This is just plainly misleading; 75% more for a reata than a stratos, I don't think so. Paying cash for one and financing the other for 10-30 years, your not looking at apples to apples and no where did I see anything on resale. I'm not a ranger guy at all, don't and haven't owned one (I like my yar-crafts!) I have no problem of someone defending their purchase but lets not let your brand loyalty of what you own cloud your perceptions.
Just for conversation sake, I just search bisman & walleye central. I found a 14' 386xf for $33k, a 16' 386 xf for 36k, a 12' 386 for $31.5k, and a 15' for $43k. so lets just say you can find a nice lightly used late model with warranty and ready to fish for $35k ish which appears to be a pretty decent deal.
When I searched for an 1850 Ranger Reata, I found a 16' for $42k, a 15' for $45k, and a 13' for $35.5k. lets say you can get into a comparable reata to the 386 for $40k ish which I think if it's apples to apples it would even be closer but I error on your side for a moment.
I see a + or - $5k difference or about 14% more for the Ranger, certainly a long ways from 75% more. So for a person looking to buy, your telling me that they'd be able to pay cash for the $35k stratos but the extra 5k for the ranger would make them finance it for 10-30 years? Obviously they'd be able to put $35k down on the ranger so they'd only be financing 5k, so at most your talking a year or two for financing. The flip side is you'll probably recoup atleast half of that on resale down the road. So in all reality, the real difference in costs between the two isn't but a couple grand or more than about 5% of the purchase price. for that I'll pick the one with a better reputation, better fit and finish, and better ride every time. That resale gap may actually grow larger as the boats age.
I don't mind some friendly boat banter but lets keep it real........
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As far as finding a sparkly boat, I'd first narrow it down to the size and layout that your after, it'll help narrow down which boats you'll be searching for. If you want a 21 footer, after figuring out which boats layouts best suit your use, then age, engine hours, condition and warranty will become the factors. Back the size down to an 18-19 ft rig, the rest of those go up. It's a balance based on your budget. For $50k though, any of the big players in the 18-19 ft realm should be in play either very lightly used, hold over models, or basically new depending on brand, options, motor size, tandem or single axle trailer and so forth. at that dollar, I'd be more concerned with getting the boat that you want and will like versus not if it comes down to a few grand.
