Help/Advice on purchase of used Bennington Pontoon

[thedudesdude]

Hi There folks!

I am new to this forum and am looking to buy a used pontoon boat. I have come accross a 2010 Bennington RLI with a 75 HP Yamaha 4-stroke. The buyer has the price listed at 20k firm and claims to have paid about 32k for the boat new 2 years ago. I looked up the invoice price on this website and that appears to be pretty plausible:
http://www.seedealercost.com/products/model-options/index/id/5475/productCategorySlug/boats

The hours on the motor are around 100. The boat appears to be in very good condition according to the pictures I've seen. It does not come with a trailer.

The seller lives some ways away from me; it's about a 3 hour drive to go see it. I am thinking I'd only like to make 1 trip so if I go there and we can agree on a price I'd like to drive it away.

Any thought from you users about this toon? The bennington name seems to be well respected and Yamaha makes a fine 4-stroke. Anybody with this set up? Is this a good deal or should I try to chop a few bucks off my offer?

thanks in advance for any insights

 

[thedudesdude]

Re: Help/Advice on purchase of used Bennington Pontoon

the model is a 2075 Bennington RLI with standard options as far as I can tell. It's got a depth/fish finder.

 

[WaterDR]

Re: Help/Advice on purchase of used Bennington Pontoon

Used prices on toons are very regional, so hard to say. Around here, I would say that price was low. always hard to know w/o LOTS of photos. Condition means a lot. I would price that boat from 20K to 26K if that helps. The boat was easily 32k new.

Does the price include a trailer?

 

[airdvr1227]

Re: Help/Advice on purchase of used Bennington Pontoon

You really need to see it in person. Pictures can hide a multitude of sins. I've seen some pretty abused 2 year old boats.

 

[thedudesdude]

Re: Help/Advice on purchase of used Bennington Pontoon

Used prices on toons are very regional, so hard to say. Around here, I would say that price was low. always hard to know w/o LOTS of photos. Condition means a lot. I would price that boat from 20K to 26K if that helps. The boat was easily 32k new.

Does the price include a trailer?

No, that price does not include a trailer. The owner only has a few pics of the boat and it looks pretty good.

 

[The Rooster]

Re: Help/Advice on purchase of used Bennington Pontoon

"Dude", it's hard to go wrong w/ a Bennington, just ask "5150ABF". Seems like a reasonable price. Take it for a good water test. The motor should have some warranty left on it. I'd offer him $19-k though since it doesn't come w/ a Mercury. Good luck !!!

 

[5150abf]

Re: Help/Advice on purchase of used Bennington Pontoon

I normally stay out of this but since it is a used boat..... the R series is one of our upper level boats with only the Q being higher so it does have alot of stuff a "normal" Benny doesn't have and for that much of a price break you really can't lose.

Also being only 2 years old you still have alot of warranty left on it, I am of coarse in the weld shop and don't know the ins and outs of the warranty but I think it is 5 years front to back and lifetime on the tubes but don't quote me on that, tha info can be found on the Bennington web site.

The only thing is the engine, not the Yamaha part but being a 75 it will certainly get the boat around but don't get any visions of water skiing with it though it will pull a tube prett well, the normal engine on those is a 150 and I have seen them with 300s btu the 75 should keep you happy.

It is a really nice boat for a good price, if you can find a trailer for a decent price I would do it.

As a side note, I learned the other day that Bennington is the largest consumer of Yamaha engines in the world, that really suprised me, of all the boat companies in the world and we use more Yamaha engines than any of them, pretty crazy.

 

[thedudesdude]

Re: Help/Advice on purchase of used Bennington Pontoon

Hi Folks,

Thanks for all the tips and feedback. I ended up buying a different boat b/c the owner of the boat I described in my original post never got back to me and it worked out great. I ended up with a 2010 Bennington 2075 GLI with a 90 HP Yamaha 4-Stroke. Paid 20 for it and it comes with a trailer. With the bigger engine I'm pretty happy with that price. Yes the R series was nicer but these 90 HP Yamahas are sweet!

My toon will be parked in a boat house and I need to get some bumpers. I saw the ones that Dockmate make; the ones that screw right into the dock themselves. Anybody have good things to say about these? They look nice: http://www.********.com/modperl/pro...nder&i=73613&str=dockmate+fender&merchID=4005

I'm also probably going to buy some huge on-boat bumpers like some taylor big b: http://www.amazon.com/Taylor-Produc...KL9E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1338948339&sr=8-1

Any tips would be appreciated...

Thanks again

 

[Oregonizm]

Re: Help/Advice on purchase of used Bennington Pontoon

I didn't know anybody ever let go of their Bennies. You scored ... and you had your choice!!!

 

[The Rooster]

Re: Help/Advice on purchase of used Bennington Pontoon

Congratulations "Dude". Nice barge. Not a big fan of the inflatable type fenders for long term storage, but almost any type should suffice. The ones we use are big. 10" diameter x 24" length. Good luck !!!

 

[thedudesdude]

Re: Help/Advice on purchase of used Bennington Pontoon

Congratulations "Dude". Nice barge. Not a big fan of the inflatable type fenders for long term storage, but almost any type should suffice. The ones we use are big. 10" diameter x 24" length. Good luck !!!

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts about alternatives to inflatable fenders. The area my boat house is in gets serious breakers so I need to make sure I really do a good job with prepping the boat house. Can anybody give some recomendations?

 

[lncoop]

Re: Help/Advice on purchase of used Bennington Pontoon

Hey, nice score on the barge. I'd say ya done good. I couldn't get the first link to load, but I'd say pretty much anything designed for permanent dock installation will do the job for you. These look good, and for what they cost you could easily replace as needed. http://www.********.com/modperl/pro...Dock-Bumper-36L&i=97903&aID=602D&merchID=4006 The onboard fenders you're looking at are fine, but there are some that are designed specifically for toons that I think would serve you really well. I'll see if I can find a zample. Welcome aboard, and let's have some pics!

 

[thedudesdude]

Re: Help/Advice on purchase of used Bennington Pontoon

Hey, nice score on the barge. I'd say ya done good. I couldn't get the first link to load, but I'd say pretty much anything designed for permanent dock installation will do the job for you. These look good, and for what they cost you could easily replace as needed. http://www.********.com/modperl/pro...Dock-Bumper-36L&i=97903&aID=602D&merchID=4006 The onboard fenders you're looking at are fine, but there are some that are designed specifically for toons that I think would serve you really well. I'll see if I can find a zample. Welcome aboard, and let's have some pics!

I think we can't post links to other websites like Overt0ns. They have some dockmate fenders that you screw right into the beams or cross boards that make up your dock or boathouse. I'm not sure how strong these are but they seem like a good idea. I think I'll go with these to start and add some other mega-fender "onboard" types.

Pics will be coming soon!! I don't even own one yet.