Friday, January 15, 2010

Pontoon Boats - Why You Should Consider Used

By Daniel Clemons

A pontoon boat for that is made for fishing can be a stress free and fun experience. With a pontoon boat you can be gone from worrying about the sturdiness of your vessel and the likeliness of it tipping over when you have a larger catch. With all the options available on a pontoon boat it is often more comfortable as well to fish on a pontoon boat.

If you are thinking about getting a brand new pontoon boat then you better have a lot of money up front. While if you choose to shop for a used pontoon boat, there will be much more room to negotiate the price of the boat. Just make sure that you are buying from a reputable place if you choose to go with a used pontoon boat.

If you are planning on going used, which many people do when buying a pontoon boat, make sure that you do business with a reputable company that has been in business for awhile and has good feedback. One place you can check for a companies reliability is the Better Business Bureau website.

It is good to make sure the pontoon boat was on a trailer or a lift when it was not in use. You should also pay attention to the engine and find out how much time is on the engine, as those are not cheap and in some cases can cost as much as the boat itself.

Another good tip is to get copies of all receipts from the owner for work they did on the boat including engine repairs, steering maintenance and pontoon repairs. It is highly recommended that you take the pontoon boat for a water trial in order to assess how well it does in the water.

Have you ever seen those commercials about not buying a car without running a carfax or other type of survey, well the same thing applies when trying to get financed for a boat. This is where you can ask for a marine survey to be conducted, so you will know the true history and problems of the boat.

While a marine survey is a great way to see the overall condition of the boat, most companies and sellers are not going to pay for it. This is the only downfall as you will be the one that will have to dish the money over in most cases, and most sellers will have no problem if you do go through this, although some will.

Another thing you may want to consider purchasing pontoon boat insurance. While this can be huge expense you can reduce it by choosing a high deductible, making sure you have all the necessary safety equipment and that you have a clean insurance record. Even when the boat is not in the water it is a good idea to get the insurance as fast as you can. You may even be able to add a small pontoon boat onto your house insurance policy so you should talk with your insurer first.

These are just some of the guide lines that you should follow when making your pontoon boat purchase. The next thing to do is choose what brand and size you are going for, the more research you do the better you will be off and the more money you will save.

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