Buying & Owning
Where you buy changes the price, the protection and the paperwork. All four routes work; they just suit different buyers.
Dealers, brokers, marketplaces and private sales compared, plus the worldwide websites where bowriders are listed for sale.
The bowriders that come up most often when readers ask us where to start.
The world's best-selling bowrider size, in its most accessible form: light, simple and easy to tow.
US$38,000 - US$52,000 new
The refined mainstream benchmark: quiet, dry, and beautifully finished for the money.
US$72,000 - US$95,000 new
The previous-generation classic. Millions of families learned to boat in one of these.
US$8,000 - US$22,000 used
You get warranty, a rigged and tested package, finance options and someone to call when something rattles. You pay for it in the first three years of depreciation.
Buy the dealer as much as the boat. A good local service department is worth more than a discount.
Higher price than private sale but usually with a basic warranty, a service check and clear title. For a first boat this is the lowest-risk used route.
The cheapest boats are private sales. In Australia, boatsales.com.au and Boats Online dominate. Worldwide, YachtWorld and Boat Trader carry the largest inventories, and Facebook Marketplace has become the biggest source of cheap local runabouts.
Always inspect in person, always sea trial, and for anything expensive pay for an independent marine survey and an engine compression or diagnostic scan.
Late autumn is the best time to buy in most markets, when dealers clear stock and private sellers face another season of storage fees. Expect the best discounts between the last warm weekend and mid-winter.
