Deal or no deal

Sbb888

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Just joined the forum. Looking to get a new pontoon. After much research (which drives my wife nuts), I decided on a Bennington. I new the first thing I had to do was find a forum. Glad I found this one. I found what I think is a good deal but thought I would run it by the experts here. It is a 2018 hold over, never been in water 22ssrcx SPS with the HO yam 115. I am going to get my own trailer from trailers for pontoons per recommendations on this site. Any advice would be appreciated
Thanks, Bob
 
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Good morning Bob, Increase it to a 150 and you'll be all set. That 115 will disappoint you. Ask me how I know. A 150 on that thing will blow your socks off.
 
At least a 150.If its never been in the water dealer can easily swap them
 
Dealer is telling me that this new yamaha verado VF115XA is every bit as good on the low end as the 150 but the 150 will be a couple mph higher on the top end. I don't know if there is a couple different 150's like there are the 115's. If there are a couple different 150's then I'm sure the diff between ho 115 and ho 150 would be substantial. Thats why im here, lol, I figured you guys could shed some light on this for me.
 
Edited price out. Sorry, price discussion on boats not allowed per forum rules.
 
More power is still more power! Go for the 150 because you may regret not having enough under load
 
The thing with the 115 HP is it will bog down with any kind of weight load on it from people, gear, etc... It also will bog down quickly in turns during water sports, particularly with any kind of group on the boat. The 150 is going to hold its speed and performance under load on a very different level.

Thus, I think considering what your boating goals and typical use will be are very helpful things to consider both now and in the future.

Separate from the above consideration, I feel like this dealer is not being totally accurate on the anticipated performance difference between the 115 and the 150. My guess is they want to move that boat and motor as is, and with a light load on the boat, the 115 HP will perform decently. I think the performance difference is going to be more noticeable than they are saying.

However, whether you want or need that type of performance or not is also a different matter imo. All of that said, it sounds like a nice deal, but knowing myself, I would want to step up to the 150 as mentioned above.
 
Sorry about price.
I will see how much more the 150 is and see if my budget will stretch any farther. She is about ready to snap as it is, lol

The eternal problem in boat or pontoon boat buying right there. I think we all stretch that darn budget when buying. So hard to avoid. Grin.
 
Several years ago we did the same thing when buying a RV. We started on the low end and everyone next to it was nicer with things we figured we had to have. When we finally got to the end we priced ourselves right out of the RV and tent camped for 2 more seasons hehehehe

I say get the most boat “you can afford” or you just run into the RV problem. There is always something more to get. However, getting the boat that fits in your budget alleviates financial worries later, and gets you on the water sooner. :)
 
Just remember, if financing, the sting is more bearable. We NEVER thought we’d be able to buy the boat we have, but 10 years and State Farm Bank made it a reality...:)
 
The salesman is blowing smoke up your you know what if he says you'll only see a couple mph on the top end. Put 6 adults in each boat, and go full throttle and you'll see a huge difference. That is where the 115 falls on it's face. The 150 is a workhorse.
 
What do you plan to do with the boat? I previously had a 22SSRX with a Merc 115 and SPS, and it was plenty of power for us. However, we mostly just slow cruised around the lake. I had no problems taking 6-8 people out but again, we just went for leisurely cruises. The few times I did pull a tube we had absolutely no problems doing so with 2 adults and 3 teenagers. When we sold that boat we started out with our dealer to build a new boat, again with a 115. I ended up with a 150 this time only because they had a boat we wanted in the showroom with the 150 already on it. So it all really just depends on how you plan to use it.
 
Mostly tubing and cruising, maybe a little knee boarding. To add more confusion I thought there was only one 150 but apparently there is also a vmav 150. So when you guys are saying there will be a big diff between the vmax 115 and the 150, are you talking about the normal 150 or the vmax 150
 
You'd be fine with the regular f150.
 
Lakeliving are you a ford guy(f150). I did the same thing about 4 times during this thread and had to retype lol
 
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