What did you/ should you actually pay?

OnTheReel

New Member
Jun 19, 2010
41
Racine WI, Lake Michigan
Boat Info
1986 210CC
1985 300DA
Engines
350 Mercruisers on all
I have been browsing quite a bit for new boat here on Lake Michigan. Generally looking at late 90s- early 2000s 30-34 foot inboard cruising/ fishing boats (1997+ 330 express/340 AJ is one at the top of my list)

One thing that puzzles me is the pricing on a lot of these boats. Often times the listed price is almost double the "low retail" NADA value. Even for a clean freshwater boat that seems excessive, especially since one I'm looking at has 1500+ hours on the engines. Almost all of the boats are listed by brokers, some have been on the market more than a year. Is it their policy to shoot for the moon on prices and stay firm? Is there a resource that shows what they are actually selling for?

Also curious as to what represents a fair offer on these? Is there a good percentage off to start at? My gut is saying 20% off list, at least, and assuming everything is perfect on the boat. I'd be a cash buyer so I would think that helps with leverage.

Sorry for the rambling post. Any inputs on your past experiences dealing with brokers/ buying boats of this size & price range will be appreciated.
 
I'll bite.

My current 420ac was initially listed at $170k then lowered to $150.

I purchased for $120k.

A buddy just bought a 2002 Carver 444. It was listed at $165k and he got it for $95k.

Another buddy just bought a 99 Carver 356 in gas. It was listed at $60k and was lowered to $50k. He bought it for $35k on the first offer.


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NADA is a poor resource to gauge value for larger boats. Take a look at BUC http://www.buc.com/ Or better yet, have a boat broker provide you with the sold boat data for the model you are interested in.

That said, those guides are just that guides. The care and maintenance of the boat will dictate its actual value. A boat that sold 20k below market may have been neglected and in need of many repairs.
 
Have a look in Ontario. Toronto is good place to look then try Kingston. A spring road trip might find you what you want. US dollar is up Ontario is slow. Prices have to be down. When I was looking for a boat in 2004 boats in Toronto were less than ones in the west.
On a trip last summer to Ontario I saw a 30 foot mid 90 express cruiser with new twin (2 year old 75 hours) 4.3 V6s and new legs for 14K CDN. Canvas was good but boat needed a 5K detail and hull scrape and paint. Boat was in a small marina we were just walking the docks looking at boats.
 
Have a look in Ontario. Toronto is good place to look then try Kingston. A spring road trip might find you what you want. US dollar is up Ontario is slow. Prices have to be down. When I was looking for a boat in 2004 boats in Toronto were less than ones in the west.
On a trip last summer to Ontario I saw a 30 foot mid 90 express cruiser with new twin (2 year old 75 hours) 4.3 V6s and new legs for 14K CDN. Canvas was good but boat needed a 5K detail and hull scrape and paint. Boat was in a small marina we were just walking the docks looking at boats.

Ontario is slow? News to me. Boat prices are way up here.


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Bop
Good to see a turn around so quick form last summer.
Nice to get on the spot up to date information.
When I looked at the 30 footer other people said their boats were less than those in the west one person with a 39 footer was considering shipping it to Vancouver to sell as he could get more and the shipping would more than pay for the increase in price.
 
I'll relate my personal experience. Once we decided exactly what we wanted, the search started. Obviously started with yachtworld and boattrader. Bunch of 380DA's on there at any given time, so it was easy to figure out a range. I was trying to stick with fresh water only, so that narrowed things down considerably. Turned out that patience was key. Found one that had under 300 hours, owner was too old to use it, kids didn't want to pay for storage, and it was at the end of the season. Most comps were in the 100-115k range, and we got it for 77.

Quick cash always talks though.
 

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