I've never bought a new boat. With a toy, such as a boat I'm not thrilled about borrowing $$$ or taking the depreciation hit after signing the papers. I'm also a person that likes the process of hunting down the right used boat, at least to a point that is. Took me a year to find the current one. There is also a bit of satisfaction of getting a much higher offer on your purchase, within a month of buying it! That gives me that "I did good!" feeling.

Will I ever buy a new boat? No guarentees, but for now, it's used.

I bought my current boat new. It was only 38K OTD.

My next one will definitely be used as I am going from 24 to 38 ft.

If I bought new all I could afford doing is skiing behind a 17ft Bayliner.

I've done both, new and used. I feel there are so many good deals out there on used boats if you take your time and look around. I would advise anyone to look for a FRESH WATER boat, not salt water. Everything weathers so much faster near the shore (cockpit, gelcoat, trailer, engines, drives, etc.).
I like the adventure of finding a diamond in the rough.

My current Formula needed new manifolds as soon as I bought it with only 150 hours on it!:eek:

Toolman

I've bought new and used......

New... dependable.. get what you want.... but you pay for it...

Used... can find great deals.. and as someone said, some of the fun is taking trips to locate that diamond in the rough....

With the drastic increase in prices in the past year or two on new boats, next one will be a 1-3 year old model...

Also depends on what models your looking for... some models bring a high price due to recent popularity whereas others are so numerous, they get discounted quickly....