Upgrading FINALLY!!

[Trim]

Need some help, looking to upgrade. Have had my boat(Rinker MTX 210) for 5 years now and wanting to get something a little bigger. Found two different Cobalt 240's I'm checking in on. Going to look at both tomorrow, if all checks out are they priced right in your opinion? Having a tough time choosing which I like best. Really similar from talking to each owner.

https://fayar.craigslist.org/boa/5986469189.html

https://fayar.craigslist.org/boa/5949248686.html

 

[R055]

Need some help, looking to upgrade. Have had my boat(Rinker MTX 210) for 5 years now and wanting to get something a little bigger. Found two different Cobalt 240's I'm checking in on. Going to look at both tomorrow, if all checks out are they priced right in your opinion? Having a tough time choosing which I like best. Really similar from talking to each owner.

https://fayar.craigslist.org/boa/5986469189.html

https://fayar.craigslist.org/boa/5949248686.html

In that price range, I would look for a true wakeboarding boat. In my area you can get a 2010+ wakeboard boat for that money.

If you're only looking for a i/o, that still looks like alot of money for that boat, $38000 for a 12 year boat is alot of money.

 

[jkust]

Would be nice to see some interior pics of the 06. Wonder how many hours on the 06 as the 04 has pretty low hours. I'm partial to Mercruiser because of the availability of my own marina to service them versus the Volvo. Maybe not an issue for you.

 

[Trim]

The interior of the 06 is in great shape and has 261 hours on it. He has sent me pics through text message and they look perfect.

R055, I have looked all across Oklahoma and even some in the surrounding states and have come across 1 wakeboarding boat below $40,000 and it was a 2006 with 500 hours. I don't necessarily want a wakeboarding boat, just like the look of the waketower and the added speakers for sound.

 

[R055]

The interior of the 06 is in great shape and has 261 hours on it. He has sent me pics through text message and they look perfect.

R055, I have looked all across Oklahoma and even some in the surrounding states and have come across 1 wakeboarding boat below $40,000 and it was a 2006 with 500 hours. I don't necessarily want a wakeboarding boat, just like the look of the waketower and the added speakers for sound.

I like wakeboarding boats for their hauling abilities and interior room and the vdrive once you get used to it. If you have kids I would recommend the a wakeboard boat incase they really get into wakeboarding and you can wakesurf with the vdrive. Have you considered buying out of state? That 10+ hour drive might save you alot of money

 

[jkust]

The interior of the 06 is in great shape and has 261 hours on it. He has sent me pics through text message and they look perfect.

R055, I have looked all across Oklahoma and even some in the surrounding states and have come across 1 wakeboarding boat below $40,000 and it was a 2006 with 500 hours. I don't necessarily want a wakeboarding boat, just like the look of the waketower and the added speakers for sound.

I wonder which wakeboat's R055 has access to that are newer than 2010? They tend to be expensive around me used as they are expensive when they are new and they have gotten extremely popular the last 5 or so years.
Maybe he will respond and you can search in that area?

 

[Trim]

I've looked in Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, and Kansas and haven't seen a wakeboard boat under 40k.

Jkust, what's your opinion on those Cobalt boats? Good deals?

 

[R055]

No Title

Haha if only I had a dollar for every time someone selling a wakeboard boat on Craigslist wrote "I spend 10k on the stereo, price is "insert msrp" Not too easy finding a wakeboard boat for great price but if you look and have patience and are willing to drive for it. Should be able to find a ~2010 vdrive for $38000. Here's a 2008 moomba I found in my area(seattle) for 32k

 

[R055]

No Title

Offer this guy (he's local to you) $38000.

 

[Trim]

That's a good looking boat but not what I'm looking for. Maybe in 6-7 years when my son gets older. I don't need the extreme wake sports now.

 

[R055]

That's a good looking boat but not what I'm looking for. Maybe in 6-7 years when my son gets older. I don't need the extreme wake sports now.

Alright good luck with your search, I personally wouldn't pay $38000 for a 12 year old boat with an outdrive but that's just me.

Also one of the links to your cobalt Craigslist ads expired. The link that's working though looks like a clean boat that's been stored well and looks to be owned by a wealthy family who I'm guessing didn't skim on maintenance on the boat. So if it fits your need and budget, go for it.

 

[Trim]

Thanks R055. Appreciate your input.

 

[hvymtl939]

Cobalts are super nice boats.

 

[jkust]

I've looked in Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, and Kansas and haven't seen a wakeboard boat under 40k.

Jkust, what's your opinion on those Cobalt boats? Good deals?

