Thoughts on 2014 Nautique 210

[enrique]

Hello everyone,

Just for some context, I’m trying to get into a wake boat without spending a ton of money. I’d like something thats great for wakeboarding and wakesurfing, but can also ski recreationally when needed. I’d also love something that doesn’t depreciate too much so I can sell it without losing too much money paying off the loan, which is why I’m gravitating towards Nautique. I also just love Nautique boats in general.

I found a 2014 Nautique 210 at a local dealership, they want 54k for it (haven’t negotiated any on the price yet). I haven’t seen it in person yet (I plan on doing so this weekend), but from the pictures it looks to be in really nice shape, and everything works mechanically, according to the dealership. This boat was sold originally by this same dealership new, and has only had one previous owner. It has the PCM 343, 1750lb of ballast, NSS, upgraded stereo with tower speakers, and the upholstery was redone 4 years ago. They claim there are some minor scuffs and some small cracks in the gel coat but nothing serious. It was used exclusively on a fresh water lake in my area, however the catch is it has 1770 hours on it.

I’m wondering if a 210 with that many hours on it is going to be a gamble with reliability. I’m not looking to keep the boat forever, maybe a year or two or three, but I’d like to avoid something where out of no where I have a repair that costs thousands of dollars which ends up putting me under water with the loan if I decide to sell instead of fix it, or something along those lines. Am I taking too much of a gamble with something that is 10 years old with that many hours, or in general are the PCM 343’s reliable with proper maintenance?

Also, is there anything I should be looking for specifically when I go see it, to assess if it’s been maintained well by the previous owner?

Any thoughts on this are appreciated.

Thanks,
Enrique

[XBIGPUN66]

Mine has half the hours but is very reliable. I have had it since 2016.

Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk

[FMSKI]

wake(surf) boat without spending a ton of money = That's a 211, or that vintage.. in low hours and upgraded.

Reason being - 2014 is the modern era so nice, stylish and beamy. Good riding hulls.
But you have the complexity of /and cracking Catanium exhaust, Linc system ($ if it goes), obsolete audio (no parts?),
Throttle lever electronics fail.
My 2015 343 is now at 1000 hours, no real issues to the motor itself - spat the odd code. Transmission went at 800 hours.
Compared to previous gen boats, gelcoat is not as tough but more UV resistant in my experience.

[kylant]

mine has been great. it is actually going for sale shortly. it has less than 350 hours on it

[ScooterMcgavin]

Great boats, Absolutely love mine.

[glassywaters]

210 is a great boat, especially with NSS. Too many hours for my preference and may hurt resale. It's definitely a buyers market right now. Good Luck.

[swatguy]

A 210 is an excellent do all boat. The 14 recieved a slight hull tweak and a full upper
deck change. If you ask me it’s the most underrated multiport boat ever sprodiced with pro wakeboard wakes. Above average surfe wakes , and a decent slalom wake. The big draw back to the 14 is on the ski side as there isn’t a pylon option.

hour wise you’re coming up on some high hours. I’ve had 3 of my previous boats break 1500 with simple oil changes…..88 2001 nautique , 94 ski Nautique , and a 2001 XStar currently at 900 on my 08. With that said , you’re looking to purchase a new to you family boat youll want reliability from. That many hours will require some wrenching in my opinion. If youre comfortable with that fire away. My advice tho would be find little lower hour boat. Sure it’s crap shoot on what may actually go. But it’s game of
percentages.

[Warrior48188]

enrique - Did you look at the boat? Curious if you ended up buying the boat with 1700+ hours.

[enrique]

enrique - Did you look at the boat? Curious if you ended up buying the boat with 1700+ hours.

I did go and look at the boat. It was really in great shape, sounded pretty good with the engine fired up, everything was super clean and worked, it's a beautiful boat. Through all my hemming and hawing about the hours I did get them to offer me a discounted extended warranty and free storage and winterization with delivery in the spring. I looked into the warranty option to see what other people were saying about it. I gathered that it's sort of hit or miss; some people have a good experience where stuff is almost completely covered, other people not so much. I'm actually curious as a side note if you guys think something like a warranty would be a decent idea for a boat with this many hours. But regardless of whether something like a repower is covered, still means you don't have a boat while the work is being done.

Despite all that, I decided to pass on it for now for a few reasons. First reason was with the rates coming down from the fed I think in the spring financing will be a little cheaper. Locking in a record high interest rate was not super appealing to me at the moment. The second reason was, I don't think that boat is going anywhere anytime soon, it's been on the lot since last year when it was traded in. Waiting also delays the start of payments for 5-6 months which is time I could use to save up more and put a bigger down payment or something along those lines. Also gives me some more time to look for other options in a similar price range with less hours. With the market being a buyers market at the moment, I don't think waiting is going to hurt me all that much on prices, but I guess I could definitely be wrong about that.

But anyways that's where I landed on my decision. I think if that boat is still available in the spring and there aren't any better options out there for me that I find by then, I'll probably pull the trigger and buy it after a test drive, you only live once right? Also just want to say thanks for all the input from everyone, it was very helpful.

[benjamin_rohrs]

enrique Saw that one at Offshore Marine. I was super interested, but just like you I was a little unsure if I want a boat with 1700 hours. I made a post asking about it, and some insightful people shared some good information about high hour boats like that if you are interested. Decided not to take the gamble though, and ended up taking home the 2017 Mastercraft XT21 they had on the lot.

Since now I know you're in Jersey, a 2017 Supreme S202 just came on the market in Lake Hopatcong. It's not a Nautique, but its a definitely a nice boat, and honestly its pretty similar to that 210.

Take a look as maybe it will suit your needs, especially if you want to ski.

[enrique]

benjamin_rohrs Oh sweet, I saw that Mastercraft XT21, it looked great with not a lot of hours either, definitely a great purchase. Yeah if you want to share the link to your post I’d definitely like to read all the replies just to get more educated on the subject. I’ve been keeping an eye out for all things Nautique coming on the market in the area but I haven’t looked too much for other brands. I’ll definitely take a look at that Supreme, I’ve heard good things about them.

Out of curiosity, were you able to negotiate the price down on your XT21 at Off Shore? I tried to talk prices with them a little on the 210 but they seemed pretty firm on it. I didn't push it much since I thought it was fairly priced to begin with but I'm wondering if they have some wiggle room?

Hopefully I’ll see you out there enjoying the XT21 on Greenwood Lake, that’s where I do most of my boating as well.

[benjamin_rohrs]

enrique We didn't get the price down on the Mastercraft, but like you, they are storing it and winterizing it for free this winter. Maybe that's just their thing as they did that when we bought our last boat from them too. Seems that boat dealers, at least at the moment, are all pretty firm on price. Looked an Axis on GWL and they seemed unwilling to negotiate either. At least its a good buyers market.

Catch you on GWL!

Here is my post link:

[enrique]

benjamin_rohrs Gotcha, yeah that makes sense, it's something they can throw in that probably doesn't cost them a whole lot of money but makes it worth it for the buyer. I had a similar experience with the Centurion dealership on Greenwood Lake, they basically said this is the price and that's about it. Yeah, true the prices at least are somewhat reasonable.

Thanks for sharing the link, lot's of info there in those replies that's super helpful.

Catch you out there, let me know how you end up liking the Mastercraft!

[Gwozhog]

Would not pay more than 30k for that boat. Most boats dont make it to 2000 hours with out a new engine and transmission