Reliable place to buy a good used bass boat?

Will Camus: the thing to keep in mind is you DONT hand over cash until you have ensured you are getting what you think you are getting.you not only actually see the boat with your own two eyes, you have a qualified marine mechanic perform a mechanical inspection (about $100) and you test drive it on the water.competition level fishing boat, you need something FAST. you need to get to the spot before others block you out of it, get your fishing and get back before time runs out.FAST boats arent cheap. a boat in that class, just look at the "pro" fishing shows and see what they are in, that is what you want.a more affordable boat, one that will catch just as many fish, but will take another minute or 5 to get back and forth, thats all anybody needs to actually fish with.80's alum hull, shallow V or flat bottom for getting into tight and shallow places fish might be lurking at, capable of holding 3 or so adults, with a running but not for to many more years outboard on it an! d a trolling motor, about $1,500.when the time comes to repower it, a NEW outboard will increase the boats value to hull + NEW outboard levels, and you can get 30+ years more use out of it (with proper maintence).consider my boat, 1984 16' flat bottom aluminum hull. worth about $1,000.add in the 2011 merc 60 hp outboard its now wearing, value is that much more. and it goes about 40 mph, almost as fast as teh average boat, while burning a LOT less gas. very affordable to operate, catches plenty of fish (and has a livewell with a new working aerator pump to keep the fish alive, important in competition), got 3 or 4 10+ lbers over the last year, and tons of the slightly smaller ones....Show more

Enriqueta Steffen: I actually prefer Craigslist, I can go and survey the vessel before any money changes hands.Look at a Marina or Marine supplier, new boats are like new cars, $5000+ at the dealer, once sold is worth $1500. Even if you go all high dollar and buy new, still have ! the vessel surveyed. Always wear a PFD, please take the USCG A! UX approved Power Boating test.

Bryant Chaudhry: A boat Broker or a boat dealer are the safest places to get a good reliable boat. You could also look at Boat Trader, Boat US, and iBoat.