Sailboat Prices?

[KD3PC]

Sig

NADA and kelly are useless on these types of boats, Yachtworld sold price is decent but as mentioned may contain asking price, commissions and extras added to the boat.

Make an honest offer, if it seems low, not to worry. You as a buyer are in the position of power in this case...truly is a buyers market.

It is not your worry to satisfy the loan amount, I have seen many sellers in the last year write a check to the bank for the sale to settle...

all the best
dave

 

[Andy1237]

Macroeconomic View: I wish you tightwad jerks would stop with the low ball offers. They only depress the value of the boats the rest of us already own! You guys get these trashed boats cheap and then spend big bucks at West Marine fixing the boat and that only makes West increase their prices! This results in the dreaded stagflation of sailing economies.
Microeconomic View: I'll give you 50% and that helps MY economy of scale!
(I hope you all realize that this is posted in sarcasm with a little tiny bit of sincerity)

 

[druid]

You can lowball him, offer much less than what the boat is worth, and he might be desperate enough to accept. Trouble is Karma - it's a bitch and will bite you. If you paid less that what the boat is worth, the boat will know it and act accordingly. Offer what you think it's worth.

druid - big on Zen shopping

 

[SNOWCROW]

I agree with most posts here: It doesn't hurt to 'politely' try...You have to compare 'apples with apples'...and you have to SEE the boat before anyone takes you fairly seriously.
I've been dealing with a broker in Maryland; he's sharp, seemingly honest, and offers insights to why certain things might be more valuable.
We (all) look forward to hearing your results..!~

 

[Andy1237]

Druid, like your Karma thought. What goes around...
Sigbear, not only Apples to Apples but Tree to Tree. The cost of getting a cheap boat on the coast to KyLake may make the one in your backyard worth more-and you will have it THIS summer!

 

[txtowman]

when I bought my catalina 22 it was listed for $3500.
the boat was really nasty looking and the outboard did not run.
Asked for his no haggle bottom dollar price. paid $1200
$40 car wash three hours of scrubbing and blasting
$150 trailer
$100 trailer mods to fit
$125 trailer axle
$400 tune-up and new coil.
plus a few nick-naks

total in the $2500 range
and I think I got a decent deal

 

[Drew13440]

I hate to be harsh, but a sailboat is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. That means today, not two years ago or 18 months from now. And the market does not care what anyone "needs" in terms of price, loan balance or no loan balance.

Anyone worried about the sellers feelings or "karma" feel free to go ahead and offer 25% MORE than the asking price. You will get a hug, for sure.

 

[Seattle Scott]

"so my question is, would an offer of 25% below the 89K asking price in this market just piss people off, or would it be a low side fair price?"

I say it would be a low side fair price.

When I was in the market, I had settled on what boat I wanted. There were two for sale ( and had been for sale several months) in my town. I made a 80% offer on Boat #1 and got a counter offer, but couldn't come to terems. Then I made an 80% offer on Boat #2, and got no reponse other than I needed to come up in price before the seller would respond. Boat #2 was still in its own slip and being used. Boat #1 had been moved to the broker's dock and the ower was done sailing it. I waited until the dead of winter and went back with a still low offer on #1 and got it for about 85% of asking price.

Keep in mind that a boat is not an investment but an expense and is costing the seller maybe $500 -$1000 a month for slip fees, insurance, loan payments etc while for sale and with the usual seller having given up using the boat.

A low ball offer on a boat owned by a guy who wants to get rid of it will lead to a counter offer and negociations. In this market there are many motivated sellers, just make offers until you find one.

 

[Brian M H23]

Go low. It benefits everyone who wants to, or might want to in the future, get into sailing.

As for those of you who want to get out - you're not going to find help here!

 

[charliegrau]

The asking price could be higher than the market value. BoatUS will do a boat value check for you to give you an idea of the actual sellling price of similar boats. Some lenders can also provide a "blue book" value. If you are going to finance - you can start with the lender. If the lender won't value the boat at or near the asking price, that's another good clue as to whether the seller is in the ball park. If you're seriously interested, and are willing to pay some lower number for the boat - discuss it with the broker...and I recommend contacting the listing broker to minimize the number of people sharing in the proceeds of the sale. Tell the listing broker what you're willling to pay and see if they are comfortable presenting the offer. I think the owner should be the one to decide what he's willing to take...if you don't make the offer - you've decided for him.
-charlie

 

[JoelHoover]

The DEALS are on Craigslist.org

 

[Tim R.]

I do not think you will have much luck as most of these boats sold on YW in the last couple of years sold for no more than about 10% less than the asking price. Some actually sold for more than the asking price.