Powerboat / bowrider - Depreciation / 2nd Hand Value

[Loxley]

So is it true with boats as most other things... "you pay your money you make your choice ?"

Certainly its easier to spot 'the quality' in some boats external features, but what about the hidden ones ? I have to be fair been only really considering manufacturers that have dealers in the Abersoch/Pwllheli area. I appreciate this may be limiting my options, but feel it more sensible having a class of boat where there is some local knowledge should problems arise.
As for supply and demand, there seems to be very little available ( including numerous hours of net searching ) of nearly new up to 2/3 year old bowriders of the 20-22foot ilk.

The list of manufacturers I have tried are... Cobalt, Crownline, Chaparral, Four Winns, Maxum and SeaRay ( all local ), others not yet 'seen'... Regal, Ebbtide, Glastron, Mariah.

Any others I should consider. Is it the same with boats as it is with cars that to buy a used BMW would be better value than a new Mondeo perhaps ?

Mark

 

[Whitelighter]

Funny analegy with BMW. Used to be the case, but since they flooded the market with new car depreciation is as bad (if not worse) than ford now.

With your Cobalt bowrider, the very fact that there aren't many around, means that if someone really wants to buy one, then they have very little choice so have little to bargin with. The flip side of the coin is you may wait a while to find the buyer who really wants it.

I had a similar issue with my Bavaria. Only 5 in the country,so not m,any people looking for one. However, when a buyer came along he had the choice of mine, mine or mine. And since he had decided that was what he wanted, he bought it.

Don't be put off by others on here saying they wouldn't want a bow rider or they are unpopular. For me, I wouldn't have one either but then the boats I like and am involved with are somewhat quirky and have some compromises because of their design, but the serve a purpose an there is enough of a market who like them to support that.

It all come down to personal choice. One thing yous should never do is buy anything on the basis of what easily sells. Trends today can go out of fashion tomorrow and no one really knows what the market will be in 2,3 or 4 years time. If you buy to sell, you'll be unhappy with it and you'll end up selling it. Buy the boat you want, and re-sale wont be an issue if you are so happy with it you keep it for years.

 

[gjgm]

the Regal 22 is a fine boat, with perhaps a more restrained finish than the Cobalt. Id say £26k would be a good deal for you;£30 is a bit much his favour. He ought to be happy with an offer 95pct of his asking, but 90pct isnt outrageous by any means, so you are probably really only playing with £1-2k difference.Might be worth knowing when his new boat arrives? (And remember that his has to pay the brokerage out of his sale.)

 

[Mike_S]

[ QUOTE ]
The list of manufacturers I have tried are... Cobalt, Crownline, Chaparral, Four Winns, Maxum and SeaRay ( all local ), others not yet 'seen'... Regal, Ebbtide, Glastron, Mariah.

[/ QUOTE ]

Before buying our Regal earlier this year (22ft cuddy) we tried Glastron, Maxum & Mariah, fwiw we thought the Glastron to be very cheaply finished & made when you actually look at it close up. The mouldings had a really rough finish in places, several sharp edges etc and I couldn't see a justification for the price they wanted, I certainly wasn't looking at something I considered to be worth what they were asking. Mariah's on the other hand I was very impressed by and we'd have had one if we'd been able to find one in our price range. Ended up with the Regal ,again on quality and cost, it really does look & feel pretty well screwed together. Thought about Ebbtide but pricewise they're out of reach so I didn't want to tempt fate by looking, though I did have a long conversation about them with the dealer and he certainly talked a quality boat. I'll have a look at them tomorrow at the south wales boat show, see what I'm missing.

 

[Loxley]

oh yes, the brokerage, what sort of fees are reasonable to expect ?

I dont need to sell mine to buy this new one, but i would like a reasonable value for it. the dealer has indicated they would be happy to take it on brokerage ( although no values/costs yet discussed ).

All things being equal I would like to think I would be holding on to the boat for 3-4 years before perhaps moving on to something else.

As for negotiating the price, I have indicated that I want to add a wakeboard tower/bimini top to it which the dealer needs to order in from the states and the 'retail' on that is nearly £4,000 including vat and fitting.

I used the BMW analogy on the basis of engineering quality rather than residual, plus I used to work for them so am biased ! LOL

Plus from the 'fit and finish' viewpoint my other half has really found her feet in the boating lark. From someone who had never been in the sea before 6 months ago; as she was afraid of water; was happily being dragged along getting on a kneeboard last weekend and really loves piloting the boat since we did our RYA powerboat course.
In fact, I hardly ever get a look in !

So I am maybe fortunate in that its a 'joint' purchase and you know what women are like with things 'having to look right' and match their handbags/shoes/eye makeup etc.

