kinda shying away from the idea of sell our 10 year old boat buy another 10 year old boat and upgrade it.

MISkier

@Ilivetoski

Here are two more:

$30,000 and 816 hours. It is a 2008, though:

http://www.ski-it-again.com/php/skiitagain.php?topic=Search&category=Comp_Boat&postid=22535

$32,000 and 500 hours and a 2009.

http://www.ski-it-again.com/php/skiitagain.php?topic=Search&category=Comp_Boat&postid=23299

I think the black 2008 looks cool. The 2009 is sitting on a MasterCraft trailer. Makes me wonder if it does not include a trailer. The description does not mention one.

Both posts are quite old, though. Makes me wonder if the boats are hard to move. The 2008 price was just reduced, so that could be helpful.

Dacon62

I'm with @oldjeep...pony up for a boat that is zero off equipped or settle for a lower price boat that doesn't have it and be happy with that. To spend $4400 on a zero off conversion or approximately triple that to repower an older boat with a zero off friendly motor/control is burning money.

skierjp

You said you skied the Centurion but did you drive it pulling a skier? This could change your mind!

Jody_Seal

How about a 160 hour 2006 196 ? Will have more photos tomorrow as Steve-O is currently detailing this boat. price is $28K .This one wont last long on the market. Can also install a ZO conversion for the right price!

liquid d

Waiting to buy a boat that you want now doesn't make sense. You have to think of these things differently: you're always going to have a boat, so what you're "spending" is the depreciation for the time you own it. Your current boat is depreciating and your "newer" boat will be depreciating too. The difference in the rate of depreciation is all there is....and when you really think about how little that difference is...it's a no brainer! Get the bad boy you want!

6balls

Fresh listing. Cambridge Iowa location means Dream Lake Estates. '07 ZO SN 196 $24K

http://www.ski-it-again.com/php/skiitagain.php?topic=Search&category=Comp_Boat&postid=26716

ctsmith

This is my boat. 2004 196. 310 hours currently.

http://www.ski-it-again.com/php/skiitagain.php?topic=Search&category=Comp_Boat&postid=24423

ntx

Let's wait and see how long and for how much these boats sell for. It looks like most of them are way over priced. Some of them are priced more than what you could buy them new for.

crashman

@ctsmith nice looking boat! She's got a lot of sets left in her!