Found a boat, what do you think? HELP!

[hunter0527]

Ok, So I found a boat that I am interested in. It is an '01 Rinker 18.5' open bow. The girl says it has less than 50 hrs on it. She bought it new and says she kept up with the maintenance on it (I am going to ask for papers). She said that the occasional tubing or skiing took place but for most part just go out on the river and sit. I went to look at it and it appears in good condition. non of the seats were torn, just 2 nickle size holes on the back corners of the not quite sunpad (very small sunpad, about 8" wide). hull looks nice, no scratches, bottom is not painted, seats are not ripped anywhere. Carpet is in pretty good shape for the age. Motor looked clean and outdrive looked clean, not that I really know what Im looking for. It has a merc 3.0 engine and merc outdrive on it. She is local, she bought it local, and has it serviced local, so I can get the info on the boat. She is asking $8900 but said she would take $8k without me saying anything. My wife says offer her $7500. Is this a good boat at a good price? I am pretty sure the floor is fiberglass on this as well, but didnt know for sure. I think I am putting everything into nada and it is telling me that it is only $5100. I did feel confident talking to her as she was very helpful. I dont think she was trying to sell me junk. I couldnt do a water test but she was more than willing to do one before I buy. I dont want something that is going to be junk or a money pit in 2 years. I feel that some boats on craigslist, ebay, etc... are just that, being the price is attractive, but I have a feeling you will pay for it in the long run. What are everyones thoughts on this boat? Thanks for your time and help!

 

[brick75]

Re: Found a boat, what do you think? HELP!

If you didn't already, you have to book the trailer out separately on NADAguides. On newer boats in this group, they usually end up adding about $1000 to the value. A lot of people don't know that, and end up lowballing sellers.

Seems like a decent boat though. But I probably wouldn't be paying $1000-$1500 over book value on it. Just be sure you have all the options checked and the trailer value included. Then use that as a bargaining tool.

 

[JimS123]

Re: Found a boat, what do you think? HELP!

That's a real good boat, but remember its 10 years old. Was it garage kept? What maintenancce kept up with? What somebody told her to do, or a dealer or the owners manual? 50 hours use, so only 5 hours per year!

Personally, I'd rather have a 10 year old boat with 500 hours use. In my experience, 10 years is when things start to need to be replaced. I don't know about money pit. I don't own a boat to save money, but a broken boat on a sunny Sunday is a catastrophy.

I'd offer her book value, then have a dealer go thru everything.

 

[hunter0527]

Re: Found a boat, what do you think? HELP!

I did not factor in the trailer in the nada guide, so that would be about $6100. However I did find another website that did give a better representation of the price... BUCValue.com listed the boat for 7,050 to 8,100. Not sure if that includes the trailer or not? She did tell me that she had done what the mechanic suggested to do, not just the regular book maintenance so I think she stayed on top of things. She sounded like she wasnt afraid to spend money to keep up with the boat. Nada guides also says that the value is an estimate and that average value needs minor thinks done and that a good condition boat may be higher in value. I am going to try and call the shop she had the work done and see what they say. She did not have the boat in the water this year as she didnt have time. For that reason I want it run in the water before we deal. Oh she also said it was covered over the winter, not sure if that meant a car port type cover or in a non heated garage. I will ask that as well.

 

[Gromulin]

Re: Found a boat, what do you think? HELP!

If it's really in that good shape, the price would be fair in Sacramento.

+1 on whomever said to double check all the options on NADA pricing. Even after you pick from the right "engine group", if you don't check "fuel injected" later on the form it will still lowball the price.

I'd go to different cities CL and search the year and model numbers, just to get a fell of what a particular boat is going for around the country. Some models / makers seem to command a premium (still) over similar year / make boats (Like Cobalt and Crownline)

 

[RAT Attack]

Re: Found a boat, what do you think? HELP!

My brother has a 94' Rinker 18 & 1/2', open bow with a 3.0 & has owned it for the last 9 years. He has had ZERO issues with his. His 3.0 also has plenty of power for skiing, wakeboarding, or a tube. I personally love his boat, so I would buy the boat with the information you have provided, considering the water test pans out...
Just my .02 & GOOD LUCK
This is his boat;

http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh296/rodgertolliver/Boating/NorrisLaketrip058.jpg

 

[Purecarnagge]

Re: Found a boat, what do you think? HELP!

