Boat is up far sale -- looking for advice

Zach312

Zach312

Active Member
SILVER Sponsor
Jan 23, 2011
825
Nashville, TN
Boat Info
2008 Sea Ray 47 Sedan Bridge
Engines
Cummins QSC-600
We just got our 380 sundancer listed for sale.

http://clubsearay.com/showthread.php/69198-380-Sundancer-*upgrades*-139-900

I am looking for thoughts/advice on how to get her sold quicker. We have set our sights on either a 40 or 44 sundancer.

Local brokers haven' proven very helpful, we do have some flexibility in our pricing.

Great boat and we love the upgrades we want to travel longer distances so would like to move to a boat with diesels and lift.
 
Do you have it currently listed with a broker? If so, have they done a comparative analysis of the actual sold price of same model boats that have sold in the last year through soldboats.com? That should give you an idea as to whether it is priced right. You can't just go by what people are listing them for.
 
Slow time of year to sell but if you price it right (lower than if in the spring) it may sell much more quickly.
 
It comes down to price, condition and proximity to buyers. In general, you can buy a lot of boat these days very cheap. Well below book value.
 
I can only tell you what I've heard. We spent a few months searching for our current boat and pulled the trigger on a '97 400DA over the summer. All of the brokers and dealers I spoke with said they practically have waiting lists of people looking for late-90's diesel powered boats. But they all complained about not being able to move gas powered 38'-40' Dancers on the Great Lakes. I'm not sure if it's excess inventory or a change in consumer demand, but right now it seems that buyers are willing to pay more for diesels. Your upgrades are fantastic, and you've done an amazing job making your boat look absolutely stellar. But in the boating market right now, unfortunately, you're probably going to have to drop the price.

Remember that buyers are cross-shopping your boat with late-90's 400s and early 2000's 410s. A nicely maintained example with 8.1s can be had in the high $90's and a moderately maintained example with diesels can be had for the low $100's. Even though yours is in bristol condition, you'll probably still have to price yours to compete for those buyers.
 
I have a friend with a 98 400 with cats ,650 hrs brokered at Kelly marine in bay city mi. they are asking 142,000
 
I hope he gets his asking price!
 
Slow time of year combined with boat being overpriced. Good friend of ours who is a dock neighbor had a 2001 380 like yours. This past June which is prime buying season sold his for around $100k and he had $35,000 of upgrades done in the past 2 years. Boat was as pristine as they come. I know we hate to hear this stuff buy telling how it is for gas boats your size.

our boat is also for sale without a sniff. But will wait until February to see if we get any action. Good luck.
 
One of the premiere dealerships in our area had a 2001 380 for sale for almost a year. They started asking somewhere around $130k and it finally sold for just over $100k.
 
Thanks good info. As I mentioned we have some flexibility on price and understand we are not going to get the money back that we put into it.

I assumed we are priced on the high side but I always believe it is easier to lower my price than raise it. What would some of you suggest as a starting price?
I get that this boat will be compared to other 98-03 38/40/41 sundancers.

Not currently listed with a broker, Marine Max is only local broker, I have been far less than impressed with their services.

Thanks for the offers on the older 40's but the admiral and I are looking for 06 and newer. The must have's are lift, diesel power, cockpit heat and air, and hard top. If we can go bigger than our current boat that's great but we love the size of the 38 so we are open to the 06/07 40 sundaners as they are close to the same 'foot print' (LOA and Beam) as the older 38.
 
Let us know what you finally sell it for.
Sold lots of things over time and have found too high a price results in getting less that could have been expected if it was priced at market value. Up grades generally do not get you more just a quicker sale. Any way that is how it is in Canada.
Good luck
 
I think your asking price is reasonable. For comparison, I had our 360DA with the same engines as yours listed for $119K out of the gate, then down to 109, and finally sold for 89. I had ALOT of upgrades on her, including an M3 sat dish and lots of engine room things most people dont even understand - or care. i felt her sold her low, but that is boating. We had a new boat coming, so i think i could have got more if we waited a little longer. Anyway, your boat is bigger, and you are not pressed for time, so you are in the driver seat.
 
northern said:
Let us know what you finally sell it for.
Sold lots of things over time and have found too high a price results in getting less that could have been expected if it was priced at market value. Up grades generally do not get you more just a quicker sale. Any way that is how it is in Canada.
Good luck
Click to expand...

This is all good advice and are universal sales concepts along with the first offer is usually the best offer.

MM
 
Nice looking '02 on Ebay right now 109K
 
We are only looking at 2005 or newer. Bigger is always nice but we do like the space of our 380 so we are looking at 06/07 40 or 44 sundancers. We both love the 48 but it gets to expensive for this point in our lives.

The must have are

hydraulic lift
Diesel power
Cock pit heat/air
 
I'm looking to upgrade too. 38-42 footer w/diesels. In most the great lakes fuel pumps are available every 15-25 miles so I would guess part of the attraction to diesel is the lesser gallons burned. For myself I'm looking to expand my boating area to where fuel pumps get scarce and am wanting the increase range over the gas boats.

As for the OP's boat, I think it's priced in diesel boat territory. Here's a recent for sale by a CSR member of probably an equally nice boat, another '01 380DA but w/diesels, which one gets your attention? http://clubsearay.com/showthread.php/65327-2001-380-Sundancer-Diesel Let's not confuse things with it's a salt water boat, a good boat is a good boat.

It looks to me that a pretty large price reduction is what's needed to get some phone calls and a quick sale probably means around 100K or a little less. That's just the way it is now, just remember with some good shopping your going to find the same kind of deal on your new boat.
 
Have you considered trading it in on your next purchase? Obviously you'll take a bath on the price. But depending on your state sales tax and other tax considerations, you might be able to make up a portion of the loss with what you'll save on taxes. With the price of these boats, you could be saving anywhere from $5k-$10k in taxes by making the trade.
 
Its an option. MN doesn't have any sales tax on used boats unless purchased through a dealership.

Locally Marine Max doesn't have anything the own we would be interested in.

It isn't that easy to find a 06/07 40 or 44 with diesels and a lift.

We don't need to sell ASAP but would like to have our boat sold by spring. We have flexibility on the price. I hesitate to list with local brokers as all of my fellow dock mates have no had poor experiences.
 
Trading is easier but you'll take a big bath. What will waiting to next spring cost you, maybe storage costs, insurance costs, the effects of 6-9 months more depreciation. Add to that the possible brokerage fees. All this is money leaving your pocket. I'd total it all up and use it for a sound reason to lower price, make your boat stand out amongst the others, and move it now like you'd prefer. What you end up with in the end is the important part.
 
I can only speak for myself. And I'm on the younger end of the spectrum looking to buy boats in this size range. But I did ALL of my research and searching on BoatTrader, YachtWorld, Craigslist, and Ebay. I didn't even speak to one single dealer or broker until I had basically already picked out the boat I wanted. So I would suggest, whatever you do, get it on all of the websites and make sure it's being advertised to everyone in the entire Great Lakes region. You aren't trying to make someone local want to buy your boat; you're trying to find that one buyer who already wants your boat. And the internet is a huge resource.
 
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