Best times to buy boats?

[superbenk]

Re: Best times to buy boats?

I bought my 24' Wellcraft boat when it was 3 years old. The original owner paid $42K including taxes. I bought it from him for $20K. They drop a lot and this was when the economy was in pretty good shape.

Ya, that kind of just proves my point. The guy before you took the $25k depreciation hit for you. Now if you were to try and sell it again, you probably wouldn't have to drop the price much at all currently. So my point was the only time I'd be really concerned about not using a boat I've paid for (or am paying for) is if it was a brand new purchase & I knew the depreciation hit me as soon as I towed it off the lot.

For a used boat, I'm ok with it sitting for a couple months over the winter while I tinker on it.

 

[swift1]

Re: Best times to buy boats?

I was in a similar position as you two summers ago. I had a 1986 16 foot Cadorette that was starting to require more maintenance and repairs than I liked, so after the last extended stay at the marina for repairs, I decided to start looking. Finally in October of that year I found a great deal on my current boat, a 1997 18 foot Chaparral in amazing condition at a dealer in upper NY state. I was able to test drive it, but then brought it home to be winterized ? that was the longest winter I can remember, waiting to get it unwrapped in the spring! Of course, I?ve had a couple of issues with this boat as well, but knock on wood everything seems to running perfect now. So for me, the fall was a good time to purchase as I still had the use of my old boat, I got a very good deal, and it wasn?t too late in the year for a test drive. Hmmm?now that you?ve got me thinking about it, maybe I?ll have to take another trip to NY this October?

 

[korygrandy]

Re: Best times to buy boats?

2yrs ago I moved within 5 miles of 4 lakes. I decided to start looking for a used boat in April. I almost bought a boat just because I was anxious but the more boats I looked at I got a feel for the prices. Then I found a 2003 $4,000 cheaper than the same year/model. That's when you buy! I got a much newer boat at my price point than I originally would have had. It just happened to be May when I bought mine. There was a lot of junk out there in the spring. I knew in my mind there were people hurting from the economy and it was only a matter of time before I got what me and my dad like to call "the deal of the year".

 

[jkust]

Re: Best times to buy boats?

Like people said above, the best time is directly proportional to the least on the market being in the winter if the best price is your concern. The best time at least in my experience for variety is in the spring when a flood of them come on the market. Now recently it seems I am seeing more and more nice, barely used, bowriders here midseason in Minnesota. I have to think the economy is playing a part here. I would love to be in the market this season.

 

[Surfer Dave]

Re: Best times to buy boats?

Winter time is the best, NEVER buy a boat in the spring or summer

 

[superbenk]

Re: Best times to buy boats?

Looked at a few yesterday at a semi-local marina. It amazes me what some people are asking for their boats considering the condition they were in! There were 2 brokerage boats there, one was a 2001 Maxum 21' & the other was a 2000 Monterey 21'. Both were cuddy's (I think) with 5.0L & both were very obviously left out in the sun & weather a lot (probably slipped). They weren't structurally bad, but they were cosmetically horrible (maybe I'm a perfectionist). The Maxum was going for $17600 & the Monterey was $15400. I know I can low-ball, but it was shocking what they were priced at in that condition. I was thinking they were worth more like $9k-$10k each (honestly, the Monterey was in better cosmetic condition than the Maxum, but was less money). Salesman promised they would be detailed before delivery & checked by their mechanic, but it still seemed ridiculous. I walked away from them both.

Unfortunately the one we went to see & were ready to deal on sold earlier that morning. Guess it goes to show that clean, decently priced ones go really fast. We're still poking around for a nice <20' cuddy that's less than 4500lbs gross I can tow behind my little 03 Frontier 4x4 (5000 lb towing capacity) for <$10k. I'm learning patience...

 

[spikeitaudi]

For me I think buying now was pretty good.

For me I think buying now was pretty good.

