Good Buy?

[Scott1]

Hi All, been a while. Sold our fountain last week. Time to start wheelin and dealin on a compact cruiser. Here are the "musts" less than 30 ft, single engine, no arch(or folding arch) i would LOVE to have generator and need AC. Found the perfect, i mean perfect, 02 260DA in california. 900 miles away. 67 hrs on 6.2merc.....low gen hrs, trip ax trailer, says fresh water. Doesnt get any better.....except they are high on price b/c behind payments. Talked them down a fair amt.....but........a rinker and a regal are also in the game. Any experience with those brands?

 

[andy k]

I personally think that the 26 sea ray looks the best, my neighbor had a regal in that size and it was so ugly but they do make good boats, Do you have any pics of the sea ray, It sounds like it is in good shape, good luck with the process

 

[Nehalennia]

Hi All, been a while. Sold our fountain last week. Time to start wheelin and dealin on a compact cruiser. Here are the "musts" less than 30 ft, single engine, no arch(or folding arch) i would LOVE to have generator and need AC. Found the perfect, i mean perfect, 02 260DA in california. 900 miles away. 67 hrs on 6.2merc.....low gen hrs, trip ax trailer, says fresh water. Doesnt get any better.....except they are high on price b/c behind payments. Talked them down a fair amt.....but........a rinker and a regal are also in the game. Any experience with those brands?

How much? any pics or ad to look at>?

 

[Ididntdoit]

If they're already behind have them approach their lender about a short sale - I'm sure they rather cut their losses than own another boat - or just wait for it to be repoed and buy it even cheaper from the bank - I don't know how you would track the boat/how long it takes for the boat to show up on the market - option 1 may be the best bet

 

[skolbe]

The Regal and Sea Ray are good comparisions. The Rinker is not the same tier boat. I had a 260 Dancer with a big block and was very happy with it. Regal has a 27' in that era as well that looks very nice.

 

[MeEscape]

Just to give you a sense of the marketplace, a 2007 Sea Ray 300DA with 40 hours, all options, list about 230k, new purchase price in 2007, 155k, asking 124k in September 2008, was just purchased from one of the large nationwide dealers for 75k.

 

[skolbe]

Just to give you a sense of the marketplace, a 2007 Sea Ray 300DA with 40 hours, all options, list about 230k, new purchase price in 2007, 155k, asking 124k in September 2008, was just purchased from one of the large nationwide dealers for 75k.

Was it a repo. I see Marine Max is buying some repo's.

 

[MeEscape]

Divorce, about the same, huh?

 

[barryg]

Though I love my Sea Ray, for a great boat with a retractable arch, look at Doral. They are made well, and have great features including a retractable arch...I had a 25' that I bought and had trailered and enjoyed very much, but wanted a bigger boat, so moved up to the 320 I have now. Also the dealership that handled the service was great in my area.

Good luck in your search..

Barry

 

[sbw1]

One of the local dealers in West Michigan is starting to auction boats. I think we are going to see even lower prices. There is no longer such a thing as an "insulting offer." I believe you should just name a price with check book in hand, and you will be able to purchase a very nice boat at a rock bottom price. The banks are starting to get very reasonable on short sales of homes. They should be the same with boats. I'd start the pricing at 40% of the NADA price and walk if the negotiation goes above 50%.

 

[Kurt]

If I am not mistaken this is the boat he is looking at. http://www.marinemax.com/Page.aspx/.../view/Details/2002-Sea-Ray-260-SUNDANCER.aspx
He is the poster months back that was concerned with having room (height) for the arch of the newer 260's once lifted out of the water on a lift. The older 260's do not have a arch but few have generators. So I think the gen/ac and no arch are a must for him. I think he only has a 10 by 28 slip.

 

[Turtlesboat]

One of the local dealers in West Michigan is starting to auction boats. I think we are going to see even lower prices. There is no longer such a thing as an "insulting offer." I believe you should just name a price with check book in hand, and you will be able to purchase a very nice boat at a rock bottom price. The banks are starting to get very reasonable on short sales of homes. They should be the same with boats. I'd start the pricing at 40% of the NADA price and walk if the negotiation goes above 50%.

what will that get you? the cheapest boat out there. I would rather find the best boat and try to get a good price on it. Most responsible boat owners aren't going to let their boat go for a fire sale price. My view is that whatever you gain on the purchase, you'll make up for in maint, and replacing neglected things.

 

[comsnark]

There is a correlation between "price" and "condition", but in this market I wonder how strong that correlation is.

I bought my boat brokered in great condition. . and the price was lower than a beat up wreak (same year, same options) at a local dealer.

SBW's advice of trying to lowball on a great boat is the conventional wisdom as of recently. I am getting the impression, however, from the boat show threads and the media doom and gloom threads that the sales activity at the boat shows is very high (and not the "I'll offer you 50% of asking price and you WILL LIKE IT") mentality of a few months ago.

- - - - - -

Is a generator and AC a wise set of options in a 260DA? From the various 260 threads I have read on here, I suspect finding a single engined 280DA may be a wiser choice from a stability point of view. Caveat: Never been on a 260DA. View comment with caution.

 

[dpvandy01]

No arch? I'd look at the 1999 thru 2002 270DA. The floor plan is very similar to the 280 and 290 with out the arch. If you want the dedicated dinette and forward berth avoid the SE version as it has a narrower beam.

 

[Bottom Line]

Scott...have you looked at the one on 260DA on Boatcrazy? It was in the Springfield/Branson area. I think I have seen it on that website in the past few weeks...and it was priced 35-40K....but it may not have the options you are looking for. Just a thought....good luck with the hunt....

 

[Scott1]

If I am not mistaken this is the boat he is looking at. http://www.marinemax.com/Page.aspx/.../view/Details/2002-Sea-Ray-260-SUNDANCER.aspx
He is the poster months back that was concerned with having room (height) for the arch of the newer 260's once lifted out of the water on a lift. The older 260's do not have a arch but few have generators. So I think the gen/ac and no arch are a must for him. I think he only has a 10 by 28 slip.

Yup, thats the one. I would be a lot more stoked about it if I didnt have to pay $2-4g's to have it transported back to me. Honestly, the broker involved is probably going to kill the deal. THey have to pay his commission and that could be the transport money i will have to spend.

 

[Groucho]

No arch? I'd look at the 1999 thru 2002 270DA. The floor plan is very similar to the 280 and 290 with out the arch. If you want the dedicated dinette and forward berth avoid the SE version as it has a narrower beam.

YUP..
I loved my 1999 270. If it had a generator I would still have it. Don't get the narrow beam version though. Much less space.

 

[Scott1]

YUP..
I loved my 1999 270. If it had a generator I would still have it. Don't get the narrow beam version though. Much less space.

I really dont want an out of production motor....or one without closed cooling.

I have done a pretty extensive search for a 270 and cannot find a low enough hr one with a gen.

 

[Scott1]

Is a generator and AC a wise set of options in a 260DA? From the various 260 threads I have read on here, I suspect finding a single engined 280DA may be a wiser choice from a stability point of view. Caveat: Never been on a 260DA. View comment with caution.

If i could fit a 280 in my 10' slip I would have gone that direction.

 

[Turtlesboat]

280's beam is 9'5" come on, you can do it.