New Rinker v. 5yo Crownline, thoughts please....

[anothersteveg]

Hi All,

I'm a long time reader and enjoy the posts, Thank You!

So, I've moved back to the Midwest and am now in the market for a boat again. I've owned several, from a 16ft aluminum fishing boat to a 24 foot Wellcraft. We are now in the market again.

I've looked around and have found 2 that we really like. One is a new 2010 Rinker 210 MTX. It has the 5.0 (carbed) w/Alpha 1. The 2nd is a 2006 Crownline 220 LS w/the 5.7 Injected Merc and BIII. Both include trailers and have bow and cockpit covers and swim platforms. The 'Crown has a mooring cover and a removeable wake tower.

The new Rinker is obviously spotless, the Crown has just over 100 hours and is almost spotless, 1 tiny dock rub mark and a small tear in the engine cover vinyl which is supposed to be replaced. The Rinker is at a local dealer whom I was impressed with but don't know his reputation as we are new to the area. The Crown was also at a close-ish place, not a crown dealer and was on consignment.

The asking price is the same, I haven't gotten into trying to talk them down on price yet. The Crown has the engine and drive I want, the Rinker is brand new and has a local dealer that is still in business! We liked the layout in both.

Which boat would you go with, and how much wiggle room do you think I have on them?

Any other comments you'd like to throw in?

Thanks,

Steve

 

[NYBo]

Re: New Rinker v. 5yo Crownline, thoughts please....

The difference in motors and outdrives is nothing to sneeze at. Advantage: Crownline

 

[ezmobee]

Re: New Rinker v. 5yo Crownline, thoughts please....

That's a toughy cuz fuel injection is a HUGE plus.

 

[anothersteveg]

Re: New Rinker v. 5yo Crownline, thoughts please....

Thanks, anyone else?

 

[security6]

Re: New Rinker v. 5yo Crownline, thoughts please....

Adding a wakeboard tower to the rinker will cost at least $600-$700 if you put it on yourself. Figure at least double that if you have someone else put it on. If you care about wakeboarding, this gives the crownline an advantage.

ETA - You should also plan for some additional maintenance costs if you get the crownline. Most rubber maintenance pieces (e.g. impeller, bellows) should be replaced every 3 years or so. On a 5 year old boat, I would assume they have not been replaced unless documentation proving otherwise is provided. The cost to replace those parts isn't bad for parts ($200 or so), but the labor can be anywhere from $300 to $1000.

 

[stubbsboogie]

Re: New Rinker v. 5yo Crownline, thoughts please....

As much as I love Rinkers, they are absolutley fabulous! I feel like the advantage goes to the Crownline. Fuel injection and the Bravo drive make it the victor in this comp I think.
Give the Rinker a very good look though, see what can be done on the price.

 

[cwhite6]

Re: New Rinker v. 5yo Crownline, thoughts please....

My thoughts is I would opt for new. To me, I would rather have a boat I know the complete history of. It will also come with a warranty. The 5.7l is an awesome motor to be sure as well as the BIII, but to me it would not make that huge of a difference. Just my thoughts and they are worth what you paid for them!

 

[maharg]

Re: New Rinker v. 5yo Crownline, thoughts please....

I would go rinker, the new MTX hull is excellent and its under warranty and wont need any major service for a good bit. My experience is that when you buy used you are buying someone else's problem. I doubt there are any big issues with the crown, but again it will probably need some costly maintenance sooner. Also I prefer the carb to EFI, EFI is EXPENSIVE to repair, a carb rebuild can typically be had for <200 and if you do it yourself its even cheaper.

 

[tcgobucks]

Re: New Rinker v. 5yo Crownline, thoughts please....

I guess I don't understand all of the posts on here that worry about maintenance and repairing/replacing parts on used boats. Don't you have maintenance on every boat....just as you have maintenance on your car? I also don't feel that you can make blanket statements like "bellows/impeller will need replaced every 3 years". Who does that? My dad's had his boat for 20 years and we haven't put more than $1500 into it, other than yearly maintenance (winterizing, oil changes, etc). It's checked by a mechanic every fall and spring and if it needs fixed, he fixes it. Maybe we're just lucky, but these major problems that seem to happen to everyone else on here just haven't happened to us yet....lol. Boats aren't designed to need major repairs every 3 years....or 5, or whatever. Does it happen, of course, just like it does with anything motorized...but do you really need to worry and plan for these major expenses like they are absolutely guaranteed to happen on some type of schedule....I don't think you do.

