Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

OK gang, I am asking for your thoughts and guideance once again. I am going to look at this boat Sat. It is an older gentleman that has it and in talking to him has taken exceptional care of it. I can't find a listing for it in NADA, so I have no idea what book may be on it. He is including a trolling motor, a stainless grill 2 years old that fits in the holes on front of boat, ropes, towing sling for tube, porta potty and enclosure that comes down from cieling. Front of enclosure is 1 year old after a branch took out the old one in a storm.

Is Suncruiser a quality brand? What would you think a fair price for this deal would be?

http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/boa/2535673324.html

looks like a scissor trailer, not real good for long hauls.

Just for comparison, you can look at my posting under the For Sale forum for the 2007 SmokerCraft Sunchaser. Without the "toys" my boat lists for $14,665 "Average retail" and $12,908 "low retail on NADA. I had to look under iBoats to find those figures because I could not find my boat on the "regular" NADA charts.

Of course, I do not have the enclosure, but my boat is several years newer.

Like I've said many times, the Boat and RV NADA's are a work of fiction prepared by people that have no knowledge on boats or RV's. (I kept an auto NADA in my pocket for 24 yrs.) Car dealers don't even use NADA when purchasing/trading for used cars--they use the Black Book universally. Bankers use NADA, because it is printed, and they can "substantiate" advancing "X" dollars on a finance deal. I have found NADA prices consistently optimistic.

With that said, I would research 98-99 model pontoons of comparable quality on Craigslist.com, Boattrader.com, EbayMotors.com and any other internet want ads you can find. Then, you'll be better prepared to negotiate the purchase.

Remember that pontoon boats have a long lifespan, and don't cause problems because they're simple structures. On the other hand, this 2 stroke motor is an old generation motor--not a modern fuel injected 4 stroke outboard. The heart of most pontoon boats is the motor. The full enclosure is nice, however the styling of the fence and seats are dated when compared with the newer model boats.

You could use the scissors trailer to haul the boat a few miles, but I wouldn't want to pull it long distances to the lake every week. The price appears quite optimistic--somewhat too high.

That price is high. I have the same model I bought new in '04. A few of my extras were, 2 fishing seats up front, tow/ski bar, spare tire, custom cover, tandem bunk trailer with surge brakes, 90 hp Yamaha. All of this and the total was $17,000.

I have had pretty good luck with mine. The only thing I don't like is it really sets low in the rear with 23" tubes.

That "dated" thing you said is really hitting home with me and I think I am going to cancel going to look at it. I found a 99 of the same boat and got to see the interior seats better. Now they are a different color, but design is the same and I don't care for it.



Not even close to what I would really like!


I am also thinking that I really would not use the enclosure either, I think I am just getting anxious cause I can't find what I am looking for?

Oh. by the way, those last 2 pics are a dream, not what I am expecting to buy!

Im not familiar with that Manufacturer. I agree with the majority here that it may be priced a bit high, although I dont think its too far off for this area (Southwestern PA). You would be surprised how effective the enclosure is if you had one. Since I got my enclosure I never have the mooring cover on except in storage over winter. It is much, much easier to unzip the panels and remove the enclosure than it is the mooring cover. That being said tho, I dock my pontoon and rarely trailer it.

That Starcraft looks pretty much like my Sylvan Mandalay.
might do a search for one of those and see what you think.

Thin Ice wrote:Im not familiar with that Manufacturer. I agree with the majority here that it may be priced a bit high, although I dont think its too far off for this area (Southwestern PA). You would be surprised how effective the enclosure is if you had one. Since I got my enclosure I never have the mooring cover on except in storage over winter. It is much, much easier to unzip the panels and remove the enclosure than it is the mooring cover. That being said tho, I dock my pontoon and rarely trailer it.

It's a Lowe

Back when that Suncruiser was manufactured I don't believe it was made by Lowe. I had a 96 240 Jamaica, with a 115 hp Evinrude, no trailer. I paid just a shade over $16k back then.
If you get the boat for the right price you can always redo the upholstery (get Hellbilly to come over and help), and get a more recent vintage outboard. I wouldn't offer more than $5 grand and that's being generous without seeing the boat in person.

bassn386 wrote:Back when that Suncruiser was manufactured I don't believe it was made by Lowe. I had a 96 240 Jamaica, with a 115 hp Evinrude, no trailer. I paid just a shade over $16k back then.
If you get the boat for the right price you can always redo the upholstery (get Hellbilly to come over and help), and get a more recent vintage outboard. I wouldn't offer more than $5 grand and that's being generous without seeing the boat in person.

Look back at Heatmans post

It is a Lowe

Suncruiser has always been Lowe however the original Lowe owners sold out a few years back. They are now with G3 I believe.

I am not going to look at it, wife does not like it, too old looking for her!

Quit screwing around and buy the Starctaft

lakerunner696 wrote:Quit screwing around and buy the Starctaft

your reading me like a book! Just not sure I can scrape enough together to get it, and really do not want to pay the 7-9% I have been quoted on a loan.