Reality of buying and maintaining a second-hand Cigarette Boat
11-09-2021 | 07:20 PM
#21
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From: jenison mi
11-09-2021 | 07:50 PM
#22
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Joined: Jun 2006
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From: Seaford, VA
11-15-2021 | 11:13 AM
#24
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Joined: Mar 2019
Posts: 81
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From: South Carolina
One of The biggest things is finding someone you can trust who will work on these boats. I own a Donzi 38ZR with twin 525's (not a 100mph boat). The trailer is 45' long so my storage unit is 50' long, fully enclosed and is $300/month. If you spend the money on these boats and keep them outside year around your an idiot and shouldn't buy a boat. Finding a shop you can pull the boat to, park it with plenty of room and be able to trust the mechanics to work on them is a whole other piece of the puzzle you need to consider. Also, make sure your boat ramp and parking area is big enough to handle your boat. A small boat ramp and small parking lot is a nightmare to deal with. Like the other members said, maintenance is a whole other beast. If you want a boat that goes that fast you need power and power = money so you better have $200k plus for what you want (and that is cheap for a true Cigarette brand boat, and would be an early 2004-2007 model). Also, better have a vehicle that can pull your boat. Finally, where will you fill your boat up with fuel? Have a steady $200-300 to put fuel in it and I don't mean putting 87 in it. A fun weekend on the water or doing a poker run and that number will double for a weekend. They are not light and if you plan to travel with it better have a 350 or 3500 truck to handle it. Pulling that boat will get you about 10 mpg of diesel. If this will be an ocean boat you might as well cut it's life in half and expect resell to drop big time. Will you wax and polish your boat? If not, plan to spend $200-400 to have someone to wax and detail it.
Want to have a bunch of people on it? That won't happen. Plan on having 4-5 people on it (including you and your other half). Any more and it's too crowded to really enjoy it unless you all get in the water and float around once you stop. Make sure if you buy a power boat it's practical for your lifestyle of boating.
If you want a cheaper in cost boat, look at Baja or Donzi. Cigarette boat are beautiful but very $$$.
As my mechanic says, you buy a big toy, you better have a big wallet with lots of cash in it. I didn't even discuss general maintenance on these boats. I have to put in new shifter cables this winter. $2200 for all it. I'm sure I went on a few tangents with your original posts but these are things I had to learn to pay for that I didn't plan on originally. Good luck on your search.
Want to have a bunch of people on it? That won't happen. Plan on having 4-5 people on it (including you and your other half). Any more and it's too crowded to really enjoy it unless you all get in the water and float around once you stop. Make sure if you buy a power boat it's practical for your lifestyle of boating.
If you want a cheaper in cost boat, look at Baja or Donzi. Cigarette boat are beautiful but very $$$.
As my mechanic says, you buy a big toy, you better have a big wallet with lots of cash in it. I didn't even discuss general maintenance on these boats. I have to put in new shifter cables this winter. $2200 for all it. I'm sure I went on a few tangents with your original posts but these are things I had to learn to pay for that I didn't plan on originally. Good luck on your search.
11-15-2021 | 02:36 PM
#25
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Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 2,590
Likes: 173
From: Endicott, NY
One of The biggest things is finding someone you can trust who will work on these boats. I own a Donzi 38ZR with twin 525's (not a 100mph boat). The trailer is 45' long so my storage unit is 50' long, fully enclosed and is $300/month. If you spend the money on these boats and keep them outside year around your an idiot and shouldn't buy a boat. Finding a shop you can pull the boat to, park it with plenty of room and be able to trust the mechanics to work on them is a whole other piece of the puzzle you need to consider. Also, make sure your boat ramp and parking area is big enough to handle your boat. A small boat ramp and small parking lot is a nightmare to deal with. Like the other members said, maintenance is a whole other beast. If you want a boat that goes that fast you need power and power = money so you better have $200k plus for what you want (and that is cheap for a true Cigarette brand boat, and would be an early 2004-2007 model). Also, better have a vehicle that can pull your boat. Finally, where will you fill your boat up with fuel? Have a steady $200-300 to put fuel in it and I don't mean putting 87 in it. A fun weekend on the water or doing a poker run and that number will double for a weekend. They are not light and if you plan to travel with it better have a 350 or 3500 truck to handle it. Pulling that boat will get you about 10 mpg of diesel. If this will be an ocean boat you might as well cut it's life in half and expect resell to drop big time. Will you wax and polish your boat? If not, plan to spend $200-400 to have someone to wax and detail it.
Want to have a bunch of people on it? That won't happen. Plan on having 4-5 people on it (including you and your other half). Any more and it's too crowded to really enjoy it unless you all get in the water and float around once you stop. Make sure if you buy a power boat it's practical for your lifestyle of boating.
If you want a cheaper in cost boat, look at Baja or Donzi. Cigarette boat are beautiful but very $$$.
As my mechanic says, you buy a big toy, you better have a big wallet with lots of cash in it. I didn't even discuss general maintenance on these boats. I have to put in new shifter cables this winter. $2200 for all it. I'm sure I went on a few tangents with your original posts but these are things I had to learn to pay for that I didn't plan on originally. Good luck on your search.
Want to have a bunch of people on it? That won't happen. Plan on having 4-5 people on it (including you and your other half). Any more and it's too crowded to really enjoy it unless you all get in the water and float around once you stop. Make sure if you buy a power boat it's practical for your lifestyle of boating.
If you want a cheaper in cost boat, look at Baja or Donzi. Cigarette boat are beautiful but very $$$.
As my mechanic says, you buy a big toy, you better have a big wallet with lots of cash in it. I didn't even discuss general maintenance on these boats. I have to put in new shifter cables this winter. $2200 for all it. I'm sure I went on a few tangents with your original posts but these are things I had to learn to pay for that I didn't plan on originally. Good luck on your search.
11-15-2021 | 03:43 PM
#27
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Joined: Mar 2019
Posts: 81
Likes: 14
From: South Carolina
Thanks Cigrocket. That was the quote I was given but haven’t really dug into it. I was told there were 3 shifter cables per motor and that the outdrives had to come off to replace one of the cables on each. Is that true?? I will dig into it for sure. Thanks for letting me know
11-15-2021 | 05:28 PM
#28
Gold Member
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,123
Likes: 967
From: Seaford, VA
Thanks Cigrocket. That was the quote I was given but haven’t really dug into it. I was told there were 3 shifter cables per motor and that the outdrives had to come off to replace one of the cables on each. Is that true?? I will dig into it for sure. Thanks for letting me know
I just pulled 4 indicator cables through. 2200 is a lot but the hours add up fast if a marina is charging you $100/hr...
11-15-2021 | 06:07 PM
#30
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Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 3,615
Likes: 1,242
From: Thailand
Yes, since we haven’t heard any more from member ‘asshoppa’, I’m thinking we’ve been conned. It doesn’t bother me however, because that makes him an idiot while we’re a group of nice helpful boaters. 🙂
RR
RR
