Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

This is somewhat of a repost, but with some major choice changes...
hello to all!!! a little about us... we are a family of 5 with 2 young boys (4/8). we just bought our 1st boat 4mo's ago (2003 chaparral 300 signature cruiser) and quickly found out the type of boating provided by that chaparral was not for us. I'm also not too proud to admit that it was way too intimidating (big) for my 1st go at boating. my wife grew up on the lake and our kids are in love with being out there. so, after selling my boat last week, I'm on the hunt and ready to pull the trigger again! btw, we're in the n.e. oklahoma area and will be boating at grand lake.

now to the good part... for our 1st tri-toon i decided to go with something that has the ability to last us a "very" long time, while also keeping in mind that i don't want to take a serious bath if worse came to worse...
after a weeks of all day/night research, i finally Broke it down to 3 choices... None of these have a trailer, but that's not an issue at all for me, as it will be housed on the lake.

let me know your thoughts here:
option 1:
used 2014 Crest Caribbean 250 CP3+, 300 Mercury Verado Pro, 26hrs, teak vinyl floors w/snap in carpet, in floor storage, lighted Bimini and interior, and most all the good options. I know the previous owner, and am positive the boat was very well cared for. This one would be bought from my local Marinemax, who is the original seller and local Crest dealer! $50k OTD... If I go this route, do I spend the money to get a passport premier warranty on the motor?

option 2:
brand new "leftover" 2015 Premier 270 Grand Isle PTX (36"), Mercury 250 Verado Pro (w/Hydraulic Power Steering, Smartcraft and electronic shift control), seagrass flooring, and all the other great standard features that come with this boat. true msrp on this boat including destination (shipping) and prep is: $99,100. I'm able to purchase this boat for $55,849 OTD...
This would be purchased 5hrs from our lake, and I have NO local premier dealer at all (closest is 3hrs away), although I do have plenty of on water Mercury dealers.

Option 3:
Brand new leftover 2014 Harris Solstice 240 w/ Mercury 250 verado pro, double biminis, sea grass, p3 performance pkg, in floor storage, lighting pkg, convenience pkg, upgraded stereo, etc... This one would be bought 5hrs away also, but I do have an on water Harris dealer for any warranty concerns. This one is also $50k OTD...

When I book these out on Nada, values point me in the direction of the Crest or Premier. But, I'm concerned about the premier since I have no local dealer.

I'm leaning towards the Crest, mainly because I've been told by friends to buy from someone on the lake, since I'm pretty new to boating. But, I don't want to miss out on a much better deal or boat...
all thoughts and opinions are welcomed!!! and i think the pontoon world will serve my family much better than our previous choice!!!

glad to be part of this group, and once i get familiar with what I'm doing, i really hope to be able to contribute!!!

I dont know anything about Harris but just read this in another topic on the board

"Never seen it. But have noticed more online leaking complaints on Harris toons than all the other brands combined.
They're too large a pontoon manufacturer to have such problems."

That would make me do some serious double checking
Good luck with your choice

A pontoon on Grand? You my friend are a braver man than I. I grew up on that lake and wouldn't put myself thru the beating you are in for when the big boys start plowing 4 ft troughs in the lake with the big twin screw cruiser and the look at me crowd in their fountains and cigarettes flying across the water as fas as they can possibly go. Watched it for 30 years every weekend .
But if you are gonna take that plunge, buy the first or second one you listed. And good luck.

Soonertoon wrote:A pontoon on Grand? You my friend are a braver man than I. I grew up on that lake and wouldn't put myself thru the beating you are in for when the big boys start plowing 4 ft troughs in the lake with the big twin screw cruiser and the look at me crowd in their fountains and cigarettes flying across the water as fas as they can possibly go. Watched it for 30 years every weekend .
But if you are gonna take that plunge, buy the first or second one you listed. And good luck.

can't disagree. although I'm a new boater, we have many friends there with yacht class boats we can join on the busy weekends... the lake-house we just bought is about 3/4 way down drowning creek. it seems to stay pretty quiet down there, and should give the boys a good place to tube when its not crowded... luckily we'll have plenty of weekday opportunities to do our family boating, and we'd probably join friends on the big boats during the crazy holidays/weekends...
really want to go with the premier, as the 36" ptx would be nice, the beacon system and having a brand new boat... but...
i think I'm really leaning towards the crest though, as a 300 will be nice there and buying it locally will give me contacts to use when needed...
do you have an opinion on whether to spend the money on a motor warranty, or should i save the cash with it only being a 26hr boat?

Personally, I would make a warranty part of the deal. The cost to the dealer isn't squat . Certainly doesn't hurt. If they take it they take it. If not, than you can decide if the investment is worth it. 26 hrs isn't even worth talking about. Unless you run the livin piss out of this boat every day , you will be years before you reach a point where she's not reliable anymore.
Point is , do the maintenance as called for in the owners manual BEFORE its time to. Drive it like an adult and you will have a lot of good years out of the engine. Tere are many more things on that boat that will either wear out or break long before the motor goes. Keep in mind though, that repairs on these are friggin stupid high , especially up there on Lake "Big Money". Them boys up there are used to getting well above the norma for service work. After all, they figure if you are on the lake, have a place on the lake then you have some serious scratch. Grand is not a place that has oriented itself to the working stiffs out there. If piece of mind is important as well as knowing if something goes south you are covered, then the investment into the warranty might not be a bad deal at all. Of course that depends on the initial buy in cost of it.

Thanks for your input Soonertoon! I appreciate it, and believe I'm going to move forward with the used 2014. At least this way I'll have multiple contacts on the lake if I ever run into issues or have questions

I still vote for the Premier.

ron nh wrote:I still vote for the Premier.

Me too. Incredible boat for that price.

Crest all the way. They've been around a very long time although recently changed hands a few years ago but same company.

Went ahead and bought the crest. Looking at it like this... As a first time boater, we felt more comfortable buying on our lake. Still felt like we got a good deal. We'll have multiple local contacts incase we run into trouble, or just need advice. I'm pretty confident that if I get the urge to upgrade, I can always sell and find the same type of "last year leftover" deal on the next go-around. And I'm sure I won't be concerned after I've become familiar with the lake, and boating in general! Thanks for all the input gentlemen!

soonercrew wrote:Went ahead and bought the crest. Looking at it like this... As a first time boater, we felt more comfortable buying on our lake. Still felt like we got a good deal. We'll have multiple local contacts incase we run into trouble, or just need advice. I'm pretty confident that if I get the urge to upgrade, I can always sell and find the same type of "last year leftover" deal on the next go-around. And I'm sure I won't be concerned after I've become familiar with the lake, and boating in general! Thanks for all the input gentlemen!

You get em to throw in the warranty or at least get a deal on it?