She's desperate...dropped it 900 bucks without saying anything. Sounds like she's trying to get what she paid out of it plus costs, or threw a number out there. I would just print out the NADA guide and come in like a couple hundred above it. That way you don't look like a lowball offer, and it makes her look out of touch. Then go from there.

 

[JimKW]

Re: Found a boat, what do you think? HELP!

Sounds like a good deal to me. When I bought mine a year ago I paid $10,750 and thought I got a pretty good deal. Mine had been garage kept since brand new and is in almost new condition. It's also 10 years old.

I did not have an inspection done on mine and trusted the guy to be telling me the truth. If I had it to do over again, I would probably have an inspection done, but I really wanted this boat and thought what the heck if something is wrong I will get it fixed.

I did test it on the water with the guy selling it though before finalizing the deal. We spent about an hour out on it with him and my wife. After that I knew I was buying it no matter what.

 

[hunter0527]

Re: Found a boat, what do you think? HELP!

Jim,

Did you have any problems when you bought your boat? I think if she will do 7500 I will do it of course after the test ride checks out. That is right in the middle of the BUCValue website. The boat is in good shape, no tears anywhere, just needs cleaned. Dont know if the extras (tube, skis, rope, bumpers, etc.) have a value bearing on the price but she is throwing everything in she ever bought for it. She said she doesnt want to get rid of it but with her job not being stable (she works at a chevy car dealership, and I think shes not sure of the future of the dealership). Anyway, I appreciate all the feedback. Thanks again to everyone who offered up their .02!

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Found a boat, what do you think? HELP!

5 hours a year? I doubt it

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Found a boat, what do you think? HELP!

5 hours a year? I doubt it

You never know. I just bought a 3 year old pontoon for my dad that had been in the water 3 times.

Pretty common around here to see boats that are garage ornaments after the first year or 2 of ownership.

 

[security6]

Re: Found a boat, what do you think? HELP!

I'd be sure and take a look at any records the seller may have, or plan on spending some money on maintenance (e.g. bellows, impeller) fairly soon. Many people don't realize that rubber pieces degrade with time, even if they aren't being used. Just because she is telling the truth, doesn't mean she knows what she is talking about.

 

[JimKW]

Re: Found a boat, what do you think? HELP!

Jim,

Did you have any problems when you bought your boat? I think if she will do 7500 I will do it of course after the test ride checks out. That is right in the middle of the BUCValue website. The boat is in good shape, no tears anywhere, just needs cleaned. Dont know if the extras (tube, skis, rope, bumpers, etc.) have a value bearing on the price but she is throwing everything in she ever bought for it. She said she doesnt want to get rid of it but with her job not being stable (she works at a chevy car dealership, and I think shes not sure of the future of the dealership). Anyway, I appreciate all the feedback. Thanks again to everyone who offered up their .02!

I have not had any trouble. I planned to start winterizing myself, but last year I took it to a guy that really knows boats to have it winterized. I asked him to go over it good and he suggested a new impeller which I had him do at the same time he winterized it. I might use him again this year.

 

[hostage]

Re: Found a boat, what do you think? HELP!

I just got a 2000 Maxum 1900 SC for $7,500 two months ago. The owner threw in a new prop as well. My engine is a 4.3L V6 and this is a Cuddy. The engine ran well, he put a brand new stereo in it (had a aux jack for mp3 player). Also had all the coastguard required items, with the exception of a throwable flotation device. It also had a mooring cover and a full camper enclosure. Normally it appears that the 3L sells for a little bit less, does it come with any other goodies? Sometimes boats come with Skis, tubes, and other equipment that you might be interested that will save you money in the long run.

I also suggestion you do comparables to see how much it is worth in your market. If it does come with any extras like a Bimini, etc. then I would offer around $6,500. Else Try offering $7,000. The previous owner of my boat asked 8k, I got him down to $7.5k. If it looks like it is in better condition than what it should be, then that can also raise the value of it.

