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I have enjoyed this site as a lurker for quite a while and finally decided to jump on board. This forum is great, so many of the other forums out there have quite a bit of negativity when people make a post or pose a question and I see decent replies and people treating each other respectfully here on bigfishtackle. I'll do my best to contribute reports for when I get out. Thanks!!
So...onto my question. I am in the market for a new boat and was wondering what dealers are good and which to avoid. I don't have the biggest budget so I am looking at some 16' side consoles or tillers. I have called several of them and I'm not too impressed with Canyon Marine, they never called me back and blew me off. Allan Marsh did the same thing. JH Sales and Marine seemed decent as did Capitol Sports Sales. Is there anyone else I should consider between Boise to Idaho Falls and are my first impressions of the previously mentioned dealers correct or was I too hasty in my judgement? The boats I'm looking at are Lowe fm160, Lund Fury Side Console, Lund Rebel Tiller, Crestliner Discovery 1650 side console or tiller, Mirrocraft Laker 16' side console, or an Alumacraft V-16. I'm tired of fixing old motors(my wife is tired of me dumping money into old motors) and I just want something that will work when I actually get time to go fishing and have room for my kids. Thanks and Happy Trails.
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Welcome to the world of boat dealers. I've bought many different brands of boats from many different dealers over the years.
First, stop in and visit in person. When I lived in Boise, I had great experiences at both Canyon Marine and Capitol Sports - in person.
Ranger now makes an affordable aluminum deep-v model in both 16' and 17' lengths, they might have one up there to look at.
Idaho Marine sells Alumacraft. A great boat but they are terribly overpriced at their store. They sell boats for thousands more than you can get the same boat here in the midwest for.
Just my $.02
Have fun shopping!
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I bought my Crestliner at Precision Boats in Idaho Falls. They were great . I bought my boat 11 years ago and they still remember my name. As far as price all aluminum boats have gotten very expensive. Not to mention all the gear you need on the boat ! They do have some used boats in the lot. I would give them a call .
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Thanks for the replies gentleman! Precision boats was brought up by Crestliner's website so that's good to hear they are a decent outfit. I'll not be too hasty in my judgment it sounds from my experience with the dealers on the phone from your experience Sd. I live in the Magic Valley so it's a trip no matter what direction I go to buy a boat! SLC is even on the menu if the price is right. I'll check out those Rangers too, I thought they'd be too pricey. Most of the rigs I'm looking at only have 25 hp motors. I like to troll a lot and if a boat does 20 mph, I'm happy. Bigger is better but less is what I can afford unfortunately. I figure a 25 hp will be a good single do all engine for getting around and trolling. As soon as current boat sells I'll be able to pull the trigger on another! If anyone wants a 1993 Tracker Sweet 16...u[bobhappy]. Thanks again! Happy trails.
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How much are you looking at spending? You should consider posting the boat you are selling on the Idaho For Sale board: http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gfo...?forum=323
As far as a buying a boat goes, have you considered buying a newer used boat? You can get more of the features you want and spend less than what a new boat cost. Another thing to consider is traveling out of state, to Colo or Nebraska, not sure what the deal is but boats on this side of the Rocky Mountains cost thousands more than on the East side of the Rockies. Here are two examples, my friend bought his boat at Cabelas in Sidney NE after looking at every dealer in Utah and was able to get a 17ft Lowe, fish and ski with a 90 hp merc with full windshield for 4k lower than any dealer in Ut. When I retired in 2011, I started looking for a newer used boat, everything I looked at, sold almost as soon as they were posted on KSL, finally I found what I was looking for in Colo and I was amazed at how much cheaper the prices were there compared to Utah, on average they were 3k cheaper. I was able to buy a 16 ft 2003 Sylvan with a 90 hp Johnson, full windshield and a bow mount electric trolling motor for just over 10k. Here is a pic of it:
http://www.bigfishtackle.com/photos/show...ppuser/118
Anyway just food for thought and by the way, welcome to the site.
WH2
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I bought a "new to me" boat at Capital sport sales last fall. They were easy to deal with. I've had it in a few times for service and it's always been smooth and they've treated me well, which I appreciate since I'm new to boat ownership.
