Thinking of buying a Tige, have some general questions

[Sharkbit]

Hello everyone. I currently own a I/O, but ive caught the wakeboard sickness so I am thinking of going VDrive. I found an 01 21V Riders Edition locally for around 23k. The questions I have is never having owned or ridden in a Vdrive, what do I need to look for at the lot to see if the boat is in sound condition? I am mechanically sound, so I will know if the engine is ok, but what about the VDrive? What kind of fluid do you use in it?

What is high hours for a boat? I see alot with 4-500 hours, but that doesnt necessarily mean the motor is tired. Are the stringers resin coated in this boat? I plan on driving it also, so I could check for vibrations.

I know there is stuff I am missing so feel free to chime in. I havent seen the boat in person yet, so it may be a horrible deal, but just wanting to get an idea of what i need to look for before I go to the lot.

Thanks in advance!

[dogbert]

My '99 21v is on 750 hours and still cranking strong. There's another guy on here who's got over 1700 hrs on his boat. We've been averaging about 150 for the last 4 years, so we've been using it more. This boat is a workhorse, so you won't wear it out.

The wooden stringers actually give you more stiffness than the composite and Tige's stringer system is one of the stiffest in the industry. All wood is glassed over, with the exception of the part of the floor over the fuel tank, which is removable. The seat bottoms are Penske material, which won't rot. We've used our boat a ton. I just recently replaced my vinyl.

I would have an experienced inboard mechanic check the shaft alignment because if it's not aligned or even slightly bent, you'll get some vibration. $23K seems a bit on the high side, but if the boat has lots of options (PerfectPass, automatic ballast and stereo being the most important), then it may be worth it.

I would check the tower joints for cracks.

This is a great boat. I still love mine...althougth I'd love to upgrade to an RZ2.

[Sharkbit]

Looking at NADA the boat books for about 17k. Why so high asking price? Does a wakeboat hold its value like that?

I find it hard to pay more for a boat then the NADA value.

Thanks for the input, maybe a few others will chime in.

[larryueckert]

theres better deals out there
http://www.boattrader.com/search-res...2DLength:DESC/

[dogbert]

I'd talk to the seller and check it out anyway. Maybe you can work something out.

[MoneyPity]

NADA is a good guidline but it is not the absolute price especially with the large dollar gap on boat prices depending where you live.

Tige is not represented by a large dealer network in my area and they have not dumped inventory in the area. I can't look at the used market here because of so few boats. An 06 22VE with 6.0L asking price at a dealer is a whopping $47K, I am sure they will sell for less but it will be above some new 22VE's in other markets.

[formandfunction]

Nada is a program that averages the sale of boats on the internet from the last year.It also averages the boat with no options and no trailer.That pretty much means it will tell you the average selling price from 2008 wich was very poor.

[Sharkbit]

Nada is a program that averages the sale of boats on the internet from the last year.It also averages the boat with no options and no trailer.That pretty much means it will tell you the average selling price from 2008 wich was very poor.

Is that information posted somewhere? If so I would like to find it. Thats very informative. I buy and sell alot of cars and never knew that.

I checked the price of my I/O and it was on the floor. I guess that explains it.

Thanks!

[dogbert]

Got any pics? The guys will find some more stuff for you to check.

[Sharkbit]

Im going to go check the boat out Tuesday. I will be sure to post up some pics. Thanks for all the help guys.

[da.bell]

And NADA in this economic time is high. IMO, used the low NADA value and go even below that 2-3k.

[formandfunction]

That depends where you are da.bell,around hear its almost business as usual.I found some decent deals this spring but nothing real special.Most of the blowouts I found where damaged in one way or another.

[dogbert]

That depends where you are da.bell,around hear its almost business as usual.I found some decent deals this spring but nothing real special.Most of the blowouts I found where damaged in one way or another.

I agree...a well cared-for boat will be worth the extra $$$