I’m Torn.... <AR 250 or 252S?>

[KyleP]

Hey guys as I posted before I put a deposit on a 2022 AR250 last week. The more I look the more I am torn between this model and the 252S. Do you guys feel it is worth the almost 14k price difference? I love the bigger screen and the nicer trim on the seats... but I also know I could spend about 4K on the AR250 and do seadek and speakers etc.

Would love to get some other opinions. This is a long term investment for me and we have absolutely loved our 2017 AR195.

 

[2kwik4u]

Personally, when I was big into modifying and playing with cars.......I would buy the lowest model and then add the mods I wanted. No sense in paying for things I'm just going to replace/upgrade anyway.

NOW.....when I bought my house, I only paid up front for the upgrades I couldn't do on my own. Things like adding the roofing over the deck and expanding the deck size by 100sqft, or things that were a wash in price, but important to us (levers instead of knobs on the doors). So I completely see that side as well.

For me, on a boat, I think I would take the home philosphy here. Pay for the things you want that you can't upgrade yourself. Larger screen and trim colors/styles will be HARD to change in the future. So if they're important to you, get 'em now.

 

[adrianp89]

If you have the money - it is worth it. You can't add sliding seats, in water seating is over 1k and very difficult to install. The 12" screen is awesome, and very responsive. Great for navigation. Seadek alone will cost you 1k+. The premium seating, storage nets, and overall trim is a nice upgrade too. I also really like the bar upgrade behind the drivers seat. Nice fold out table + food storage under that, then cooler slides under that.

 

[Troy JK]

The way I see things these day is this... later on down the road I’ll forget about the extra money I spent to get the one I wanted, but If I settle for less, I’ll be reminded every time I use it that I don’t have the one I wanted.

 

[Yambers]

It all depends on what something is worth to you. Is it worth paying extra for a larger screen? I mean you arent on the water to stare at a screen. You should be looking at the scenery.

Also, I dont wanna pay a premium when I can add it later at a lower cost. I recently bought a new truck, but I didnt pay for a leveling kit or fancy wheels when I can add them later at a greatly reduced price.

As other have said, pay for what you cant easily add, but think about the real use. I could care less about a bigger screen as long as I have basic gauges.. I would be happy to be on the water.

My opinion of course, and no offense to anyone else. Enjoy whatever you get.

 

[HangOutdoors]

Get want you want. The problem though, and I suffer from this, is I tend to buy what I think I need, not actually what works and how I am going to use something. I have an entire Garage full of stuff that I thought I needed for the boat and other things, in actuality I did not.

Also, we do not have deep pockets, with kids in college and getting ready for college and taking care of the family, we do Ok, but money is not falling out of our pockets. Perhaps if it was, I would look at things differently.

If things like the bigger screen and nicer trim make you happy then that makes it easier.... of course you can't upgrade this in the future easily or cost effectively.

For us, they don't make an impact and are not important. I am upgrading all the things that are on my boat, some a bit over the top that are important. I guess after a year, at times, I think I should of went with the 212s for the larger engines, but haven't seen a need or have not felt underpowered for how we use the boat fully yet. The upgrade which would have the most impact would be going to the AR250, for size, etc. But it is a bit much for some of the smaller lakes we go in to fish and relax. It would definitely be an improvement for the Great Lakes for us, but our time is split between Big Water and small water.

I would have liked a better Connext screen, but just so that it would show me the RPM's on it, mine doesn't. That way I could remove my round tachs and put my chart/plotter in dash.

Honestly, if I was to get the 212s last year all the mods I am doing now would still be going on.

During the winter months I wondered a lot what if, and during the summer and boating season it never crosses my mind and I and the family are happy.

@KyleP Also you had your last boat 3 years or so, who knows how long you will have this one? I figure, depending on the future, I am in this boat for 2-5 years. If we still want to boat then selling and buying something else we would do. Just like our cars, every few years give or take. New features, different features, powertrains and innovations will be coming out. Perhaps something that will be need to have.

 

[adrianp89]

@HangOutdoors The AR210 small screen shows RPMs, albeit they are small. If I kept my SX210, I was going to move the gauges behind the dash and do a 9" Axiom where they went.

 

[HangOutdoors]

Mine doesnt, that i can see, will explore further once i get power back up on it

 

[KyleP]

All great points! Thanks for everyone taking the time! The bigger screen isn’t a huge deal but I also don’t love how the smaller one looks in the big frame. I just feel like they took some cheaper moves on this vs the AR240. I’m leaning towards the 252S but like @HangOutdoors, we are doing fine but with 2 little kids money isn’t falling out of my pocket either. I just don’t want to buy it and wish I had the other one.

 

[KyleP]

Also, when they actually release the 2022 model, do you think there are any chances they change any of the interior stuff? I would guess they will stick to that template for a while, but it seems like a lot of people weren’t impressed with the fit and finish on the “base” model.

 

[Beachbummer]

I would speculate with the current state of the market and the fact boats are flying off the shelf, if it was me, I'd be deferring any and all changes to maximize my throughput. I would not be surprised if the model changes are very small.

 

[Betik]

$15k is a lot of money you can spend on mods...

 

[seanmclean]

When I bought, I felt that the features on the 242 were worth the price over the 240, but the delta wasn't 15K then. I saw a new AR250 last weekend on the water, and looked like a really, really nice boat. Don't think you can go wrong with it.

 

[tkeru408]

I'm reminded of the line from Shawshank Redemption..."if you've come this far, maybe you're willing to come a little further."

If you can stomach the $14k increase from the AR250 to the 252S, I think you should seriously consider the 252SE for another $4k (admittedly, I'm biased). The large bimini, electronic throttle controls (engine sync, cruise control/perfect pass type system, push button start, etc.), and LED helm lighting are nice upgrades from the S to the SE and not things you could easily add on later. That being said, I totally get that everyone has to draw their line somewhere (for the price of a 252SE, you could have an AR250 and a Waverunner! ).