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That's a beautiful boat Wiperhunter! That's my ideal setup for sure. I would definitely consider buying a newer used boat and I'll check out our neighbors to the east for boats. I never thought of looking there. I have looked at Boattrader.com and have found several nice boats in the Portland area, just have to amp myself up for a 12 hour drive or so! My top end is $13,000 and I know that doesn't go too far on a new boat these days. I'm going to have to finance the boat since my savings got gobbled up by my last boat so I'll be stuck buying from a dealer. As was mentioned, the options nickel and dime you to death along with the dealer fees and such. I have a quote from Capitol Sports in Boise for a brand new 16' Lund Fury side console with a 25hp efi Merc and a few options out the door for $13,000. They also quoted me a Lund Rebel 16' tiller with a 25 hp efi Merc and a basic setup for $13,500. A used boat scares me a bit if it breaks down, I'll be making payments on the boat and paying for repairs simultaneously which could be bad for my health when my wife would find out. I get a lot more boat buying used, but I get a warranty new. I was also looking at a simple aluminum walk through bench 16' Alumacraft V-16 tiller with a bimini top, couple of seats, couple of rod holders, and a yamaha 25 hp for about $9,500. I know boats are money pits but I'm hoping the payments would at least result in something reliable. Tough choice. Thanks again for the input. It helps a lot! I'll post my Tracker in the Big Fish classifieds. Happy trails.
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I just bought a boat at Allan Marsh. He is a great guy to work with and reasonable. I shopped around for a bit and got a better price there.
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Hands down best dealer I've found in Boise is Idaho Marine.
Having said that, I drove 300 miles to Washington to buy a boat. Simply because they had the boat I wanted at a good price.
Resale on quality aluminum boats is unreal. I looked and ended up buying new.
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Idaho Marine was pretty square with me on the phone, seemed like a good outfit. Maybe at Allan Marsh I just got a salesman on a bad day. I'll just have to visit them in person. Boattrader.com had me pretty close to doing a road trip to the Portland area, there are some great deals on some nice boats there! Thanks again for the feedback! You guys think my idea of a 25 hp on a 16' side console Lund, Crestliner, Lowe, etc. is a good balance for trolling and getting around the lake?
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Bought my new boat last Nov. from American Northwest Outdoors in Fruitland, ID - Get a hold of Eric, he will treat you well, tell him Matt sent you 
Matt
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Most people buy what they can afford and they live with it but IMO, you should at least consider a bigger motor. I know a few members that buy 40 or 50 HP motors and troll with them, although I do not think that is good for your main motor, a lot of folks do it and make it work. It all comes down to what you can afford and then you have to live with it.
By the way, here is a link to the Utah For Sale board:
http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gfo...i?forum=90
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I will never have Precision boats do any work for me ever again. They might be fine with selling them but as far as the maintenance or having work done they suck!!! They are shoddy at best. The manager that deals with the maintenance is a smuck. If I have any work done that I cant do myself go to Ultra Marine. Jay used to work for precision but moved on and started his own shop. His customer service is much better than precision hands down.
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What soured you on Precison? Did they not do a job right or did they misdiagnose repairs causing more work and expense? I'd probably only deal with the sales end since I'm only about 45 minutes from Twin and 2 1/2 hours to Idaho Falls. The boat shop in Twin has been good to me, they just don't sell the type of boat I want. But it's good to know how the whole outfit is run.
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Where do I start? They told me to bring my boat in and it would be two weeks for my project. I took it in to drop off and it was a month to get done. I live 2 hours away from there, the guy calls me and says come and get it and its done. I get there and they are working on it and say it wont be done till the next day. They rush through it to finish that day so my trip isn't wasted but missed things. When I got it home I realized that they missed some welds that needed done and the welding that was done was poor. They didn't do everything that I wrote down on my detailed list for them. I was overcharged for labor. This wasn't a cheap $200 project. It was an expensive project on a very expensive boat. You would think they would pay attention to detail and do the job right. The manager didn't seem to care. Ill never spend a dime in that place ever again. I have told everyone I know about my experience at precision and have met several people with similar experiences from there. I don't care what you do, I just thought Id share my experience. Canyon Marine in Boise has been good to me. Marks Marine in Coeur d'alene is where I bought my boat and they were pretty good.
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I agree. More ponies.
I wouldn't hesitate to troll with a 35hp motor. The new 4 strokes are made to run.
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I finally got my boat sold! Those quotes I got from Capitol in Boise for the Lund Fury turned out to be way off(from $12,900 to $15,000) so that is off the table. $13,000 is my max so I'm trying to decide what route to take. Should I buy a new 16' tin with a floor and a 25 hp tiller or a used bigger boat? I'm just nervous about repairs, I've got some ptsd from my last boat that bled me dry. I've found a 2010 Alumacraft Classic 16' side console with a 40hp Yamaha with 83 hours on it and they only want $9100, is that something you guys would trust? How many hours would you guys consider acceptable on a used outfit? I know how the boat was cared for has a lot of influence on that answer. Thanks for all of the help so far guys!
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Is the Yamaha 40 a 4-stroke or two stroke?
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It's a 2010 four stroke.
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The Yamaha 4 strokes are a good motor. I have a 225 and a 9.9 and they both run great. Even when its cold in the winter.
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