08 AR230 or a 10 SX240?

[MacAR210]

I am about to sell my Sea Ray and going the jet boat route. Don't want to spend the money that a brand new one cost so getting a used one. I've narrowed it down to 2 choices. 08 AR230, and a 10 SX240. Heres the goods/bads of each...

08 AR230
200hrs
orange/white (not exactly crazy about the orange)
upholstery s good except for a few discolored spots
has a tower
will let it go for $21000

10 SX240
160hrs
red/white
upholstery in really good shape except 2 small cigeratte burns on padding
has a nice stereo with amp
does not have a wake tower
has the updated hull/swim platform
will let it go for $26000

both have painted steel trailers in really good shape. The 230 is a little closer to me than the 240 (about a 3hr drive difference each way). Didn't know if it was worth the extra money to get the newer body style and a better looking color. Less hours too. Any thoughts? Currently leaning towards the orange 230 just for price reasons alone but would like to hear current owners thoughts. Thanks!

 

[props2you]

Go big or go home! LOL! Coming out of your 21ft sea ray, likely the 230 won't feel much bigger. The 24 will be worth the extra $5k over the course of your ownership, I know you're seeing that as the upfront, but overtime you will thank yourself later you did go the bigger route. Unless the tower is a deal-breaker, go with the 240, plus it's 2 years newer and still less hours.

 

[Scottintexas]

what will you use the boat for? will you regret not having a tower for boarding/tubing?

08 - the grey diamond upholstery will probably go bad shortly, so be prepared,
the MR1 are engines are louder
for a complete list of known issues for the 08, look at the link in my signature below,

10 - be sure to check the oil cooler bolt,

 

[MacAR210]

The tower isn't a HUGE deal breaker as I figured I can always add one in later. We have never tried to wakeboard anyway. Just doing some family cruising, a little fishing, and pulling the kids on tubes mostely. I thought the AR230 and AR240 were the same size roughly just a name change? Am I Wrong on that? Do both have the same High output engines? Is the AR240 rated to hold more people than the 230?

 

[Livewire]

I thought the 08 AR’s only came in black or red. I’m thinking that it’s faded to orange and could wax it back to red.

 

[MacAR210]

From what I seen online they were available in red, black, orange, and blue. I’ve been in talks with him and he was willing to lower his price to $19000. Hopefully I can pick it up next week!

 

[Livewire]

From what I seen online they were available in red, black, orange, and blue. I’ve been in talks with him and he was willing to lower his price to $19000. Hopefully I can pick it up next week!

Looks great! I totally forgot about the blue boats. I also assumed this boat was faded red. Thanks for the clarification!

 

[swatski]

From what I seen online they were available in red, black, orange, and blue. I’ve been in talks with him and he was willing to lower his price to $19000. Hopefully I can pick it up next week!

That's an effing steal, if the boat is what they say it is!

---

 

[dbrock34]

That's a good looking AR230 That would be my choice especially at that price.

 

[MacAR210]

Hopefully if everything works out I will be picking it up and post some pics of it next week.

 

[MacAR210]

Little delay on getting the boat. One of them “took over payments for my buddy and there is still a lein out for it and titled in his name at the bank” type deals. Told him I don’t care how he does it on his end but I want title for boat and trailer in hand before I buy. Plus now that I’m thinking about it, I really need a galvanized trailer because it will primarily spent most of its time in saltwater. The wheels on the trailer look pretty rusted in some of the pics and in one of them he doesn’t even have a bearing cap on one. Having second thoughts for sure.

 

[zipper]

Orange did exist in 08. My orange 07 grew on me quickly. Love the boat. Mine came with a galv. trailer. Bearing buddies are easy to replace. @Scottintexas has one too and knows all the pros and cons of the AR230s. The 240's are a foot longer with 1.8l engines. It all comes down to getting the best deal you can get. I never thought I would like a tower before we bought ours, now I cant imagine being without it. Good luck. @swatski is right, a steal for that price if it seatrials well.