Also NADA is not reliable as a guide, I created a thread and asked some people and no one thought it was reliable. Keep in mind that when people register their boat a lot of people don't give an honest answer of what they paid to reduce what they pay for taxes.

Lastly one thing that really helped me is I looked a lot of boats, I took them down on a spread sheet. Listed what they came with, price. I listed things including things I was interested that the boat came with i.e. skis, etc. I attached an example. Note: I started to list nada value, but quit after I found it was pointless

Edit: If you want my spreadsheet I made I'll email it to you.

-Hostage

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Found a boat, what do you think? HELP!

I think that sounds like a price for that age and condition of a boat with a 4.3 in it. Since that doesn't have the 4.3....deduct some.

Whereabouts do you boat up there in Sunbury?

 

[hunter0527]

Re: Found a boat, what do you think? HELP!

Thanks. I dont know if she will come down in price... I think I may be asking a lot to get her to $7500? I am going to ask though. I dont know anything about pricing since there is not many used boats compareable to choose from in this area. The one thing that I do like is that it was bought and serviced in the area and that it is a boat that is close for sale. I dont know about driving hours to get a boat for a cheaper price. At that point the seller I think will be more inclined to lie being that he will never see me again. I did do some Craigslist searches and didnt find too many comparable. I did look online and it seems ones I found were just under 10k or right at 10k from dealers. I think everything is good but the price?

Boating on the Suquehanna river, although it is called Lake Augusta when they inflate the fiber dam.

 

[mbgaski]

Re: Found a boat, what do you think? HELP!

5 hours a year? I doubt it

5 hours a year probably not. 20-30 hours the first year and then just a few here and there though? Quite possibly. It's amazing how many people buy a boat and use it a lot for a few months just to lose interest as time goes on. You see the same with small planes. Go out to your typical local airport and it'll have dozens of planes parked in the hangars - about 10-12 of which typically come out and fly on a regular basis. The others mostly just sit unused.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Found a boat, what do you think? HELP!

I did do some Craigslist searches and didnt find too many comparable. I did look online and it seems ones I found were just under 10k or right at 10k from dealers. I think everything is good but the price?

That's pretty much the long and short of it right there. It's still prime selling season so you're paying the price for that a little bit. The price isn't exorbitant by any means. If you like the boat and are comfortable paying the $7500, go for it.

 

[Purecarnagge]

Re: Found a boat, what do you think? HELP!

I really think 7200ish is the number here. It has the smaller motor and while that might not matter to you SHE doesn't know that, and she does know many would prefer the larger motor.

You can always come up, you can't always go back down in negotiations.

Here is why I wouldn't go higher.
she barley used the boat
she hasn't called you to tell you its sold yet has she?
she hasn't even taken it out on the water this year
Job situation doesn't sound the best, sounds like she wants OUT from your post. I could be reading into things.

And the MAJOR reason is.... She dropped 900 because you spoke to her on the price. She needs to move it.

 

[jkust]

Re: Found a boat, what do you think? HELP!

Well, my take on the hours is that without an hour meter they can say whatever they want and frankly hours don't tell you a lot anyway unless it is an MPI which of course that 3.0 isn't. I think focussing on hours can be a bit of a red herring. However 50 hours on a 9 year old boat isn't unheard of especially where there is a short boating season like here in MN. It seems everyone I know has a nice boat in their garage that tends to just sit and get a few weekends per season of use and even then the engine isn't running much of the time. We should break 100 hours on our 2003 by season end as an example. We mostly just hang out so for every hour we run the engine there is probably 4 hours of down time. Toward the middle of the season as it is now I'd throw out an especially low offer especially considering it has the 3.0 base power in it and her circumstances. The 3.0 equipped boats are plentiful and cheap even in high-priced Minnesota. I see boats with the 3.0 more than any other I/O as you'd expect. I would also not buy a boat if it was my only boat without removable carpet for any price. In that 2001ish year, some manufacturers were starting to have no carpet and diamond pattern, glass sole as the standard and you actually have to purchase the snap in carpet as an option.