Tough Decision - Keep 2015 210 vs New 2018 210

[Flyindutchman]

Argh - this is tough! I inquired with my dealership about boat options due to the new boat Can/US tariff situation and of course my dealer has a 2018 210 available to me at a greatly reduced price. It doesn't have nearly as many options as my 2015 (missing underwater lights, bimini top, level II stereo, tower speakers, heater tubes, transom stereo remote) BUT is has almost no hours (sub 20 - my 2015 is over 340), a brand new 5 year warranty upon delivery to me, the new 2018 helm design, and the 400hp motor. Our boat is reef blue which we really like, this boat is mostly white with red which we don't love but don't hate. Hard call.

For consideration - I bought the bimini top after my boat purchase so I can keep it, however the 2018 has the stupid new GS tower so the arms don't appear to be compatible. Any experts here who can tell me what is required (do I just order new bimini arms and it's easy?). Also, the 2018 has no tower speakers but has the pre-wired option and has 2 amps. Any experts here who can confirm I only need speakers and the two factory amps are sufficient? Thanks for any input!!!

Lastly, our boat has just a few little nagging issues such as: the starboard ballast pump lags 2-3 minutes longer than the other two pumps. The overheard and underwater lights will flicker intermittently at times. The mooring cover looks 5 years older than it should. Just simple things that would be gone with the 2018 replacement.

Obviously the $ factor is huge but overall I am leaning towards leaving a few nice to have options behind to take advantage of a fresher 2018 model - thoughts?

EDIT: the sales rep thought that the 2018 SAN 210 also had a new hull? I don’t recall that the hull was re-designed from my 2015 model but I’m not totally on top of these things - any difference?

[charlesml3]

Honestly I'm not seeing a good reason to upgrade to this boat. You're giving up too many good options. And all you need in that starboard ballast pump is a new impeller. If you are going to upgrade to a 2018, get one with the options you really want or just order a 2019 exactly the way you want it.

[ScooterMcgavin]

My vote is to keep the 15, you can get those little items fixed. I agree probably just a worn impeller.
Plus your 15 looks better IMO

[Flyindutchman]

Honestly I'm not seeing a good reason to upgrade to this boat. You're giving up too many good options. And all you need in that starboard ballast pump is a new impeller. If you are going to upgrade to a 2018, get one with the options you really want or just order a 2019 exactly the way you want it.

Thanks for this Charles! I hear you. It is certainly all about value in the options as well as overall value of the boat. My boat at 340 hours versus the 2018 at 20 hours is a big one. I keep telling myself that if I can get my bimini swapped and some tower speakers, the new motor, helm design, racks, and a fresh gelcoat/interior is going to be the right move. I left out that the new warranty is a full 5 year bumper to bumper coverage plan - much more than what I have now on the '15.

(BTW - my dealership swapped all impellers at my request but the issue remains, they also replaced the speaker LED's with new but the issue remains, they replaced the underwater lights due to corrosion but they also don't stay on 100%, and I also have one tower speaker that has cut out from time to time - all sounds like a deep electrical investigation at some point which I have very little interest in performing either on my own or with the dealership)

[Flyindutchman]

My vote is to keep the 15, you can get those little items fixed. I agree probably just a worn impeller.
Plus your 15 looks better IMO

TY - I agree on the looks 100%. Might do it - just nervous about hanging on to a boat quickly losing value and knowing that the new tariff will mean not looking at a new boat any time soon.

[Cpan13]

That 18 would have to be hugely discounted. Your 15 is beautiful and the 18 looks very blah.

Keep in mind with the new boats going up with the tarrifs, the value of your used boat will too.

[ScooterMcgavin]

Thanks for this Charles! I hear you. It is certainly all about value in the options as well as overall value of the boat. My boat at 340 hours versus the 2018 at 20 hours is a big one. I keep telling myself that if I can get my bimini swapped and some tower speakers, the new motor, helm design, racks, and a fresh gelcoat/interior is going to be the right move. I left out the the new warranty is a full 5 year bumper to bumper coverage plan - much more than what I have now on the '15.

(BTW - my dealership swapped all impellers at my request but the issue remains, they also replaced the speaker LED's with new but the issue remains, they replaced the underwater lights due to corrosion but they also don't stay on 100%, and I also have one tower speaker that has cut out from time to time - all sounds like a deep electrical investigation at some point which I have very little interest in performing either on my own or with the dealership)

It does make it a tough decision when you point out the freshness of a new ride and a full bumper to bumper warranty. Definitely valid points, And I didn't realize you already tried to have those little issues fixed with no success. Sounds like you have your mind made up in your head and I don't think you could go wrong either way.
Both great looking boats. Good luck! Maybe write down a pro's vs con's list on the two boats

[Flyindutchman]

It does make it a tough decision when you point out the freshness of a new ride and a full bumper to bumper warranty. Definitely valid points, And I didn't realize you already tried to have those little issues fixed with no success. Sounds like you have your mind made up in your head and I don't think you could go wrong either way.
Both great looking bosts. Good luck! Maybe write down a pro's vs con's list on the two boats

I've been over it about 100 times trying to decide...lol

[Flyindutchman]

That 18 would have to be hugely discounted. Your 15 is beautiful and the 18 looks very blah.

Keep in mind with the new boats going up with the tarrifs, the value of your used boat will too.

