one of the 3 boats. What would you get?

I should have the chance to buy a 2017 G3 V17 tiller / 70 horse Yamaha  for about $26,000. Or I could buy a Starcraft Freedom 180 tiller / 70 horse Yamaha for about $32,000 or a Polarkraft 186 Outlander 70 horse Yamaha for $31,500 . I have to drive to Detroit to get the Polarkraft however.  I am down to these 3 boats but wonder if I should just dish out the $6,000 more and get a brand new boat and motor. Does anyone that cares to post think that the extra $6,000 is worth getting new?

hookem, dont know where you are located but i know where theres a 2020 lund 1675 pro guide tiller 60 4 stroke merc that kinda fits what you are looking for. under 27k

i bought a new 2022 last fall and love it

Hook,the trade of with deep boats they blow around more,and are harder to control.Thats why bass boats are so low for control.

I looked at the G3 Angler v17 today. Their price is $25,300.  It is a much different boat than the G3 V17 .  It is a much smaller boat . I am not sure if the Angler V17 is different than the V17 , but the 5 yr old boat is only 83" wide instead of 96" wide , it is about 33" deep instead of 41" deep and has a 20 " shaft instead of a 25" shaft. This makes it a much smaller boat, so the search continues. I will likely buy a new one, or maybe just an old wheel boat. Later. ihookem.

I'm not sure that I would buy anything made during the Covid years.    Hugh demand, short supplies, inflated prices, and labor shortage puts a lot of pressure on manufacturers to get things out the door.   My guess is manufacturers had to make substitutions,  uses less skilled labor, and took short cuts to get things out the door.

I hope I am wrong, but I don't see prices coming down anytime soon. They might stabilize/ stop increasing so much but I don't think we will ever see them back down to where they were 3 years ago.  Too many people finance new boats and as long as the monthly payment is reasonable don't care. Screws over the people paying cash but sometimes you can work in a cash discount.

With interest rates rising it might slow some people down, but that could put more pressure on the used inventory and keep those prices high.  We need a big recession to reset the economy and slow things down. I keep thinking all the people who bought boats because of covid would be selling soon because they are sick of them or sick of paying the high gas prices, but haven't seen that yet. Might be too early or might not happen at all. 

To go along with what brews said, I would try to buy somewhat local if going new.  Or at least see where all the dealers are who will honor the warranty and see if some are close by.  

I also had a few issues with my boat at first, but I didn't have to drive across the state to fix it.  I was able to find the boat I wanted at a dealer like 5 miles from my house.  It was pure luck because I was looking in Green Bay but then found this one ordered by the local dealer but not delivered yet.  I had a pinched power steering line, kicker trim went out before break in period was over..., and the kicker handle position prevented me from using a jump seat.  Dealer fixed it all for me and even made a custom bracket to position the kicker correctly for the jump seat.  No charges to me and they were really nice about it.  That was M&J Marine in Mosinee.

But it still sucked to have issues on a brand new boat.  I lost the entire season for my kicker because the trim unit was not available due to all the delays.  

If those were my choices.... I would go with the PolarCraft. 

I bought a new Alumacraft 2 years ago... 16.5' w/50hp tiller for $14250 plus tax... it came up to almost 17k by the time I got it set up.... The same boat on the show room floor now is 23k before tax... 

My shopping experience for a boat is, it is best to buy in November and December... and buy it this year because next year is not gonna be any better.  

Don't think for a second new doesn't come without headaches. Yes it is under warranty,  but how many trips you want to make going back to the dealership getting everything right.

