Who much cost me a Cigarette?
 

Hey Guys,

Just surf the web and found this place to be a good source. I have been riding an offshore boat years ago, never had better experience in live to remember than that so far on earth.

I urgently need to find out what such kind of fun would cost me. I know it is not cheap but other people spend much more money on useless things. I am sure there is somebody in here who could give me some short advice and figures to calculate. By the way I am located in Germany no native English speaker, so sorry for any faults in writing.

1. I would like to buy a Cigarette (38er Top Gun) in the U.S.A., SE Florida Miami to WPB Area. The boat is really hot for a beginner. Is there any other boat comparable to this? Anyway my first car when I was 18 was a V8 Mercedes, so should I start with a Cigarette?

2. What can I expect as yearly fee to put that thing in rack storage in SE Florida, so when I call them they could be so nice to put that nice boat into water? I will do that 2 or 3 times a year only because I am residing in Europe and I will not be there many times, but Miami is very cheap compared to Germany where gas prices are now about 7.60 $ per Gallon, cause of the Greens.

3. Does anybody know what the consumption of fuel per hour is when I drive at the economist point, maybe 30 miles an hour? Of course I know that 2 V8 will suck 90 gal per our on full speed, but what is the minimum?

4. New Cigarette’s of 38 feet cost about 3-400 grand’s. A used 1997 is about 100-150k $. Can I expect a 100% working boat for this price or is it always a hidden scrap? How can I make sure before I buy?

5. Is there any well known dealer in SE Florida who has a large number of used power boats as inventory, well known dealer?

6. What can I expect as a yearly fee in total for maintaining the boat including everything?

I am thankful for any good tips and ideas.

Mahmut, Germany

1. If you start with that better get a course or a good teacher. But it has been done before, be careful.

2.Inside storage will run you about $700 a month, they will put it in and out as many times as you like. Gas currently is around 3.00/3.50 a gallon here.

3. 30 mph might be to slow, my guess is 3000 rpm for fuel efficiency, depending on power speeds at 3000rpm will run you 45-60 mph consuming around 50-60 GPH at those speeds

4. Your prices look around the mark, get a good survey done by Ed Cozzi a member here on the board and he is in South Florida. As for the mechanical conditions that is always a throw of the dice on a used boat to a certain extent.

5. I would call Phil Lipshutz at Lip-Ship Performance 305-933-9988 he is a Cigarette dealer and always has the nicest stuff around. He has never steered me wrong.

6. Considering you will use the thing only about 2-4 weeks a year, here are my guesses.

$4,000 Insurance
$8,400 Storage
$5-10,000 Maintenance depending on your luck
$2-3,000 In gas a week when you use it for the week, like going to Key West or some fun trips like that.

I am positive some people will question some of my answers but this is based on what I have experienced, I am positive there are other good answers but people saying it is cheaper than that are kidding themselves.

Hope this helps,

G.L.

Thanks, this seems to be true.

But at least if I buy a 38 Top Gun used 1997-1999 at 125k$ in 2007 and if I sell it 3 years later the boat will also lose value maybe about 10,000 $ per year?

This will drive up the total costs per year again.

Or would you think this is too much?

Comes roughly to ~ 30,000 $ p.a. or 2,500$ per month for that kind of fun!???

Ding, ding, ding! WINNER!!!! And definitely take Tres's performance boating school if your first ride is going to be a TG.

Any bites on your rig G.L.?

If you're only going to use it a few weeks per year, you should probably have someone here in Miami keep an eye on her and run her once a month or so to keep things ship shape....:D :D