 

[duncan]

at this time of year, and beofre delivery of the new one I would try and sell you boat yourself unless you are so far away from it that this is impractical. Once you have taken delivery.......that's another thing as you won't want to be around the old one when the weather's nice and the buyers are queuing - you will be out in the new one!

 

[gjgm]

ebay.. no minimum bid, but put a reserve. Lots of photos. boatsandoutboards. But, if you are getting the new boat,you really dont want to be spending your summer months showing people the old boat too often, so take the pragmatic view to get rid of it. Bear in mind, signs in the economy are that people a feeling the pinch these days..
Brokerage is commonly about 6pct+vat. If they do nothing for you, that sounds alot. If they work their butt off to sell your boat, its fair enough. Trouble is, which are you getting!

 

[Loxley]

Well for selling, I have the problem/issue of storage. I would feel it more practical to leave the boat 'near the sea' at the dealer/broker rather than drag it all the way back to Sheffield.
Plus I dont want the hassle of showing people around it at weekends when I would rather be on the water.

As it is, price wise, the boat new is between £14-£15k, so as I am looking to to take between £6k and £7k for what will be a 4 year old boat this summer then I think my selling price seems reasonable and with a 6%+vat fee the £500 would be more than acceptable to me and allows for a 'screen price' of £7495 to £7995 and 'room to drop' !
I may however put a tentative advert in boat-trader to see the response.

 

[gjgm]

just bear in mind there is no shortage of boats for sale. No one is going to bother to look if its on high. You say you'd accept from £6k, but might put it on at £8k . At least one of those numbers cant be right!!

 

[Loxley]

Well i thought i would price it on the basis that everyone wants a discount and doesnt like to pay the asking price. So if i factor in my minimum plus a value of 'top up' then i should hope to find a happy medium.
if i advertise it at £6k then a potential buyer may want to chip me back £500 or more to feel they have drove a bargain, i know i would !

Ultimately I would be happy with £6.5, I would love to get £7 but as a bottom price would accept £6. Presuming the broker would want his £500 cut then i need to add that to my prices, hence the £7.5 being the top price, or stretching that to £8 as a 'test the water' price, enabling a 'reduced to £7.5' price in order to bring in some enquiries.

Well its worth a punt isnt it ?

 

[gjgm]

maybe worth a try, but again, maybe you are wasting time. Spring is a long way off, and not many people are buying bowriders in Autumn ! Have a look how many similar boats are for sale.You have to ask yourself, why is someone going suddenly to get interested in my boat-especially if the price isnt even eye grabbing. Chances are, they are not, I fear.
Lets say you end up with it til next year (quite possible)-whats the price then, do you think? So you have a few weeks of this season before you are down to that level anyway....
I think people selling tend to think theres lots of people who will be after my boat bcz (I think) its such a great boat.Trouble is, hardly anyone tends to be looking, and those looking have a hell of alot of choice. Just look on this forum how long people have been trying to sell.

 

[KCook]

Here is a thread on a US site that compares the different US bowrider brands -

BoatingABC.com » ... » Brand Comparisons....Boats vs. Automobiles

While most US boats look good in the showroom, and may give fairly good service, the really big difference is in how the various builders treat their customers and dealers. Some pretty sad stories in that regard.

Kelly Cook

 

[landlockedpirate]

At those kind of prices its a perfect Ebay boat. Put it on a 10 day auction and see how it goes. As mentioned Boatsandoutboards also works well and boatshop24.

It looks like great value for someone.

Mark

 

[Loxley]

I have to admit the decision to sell now may be a 'rush' one as is the equal decision to buy now being a tad impetuous perhaps.

As to will my existing boat really drop that much in value from now until next spring ? well i would like to think not. certainly not much more than a few hundred quid maybe.

I appreciate the brand is at the 'budget/intro' end of the market, but doing a search on what you can get for the money combined with the age then i would argue there isnt a lot of choice at the price.

I know that i am making these assumptions on my 'points to buy' being a "nearly new boat", hence perhaps better value than a much older premium brand boat for the same money. I have all bills for regular servicing and it has been indoor heated stored by the dealer each winter, with winterising/dewinterising bills as well.

We bought the boat at the end of last season not knowing if we were really going to enjoy it or not, so kept it to a sensible budget ( we were actually looking for a nearly new jetski at the time and the apparent value against a jetski seemed quite favourable. )

We have found we love being on the boat and as said, we spend every weekend at the marina as we have a large motorhome which affords us the luxury of maximising useage over a weekend.

It's certainly not a decision I wish to take lightly and am tempted to sell mine before I buy another, but then at the same time the longer the season drags on then the less time there would be to use the 'new' boat although that could be balanced by perhaps a 'better deal' on such a boat with the caveat that I still need to find a craft that I am 100% sure of. So from that perspective I am impatient ! LOL