Demo Boats

DieselDogg

Member
Dec 18, 2013
98
Boat Info
Boatless
Engines
Diesel
What do you guys think of boats that started out as demo boats. Would you consider buying one? We came across a 2008 that was a demo for 2 yrs before someone bought her.
 
Demo or rented?

I would...... get all the factory warranty if not more and hopefully all the bugs will have been worked out.

Plus a nice discount.
 
My dockmate put money down on a 400 SLX, but delivery was a year out. Dealer gave him a 350 SLX to use. He treats it like its his, and if it were under similar circumstances, I'd buy that boat.

If you know the condition, can get a warranty and a good price.. hell yes.
 
If the price, condition, and warranty were all good: Absolutely!
 
I think any of the "demo" issues that we sometimes think about are long gone. The boat was demoed from 2008 to 2010, then owned/used by the person that bought it since then. At this point, it's just a 10-year old used boat and as long as you do your due diligence, the fact that it was a demo boat really has no impact.
 
My hesitation is in how it was treated for the first two years. I am very gentle on all my equipment. I don't like to run it hard. I like to let engine warm up before I run anything. I don't know if my approach is smart or just my OCD, but when I think of demo boats, I picture someone turning it on and running her at WOT. But hearing your opinions, makes me think maybe I shouldn't be too put off by the demo thing.
 
I think your thought process has more validity to it if you were buying it in 2010. Now, 8 years later, I really don't think there's any correlation. I don't know what engine you're looking at, but many engines can be scanned for "hours of use at various RPM's". Obviously this doesn't tell you if someone opened her up right after starting, but it will give you a decent, overall picture of the way the engine was used over the years.
 
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Good god, it's a 10 year old boat, what difference does it make.
 
Actually, to your point, you should be more concerned about the subsequent years. The years it was a demo it was prob. better taken care of, warranty issues fixed, and not abused...Now for the other years, who knows.

But to answer your question, I wouldn't care one bit.

Now, if I was buying it "as new" I'd be negotiating heavily...
 
My hesitation is in how it was treated for the first two years. I am very gentle on all my equipment. I don't like to run it hard. I like to let engine warm up before I run anything. I don't know if my approach is smart or just my OCD, but when I think of demo boats, I picture someone turning it on and running her at WOT. But hearing your opinions, makes me think maybe I shouldn't be too put off by the demo thing.
A printout of the engines would show hours at various rpm levels.
 

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