Resale Value for a Boat with Extended Warranty

Would you pay more for a boat that still had a factory warranty?

  • Considerable value. Easily worth a higher sale price

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Somewhat valuable, but not worth paying more

    Votes: 10 76.9%

  • Not valuable

    Votes: 1 7.7%

  • Zero value. Warranties like this are a joke

    Votes: 2 15.4%

  • Boats never break.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    13
J

J-Chicago

New Member
Apr 24, 2022
14
Boat Info
2019 250 SDX IO
Engines
IO Mercury Bravo 300
Would you pay a premium for a boat that included SeaRay's factory warranty?

I'm buying a used 2019 SDX 250 from an authorized dealer. The existing warranty will transfer to me till it expires in two years (June of 2024), which covers most parts and labor. There's an option to extend the Sea Ray warranty (called Passport Premier) through June of 2027, but it will cost $5k. I'm not sure it's worth it to me, since I'll be maintaining the boat well.

If I were to sell my boat in, say, March of 2026, would you pay more for a boat that had another year left on the warranty?
 
I just bought this exact boat with the same warranty It was transferred to me and covered to 2024 I did not opt in on the ext warranty for 1 reason I do not keep my boats long enough for the $5k to make sense. I will tell you that looking at this boat and finding out it had a warranty till 2024 we made the deal within the hour of seeing it. It’s a nice selling point but $5k now on this boat in 4 years don’t think you’ll recoup that.
 
I'd want to see the fine print I guess. I'd be willing to bet many things are being prorated by the time you get 7+ years in on an extended warranty.

I'd rather put that $5k in the gas tank. I don't think it adds to resale value, in my opinion.
 
I think it depends on the buyer. I think it would provide piece of mind to someone who is new to boating and is uncertain about repair costs. That isnt most of the people active on this forum, but certainly could be reflective of the larger boat-buying population.

It also depends on the premium relative to the overall coat of the boat. If the boat is $100k and you are asking $2k more because of the warranty, that's not a big deal. If the boat is $25k and you are asking $5k more because of the warranty, that's a little harder.
 
Thanks for the perspective.

My boat has the same paint and top as yours, just i/o instead. Like "brothers from a different mother."
 
I never, ever buy "extended warranties". I kept that money in the bank and used it to put diesel in the boat.

In most situations, especially with a boat, unless you live near a Sea Ray dealer you are going to have to cruise the boat to them. When you factor in the cost of fuel to get it there and back, the extended warranty's value diminishes.

A better plan, IMHO, is to get to know your local marina's service department and especially the manager. I got to be good friends with our local service center, took the service dept staff lunch periodically, took the service dept owner and his wife out to dinner, etc.

That kind of treatment pays huge dividends when you need something fixed.
 
I think it has resale value to more people than not.
I for one do not expect anything warranty to actually be valid when I buy a new vehicle and my experience here in the south is that (in most cases) I don’t want anyone at the dealership touching my new truck / boat / car / jet ski, whatever.
 
J-Chicago said:
Would you pay a premium for a boat that included SeaRay's factory warranty?

I'm buying a used 2019 SDX 250 from an authorized dealer. The existing warranty will transfer to me till it expires in two years (June of 2024), which covers most parts and labor. There's an option to extend the Sea Ray warranty (called Passport Premier) through June of 2027, but it will cost $5k. I'm not sure it's worth it to me, since I'll be maintaining the boat well.

If I were to sell my boat in, say, March of 2026, would you pay more for a boat that had another year left on the warranty?
Click to expand...
I just bought a new 22 SDX 270 and paid $3k for a 8 year passport premier.
 
I probably wouldn't pay extra, but it would make me more likely to bid on it vs. a comparable boat without the warranty.
 
indeep said:
I just bought a new 22 SDX 270 and paid $3k for a 8 year passport premier.
Click to expand...

Your insight was really helpful!

Your price is quite a bit less than I was quoted initially. I've found out that there are additional expanded coverages there were bundled-up in my quote, so I'm curious what you found.

8yr Basic Engine- $2,870.00
30k limit (up from 10k) of liability- add $1,200
Coverage for Wear- add $400
Coverage for failure of Major Castings like engine block and sterndrive housing- add $600.00
 
I was an F&I (Finance and Insurance) guy at an car/RV dealership and am very familiar with extended service contracts/extended warranties (there is a difference!).

They are a HUGE profit maker for the dealership. On our RV ESC's we marked the selling price up $1,000 over what we paid for it for travel trailers and fifth wheel trailers. For motor homes we marked it up somewhere between $2,000 and $5,000 depending on the selling price/size of the motor home.

In a boat, basically the only expensive things that you have are the engines/outdrives/v-drives and transmissions. Electronics and heat/AC units are reasonably expensive to replace but other than that there's not much left that is going to cost a boat buck to replace.

Speaking strictly for myself, I'd rather keep what they want for an ESC in the bank and IF something breaks I have the $$$ there as backup.
 
If it's free, I'll take it! But, I'm not paying more for that.

Tim
 
I never buy warranties, I buy a product. I did some consulting at CarMax many years ago, worked on their warranty systems. That is where I was told they make their money, not on the sale of the car. I can't recall the exact numbers, but they only pay about $200 for the warranty.
 
Your question is more about whether or not you should buy the warranty in regards to whether it will increase the re-sale value down the road to the next buyer, right?

Short answer is 'yes', it could increase the value. But there's way too many variables. However...

Let's say that boat 'A' and boat 'B' are identical in all ways (options/condition/use/etc) except that 'B' still has some factory warranty. In this case, yes, the value of 'B' will be higher. By how much? Hard to say - that comes back to variables, with the potential buyer being the key. It's probably safe to say that 'B' could be worth about $1,000 more. But again, it has to be an apples-to-apples comparison. Once someone brings oranges to the table, all bets are off :) And, in boating, there are always lots of oranges.

Here's the big question... do you LIKE the idea of having the extended warranty? If 'yes', then do it. What I would do makes no difference to you.
 
Lazy Daze said:
Your question is more about whether or not you should buy the warranty in regards to whether it will increase the re-sale value down the road to the next buyer, right?

Short answer is 'yes', it could increase the value. But there's way too many variables. However...

Let's say that boat 'A' and boat 'B' are identical in all ways (options/condition/use/etc) except that 'B' still has some factory warranty. In this case, yes, the value of 'B' will be higher. By how much? Hard to say - that comes back to variables, with the potential buyer being the key. It's probably safe to say that 'B' could be worth about $1,000 more. But again, it has to be an apples-to-apples comparison. Once someone brings oranges to the table, all bets are off :) And, in boating, there are always lots of oranges.

Here's the big question... do you LIKE the idea of having the extended warranty? If 'yes', then do it. What I would do makes no difference to you.
Click to expand...
THIS

If it gives you a warm and fuzzy feel good and is worth the extra $$$, do it. Be prepared for them not covering what you think they should though, and/or nickel and diming you on a covered repair.

I had a "Home Warranty" on a rental property I once owned. The handyman dude they sent out was barely qualified to hammer a nail straight, yet alone work on the HVAC system. But, it probably did save me some money in the long run.
 
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