That being said, buy whichever boat you like best....don't let the thought of a bunch of upcoming repairs scare you away from the Crownline because there's no guarantee that they're going to be needed.

 

[wbc1957]

Re: New Rinker v. 5yo Crownline, thoughts please....

The Crown was said to have only 100 hours on her. If the boat is on consignment, I am sure the seller and find out the shop who worked on her. Then just check for the prior maintenance. An impeller needing replasement after 100 hours? If that's the case, we all better start working another job to cover these new maintenance schedules! Sure, 100 hours means nothing unless the service was done and the prior owner took good care of things. I seem to remember reading how the boat looked, which speaks volumes of how it was kept. Check the servcie records and buy the Crown. You'd kick yourself later if you didn't.

 

[superpop]

Re: New Rinker v. 5yo Crownline, thoughts please....

I have never purchased a new boat for the simple reason that they depreciate so bad in the first few years. My current boat is a 2006 Chaparral that I purchased in 2008 for 24K, that year the identical boat with my options in a new version was just over 45K. Mine had 37 hours on it and still looked brand new. You have to remember that once you buy the new boat it is considered used as well. That is why I do not buy new, you can get so much more for your money if you let somebody else take the depreciation hit. When looking at used though it is all about condition and maint. where the boat has spent its time is a big deal as well. A boat that has sat in saltwater for 4 years is going to be far different from a boat that is essentially a trailer queen like mine, it spends most of its time in a garage being waxed. EFI may be more to fix but is sure is nice to have. In the end I would get what you want, both will be used and both will be worth whatever someone is willing to pay for them in the end anyway.

 

[JimS123]

Re: New Rinker v. 5yo Crownline, thoughts please....

I would certainly prefer the fuel injection, but the 5 L carbed motor has a long standing good reputaion, so I wouldn't hesitate to buy one.

Rinkers are very fine boats. The fit and finish is high quality. In '07 we were looking for a 23ish cuddy and looked at the Crowns. In my opinion they had poor ergonomics, the trim in the cuddy looked awful and the overall fit and finish was poor. Also just didn't like the design of the boat in general. In contrast a Rinker looks awesome.

Crown went bankrupt - they couldn't reorganize under Ch 11 and went belly up. What I read is that they are now operating again under new ownership, but they basically lost their dealer network. My local Crown dealer now carries another brand.

My vote would be for the Rinker (assuming that you check and find that the local dealer truly is a good one). Not only for the reasons cited above, but for me "new" would be the selling point. You won't need major maintenance for a few years, and if something does go wrong you're covered.

 

[jmarty10]

Re: New Rinker v. 5yo Crownline, thoughts please....

I guess I don't understand all of the posts on here that worry about maintenance and repairing/replacing parts on used boats. Don't you have maintenance on every boat....just as you have maintenance on your car? I also don't feel that you can make blanket statements like "bellows/impeller will need replaced every 3 years". Who does that? My dad's had his boat for 20 years and we haven't put more than $1500 into it, other than yearly maintenance (winterizing, oil changes, etc). It's checked by a mechanic every fall and spring and if it needs fixed, he fixes it. Maybe we're just lucky, but these major problems that seem to happen to everyone else on here just haven't happened to us yet....lol. Boats aren't designed to need major repairs every 3 years....or 5, or whatever. Does it happen, of course, just like it does with anything motorized...but do you really need to worry and plan for these major expenses like they are absolutely guaranteed to happen on some type of schedule....I don't think you do.

Nicely said tcgobucks!

 

[security6]

Re: New Rinker v. 5yo Crownline, thoughts please....

I guess I don't understand all of the posts on here that worry about maintenance and repairing/replacing parts on used boats. Don't you have maintenance on every boat....just as you have maintenance on your car? I also don't feel that you can make blanket statements like "bellows/impeller will need replaced every 3 years". Who does that? My dad's had his boat for 20 years and we haven't put more than $1500 into it, other than yearly maintenance (winterizing, oil changes, etc). It's checked by a mechanic every fall and spring and if it needs fixed, he fixes it. Maybe we're just lucky, but these major problems that seem to happen to everyone else on here just haven't happened to us yet....lol. Boats aren't designed to need major repairs every 3 years....or 5, or whatever. Does it happen, of course, just like it does with anything motorized...but do you really need to worry and plan for these major expenses like they are absolutely guaranteed to happen on some type of schedule....I don't think you do.