 

[Beachbummer]

E-Thottle or nothing! the rest is fluff. (Just kidding, but e-throttle is very nice, the only feature from that list I would actually pay for. For $2K you could by an aftermarket throttle assembly + perfect pass, that will give you 90% of the control that $20K will buy you with the e-throttle, but of course, including everything else)

Only you can decide but $20K is a LOT of fuel and a very nice trip or two. Is it worth it to you? Only you can say. (For me it would not be worth it)

 

[HangOutdoors]

@KyleP Understand that you will be dropping $10k - 15k in mods, give or take, one way or the other regardless of which model you get, some mods will be different. And this is on the low end from what I see some doing. You could drop more, as I can attest to, very easily. Some will be safety, some will be needed and others will be nice to have. I am not even touching on the the watersports gear or the fun in the sun stuff.

It will eat at you in the off season as you think about your boat and what you need/want to do. If you can handle knowing that and afford that and the higher trim level than buy it. If that worries you a bit, then Get the AR250, it is a vey nice boat and go enjoy the water. And start getting your mods ready

One last thing, that I keep in the back my mind. Sure the increase in payments isn't that much, but sooner or later the bottom will fall out, from these high prices on used boats, as well as the economy etc. It will create a lot of negative equity in boats and that will be real money that we will have to pay to get out from under.

 

[1WetBoat]

My opinion is biased of course but i was faced with a similar choice. If it had been a $5-7k difference in price from the AR to the S then i would have jumped at it. In the end, to me it wasn't worth it. I have seen and used the swim platform seats and the sliding seats when i lived in S.FL on a 27 footer. Were they nice, heck yeah, were they $15k nice, not to me.

This is my first Jetboat. Been around boats and waver runners a good portion of my life living in S.FL. We had a "group" boat that was a 17 footer and we used it for diving and lobstering. My Father in law had what seemed to be a 12 foot boston whaler. Absolutely no tech on either of those suckers. We eventually installed a Lowrance on our diving boat so that we can mark good spots and then upgraded to a real GPS unit.

Fast forward to my AR250 purchase and to my family and I it is a huge jump, couldn't ask for more to be honest. Each time I have taken it out it has put a smile on my face(except the time i was freaking out when the "screw in sand anchor" got loose and the rear started drifting). The kids love it, the admiral loves it, cant ask for anything more.

The smaller connext screen does look out of place, no argument there, but its perfect for what it does. The maps are fine with the exception of actual depth readings. I was always planning on adding an external unit for navigation so that didn't matter to me.

BTW, i took some of that extra money left over and did buy a waverunner, lol.

 

[212s]

Hey guys as I posted before I put a deposit on a 2022 AR250 last week. The more I look the more I am torn between this model and the 252S. Do you guys feel it is worth the almost 14k price difference? I love the bigger screen and the nicer trim on the seats... but I also know I could spend about 4K on the AR250 and do seadek and speakers etc.

We had a similar dilemma...we moved to a better boating area and wanted to buy a nice new boat for long term ownership. We looked at every make and every model in the 19-22ft range including I/O's and outboards. After I decided a jetboat is what worked best for us (wife didn't want an outboard in the way of the swim platform so it was my choice for drive type), we ended up getting the 212s for the features, styling, and performance we wanted. We could have saved money buying an AR210 and then doing lots of upgrades myself, but it still wouldn't be like the 212s, which is the boat we really liked best.
Long story short, no regrets buying what we wanted.

 

[OB WI]

I’m waiting for some clear coat on the hull to be fixed/finished and then will pick up our AR250 we ordered. Was supposed to on the 23rd but it wasn’t ready.
I was looking at the 212SE but for roughly the same price we went with the 250 instead since we will be boating on Lake Michigan. If you have it to spend go SE for the electronics and bigger Bimin. The 252S has the same as the 250 so that’s not an upgrade. Since they haven’t released any info on 2022 don’t they typically increase in price 3-5%? So it will probably be more than 14K.

We are new to jet boats and this is the first boat purchase but the 252SE wasn’t out of budget. Just wasn't sure if we will be happy trailering the boat, wanting a slip, or getting a bigger sport cruiser for full time use on Lake Michigan. If its like my vehicle history we will be upgrading in 2-4yrs and you will have more buyer options at a lower price point. My wife talked me out of the swim up seating since we have a 5yr and 2yr old. So I bought the Mission Reef mat and everyone will be happy. Not to mention the surf setup, tubing, and anything else that will be towed. And what was said earlier about 14K is a good amount of upgrades. And that 14K could buy a nice boat lift if that’s an option. Looks like you should have enough reasons to make the best decision. Good Luck!

 

[Skyhawk223]

I was in the same situation. Took the Admiral to look at boats last year. We looked at the AR250 and then looked at a 252S that were both (surprisingly) in stock and not spoken for. She made the decision for me. I was set for the AR but she wanted the nicer amenities in the 252S. Is it worth the extra $14k? If she is happy, then yes as those that are married can surely relate.

So far so good. Love the larger screen and flooring.

The AR250 is a great boat and a great value. As others have said, it depends on what you value. If you are going to use the boat to transport to a beach and spend most of your time there, the 252S amenities will probably not be worth it. If hanging out on the transom while anchored is the use case, the nicer padding and in water seating on the 252S will provide a better experience.

You cannot go wrong either way. If the 252S was not available I probably would have purchased the AR just to be able to get on the water. If you can wait, expect to see a glut of boats in the coming years from those with second thoughts about boat ownership. All of us new boat owners bought at the top of the market...