Why not a used Azimut?

Of those two I'd stick with Sea Ray. Much better representation (service, parts, dealer support). Good idea staying with the fresh water boats, but remember that brings it's own set of problems; zebra snails and electrolysis, and not as many boats in this range to choose from.

I've managed/maintained 3 different Neptunus and ran about 5 others. There are NO problems with factory support, parts or any of that. Most parts are US sourced parts that are easy to get locally. You call the factory or email and they help you with anything you need instantly (info or parts). Also the guy you get on the phone knows the parts right off of the top of his head. They're a smaller builder with long term employees, and you can talk directly to the various people that built your boat. You have more issues dealing with Marinemax for parts on Searays,

By that logic, wouldn't you always choose a Sea Ray over any other boat?

As to the representation you mention, he's not going to be under warranty or dependent on dealer support and really service and parts are dictated by the equipment and electronics and I believe Neptunus uses about as standard as one can.

You make a very valid point of fresh water issues existing too. Automatically assuming a fresh water boat is in better condition than a salt water boat can lead to trouble. The outdrives of the boats left in the water on the lake we lived on looked as if they'd been kept in salt water, due to the mineral content. I was told two lakes up on the river and closer to the mountains was even more so.

That said, I'd probably choose the Sea Ray simply because I've owned three, although small runabouts.

Be patient in your boat search. The right one is out there and you'll know when you find it.

If you are close to St. Catherines than Neptunus is a good choice. Ship Shape Marine is right in the Welland Canal and they do a lot of work on Neptunus, and launch most of their new boats at their facility. There was a relatively new (mid 2000's) Neptunus 56 at my marina. They had very good luck with it, and it performed well. Parts wise, many things were sized much larger than other brands. Cleats, windlass, railings, stairs, etc, were much larger than a comparable size Carver, Sea Ray, Cruisers, etc. Service from the factory was also very good as others have mentioned.

I once ran a yacht (express) for a very eccentric owner. Him and his buddy were sitting on the aft deck while we were running at 25 knots to the Bahamas. His buddy asked him how much it costs to run the boat, he stood up and pulled out a wad of $100's and started peeling them off and letting them fly into the water and said that much......LOLOLOLOL

Yeah but you own AND live on a boat, so that's double insanity and then work on them for a living, as if you cannot get enough boat. So that's triple insanity hehehehe.

Zud,

I've owned an Azimut, and I enjoyed the boat, but there were some quirky issues with the boat. Search my posts, and you'll get a flavor.

My current boat is less quirky, and most systems were better engineered, including heavier mechanical and electrical systems, That said, when the "better systems" break, they often cost more to fix than the cheaper systems. 10 year old systems break ... there is no free lunch.

If I were buying a boat in that size/age/price range, I'd look at Sea Ray. The systems are probably comparable in quality, but less "quirky", more consistent in design, and Sea Ray is much more apt to use readily available parts/components of US origin. If you have a broken Sea Ray, any reputable yard can find a solution. If your Azimut needs a new refridgerator, you'll be a while trying to find another that fits in the opening, if there is such an animal.

The one big positive I will give to the boat you describe, is the 10 year ownership by the original owner. Assuming the boat has well been cared for, that sounds like a happy boat owner, and I'll bet many of the quirks have been solved. I suspect Azimut built some good boats, and I'm almost certain they built some lemons. I can't imagine an owner holding a lemon for 10+ years. Assuming the price is right, and recognizing that the Azimut brand carries some stigma, I wouldn't completely discount the idea of buying that boat.

Again, I enjoyed mine, and I didn't have an undue number of problems.

All three of these are good boats and choices. As I said before I would keep Sunseeker on the list. These are essentially the four brands that were on our final list. The Viking/Princess and Fairline are designed by the same naval architect, so there is much similarity in the hull design. At the point you are regarding the purchase process, we went to several boat shows to look at new and brokerage versions of the brands of interest. I then traveled to NY, NJ, MD, and Fl and looked in detail at several of each of the used boats of interest and it then became clear what the final choice was. The Ft Lauderdale show has some brokerage boats and several of these brand boats will be for sale in the area as well as in the NY LI region.

Contact the brokers and do a detailed visit of the brand and vintage of boats on your short list. There will be differences that affect what you really want in the end. Be it a larger cockpit, lazarette access, swim platform, cruise speed etc. Also things like AC compressors under your bed or cored hulls (Sea Ray) were not acceptable but we required fresh water vacuum flush heads. You will also get a good feel for how the boats age and which boats were really properly cared for.