Help me in my decision!

[Michael Guzzo]

I have recently put a deposit down for a 2012 242 limited S with 167 hours on it which we settled on a price of $36K. They are putting on a brand new Sunbrella Bimini (the original has some mildew) and the boat comes with a pair of tower speakers, a sub and a wet sounds amp that are all aftermarket. I did take it on a water test but I am not obligated to buy this boat.

I just got a call from a guy at a dealership 2 hours south of me who I had reached out to in my original search. He now has a 2014 limited S with 50 hours and he says he will sell it to me for $35K, $1K less! Seems like a no brainer right?

Here is the catch. He says the the tops of the brown interior is sunburnt and is a brighter color than it should be. I have seen a few pics of the yammys with the same issue. Is this a known problem? It leads me to believe that the boat was left out in the sun and that is probably no good.

The 2012 is black and the 2014 is blue. I do like the black more but I know it's not smart to let this influence me.

Any advice? Also what are the main differences between the two model years?

Thank You!

 

[itsdgm]

That's a tough one @Michael Guzzo It's hard to decide without actually seeing them both in person. There's so many factors, are they both in similar condition (excluding the upholstery of course), bot fresh water or salt boats, trailer condition, etc? If they're in identical condition (excluding the upholstery) get estimates to recover. I'd bet it's at least in the 2-3k range. But upholstery costs are very dependent on location. Usually I'd go for the newer lower hour boat but only if everything else checks out to be similar. Good luck with your decision. Feel free to post up pics of both, we'll be more than happy to spend your money

 

[jawsf16]

The newer boat would require interior and a sound system and a new Bimini to compare to the older. The only thing the 12 has against it is engine hours, which are not that high for Yamaha.
I would lean towards the 2012. If it has been modded then the owner cared. If the 14 has a destroyed interior than that makes me question the overall care.

 

[Julian]

Agree with both replies you've gotten thus far. I'd go look at the boat with the Sun damage and see how bad it is. Perhaps it was left out in the sun.....but as long as the engines look and run well, that is cosmetic.....and maybe they'd drop the price more to offset the damage. The alternative is to use it as a comp to the older boat.

 

[Michael Guzzo]

Thanks everyone. So there really aren't any major improvements between the 12 and 14? From what I gather big changes came in 2015.

I don't have a lot of free time right now but I really do need to get down and see the 14'. Hope I can make this happen because lack of time should not be a deciding factor in a purchase this big. I will keep you posted on my decision.

 

[robert843]

I like newer lower hour. In theory it should have a higher resale and value then the older boat and its 1k cheaper then the older boat so even if you decided to recover the seats that extra 1k can go towards that. I agree with the earlier post 167 hours isnt really a lot for a Yamaha but that means when you are done with it the boat it will likely closer to 400 hours and that will hurt the resale value. Also does either come with a warranty? There where no major improvements from 12-14.

 

[DJMattyT]

Boats with 50 hours could be in worse conditions than boats with 500 hours. It all depends how it was treated. I typically would stay in the lowest hours I could but I wouldn't make a decision without inspecting both pretty well. Check all signs of wear and tear obviously.