Lowrance LMS vs Elite 5

[Ozark88]

I am still looking at purchasing a fish finder. I have kind of been leaning towards an older LMS 300 or 500 series units. Some are used and some are new. Question is this for you Lowrance guys, new in the box LMS units are selling for 450 to 500 bucks or maybe even a little more. Some of the used ones are going for that much as well. Typically they include transducer, external intennae, bracket etc...
Question is for a little more money or in some cases some money I can probably get an Elite 5 unit. I haven't heard a whole heck of alot about the Elite 5's and was wondering if they are that much of a step from the LMS series?

[CrappiePappy]

A lot would depend on what a LMS 300 or 500 is capable of doing vs which Elite 5 unit you compare it to. There are several different E5 models.

If you want to look over the discussion we're having on my Elite 5DSI ... it's a sticky at the top of the page. There's also been some threads on Elite 5x's, if you look back thru the pages of this forum. You also might find some threads at the very bottom of this page, under the Similar Threads banner.

I don't know about you, but when I looked for info about LMS 300 units, most of what I could find told me that they were no longer in production, parts were pretty much non-existant, and Lowrance no longer supported or fixed them. I did see a LMS 527c ( LOWRANCE LMS-527c DF IGPS BOAT SONAR / GPS COMBO | eBay ) on eBay @ $545. At that price range, you're on a equal footing (moneywise) with most of the Elite 5 series units. What you want the unit to be able to do, how you intend to use it, and where you intend on placing it in the boat are questions you'll need to consider before choosing ANY unit. IMHO

... cp

[Ozark88]

Will be putting the unit on the bow. Thanks for your reply.