Used searay pricing

[38P6]

We have decided to sell our 1995 240 sundeck. The only place I have found to help me determine the price is Nada. The problem with with Nada is the list of options is very basic. For instance I have two bimini tops and a factory camper enclosure that has never been used that goes with the boat. Are there any other sites that can help me determine a fair asking price? The boat has low hours and is probably in better shape than most 5 year old boats in Florida.

 

[Traillblazer]

I just bought my Sundeck last year. I did A LOT of research when buying a boat. I paid 5k more for mine than what I could have bought one in another state. Finding a 24' open bow used is next to impossible around here. Your location and what other boats are for sale in your area will have a large influence on your price. I had a brand new 25' tritoon. I sold it for $27k, and NADA only valued it at $11k.

 

[38P6]

It took me a year to find this one in Florida, most boats here have rotted and moldy interiors. I also only see hurricane deck boats in this area. I really hate to sell it, it's in such nice condition and is a ton of fun but we recently bought a restaurant and we just don't have time to use it like we used to. I used to get on it a couple of times a week, now it's maybe once every two weeks. We decided to downsize to a smaller fishing boat that we can keep at home instead of at the marina.

 

[Lazy Daze]

Older boats are always tough to gauge, in terms of what is a fair price. Partly for the reason you mentioned regarding the condition that yours is in, compared to most. On the flip side, the styling of that boat (as opposed to the slightly newer hulls with a full windshield) will be a deterrent to some people. That's not to say that there aren't buyers out there, but it will simply eliminate some of them. So just be careful with your comparison pricing if you're comparing to the newer style 240SD.

In regards to the bimini tops/enclosures (which should be listed in the options of the NADA guide), you can use the values for a latter year to better represent the condition vs value, just disclose that to a potential buyer so everything is on the "up and up". Keep in mind that some buyers won't care about a bimini or enclosure, so be prepared for that (in regards to pricing). However, when it comes to boats of this age, NADA often times doesn't matter. What it really comes down to is what other "comparables" are out there and their pricing. It's a big boat and offers a lot of space, so that can help... but then that might also eliminate some potential buyers who want to trailer and don't have a big enough vehicle.

In the end... probably the best thing you can do is look around your area for other, comparable, boats for sale and use your best judgement for pricing. Try to keep your search limited to within a few hours of you. People looking for a boat in the price range that your boat will be in typically aren't going to travel very far to buy a boat. For example, I'm in PA and what a boat might sell for here wouldn't really impact what one sells for near you. A select few might travel a distance, but most will not. I wouldn't go too much higher than other boats - regardless of condition, you don't want to scare people away.

Another factor to consider is how quickly you need/want to sell the boat.

 

[Bob & Sue]

Just to add what Dennis stated make sure to list all positives & personally I would also list any known defects ie ding in gel coat when someone comes to look at it their going to look for every negative they can find to get a lower price. Hard to haggle over a defect you already disclosed. With photos make sure to take plenty don't use stock photos. When I look at something if the photos don't represent the item I'll just walk away.

As far as pricing if the purchaser is going to finance it the lender will either go off NADA or a survey for loan value, you may want to contact a couple lenders to find out how much they'll lend.

I just ran the NADA pricing on our boat it came in just where I expected it to.

 

[38P6]

Just to add what Dennis stated make sure to list all positives & personally I would also list any known defects ie ding in gel coat when someone comes to look at it their going to look for every negative they can find to get a lower price. Hard to haggle over a defect you already disclosed. With photos make sure to take plenty don't use stock photos. When I look at something if the photos don't represent the item I'll just walk away.

As far as pricing if the purchaser is going to finance it the lender will either go off NADA or a survey for loan value, you may want to contact a couple lenders to find out how much they'll lend.

I just ran the NADA pricing on our boat it came in just where I expected it to.

I am pretty anal about my stuff and try to keep everything as new as possible. I also always disclose any problems I know about up front, I have been screwed in the past and I would never do that to somebody. I sold my last boat to the first person who looked at it because it was in way better shape than any other similiar boat for sale. I got a good deal on the boat I have now and then I did some upgrades and went through everything to try to make it as nice and reliable as possible. I just want to price it fair for me and the next owner and I want to sell it in a reasonable time frame so I can start shopping for my next boat.

