Well said, thanks Brian.:drink:

The R.H. years were questionable. Prior to and after, the quality is excellent.

We are talking about fastech's. I don't care what they are doing with their cruiser line. The bottom line is Formulas (fastech's) are rock solid boats. But, building 3 boats a year doesn't cut it and there has to be a reason why people are choosing other brands.

Was told Formula did quite well at the NYC show. Not sure if that 353 sold but other models certainly did. Good for Formula! Can't wait til my 2012 350SS is done.

Also heard that the Queen of the Show (54' Sea Ray?) sold.
:eek:

I will be getting one of the 382's they built last year, it should be delivered end of next month. I looked at all the other boats, and in my opinion it was the best I could buy. This is my 5th Formula and I've been more than happy with all of them.

What other production brands can they choose from? Most if not all of the others are out of business. Cigarette, OL, Nor-Tech are all custom builders. Formula is building more than 3 Fastechs a year. The upcoming Ilmor boat is the third 382 of the year; there are also 353's and 292's going out the door.

Formula is not about all-out top speed, that was Fountain's gig. Formula is about building the Lexus of powerboats, with a nice balance between styling and amenities, while using only top-shelf components. Sonic builds a very user-friendly boat, and every Sonic owner I've met is as happy with theirs as I am with my Formula. That says something. On the other hand, the styling of Sonics is very different from Formula, so it comes down to personal choice.

On the speed front, I would offer that a Formula is a pretty awesome boat when the going gets sloppy or nasty. Anyone can run quick in smooth water, but I've had more than one person tell me that they wish they had my boat instead of their cut-down carbon fiber spaceship on a bad day.

Anyway - A lot of good points in this thread.

They are not a bad boat for what they are, but the value of them it seems got killed more than other brands. I am happy, but bored with mine, keep going back and forth on what I want or do a repower and make it a real nasty 292. But it will probably be less money to just buy something else.

Yup, I was on line waiting to get on when it was sold. Msrp was $1.3 mill and it sold for $700k I heard. My buddy took a pic of the "SOLD" sign next to the price and texted his wife telling her to bring out the wine :evilb:

The company never recovered, IMHO, even thru a couple ownership changes.

Hopefully Frisini can make a go of it.

I feel bad for all the fastech owners who are so upside down due to the formula financing + the economy + 15 year old design.

My close friend owes over $50,000 more than his 2007 Fas tech is worth, on a good day.......

Again, and again, none of us on here are saying we would not love to tie up on the water next to a formula and have a good time. Good boats, just like the rest of the brands.
But the FACTS are the facts. And the POINT of this thread, is the 353 a good buy? NO. $260,000 can be spent much better. No one has proved that statment wrong, so why is this still going on????

Its January. Honestly though if they want high 200ks just make that the price stop playing the numbers game with 120k off.