2005 211 SV Team, 2002 210 SANTE, or Neither?

[Skip2MyJLu]

I grew up on lakes and am interested in getting my girls (4 and 2) out on the water sooner than later. In the market for a good all around boat (tube, ski, surf, wakeboard), but am not ready to pony up the price tags for the newest nautiques since this will be very casual use for the next few years. I found these two online and am curious if there is still enough value to justify buying a boat this old? I know these boats hold their value well, but ~15-17 years seems to be getting up there. Am I thinking about this the wrong way? Should I look outside the nautique realm?

2005 Nautique 211 SV Team $32k asking price
2002 210 SANTE $23.9 asking price

[MTRBTR]

Both look like they are priced about right and should have lots of life left in them. Test drive them and see which one you like better.

[gome123]

I am partial to the 210. The 210 OG has a following. Would be easier to sell in the long run. If you just want something to just have a good time, save yourself the $$ and get the 210. Spend the $$ remove the hard tanks, replace with bags and get a SuckGate for surfing. My 210 has 825 hrs on original motor and it runs like a champ. Like MTRBTR stated, drive both and see which one you like. Either way, both boats will give your girls memories for a lifetime. (Don't go outside Nautique... This is a Nautique forum )

[Skip2MyJLu]

Thanks guys. I'll contact about test drives.

gome -- Fair enough on the nautique forum. Was just curios if I'm better off with some lower quality/newer boat for what I'm looking for. You set me back on the path.

[wawasee]

No, you don't need to go new low quality. Our family has a 1995 Sport Nautique that is running great and still looking brand new. Either of those boats will last you a long time

[functionoverfashion]

I would go look at that 210. I would also read up on this forum to learn about all the things to look for on that boat so you can get more out of your test drive. That boat looks mostly original and in pretty nice condition overall. It says they replaced the engine due to an overheat, and have receipts to prove it. I'm always curious what all was done but it sure sounds from the description like it was done right, if they really did spend $10k I certainly hope it was! I'd like to know how many hours are on the engine since the rebuild too, and I'd actually prefer a boat that had 100 hours on the rebuild vs. 3. That means it's been proven.

The gauges and stereo all look original. Gauges on these are known to eventually fail although it's not rocket science to just replace them all, which if you search on it, you'll find more information. Looking at the asking price, I'd just budget in an additional $3k for updates in the first few years and be ready to address things like the gauges when they need attention, possible ballast updates, stereo (maybe)... not sure what the cover is like but a nice cover can be quite a few $$ too. It sure looks like it's been covered or kept inside somewhere, based on the pics.

$23.9k is a very good starting point though. You don't see those boats under $20k in any kind of good condition, and lots of them are in the high 20's / low 30's still.

[Beach-TJ]

Definitely prefer the 210, they have a cult following for a reason. Mine is a 2004, and drives better, rides better, and feels more solid than a new Axis. Not to mention the wakeboard wake is great.
If you wakeboard, get out behind both boats as well. You will see why i have a 210 instead of 211.

[210Surfer]

‘03 210 here. Still going strong. A little more fiddling with ballast and shapers to dial it in, but it’s paid for and fits all of our needs right now. Lots of great memories made on this boat since we bought it in ‘08 and lots more to be made.


Sent from my iPhone using PLT Nautique

[gome123]

Looks like the 210 took the vote.
Skip2My... what did you end up doing? Just curious.