I'm of two minds on these boats. The age to some extent makes me think I'd want a bit newer but at the same time nice boats that were legitimately well maintained and treated good with the larger engine package and options are kind of hard to find. Further however Cobalt and some other higher end boats are not as easy to find in general because they were much more expensive than other cheaper brands. It seems like the 04 has expired but it sounded like the 06 was still available. I do like that the 06 has the 320hp engine. If it were me, I would go take a look at it and make sure it is completely pristine and negotiate the price down a bit.
Someone mentioned that the family looks like they are a wealth family and so it got its maintenance, etc. We are on a lake and there are several larger and expensive Cobalts and the owners tend to beat them up pretty badly and will just sell and buy another new one. This many times is how the well to do treat their stuff so it isn't a given I suppose that the status of a family will dictate the care a boat receives.

 

[Trim]

well, I went and checked out the 2006 Cobalt 240 yesterday. It's not a $38,500 boat. After talking to the guy and seeing the pics I was going in thinking it was in excellent condition all around....that wasn't the case. Exterior was in great shape except for bow that had some scuffs, probably from beaching. There was a quarter size chunk out of the fin on lower unit(probably doesn't effect anything but didn't like the look). Upholstery would probably be considered average, had some nicks here and there, nothing terrible but would be problematic in the future. And the carpet was in bad shape, needs to be replaced immediately.

Was pretty excited going down there, disappointed coming back. Just have to continue my search!

 

[jkust]

well, I went and checked out the 2006 Cobalt 240 yesterday. It's not a $38,500 boat. After talking to the guy and seeing the pics I was going in thinking it was in excellent condition all around....that wasn't the case. Exterior was in great shape except for bow that had some scuffs, probably from beaching. There was a quarter size chunk out of the fin on lower unit(probably doesn't effect anything but didn't like the look). Upholstery would probably be considered average, had some nicks here and there, nothing terrible but would be problematic in the future. And the carpet was in bad shape, needs to be replaced immediately.

Was pretty excited going down there, disappointed coming back. Just have to continue my search!

Yeah...that's the journey to find a nice used boat. It's rare to find that honest seller that took excellent care of their boat and uses the correct adjectives at the appropriate time. I searched last year and the combo of all of the above, plus a larger than garage sized boat as is the standard in my state, plus the larger engine and Bravo drive and the excellent condition....lead me to a 2002 which was way older than I was planning on but was the hard to find package after looking at a lot of newer junk.

I noticed that when you get to the over 20 foot sized bowriders, they tended to have a lot more dock rash that I was used to seeing. If I was put in a bind on a particular boat...I won't accept even the slightest little bit of wear and tear on the interior...must look exactly as it did when it came off the factory floor no exceptions or excuses which is possible with higher quality materials or even on low quality boats if they were babied. The exterior fiberglass however is an easy fix for a fiberglass shop and in a bind, I would take a couple scuffs if the interior was still in new condition. It gets tougher and tougher as a boat starts going through two and three owners.

 

[Trim]

We'll get a text this morning out of the blue and guy says he will accept $35,000. Haven't heard from him since Monday. Has me thinking a little more now for that price.

 

[jkust]

We'll get a text this morning out of the blue and guy says he will accept $35,000. Haven't heard from him since Monday. Has me thinking a little more now for that price.

Average interior....I would take it off the list. Those higher end brands take quite a beating before the wear and tear even show as they use a much better quality marine vinyl...tells me they really beat it up. There's a hundred others that look like they just got delivered from the factory out there waiting for you out there.
Reminds me of a guy that was talking with when I was purchasing my most recent waverunner...he was overpriced and would text me every couple days with a lower price after he wouldn't take my initial offer. I had moved on already. I will just mention that that quarter size chunk of metal that is missing from the skeg will be less than a hundred bucks to have fixed and painted to look like new if for some reason you do consider the Cobalt. I tend to keep my stuff for a long time and so really won't comprimise on condition and usually just takes a bit longer to find that gem. I don't know what your plans are but...

 

[Trim]

Very good point about the interior and quality. Haven't thought about it like that before. I think I will continue to look and see what happens. My local dealership booked it out nada average retail at $30,800 which is probably a little low.

 

[jkust]

Very good point about the interior and quality. Haven't thought about it like that before. I think I will continue to look and see what happens. My local dealership booked it out nada average retail at $30,800 which is probably a little low.

Ha ha, well I've been boating 43 years and 9 nmonths out of the 44 I've been alive and live at my lake home all summer and live a boating and recreating lifestyle. It's boats, boats, boats and more boats for us. Generally,there is a distinct plan and logic to everything I do or say. I will also mention, that in certain states, you don't pay sales tax on private party or brokerage boat sales but you you from any used or new boat purchased from a dealer. In my state you always pay sales tax on the trailer no matter what. A middle of the road $70,000 new lake boat has a huge sales tax associated with it and many of the small lake boats are in excess of 100k nowdays. On boats, I won't even consider a dealership for these small boats like we are talking about. I prefer not to pay the retail mark up and of course the nearly 8% sales tax and as you can imagne then, the boats for sale tend to be private party sales.