Which Boat? 2001 Air Nautique VS 2002 Super Sport

[Royall]

I am about to purchase my first boat. I recently moved onto Lake Holden downtown Orlando and used to ski and slolom as a kid. I'm looking to get into wake boarding and so the story goes, I'm looking for a Nautique.

I have found two in my area that are in my price range of about $20,000.

One is a Nautique Super Sport 2002 with a Chevy Engine at $21,000. The interior seems to have more space, bigger seats, and more storage space. Jeff at the dealership near me has said that this is essentially a Super Air, just doesn't have ballast tanks which he didn't think I'd need to start out learning to wakeboard for my first boat. This boat has a new tower and new bimini top. It also has a nice stero system with a sub, perfect upholstry, and low hours with just one owner. (Low meaning around 100)

My other option, for about $1,000 less, at $20,000 is a 2001 Air Nautique. This boat is at another dealer down the road and has a tower with two tower speakers, bimini top, and about 500 hours on a Ford engine. Both have equally nice interior but the amount of room in this boat and size of the seats seem to be smaller. However, it has ballast tanks already ready to go.

My question is - which boat seems to be:

1) A better value
2) Which is going to be a better wake board boat
3) Which will hold its value better
4) Anything else you want to add?

I'm looking to make a purchase this week... Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

I'm looking forward to making friends on here and joining the Nautique community!

[wess1]

http://www.planetnautique.com/index....wtopic&t=16113

Check out mine for sale! We can work something out for getting the boat up to you

[Royall]

It says link not found. Are you sure that link is right?

[AuMDLST]

Wess1 - you may want to rethink your price if you are going to post a sales pitch.

You are offering a 99 for 20k and the OP has a 01 he's looking at for 20k - JMO based on the limited posting info

Probably out of the range of pricing but what the heck

http://planetnautique.com/index.php?...179&highlight=

[bchesley]

Super sport hands down. You have so many more options with it. For wake boarding there is no substitute. And the flip side to that is the super sport with just a driver and spotter will work more than fine for a slalom run or two. You will have so much more room for storage also. I upgraded to a super sport two summers ago and wonder why I did not do it sooner.

[TRDon]

The super sport will have the deeper interior, and to me, it seemed like a huge difference. After walking around in both years, I found myself thinking I couldnt be in a boat as shallow as the 01 was. The 02 and newer also has a different interior that is a touch wider due to narrowing the gunnel rails. That made for a big difference in the feel of the width of the interior. That was a big deciding factor for me.

[maxpower220]

A year newer and 400 less hours, seems like a no brainer to me. If you plan to put 1000 hours on your boat in the next few years, which one will need repairs first?

A year newer is always a plus. Retained value should be the same. In 5 years, both should be valued very close to each other unless the hours are still 400 apart.

Offer $20K for the 2002.

[SkiTower]

What does your gut say? Sounds like the seating and room are important to you and I'm sure it'll bug you if you go with the 'smaller' boat.

1) 2002 is apparently roomier
2) 2002 has 400 less hours (this might work to your disadvantage if the boat has sat idle through seasons.
3) cost diff is just $1000 and neither boat will depreciate much more if any
4) only thing the 2001 has extra are a couple of speakers, easy to add.

Only negative for the 2002 is lack of tanks. This hurts both resale and more than likely you will eventually want them if not for you then for your guests. They can be installed, but it's about $3K. You can get fat sacs though much cheaper, but they are probably more of a hassle. One bonus for not having tanks is it really enlarges your storage. I don't have tanks on my 07 211 and LOVE the storage. I'm thinking of getting fat sacs and trying some surfing, though. I've also heard that a tank in the bow will improve the ski wake.

[seth]

Super Sport hands down. If your wanting to get into wakeboarding, this boat can take you to whatever level of riding you want. I think that the resale value will also hold much higher than the Air. I think that is actually a really good deal for that boat! You can install a ~3000lb ballast system in that boat that will be completely hidden for about 2k.

[WakeSlayer]

Super Sport, no question.

[jmo]

I agree wit the other posters that the Super Sport is the way to go, only reason I would consider the Air is if I was trying to run the slalom course and compete - and wakeboard, in that case I would opt for the Air since its a direct drive, however I would look around at other direct drive options.

My gut tells me that a 2002 super sport with 100 hrs (50 hrs is the break in period) should cost much more than an 2001 Air with 500 hrs, so I would take them both for a test drive and inspect the boats inside and out. Do they both come with trailers?

[Royall]

Thanks guys, ended up purchasing this a 99 Super Air Nautique. Got a great deal with a trailer included, just 19K and only 300 hours with tower / bimini / ballasts / etc. and a color I like! See my profile pic!

[seth]

Nice man, enjoy!!!!!

[TravisFling]

Beautiful looking boat! Welcome to the family and put some more pictures up!