Valuing Engine Hours

[Lower Limit 1909]

Two boats of very similar age (20yrs) and specification and condition and service record (good).

Both have Volvo Penta D42 engines x 2 plus sterndrives. One has 700 hours the other 1400 hours (as reported by the Tacho).

Assuming everything else is equal, what is the difference in value between the two boats resulting from the 700 hours engine / sterndrive run time difference?

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Thats a $64,000 question to which the only answer is what the market is willing to pay. In principle all other things being equal a low hours boat is always worth more than a high hours boat but as boats get older, condition becomes increasingly more important than hours. If I were to pluck a figure out of the air I would say that the 700hr boat is worth maybe 5 - 10% more again assuming in all respects the boats are equal

Some people will say that a high hours boat should not be penalised on value because a boat generally benefits from being used regularly but we're talking about market perception here in the same way as a low mileage car is always worth more than a high mileage one

 

[MapisM]

Assuming everything else is equal

I would second everything Deleted User already said, but yours above sounds like a very theoretical assumption.
After an extensive search, where I saw A LOT of boats, and several of them were of the same model, I never came across any examples where some other differences weren't way more relevant than engine hours alone...

 

[petem]

I wonder if the OP should factor in his likely usage. If he is going to clock up high annual hours then perhaps the lower hours boat might be more saleable in a few years time.

 

[petem]

the 700hr boat is worth maybe 5 - 10%

+1 to that.

 

[Lower Limit 1909]

.... sounds like a very theoretical assumption.
After an extensive search, where I saw A LOT of boats, and several of them were of the same model, I never came across any examples where some other differences weren't way more relevant than engine hours alone...

Thanks. There are of course some differences between the boats but I'm happy valuing those and didn't want to bog the thread down with calculating lots of relatively small plus or minus variances.

With replacement engines probably around 75% of the boat value at this age the difference in 'perceived' value between engines /' sterndrives with 700hrs (35 PA) and one with 1400 hours (70 PA) is the figure I was keen to isolate to canvas opinions on.

 

[volvopaul]

Thats a $64,000 question to which the only answer is what the market is willing to pay. In principle all other things being equal a low hours boat is always worth more than a high hours boat but as boats get older, condition becomes increasingly more important than hours. If I were to pluck a figure out of the air I would say that the 700hr boat is worth maybe 5 - 10% more again assuming in all respects the boats are equal

Some people will say that a high hours boat should not be penalised on value because a boat generally benefits from being used regularly but we're talking about market perception here in the same way as a low mileage car is always worth more than a high mileage one

Last year I was negotiating on a Targa 47 in Holland, a px dealer boat with 1400 hours on, it was way behind market value , I was really tempted , the hours had been racked up on the inland waterways so it hadn't really been hammered at sea, but there was just something that told me not to buy it, the main fear was resale value and time it would take to sell it again.
I'm sad to say it's still for sale, in a way that's now answers the question I asked myself at the outset. Don't get me wrong I look after these engines all day long and see many with these amount of hours on.
As long as they have service history to the letter then don't be put off , play the game with the offer , you never know you might just get lucky.
Any engine can fail at any amount of hours if something like an injector sticks open.

 

[Lower Limit 1909]

I wonder if the OP should factor in his likely usage. If he is going to clock up high annual hours then perhaps the lower hours boat might be more saleable in a few years time.

Good point. I'd expect to sell the boat within 2-3 years / 300 hours usage so one potentially around the 1000hrs mark - the other perhaps perceived as approaching 2000 hrs (but actually 1700).