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StevieG · 10-26-2013, 07:03 PM

I live in the NE and own a 41 ft fly bridge boat. I'm not having much luck trying to sell it outright and was wondering if anyone knows of a dealer out there that will take a boat my size in on trade for a DP. Thanks.

jesilvas · 10-26-2013, 08:08 PM

If you're going to an RV dealer, most will not even want to deal with boats if they don't specialize in them.

tropical36 · 10-26-2013, 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StevieG

I live in the NE and own a 41 ft fly bridge boat. I'm not having much luck trying to sell it outright and was wondering if anyone knows of a dealer out there that will take a boat my size in on trade for a DP. Thanks.

Can't say I know of one up your way, but they are around and it does happen. I once had an old coach that I couldn't sell during the economic downturn and did find a Dealer with a little bit of everything on his lot and he was willing to do some trading with me on a boat. Thing is the deal wasn't so good.
I finally starting calling everyone and everybody that had a boat for sale and asked if they'd consider a trade. Eventually and after a lot of calls, I finally hit on an interested party for an even trade that couldn't have been sweeter. We were both happy and felt that we got the better end of it (I'm sure of it) and I still have the boat that's probably worth 3 to 4 times what the Motorhome would be worth now.
I assume you advertize for sale or trade, but you might try the phone calls as well. In fact my deal was even turned down initially and then called me back some days later.

StevieG · 10-27-2013, 03:45 PM

Tropical, the boat is listed with a broker, on all the boat sites, and FSBO on NY Craigslist. I can sell it on my own and not pay a commission. The boat is very reasonably priced for the condition, hours, options, and upgrades. I would have thought with all the boats lost to Sandy south of me, I would have sold it early in the season. Now it's up on blocks again, so that's it for this year. It's winterized and I'll be shrink wrapping it in a couple of weeks. All I keep hearing is that everyone wants a steal... That's why I would rather trade it or trade up with cash, than sell it at this point.

greezykid · 10-27-2013, 03:53 PM

I have a 43 Tiara convertible with tower that is for sale without much luck,so your not alone.

StevieG · 10-27-2013, 04:03 PM

Greezy, I know I'm not alone. I belong to a boat club where more than 50% of the boats are seriously for sale. The only "big" boat to sell this year in our marina was a 46' Maxum with Cummings diesels. It was a 2001 that he bought in 2006 for $215k and sold this summer for $117k. That's almost a $100k loss! The boat was in mint condition too. Seems the smaller, older, and really cheap boats sold this year. Btw, IMO, Tiara is a sweet boat!

tropical36 · 10-27-2013, 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StevieG

Tropical, the boat is listed with a broker, on all the boat sites, and FSBO on NY Craigslist. I can sell it on my own and not pay a commission. The boat is very reasonably priced for the condition, hours, options, and upgrades. I would have thought with all the boats lost to Sandy south of me, I would have sold it early in the season. Now it's up on blocks again, so that's it for this year. It's winterized and I'll be shrink wrapping it in a couple of weeks. All I keep hearing is that everyone wants a steal... That's why I would rather trade it or trade up with cash, than sell it at this point.

Well then, you have all winter to call everyone and anyone that has a DP of your liking for sale and ask them if they'd like having a boat. I usually advertize....will trade up or down....which makes a lot more room for a deal and especially if you have the cash to trade up.

AZGypsie · 10-27-2013, 05:49 PM

I think you will find that the new buyers are kids with pockets not as deep as some of ours. My dad paid $800 (boat, motor and trailer) for his first boat. His last one was worth about 100x that. We grow into this stuff!

Luckiest Dreamer · 10-27-2013, 05:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StevieG

Greezy, I know I'm not alone. I belong to a boat club where more than 50% of the boats are seriously for sale. The only "big" boat to sell this year in our marina was a 46' Maxum with Cummings diesels. It was a 2001 that he bought in 2006 for $215k and sold this summer for $117k. That's almost a $100k loss! The boat was in mint condition too. Seems the smaller, older, and really cheap boats sold this year. Btw, IMO, Tiara is a sweet boat!