All boats need maintenance, but a new boat will not need maintenance until it has been used for a period of time. A used boat may be overdue for maintenance.

As for replacing the bellows/impeller every 3 years, I stand corrected. On my boat the bellows and impeller are supposed to be replaced every 2 years or 200 hours (per Volvo maintenance schedule for my 1999 5.7L volvo engine). I would be surprised if Mercruiser is much different from Volvo. Just because lots of people neglect maintenance on their boats (and lots of people do), doesn't mean it is a good idea.

The Crown was said to have only 100 hours on her. If the boat is on consignment, I am sure the seller and find out the shop who worked on her. Then just check for the prior maintenance. An impeller needing replasement after 100 hours? If that's the case, we all better start working another job to cover these new maintenance schedules! Sure, 100 hours means nothing unless the service was done and the prior owner took good care of things. I seem to remember reading how the boat looked, which speaks volumes of how it was kept. Check the servcie records and buy the Crown. You'd kick yourself later if you didn't.

It isn't the 100 hours that worries me, it is the 5 years old. Rubber degrades whether it is being used or not.


I'm not saying that the Crownline will sink if the maintenance isn't done immediately. Rather, my point is help the OP make an apples to apples comparison. The Rinker will have new bellows and impeller. The Crownline (as reinforced by the posts above) most likely does not. The OP should factor in the used (and needing replacement per the manufacturer) bellows and impeller into his decision.

 

[airdvr1227]

Re: New Rinker v. 5yo Crownline, thoughts please....

SO the 2006 Crownline is the same price as the 2010 Rinker? That Crownline must be alot nicer boat to be the same price as a brand new anything.

 

[jkust]

Re: New Rinker v. 5yo Crownline, thoughts please....

I think this is the same dilemma that many of us go through. Not having seen either boat, the Crown has my vote. Simply based on MPI and B3. I looked at newer, used Crowns a few years ago and my take on them was they were more sporty than luxury which could I suppose go either way but for some inexplicable reason none of the Crowns had snap in carpet and instead had glued down carpet. To me that was unacceptable for such nice boats. I did notice however that as rare as MPI is, the Crowns tend to have it more than most in the small boat segment (at least in my market). If I ever upgrade my Chaparral it will be for MPI even if it is the same boat. MPI is just that much more desirable. Whatever you choose, it is a good dilemma to have.

I also wanted to mention that yes the 100 hour mark is generally the first big scheduled maintainance point. I will be at 100 hours at the end of the season and since I have been trouble free up to this point, the B.O.A.T acroynym will now finally rear its head when I take it in in the fall.

 

[wbc1957]

Re: New Rinker v. 5yo Crownline, thoughts please....

I'm not saying that the Crownline will sink if the maintenance isn't done immediately. Rather, my point is help the OP make an apples to apples comparison. The Rinker will have new bellows and impeller. The Crownline (as reinforced by the posts above) most likely does not. The OP should factor in the used (and needing replacement per the manufacturer) bellows and impeller into his decision.[/QUOTE]

I stated, if you would bother to read it again, is that the buyer contact the party handling the consignment, who can then contact the seller about the place it was serviced. THEN it can be determined the maintenance. There is no reinforcement from posts above that show no service record, so your apples to apples comparison is not valid!

 

[anothersteveg]

Re: New Rinker v. 5yo Crownline, thoughts please....

Thanks for all the great responses. We are still thinking it through.

 

[superpop]

Re: New Rinker v. 5yo Crownline, thoughts please....

Even if deffered maintenance is a few thousand bucks, that is still going to be cheaper than the depreciation hit you will take the minute you pull the new boat off the lot. I would hammer on the Crownline owner on price and bring up NADA etc. Its a different story if one boat is just overpriced but that is hard to judge without seeing both boats.

 

[jkust]

Re: New Rinker v. 5yo Crownline, thoughts please....

So I just looked at the 210 on the Rinker site and that is a great boat. I noticed that the 5.0 carbed engine isn't an option according to the Build your boat tab though. Just about every engine from the 4.3 carbed up to the 5.7 mpi is available but seems to exclude the 5.0 carb. I wonder what the deal is with that. I googled that Crownline too for some pictures and I think I can verify my Crownline preference.