Got price on new 2008 280 Sundancer

B

Bam073

New Member
Mar 1, 2008
177
Long Island
Dealer trying to sell left over, list well over $150k. Selling for $104k. Twin 4.3L (220hp), alpha ones, windlass, remote spotlight, heat/ac, camper back top. Not much else in terms of equipment (no TV, GPS/chartplotter).

Versus the other boat I've looked at was a 2006 280 Sundancer, 55 hours, twin 4.3L, alpha ones, windlass, remote, heat/ac, bimini top, TV, chartplotter/fish finder. Dealer selling for $89k but I'm hoping to obviously come in with a much better number than that. Only 4 2006s available in all of N.Y. Not much inventory out there. NADA on this boat is in the high 70s.
 
No generator!?
All sounds high priced to me. I mean for what you'll be offered as a trade, or what you can sell your for. I mean the mindset of sales people , "what I have is great, and yours is junk" will sour you. We're all in trouble, but my view point is, give a good deal, get a good deal. NOT, give a good deal, lose you ass on the new boat!!!!!
Just my opinion.
 
You've been upgrading by 2 ft. Why not take the big jump to a 320. You'll keep losing more every time you upgrade.
 
If you buy a boat as big as a 280DA with no generator, you'll be done trading up for 2ft. a year..........you will likely die owning a slow seller like a no generator 280DA.

I'm struggling with the whole value thing as well. You could buy a slightly older, like new, fully serviced 280DA, which is an identical boat for 50% of what the new/leftover mentioned in your post is. That means the Smartcraft one one damned expensive toy.
 
fwebster said:
If you buy a boat as big as a 280DA with no generator, you'll be done trading up for 2ft. a year..........you will likely die owning a slow seller like a no generator 280DA.
Click to expand...

I fundamentally disagree with the gen statement. most if not all of the 280's I've seen in my area don't have gens.. in fact there are 4 plus mine at my marina, none have gens.
 
islandhopper00 said:
No generator!?
All sounds high priced to me. I mean for what you'll be offered as a trade, or what you can sell your for. I mean the mindset of sales people , "what I have is great, and yours is junk" will sour you. We're all in trouble, but my view point is, give a good deal, get a good deal. NOT, give a good deal, lose you ass on the new boat!!!!!
Just my opinion.
Click to expand...

It's not what you have is junk, but think about your statement... if you want his inventory for "a good deal" he will be taking yours in and the next guy will want "a good deal" on your old boat.. So he is only going to offer you what he thinks he can get out of it plus a bit for his margins... it's business. If every one wants top dollar for their trade and only wants to give bottom dollar for their new purchase no one moves any boats. Isn't your argument the exact converse to the dealers;
"what I have is great, and yours is junk"
 
No, I don't have a tremendous mark up on my boat, but you make a good point.
I don't understand why the dealers feel the need to "make money" on both boats. I would think the situation is different between deals. Meaning, if you buy a new boat off the floor, then there is more room for "margin" than if you are buying a trade boat. The dealer needs to move the current year model boat out of the floor plan. You want a new boat. In good times, who cares, in bad times, they just need to move boats. If they don't "make money" on the trade, they "made money" on the sale of the new boat. It's not "our" problem how long he has to carry the inventory, hence I would think the dealers would write the deal low for low.

I wish we didn't have to "negioate" to get a fair price. I mean if the manafacturers would list a "REAL" fair market MSRP, then there wouldn't be so much crap in buying boats or cars. It's all about how much you'll let a dealer beat you up, or how little patients a certain person has to deal with negioations. I can't imagine anyone paying msrp, so you have to figure out what percentage to knock off. 30%, 40%, 50%!!!!!!! What is it today. I just want to buy a boat at a fair price and not get screwed. I'd bet most people feel this way.



Added: When I bought my boat, "Half Off" rubbed in my nose how he got half off his boat, and why did I pay so much for mine. Must have been the expensive trailer!
Half Off I'm not picking on you, nor was I offended, and I was happy for you. You made a much better deal than I did, and I'm paying for it now.
 
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That does sound a bit high. We bought a new 2007 280DA loaded last year in a better economy for not much more than you stated. We just traded for a 2008 310DA last week. We took a little beating on the trade but on the new boat SR is offering incentives that are pretty attractive. If your dealer is worth his salt he can get SR to increase the incentives. They doubled them on our deal. With the increased incentive, I don't feel as bad about my trade. Good Luck
 
islandhopper00 said:
Added: When I bought my boat, "Half Off" rubbed in my nose how he got half off his boat, and why did I pay so much for mine. Must have been the expensive trailer!
Half Off I'm not picking on you, nor was I offended, and I was happy for you. You made a much better deal than I did, and I'm paying for it now.
Click to expand...

If memory serves me correct, the expensive trailer remark was in response to a post from you. No rubbing intended.
 
I got really screwed in my deal when i bought it new....but lesson learned....I am never buying new ever again.
 
"I fundamentally disagree with the gen statement. most if not all of the 280's I've seen in my area don't have gens.. in fact there are 4 plus mine at my marina, none have gens."

Disagree if you like, that is your perrogative. Understand, however, that owning a boat like a 280DA without a generator means you very likely are limiting your resale ability to only lake boaters in climates where air conditioning isn't needed. Thanks to the internet and sites like BOE, ebay and yachtworld.com boat searches are no longer limited to local advertising mediums........they are national and even international. I just wouldn't spend $100K on a boat that I could only sell or get rid of to very small portion of the potential market.
 
