Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

We've rented toons a few times each season for the last two seasons and decided to take the plunge into buying a toon. It will also be our first boat. I have been looking at used toons since last October, thinking I might snatch up a good deal. Wife is adamant about having a new boat to make sure the boat is a think of leisure for at least a season or two. Oh Darn...

We have gone to boat shows and seen the $80k Benningtons... really? And the somebrand $12k really hard seat model. Since then we've gone to dealers throughout the state of Ohio looking at different makes. Pretty sure that we have narrowed it down to a Sylvan. Would like the Signature 8522 FNC but finding that model is turning out to be difficult. We do have a dealer that will be getting the Mirage LE version in a week or so which could work. His price is $24k with the standard LE package and 50 HP w/o trailer. Is this a good deal? I'd like to bump it up to at least a 115 which I'm sure will increase the price another $3k or more. Haven't bought a new boat before. Is it like buying a car where you can negotiate the price or is it like a Saturn where the price is what it is?

Does anyone know of another brand thats comparable in quality and price? Looked at Bennington, SunTracker, Avalon, G3 and Crest. This make seemed to offer the best deal while we'd be going over a little what I'd like to pay.

Welcome, glad to have you with us, I'll tell you what everyone else will, get the biggest engine you can, because it's cheaper than doing it later.

You could look at a 1 year old rental, our dealer Winnisquam Marine in NH sells off their rental fleet each year, you get a good deal on the price and still get the complete as new warranty.
We really like our Premier, and it might be worth checking one out. Herb is right get as much HP as you can afford.
Some dealers refuse to talk on price others will talk and throw in or give substantial discounts on the "extras" such as life/ski vests, anchors, dock lines, cup holders, tubes, skis, spare tire for the trailer, etc.

Most dealers include a little wiggle room in the price. As already mentioned buy as much HP as you can afford. After 3 seasons I am happy with my 115hp but the first year I was trying to figure out how to get a 150hp. LOL

I'm familiar with a dealer in central Oh. who has a good reputation of taking care of his customers. I also know some folks who have purchased pontoons from him. I was looking at his page to see what he had available, he does list some prices by the way well anyway I was stunned looking at the new Sanpan on his site. Unfortunately of the three front page models he's showing it's the one that states "call for current inventory" but she sure is pretty and she's here: http://www.jimcartermarine.com/pages/sanpan.html.

Welcome to the club.

WTTB and the world of tooning.

We were in the same boat (ha ha, a pun) you are in a few years ago. We looked and looked for a used toon in good condition which pretty much turned out to be impossible so we ended up buying new. Again, looked and looked and once I finally settled in on what I wanted I got on the web and found one at the best price. The dealer delivered it to me (several hundred miles) for $100 which I thought was great. So I would recommend you doing the same, search the web for deals, make lots of calls... From a service standpoint there are NO pontoon dealers near me so I was going to have to deal with a dealer at a distance anyway. If that is a concern for you then you will be somewhat more limited (if you want to buy a boat from a dealer near you...).

Anyway, enjoy. We have had a blast on our boat, looking forward to getting back on the water, won't be long now!

Thommes wrote:We've rented toons a few times each season for the last two seasons and decided to take the plunge into buying a toon. It will also be our first boat. I have been looking at used toons since last October, thinking I might snatch up a good deal. Wife is adamant about having a new boat to make sure the boat is a think of leisure for at least a season or two. Oh Darn...

We have gone to boat shows and seen the $80k Benningtons... really? And the somebrand $12k really hard seat model. Since then we've gone to dealers throughout the state of Ohio looking at different makes. Pretty sure that we have narrowed it down to a Sylvan. Would like the Signature 8522 FNC but finding that model is turning out to be difficult. We do have a dealer that will be getting the Mirage LE version in a week or so which could work. His price is $24k with the standard LE package and 50 HP w/o trailer. Is this a good deal? I'd like to bump it up to at least a 115 which I'm sure will increase the price another $3k or more. Haven't bought a new boat before. Is it like buying a car where you can negotiate the price or is it like a Saturn where the price is what it is?

Does anyone know of another brand thats comparable in quality and price? Looked at Bennington, SunTracker, Avalon, G3 and Crest. This make seemed to offer the best deal while we'd be going over a little what I'd like to pay.

Welcome and good luck

I would also look at www.southbaypontoon.com I think you get a lot of bang for your buck and construction is excellent

Ron

I just bought a Sylvan Signature Sport 8522 with a Mercury 150 Optimax. With cover, ski tow, cockpit lighting, depth finder and a few other goodies... I got it for $31K new....It listed for over $36K. It has the RPT tubes and should do 42 mph. Check it out....google search Sylvan Signature Sport 8522 boat reviews.

I can't wait - I take delivery in 2 weeks - I live in NW Indiana....hope this helps

What part of Ohio are you in? Charles Mill Marina has several Premire rentals from last year.
What lake you going to?

Thommes, first off, welcome to the club. As far as buying a new boat, my friend there are alot of good brands out there and of course they come in all price ranges. From my own experience I would suggest you look at the bennington 20 Sfi. Got mine new last year with a 75 horse yamaha 4 Stroke, trailer, tt&l, slightly under 21K. It dosn't have all the bells and whistles of the more expensive boats out there, but it's very comfortable and great for fishing. Just a suggestion.. Good luck boat shopping.

Not sure where you are in Ohio but there seem to be a lot of Toons available. Both of these are under $25k with 115hp, The JC is also a Triple Tube. Not sure about the SouthBay

http://boats.iboats.com/2010-jc-manufac ... 38111.html

http://boats.iboats.com/2011-south-bay- ... 24632.html

You could also look at the Manitou line. I'm thrilled with mine.

My dealer was about 250 miles away from me. I drove up to buy the boat, drove up to pick it up and do the first on water drive, and then took it back one time to have some updates done. Haven't been there in about 4 years now.

I sent my rebuest for bids to about 30 dealers within 500 miles. This is the guy who responded with the best buy (Casey's Cove Marina in Angola IN. North east corner of IN).

Since then I've had any servicing done at my local marina. Face it, there's not a whole lot that needs to be "serviced" on a pontoon and an outboard is an outboard is an outboard. The local Marina is a yamaha service center so why should I go way back up north to get the motor the same sevice I can get here?

So don't worry about how far the dealer is away from you. It's really a non-issue in the long run and, for most people, in the short run too.

Bamby wrote:I'm familiar with a dealer in central Oh. who has a good reputation of taking care of his customers. I also know some folks who have purchased pontoons from him. I was looking at his page to see what he had available, he does list some prices by the way well anyway I was stunned looking at the new Sanpan on his site. Unfortunately of the three front page models he's showing it's the one that states "call for current inventory" but she sure is pretty and she's here: http://www.jimcartermarine.com/pages/sanpan.html.

Yeah I've hit his site many times. I read about the Sanpans and they are supposedly really nice, and outta our price range. I did call Jim's to see about an Aqua Marine, but they don't have anything in stock. Not sure if it's due to the economy or if pontoon dealers are cutting down on production, but seems like all the dealers only have one or two models available and it's been that way for months.

rpm121370 wrote: I would also look at http://www.southbaypontoon.com I think you get a lot of bang for your buck and construction is excellent

Ron

Yeah the South Bays are Voyagers if I remember correctly. We have seen them at shows. The closest dealer only stocks the 400 and 500 series, if I'm remembering the brand models correctly. The lower end boats. I'd like to see a 700 series I think it was, but I don't want to wait 8 weeks for delivery.. Did I mention we have our dock space already... LOL