Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
On Wed, 29 Aug 2007 04:04:07 -0000, "Robert M. Gary"
wrote:

I'm looking at small/mid sized ski boats and am wondering how I
determine if a seller is asking a price that is within the ball park
of what the boat is worth (I know very little about boats). Is there a
Kelly Blue Book type thing for boats?

Chuck makes some valid points about regions and types of boats.

However, there are resources for boats in the category you are looking
for. NADA is a good place to start - it does allow for some
regionalization by zip code, but the differences aren't by much.

Boat value can be subjective. Anything under 5K it's pretty much what
kind of condition the boat is in, engine hours and age. Boats age and
depreciate much faster than you may think. The boats that Chuck
writes about and advertises in his magazine tend to hold higher value
for longer than boats that you and I may have. While I value Chuck's
opinion on most things, I disagree with him on boat value for the
average, non-cruiser boater.

You need to look at engine hours - low hours aren't a perfect
guideline, but engines with less than 40 hours per year indicate that
the probability that it wasn't abused or beat on. Hull condition in
particular around the keel - a clean hull, no blisters, no dings or
nicks in the keel indicates a well kept boat. Interior condition as
in carpet, seats, upholstery, floor strength. Look in the engine
compartment and see what condition it's in.

Once you get an idea of what the boat is like, compare that condition
to the asking price. Go to NADA and get an idea, based on equipment
and condition, of what the used value is. If the asking price matches
the NADA value, then you have a starting point.

There are variables to this formula. Suppose for instance, the owner
has refurbished the interior or has had an engine change or upgrade.
That changes the equation. Additional equipment can change the value
by a $1,000 or so.

I'll give you an example. I have a 2000 Ranger 200 C bay boat with a
brand new 2006 Evinrude ETEC with less than 60 hours on it. There
are folks in this newsgroup who have been on the boat and have seen it
- it is in outstanding condition. NADA indicates my boat is worth
$16,000. The ETEC is worth $16,000 by it'self. So if I wanted to
sell it at a reasonable price, I'd have to ask at least $26,000 for
it.

On the other hand, that same boat with a 2000 200 low hours FICHT on
it is worth $16,000, but even with that engine on it, I'd be hard
pressed to get $16,000 for it - maybe $12/13K.

So a lot of boat pricing is subjective.

At the minimum, if you decide on a boat you like, offer 70% of the
asking price and start there. As Chuck said, you start low and work
your way up to a settlement.

One last thing - have the boat checked before signing on the dotted
line. Have a good mechanic go through the engine and make sure the
running gear is in good shape.

Good luck.


Heheh. I had a fellow offer me 80% of my asking price. After I stopped
laughing, I told him no. He called back after I had sold the boat and
when I told him the boat was gone, he seemed really disappointed.
Awwwwwwww.