Definitely part of the negotiation...funny how dealers can warn you about the price going up on new boats but not reflect it in the trade-in value...lol!

(in his defence - he did mention my used boat in a private sale should hold more value due to the tariff).

Question - do you find the '18 blah because of the colour scheme mainly or is the missing bimini and tower speakers filling out the look? I'm telling myself it will look much nicer with my bimini installed and speakers so it doesn't look so spartan. Maybe?

[mcosub]

It does make it a tough decision when you point out the freshness of a new ride and a full bumper to bumper warranty. Definitely valid points, And I didn't realize you already tried to have those little issues fixed with no success. Sounds like you have your mind made up in your head and I don't think you could go wrong either way.
Both great looking bosts. Good luck! Maybe write down a pro's vs con's list on the two boats

I have toyed with the idea of trading my 17 for a left over 18 also and tried to rationalize it in my mind due to the pricing shooting up due to tariffs. I too have a reef blue boat I would hate to see go. I do have more than 3 years left on my warranty and have all the options I want other than underwater lights which I may add next year.

As far as the bimini goes............I pulled up next to my friend over the weekend and he has a '18 210 and the way his tower and bimini looked...........there would be no way for my bimini to go on his tower. My bimini is pitched slight down more than his. Also, his tower is 8-10" shorter than mine and I much prefer the head room under the tower the way mine is.

His Panoray, dash and control knob as well as the JL head unit would be the upgrades I would be picking up.

Are they giving you a decent deal on your trade or are you selling yours outright??

[Flyindutchman]

I have toyed with the idea of trading my 17 for a left over 18 also and tried to rationalize it in my mind due to the pricing shooting up due to tariffs. I too have a reef blue boat I would hate to see go. I do have more than 3 years left on my warranty and have all the options I want other than underwater lights which I may add next year.

As far as the bimini goes............I pulled up next to my friend over the weekend and he has a '18 210 and the way his tower and bimini looked...........there would be no way for my bimini to go on his tower. My bimini is pitched slight down more than his. Also, his tower is 8-10" shorter than mine and I much prefer the head room under the tower the way mine is.

His Panoray, dash and control knob as well as the JL head unit would be the upgrades I would be picking up.

Are they giving you a decent deal on your trade or are you selling yours outright??

I took a bunch of photos of the new GS and 210 towers/bimini's while I was visiting the dealership (out of town) and I see exactly what you're describing. I wish they hadn't changed the mounting design. Someone at the dealership thought I might be able to just change the aluminum mounting brackets parts and keep my bimini to swap.

One bonus I didn't mention for me is the new driver's seat - I like it. I didn't think I would care much but it's quite nice.

They are not giving me a decent deal on my trade-in, just a great price on the '18. I have the option to attempt to sell mine before end of August to get a better deal and it is listed as of this past Friday - just on a free listing site - nothing hard-core just yet.

[nyryan2001]

What’s the delta between the offered trade value and purchase price + tax and out the door? $10-$20k?

[mcosub]

I took a bunch of photos of the new GS and 210 towers/bimini's while I was visiting the dealership (out of town) and I see exactly what you're describing. I wish they hadn't changed the mounting design. Someone at the dealership thought I might be able to just change the aluminum mounting brackets parts and keep my bimini to swap.

One bonus I didn't mention for me is the new driver's seat - I like it. I didn't think I would care much but it's quite nice.

They are not giving me a decent deal on my trade-in, just a great price on the '18. I have the option to attempt to sell mine before end of August to get a better deal and it is listed as of this past Friday - just on a free listing site - nothing hard-core just yet.

My wife love the reef blue color and that was one of the big selling points of me getting her on board to buy the boat we have. She would never go for a new one that wasnt reef blue.

I think the two things I like least about the new 210 is the tower height and the new gel coat lines. I much prefer the "swoosh" kind of lines on the side vs the front and rear being two different colors. Just my opinion.

I already have the new helm seat so not a big feature for me. Good luck deciding.

[surfnjosh]

I read all this and think to myself..... What is going on with your dealer?? first off the sales rep telling you the hull got changed=False, secondly they cant seem to fix these nagging issues? Sorry but this just screams incompetency to me...…
Literally the only noticeable changes are the dash and tower, I myself prefer the older 210 tower over the GS tower all day long.... Sure the newer dash is nice but the color scheme of your 15 blows away the 18 IMO. Obviously color is to each there own but that reef blue is beautiful, plus you have more options in the 15....

Like Cpan13 said if the values of the NEW boats go up with the tariffs so will the value of USED boats, its all relative.

Now if you were considering upgrading to a 230 or a G than it would be a totally different story. ha

[Cpan13]

Definitely part of the negotiation...funny how dealers can warn you about the price going up on new boats but not reflect it in the trade-in value...lol!

(in his defence - he did mention my used boat in a private sale should hold more value due to the tariff).

Question - do you find the '18 blah because of the colour scheme mainly or is the missing bimini and tower speakers filling out the look? I'm telling myself it will look much nicer with my bimini installed and speakers so it doesn't look so spartan. Maybe?

I find it blah looking because it’s blah looking. To me that boat looks like something a boat rental company would pickup because it’s the cheapest colour scheme to order. Your boat on the other hand looks like some serious thought went into a custom order. It’s like comparing an xlt to a platinum f150 if you know what I mean.