Bough a brand new fishing pontoon this spring.  Brand new everything,  boat, 115 HP Mercury and trailer. Motor and electronics,  no complaints.  Everything else, not so much. Within 400 miles the right front trailer tire is bald. Get it to the dealership for the first 20 hour check and service and have a list of things to be fixed. They do most of them but I still don't have a live well pump that works. Its a fishing boat,  kind of important. The trailer is the problem now. They thought that I should pay for a new tire, I didn't think so, so the argument starts. They check the trailer over, can't find anything wrong. Bring boat home, get a call from dealership a week later saying the trailer manufacturer wants to replace the front axle. So now I have to make another 2 hour one way trip to get a new axle. They had it for a week when it got serviced and didn't figure it out then. I have really soured on buying anything new when this has been my experience.  Service manager actually got mad because I asked him if they were going to compensate me for my time and $$ to make another trip to fix their problems. Sucks feeling like this when you spend over 50K.

yes, Longbarrels , you are right. The market is high. I also have been waiting a couple more yrs. for the last ten yrs. I should have bought then I guess. .. And I also think the boats will come down too. I am however so tired of my Alumacraft V16. It is a 285lb boat and blows all over in a 10 mph wind. I have had it for 32 yrs. now and bought new for $1260 with tax from MW Marine in Muskego?  I only have $5,200 invest in it including everything , including all the electronics, the trade in lost for the old outboard, the trailer, and even the oars. This all includes everything , even maintenence like new bearings. I have had it for 32 yrs now and use it a lot. The trailer will likely last forever , the motor will go bad someday, and more  rivets are starting to leak a little every year. I am however waiting till a snow storm in December to go in and see what they can do for me.  I do agree with you Long Barrels.

where did you get such a odd list of boats from?  asking for a buddy.  I personally wouldn't buy a thing right now.  the market is so messed up,  wait a couple years,  there will be PLENTY of used boats just sitting around.  I think you are over paying for anything on that list,  with 70HP on them....that's just my opinion though.  I'd look to minnesota and the dakotas,  WI isn't a place to buy a good used tiller.  Most think you need a console around here,  there isn't many fishing boats available in these areas.

I might add,  i think a person is nuts to pay mid to upper 30's for a boat with a 70 HP on it.  That would make the motor about 10k if it's a yamaha....those boats aren't worth a dime more than 20 alone if that....NEW.  I'd wait,  those prices are insane.  you could get a 205 (20 ft) alumacraft tiller with a 225 for yammy a couple years ago for 38K.  these insane prices will not last if people don't pay it.

Thanks Brent and Drummer . I am getting it from a dealer. He said they go through everything before sale. I have bought used cars that had "passed" the checklist just to find the heat did not work on 2 of the vehicles. I had a very dim headlight once. The truth is , they dont check what is on the check list many times. I am a bit leary of buying from a dealer that said it passed everything on the check list. I am going to sit back and see what the G3 lists for. It is a tiller. If it seems high, I will let it sit and could sit all winter cause it's a tiller and after Labor Day sales do slow a bit. I may continue to just buy a new one. 

I would add one thing to that list,check the transom. In this market used prices are really high,plus it is going to be hard to get what he is after.

Buying a used boat is not a scary deal if you check everything…

Taking it for a test drive on the water is a must! 

See how it idles, then hit the throttle from idle all the way to WOT, keep it at WOT for 10 minutes, make sure she doesn’t overheat!  Test every electrical accessory, the trolling motor, the fishfinder, the bilge pump, the bow lights, the stern light, etc.!

I would even crack the screw on the lower unit and let it drip a drop or two onto a paper towel, see how the oil looks, and if it had been maintained.

If you’re not comfortable doing these things, you can take it to a dealer and pay them two hours of time to do it for you! While they are there, they can also plug their computer in and tell you how many hours are on the motor, which would be a nice thing to know!

Nothing wrong with buying used, as long as you verify you’re not buying someone else’s problems! Sometimes folks get burned because they don’t check everything above.

Keep in mind, the pricing for the used boats is what they’re looking to get, you might be able to do quite a bit better with a bit of negotiation.

I buy very few things new! I bought my 2018 Silverado in 2019 with 9000 miles, you can save a good chunk buying used!

Just have to look over everything closely! 

All the best with whatever you decide! 

Buy new and save yourself the headaches, get what you want with everything you want, life's to short. I have a 2004 Lund Mr Pike 18ft 6in 115 4 stroke and a 9.9 kicker with a shorelander trailer, no issues with any of them.

I bought the Starcraft Delta 188 last year. Will take small and big water with the 90hp tiller. Lots of room, storage, stability. Little more money, well worth it!!!