Might have found the one... offer help, please!

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Price is not that easy to set or determine unless you are in the business of selling and have access to sold boat data. When we sold the Tiara, I had a price in mind based upon feedback from a friend who works at the factory. Then I spoke with a broker who sells lots of boats to get his take. To my surprise he explained that my boat had appreciated in value by $50,000 over the past 5 years and provided the reasons why. I asked him if I could raise my price $5,000 to add a little negotiating cushion. He recommended against that saying the phone does not ring if the price is not right. So I went with his price and sold the boat on Monday after listing it the Saturday before. I watch the selling prices now for 3200s and have yet to see a boat go for more than my sale price. The gas vs. diesel pricing idea did not hold up. Mine had 8.1s and outsold all the other boats even those with diesels and a year or two newer. Condition is also very important. Moral of the story? Talk to someone who successfully sells boats and get the price right. I would be very sceptical of a boat such as the one being discussed in this post. If the price is higher than all the other similar boats, it is probably not the right price. Also, boats that sell at a premium are in Bristol condition, or sold to buyers who do not have an understanding of the market. Talk to a trusted expert as a part of doing your due diligence.
 
More great insight, thanks sbw!

This boat is indeed in very good condition and I doubt anything substantial will come up during survey or see trial. The listing broker is on the younger side but appears to know his stuff. I’ll try to get a better idea when we meet next about how they came up with a figure to list at. Might ease things a bit.

A close friend of mine is a former senior executive for Sea Ray and has recently found work up this way closer to family. He’s no longer in the boat business but is willing to take a closer look with me as well. Like most of us, he’s a total boating nerd/enthusiast and I know he wouldn’t steer me wrong.

Whenever this is all said and done I’ll be excited to share pics of whatever it is we end up. I look forward to helping out another newb like myself someday. Thanks again!
 
We looked at several 48 DB, 42 DA and 42/44 DB when we were shopping over a year ago. From what i can tell those boats that were priced at the higher end of the market were still listed over a year later. Based on the sellers motives you'd be surprised what they will take when push comes to shove. I had sellers reach back out to me 6 months later willing to drop the price even though we didn't make offers. I only say this to prove my point that eventually the sellers who are over priced come to reason when they see that they are getting no offers or lowered offers. Keep in mind most buyers are not willing to over pay for a pristine boat as these toys tend to not appreciate in value. If you have actually been on similar listed boats and can compare price and condition I wouldn't be afraid of making an offer that was fair even if it was well below asking.
 
All of the advice above is good, but
I think you already have the most important concept - don't pay more than the boat is worth TO YOU. There are plenty of people out there who always have their boat on the market, hoping some sucker will come along and pay for the seller's next boat. Don't waste time with them. Do your research, determine what you think the boat is worth, make an offer, move on. If your offer is out of line the broker can come back with comps, and that may help educate you but it doesn't have to change your mind. As others have said, dont get emotional.and don't fall in love.

I placed offers on three different boats before buying our current boat. I had highly researched the market, knew every listed boat in the midwest for that year range and model, had been watching the market for about 18 months so I knew what the list price ranges should be. One offer was accepted but the boat didnt survey satisfactorily (engines, not something I could have known when I looked at the boat). On the other two the seller just had a higher value of their boat than i did. I watched as both those boats sat for a long time after my offer.

In the end, I ended up buying a larger size than I had planned, and ended up with a much nicer boat than any of the others I had put offers in on. Dont be afraid to walk away if you cant get the right deal.
 
So here is some data for you on boats I was researching last fall.
Sold prices averaged 8-12% less than the listing prices. Range was like 2%-20%.
A few had steep discounts of 40% or more and I assumed some issue was found on those boats.
 
Golfman25 said:
So here is some data for you on boats I was researching last fall.
Sold prices averaged 8-12% less than the listing prices. Range was like 2%-20%.
A few had steep discounts of 40% or more and I assumed some issue was found on those boats.
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Of the reported sales, of course, which would only be brokered boats?
 