 

[fwebster]

I think anyone selling a boat today is facing a double or even multiple edged sword called the internet. Used buyers are well researched and know why is on the market…..and that is a good thing. The bad thing is that buyers look at listing sites like Boat Trader or yachtworld.com and they start shopping at the bottom of the list at the cheapest boats. Those of us selling clean used boats, therefore, must struggle with that price bias from the time the phone first rings…….."I see 5 boat offered for 1/2 of what you are asking, so I'm going to look at those first. Only after they burn up the phone and lots of miles, to they come to the realization that new canvas and new cockpit upholstery is going to cost about 1/2 what the boat really worth.

If you want price guidance, stay away from NADA. Their system uses statistical algorithms to compute prices by filling in missing data for years/options where there is no current information. There is a site called soldboats.com which is a part of yachtworld.com that reports actual sales of yacht world listings. IT is a subscriber site available only to yacht world members who subscribe to it. You can get any local broker to look up your boat and tell you what comparable boats have recently sold for, or, there are several CSR members who have access to both sites and perhaps they can help you. But, a 20 year old smaller boat isn't the core business of yachtworld.com so use it only as a guide.

The other thing you must face is that a used boat buyer is expecting decent canvas and upholstery, shiny gelcoat, no scratches or scrapes. If your boat is such an example, you might expect to get somewhere near the top of the recent sales for such a boat. However, it likely won't bring a premium over recent historical sales for the same model.

 

[Robf]

Thought the comments were interesting due to my recent experience. I currently have an offer pending survey on a 2004 390 MY, and when I went to check into financing, the banks would not lend near what the asking price was on this particular boat, or any offered for sale for that matter. The banks are using either NADA or BUCS, neither of which were even within reason of what these models are going for. I ended up putting in more as a percentage than I planned and the seller came off their price to make it work. Seems the banks should be using more market driven information in valuing collateral, however, I guess they taking the ultra conservative approach!
Rob

 

[fwebster]

Look at the loan to value relationship from the other side of the table. The industry went from very aggressive lending practices where 95% loans on purchases and sometimes more than 100% loans on trades, were common place to having only 1 lender making boat loans with never more than 80% loan to value in about 6 weeks time. For quite a while the scrutiny on borrowers was so stringent that nobody was interested in going thru it.

The reason is simple....the market was flooded with used repossessed boats and the banks took it in the shorts to clean up their non-performing loan portfolios. If I were in banking the last thing I would do would be to loan more than low wholesale value on a used boat. If you had any loan options I think you are probably lucky.

 

[mjmason1]

I look at boats all the time, looking for my next one. The prices are always negotiable. The thing that bugs the heck out of me is sellers that use old pictures when the boat was perfect, or have pictures that show areas that are a mess. They don't pick up before pictures. If you want to sell it as neat and clean picture it neat and clean.

 

[Woody]

Thought the comments were interesting due to my recent experience. I currently have an offer pending survey on a 2004 390 MY, and when I went to check into financing, the banks would not lend near what the asking price was on this particular boat, or any offered for sale for that matter. The banks are using either NADA or BUCS, neither of which were even within reason of what these models are going for. I ended up putting in more as a percentage than I planned and the seller came off their price to make it work. Seems the banks should be using more market driven information in valuing collateral, however, I guess they taking the ultra conservative approach!
Rob

What % down payment did it take?

 

[Z-Worthy]

What % down payment did it take?

Anecdotal stories around our area sound like banks won't lend anything more than 80% on late-model boats. Anything over 10yrs old and you're gonna need at least 25% down. Over 20yrs old and you'll struggle to get 50%, if you can get financing at all. I should add the stipulation that those figures are based on reasonable interest rates. Anyone can get a loan at outlandish interest rates, but if you want to be around 5%-6% you'll need to bring some serious cash to closing or have one heck of a portfolio behind you.

 

[Robf]

Woody, I ended up being able to negotiate to just over 22% down, but this was after I was able to get the owner to come down $20K in their asking price! On the 390 MY, most listings are somewhere between $170K to $220K for a 10 to 12 Year old model. The banks put a value of $120K to $140K on these models. This was at 4.99% for 240 months! In the end, not bad. Rob

What % down payment did it take?