Thats only $14,000 a year. Not a loss but the cost of ownership! It,s called depreciation.

JFXG · 10-27-2013, 11:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StevieG

Greezy, I know I'm not alone. I belong to a boat club where more than 50% of the boats are seriously for sale.

There's your answer. Its all supply and demand. If half of all boat owners are trying to sell, who's buying? Newbies and bottom feeders.

Quote:

Originally Posted by StevieG

... a 2001 that he bought in 2006 for $215k and sold this summer for $117k. That's almost a $100k loss! The boat was in mint condition too.

Value dropped 46% in 7 years. That's not bad, that's pretty good. We're talking toys, not real estate. And IMHO, a 13 year old boat is never mint. Maybe clean and well-kept, but still 13 years old.

trode · 10-28-2013, 05:46 AM

I know of a dealership on I-95 in Georgia that sells boats and RV's, wish I could remember the name, but others may chime in here. It is in the northern section of the state, I stopped there on way to Jekyl Island few years back. He is not on the water (that I can tell) so maybe your boat is too big for him to handle, but thinking that he may broker it. He certainly has boats there up to 30' as I recall, but not sure about larger. Sorry I can not remember name but I know it is there.

If I remember or find in searches I will PM you.

StevieG · 10-28-2013, 09:28 AM

Tropical, thanks for the words of encouragement and motivation! I have my boat on Ebay, CL, and with a broker. All listings clearly state I am willing to trade to a smaller boat plus cash or for a Class A... as many buyers need to trade to move up. When I find a MH for sale in a coastal area that I am interested in, I e-mail the seller with a possible trade offer for my boat and some combination of cash. My boat is not a "lake" boat.

As for 46% depreciation not being a bad thing? I have to somewhat disagree...Yes toys are not investments in any way, shape, or form. I think we should all agree to that... But once a boat or MH reaches a certain age, in my experience, the percent of depreciation or rate per year should start to decrease or tail off. A 2001 boat that originally sold for $500K, purchased in 2006 for $215K, should have already taken the biggest hit. Taking another 46% percent six years later is not historically "normal"... However, these are not "normal" times.. or maybe this is the "new norm"? That would be scary! The outrageous price of fuel combined with horrible fuel economy, the economic downturn, supply and demand (as mentioned above), and a strong motivation to "get out" in "numbers" are what is killing the resale market (again MO). While this helps "cash" buyers "Steal" a deal, it's hurting buyers that need financing because the banks are very aware of the situation... this leads to shorter terms, higher rates (for the risk), and larger down payments...

jeryan59 · 10-28-2013, 01:33 PM

I just had a friend buy a 1999 Sea Ray 410 Sundancer (100% Fresh Water) for $107,000 at Lake of the Ozarks in MO, I went with him that day to pick it up and this particular Marina delivered 4 boats of equal size or larger that day in late September. Boats are moving if priced for the market in our area.

I would look into NADA and BUC pricing to see how your boat is priced and also look at a couple of the sites to see how your specific boat is priced relative to other comparable boats. Unfortunately, the time of year you are going into is not going to help very much potentially.

My last motorhome I bought when it was 2 years old and it depreciated about 50% from what I paid for it after 11 years. My current boat has also depreciated about 50% after 9 years.

Good Luck.

srrobe · 10-28-2013, 02:05 PM

I feel you pain!. I just went through this myself with a 380 SeaRay. I found brokers to be a waste of time and sold the boat myself. The question is how motivated are you? As mentioned there are scads of boats for sale so if yours is well cared for, and priced to sell, there is a buyer for it. You just have to find that "one". I sold mine through E-bay. I used it as a means of advertising. I did not expect to have it sell via auction. After giving the brokers the boot and making the sale myself, it took over a year to find a buyer. The deal was less than I would have liked but after factoring in the cost of ownership the deal made sense. Be prepaired for a lot of dreamers and tire kickers but you only need one that is serious and willing to write the check. BTW, I tried to get RV dealers to take it on trade. Didn't happen! Best of luck!