We saw the boat... all in all it’s in very good condition. Boat looks like the owner takes very good care of her inside and out.

Cockpit carpet and sun pad need to be redone. Bottom paint could use a touch up in a couple of small spots. Otherwise there aren’t any major issues from the outside looking in.

We have some pondering to do. In the end, if we choose to make an initial offer at 20% less than asking price is that considered acceptable or are we looking to get laughed at?
 
We’reThere said:
We saw the boat... all in all it’s in very good condition. Boat looks like the owner takes very good care of her inside and out.

Cockpit carpet and sun pad need to be redone. Bottom paint could use a touch up in a couple of small spots. Otherwise there aren’t any major issues from the outside looking in.

We have some pondering to do. In the end, if we choose to make an initial offer at 20% less than asking price is that considered acceptable or are we looking to get laughed at?
Click to expand...

It's tough to offer objective feedback on your offer without any details of the boat in question.

I paid 10% less than list for my 400DA in 2018. In hindsight, he would have taken less. At the time she was the lowest list freshwater 400 on the Great Lakes of this body style...and she surveyed "above average". Don't know if that helps? For all I know you're looking at a 2018 65 Azimut :)
 
Stee6043 said:
It's tough to offer objective feedback on your offer without any details of the boat in question.

I paid 10% less than list for my 400DA in 2018. In hindsight, he would have taken less. At the time she was the lowest list freshwater 400 on the Great Lakes of this body style...and she surveyed "above average". Don't know if that helps? For all I know you're looking at a 2018 65 Azimut :)
Click to expand...


I wish! Something a bit more modest... I always appreciate the feedback.

I’ll keep everyone updated.
 
We’reThere said:
... and over $50k more than a pristine one year older model that has less time on it and is identical in options and layout... If push comes to shove we are willing to make the 10 hour drive to look at the one year older model....
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Maybe I'm in a lower tax bracket than you are, but a 10 hour drive is worth $50k to me. :)
 
We’reThere said:
We saw the boat... all in all it’s in very good condition. Boat looks like the owner takes very good care of her inside and out.

Cockpit carpet and sun pad need to be redone. Bottom paint could use a touch up in a couple of small spots. Otherwise there aren’t any major issues from the outside looking in.

We have some pondering to do. In the end, if we choose to make an initial offer at 20% less than asking price is that considered acceptable or are we looking to get laughed at?
Click to expand...
I think it depend where in the market the boat is priced. Look at boat trader and yachtworld to get some idea of the pricing. If he's at the high end, then 20% may not be a problem. If he's at the lower end, then I would expect less reduction. Good luck.
 
Golfman25 said:
I think it depend where in the market the boat is priced. Look at boat trader and yachtworld to get some idea of the pricing. If he's at the high end, then 20% may not be a problem. If he's at the lower end, then I would expect less reduction. Good luck.
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It’s the highest priced of its kind in the country... hoping that helps in our favor.
 
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What is the model actually selling for in your market? That is what your offer should be.
 
Pulled the trigger and made an offer... now we wait. Thanks for all of the advice everyone! I’ll keep everyone updated.
 
We came to terms on a deal. I think we ended up at a fair price in the end. Survey and Sea Trial are this Thursday.

The boat only has about 250 hours and I really wanted to get compression test done for peace of mind. Unfortunately I can’t find a mechanic that’s not 3-4 weeks out on work right now.

How comfortable would you all be to pass on the compression test assuming everything looks ok on sea trial? The boat is in very good condition from what I’ve seen and was professionally maintained by an “open checkbook” owner.
 
Are you not able to do it? They're pretty easy.
 
If it were my boat I’d have no problem doing it... but I don’t own it yet. Once it’s ours I have no problem running through and checking them/replacing plugs... My only hang up is at that point if there is a problem it’s mine to deal with.

I’m leaning towards just taking the gamble assuming sea trial doesn’t show any apparent problems.
 
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