In January of 2008, there was 2008 280 dancer at the Phoenix boat show with twin 5.0's BIII's, very nice powder coated 3 axle trailer, gen, air, camper canvas, windlass, upgraded sound, etc. They were rolling 129K pretty readily to lookers. I'm sure it could have been negotiated a bit lower for a serious buyer (it did not sell).

I'd look for the gen as well. While it is not necessary to every buyer, they are expensive to add and therefore boats with no gen are deal breakers for a good number of buyers.
 
When you consider buying any boat consider it's potential resale selling points also. Any Cruiser has a much better chance on the used market if it has a generator. It also should have closed cooling engines and a macerator. When I looked at the potential to sell my 260DA this past year I realized I was fighting an uphill battle because my 260 has none of these features. Rght now there is a glut of many late model Sundancers on the used market and with the choices one has there is no reason not to pick one with the most options. That means that I have automatically limited my re-sale potential substantially and the only way to make my boat "atractive" for a quick sale is to price it much much lower than everyone elses boat.

And I am particulary sorry I don't have a generator because I would use it a lot.
 
I agree with you all concerning resale value, especially with my track record in getting out of boats. I think if we paid $104k for this boat and I didn't hold on to it for at least 3 or 4 years I wouldn't be married anymore.

I also agree with dpvandy. None of the boats I've looked at on Long Island that were 280s have generators in them. There is only one Marine Max dealer on the entire island and they do not equip them with generators. For me although it would certainly be a nice to have it's not essential. Our use for power would be mostly limited to being on the hook. That's not to say I wouldn't want if I can find one with it.

Dave I'm starting to have the same feeling as you. Being so upside down in my trade may steer me to hold on to my boat for a while. At least until I find the boat that's right for me. I'm cringing over the fact of having to write a check (or finance) over $15k in negative equity.
 
In my case, buying new was an excellent move. I was in a 2005 Meridian 381 sedan bridge up in SE Michigan. When we had our daughter, that boat was fine until she learned how to crawl/walk.

There is little else in the world that would make me as uncomfortable as knowing she was below, sleeping and I was at the helm driving the boat. Sure, there were baby gates, childproof doorhandles and a very poorly engineered sliding glass door out of the salon that took gorilla strength to open, but still the worry was there that she might wander out.

That ruined the experience for us, to the point where the boat was rarely used. So, I talked to my dealer about my concerns and we started looking for an Express so that I could maintain a positive visual over the entry and exit of the cabin.

In my case, I traded in for a nicer, albeit smaller, 2008 330, and it's been great. Even financing the negative equity of the previous boat, my monthly payments were reduced because of the interest rates.

FYI, the 330 didn't come stock with a genny, but the dealer got one installed since my last boat had it and I got spoiled. Now that I'm down in FL, I can't imagine life without it. It's nice on a hot day's raft off to go take a catnap in an ice cold cave floating on the water, LOL.

I'll never own a boat without a genny - unless of course, we're talking about a fishing boat or something utilitarian like that. They really help with having creature comforts, and even make it a no brainer to work remotely off the boat if you'd like to take a day 'off'.

In this market, time is on your side. Check into a re-fi to lower your current payment, and set up an RSS feed (if avail) on the various for sale websites, i.e. yachtworld so you can be kept abreast of any new listings. There's more boats than owners right now, and that's likely to remain for a while, so don't rush into anything. The perfect one is out there.
 
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Have you ever considered that maybe the only 280's you can find are ones without generators is because no one wants to buy them, and the 280's with gen sets have already sold? Maybe....

Do you need a gen, no.

Is it nice to have one on hot days or when at anchor, yes. And it does get hot in NY/NJ in the summer, as hot as it is here in FL.

Is it easier to sell when needed, IMO, yes.
 
If you look around there are definetly alot of good deals to be had out there. Skipper Buds which is more in the Great Lakes area had a few 2007 320's brand new. We looked at the numbers on a pewter hulled with 6.2's and was loaded with most options including a gen and the initial price they showed us at the Chicago show was $128k. That was their first price and they had plenty more, some white hulled and some 5.7ltrs.
 
In searching for a 280 with a Gen in the northeast, you won't find many. I did take a ride in one that had one and it rode butt heavy. Add a few people sitting (aft port) and you really take a hit in performance. With a 100 gallon tank, genny sucking juice and adding weight, you need to go with a bigger power package which sucks more juice, that adds even more weight to the butt which requires more tabs which sucks more juice. Your ride and range have taken a huge blow, All for a couple of nights A/C on the hook in Aug, You pack all that into the ER and you have to be an Ethiopean midget to work in there. . The water up here is cold, A/C isn't required. On the few nights you do want it, We stay at a marina with shore power. If I were in Florida, I would take the hit to have A/C, But I would go with a bigger boat to fit all that in there too.
 
papogator24 said:
You've been upgrading by 2 ft. Why not take the big jump to a 320. You'll keep losing more every time you upgrade.
Click to expand...

The conversation has shifted to generators, but I wanted to bring this up again. I was just at the Detroit boat show - and what a huge difference between the 280 and the 320. I know the price is quite a bit more too, but you may want to consider either keeping yours for a while until you can make that jump, or buy an older one. My 2 cents, that's all.
 
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