I bought my new 2010 Bayliner 185 BR w/ Trailer and took delivery on June 26th. I put a deposit down on it on June 16th. I was lucky as before I took delivery of the boat Bayliner was offering a $1500 rebate on their 2010 inventory for 175 adn 185 models. The dealer for me also threw in a free slip which was $1200, and also discounted the price of the boat $1800 from MSRP. So in all I got about $4500 from incentives. I don't think I did that bad. I also got 6.49% financing for 10 years and put alot down.

 

[25thmustang]

Re: For me I think buying now was pretty good.

Re: For me I think buying now was pretty good.

I started looking before I was ever ready to buy. I made a game plan to look at some boats and determine the size/style/pricing I wanted. Sadly after looking at a few of them I realized the first one I saw was a hard to pass up deal. Offered what I was willing to pay and he took it.

This was a few months ago, right before spring time really set in. Boats in the water now, and I'm looking forward to a long weekend on it in a few days.

 

[aspeck]

Re: Best times to buy boats?

Since you currently have a boat, you can be choosy! I was in the same position a few years ago. My wife did not like my bass boat, but it was good for me ... so we were looking for something that was family friendly, could tow a skier behind, and still be great for fishing and hunting (and fit in my garage while attached to my tow vehicle). It took me a couple years to find the right boat at the right price, but I was able to purchase the Renkin SeaMaster, dual console, in late spring of the year at a price that was well under book value. He had to sell because he was not patient and had already bought the replacement boat and could not afford the 2 boat payments!

Patience is a virtue when buying a boat. Hang in there, the right one at the right price will come along ... don't worry so much about the season to buy it, just know what you are looking for and the price you can afford. Then, when you find the right boat at the right price, go for it!

 

[superbenk]

Re: Best times to buy boats?

That's kind of the approach we're taking. The boat I've got now has been a restoration project & we've been haunted by small bugs that have kept us from feeling very confident in the boat. Water access is at a minimum 1-2 hrs away, so it's frustrating to drive that distance only to find the boat isn't behaving well (even when it did fine in the driveway). That's why we're in the market again. That being said, because of the miscellaneous boat issues & the age of my kids, they haven't quite caught the boat fever like their dad has, so the urge to go boating (other than from me) isn't as strong as I'm hoping it will be in the future. That buys us some time to be patient looking for the right next step. We're hoping to slip the next boat to make going out in the water much more convenient, but that requires even more reliability as it's not just in the driveway to tinker with after each trip.

Thanks for all the advice & stories - keep them coming

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Best times to buy boats?

You can look around now to see what people are asking but you can forget about getting a deal right now. This is peak price time for selling a boat. The same boats will be up for sale in the fall and then you can low ball a bunch of them.

When I looked at my boat that I bought, I was on my way to see a second boat. I didn't love the boat but after looking at it and then getting ready to take off, the owner gave me an offer I couldn't refuse. In addition to getting the 2 year old boat that originally he paid $42K for $20K, he threw in a Zodiac dinghy and a 4HP Mercury outboard. He had gotten tired of trying to sell it.

I went to see a FourWinns in September which was 6 hours away. He wanted around $6K more than I was willing to pay. By the time I spoke with him in the winter, he had eventually come down to the price I wanted to buy it for but had sold it the week before. Moral of the story is, wait and you will save money.

 

[lonesouth]

Re: Best times to buy boats?

and try not to be in a have-to-have-it mentality when you pull the trigger. That can cost you a lot of $. I just spent 9 hours round trip to look at a deal and came home boatless. Lesson learned: it is better to ask for more pictures and maybe miss a deal, than to waste a day. There will always be another deal.

 

[reap182]

Re: Best times to buy boats?

for me after much research, jan-feb seems to be best (boat shows)

 

[CAUGHTACASE73]

Re: Best times to buy boats?

I was looking for a pre-owned boat. I watched the used market for about 4 months. I put a wanted ad out and had a reply in 2 days. I purchased my boat Jan 30th. I had my mechanic check as much as he could with out putting the boat in the water. I actually went ice fishing the day after I bought my boat. Looking at prices in the spring / summer I figured I saved as much as 25%. I also bought my snowmobile in June. I could have sold it after the first snow fall for almost double what I paid. The biggest problem is having to look at the new toy in the garage knowing it's going to be months before I can use it.