 

[Bruce]

The 2007 to 2009 230s are incredibly reliable with thicker hulls than newer Yamahas.

The 2010 240 is likely to experience oil cooler bolt issues.

I think you made a wise choice.

 

[MacAR210]

So are 07-09 230s the exact same? If this doesn’t work out with the orange one, I’ll be on the hunt for others. Never bought a boat trailer before so don’t know how much they are. I just have to remember if I keep this boat for a while I’m going to need a galvanized trailer. Have to factor that in to the price.

 

[zipper]

So are 07-09 230s the exact same? If this doesn’t work out with the orange one, I’ll be on the hunt for others. Never bought a boat trailer before so don’t know how much they are. I just have to remember if I keep this boat for a while I’m going to need a galvanized trailer. Have to factor that in to the price.

Other than graphics, more cup holders and speakers, ya same hull and MR-1 engines. AR w/ tower, SX w/o. 232's will have a fresh water shower in addition. Trailers depend if new/used and galv. or alum. Good ones 2-3.5k

 

[Port0222]

The Ar240 was new in 2010 and has a lot of upgraded features. The bow area is a lot bigger and much more functional. But as others have said, I still love my ar230 and while the price to upgrade is not that much, I have not upgraded as the ar230 has been really good to me.

 

[BlkGS]

Deals that sound too good to be true (like that ar230) typically are.

Either way, they are GREAT boats. I love my 07 SX230. If you're just cruising and tuning, the wake tower is just in the way and the ballast bags are pointless. Unless you want tower speakers for a louder stereo.

 

[captainhook]

If you’re boating in saltwater, I would immediately replace a painted trailer. It won’t last long in saltwater and I would only expect a painted trailer to last one season or so. As mentioned above, a galvanized trailer is $2500-35000.

I have a 2008 232 Limited with the same 230 series hull and we love it. I find the layout very functional and I’m not sure what the 240 would add in that regard. The way we use it, a second captains chair would be less functional than the L-shapes bench. The only thing I wish I had was a tower. The 1.8L engines seem nice and are quieter, but I just added two more pairs of speakers and an amp to mitigate the sound issue and the MR-1s are extremely reliable and plenty fast.

The only way I would upgrade is to go to a 2015+ which adds a ton more features but does have some trade offs as mentioned around here a lot. But, a 2015+ brings a lot more cash and it’s very difficult for me to justify with our amount of usage.

 

[Ando]

Got my AR230 about 7 months ago. Couldn't have been happier.

Mine was 140 hours, upgraded Infinity sound system. Upholstery in perfect condition. Paid 23k.

 

[Sccala]

The tower isn't a HUGE deal breaker as I figured I can always add one in later. We have never tried to wakeboard anyway. Just doing some family cruising, a little fishing, and pulling the kids on tubes mostely. I thought the AR230 and AR240 were the same size roughly just a name change? Am I Wrong on that? Do both have the same High output engines? Is the AR240 rated to hold more people than the 230?

Looks like this is an old post and you likely have the boat by now, but in case you are still not clear on your question… Basically the difference between an AR230 and the AR240 is one is 23 feet and one is 24 feet. At some point, and some here… Yamaha change the 23 footer into a 24 footer. That’s basically how I stumbled upon your post… I was trying to figure out in what year that happened, so I can narrow down my search filters for an AR240. That’s basically the rule of thumb on all Yamaha boats. Whenever you see three numbers in a row... for example… SX192, SX195, AR240, AR270… 242SE… Always just take the first two numbers, and that is the length of the boat in feet. The other difference I have noticed is that anything shorter than 24 feet, regardless of the year, it seems that the headspace door is smaller...like, just the flat faced surface of the console opens up, while on the 240 models, The seam of the opening is up above the top curve of the console, making the opening wider and easier for an adult to enter if you want to put a porta potty in there.