such thing as a boat investment?

[Scoop88Cheetah]

Yea i recently bought a 1988 Cheetah 195es, and i thought it was a really good looking boat, and a decent ski/cruiser. its in alright condition, needs vinyl work and new bottom paint. My question is... who makes Cheetah? Where is this dead company? and where can i get info on what its worth?
BECAUSE i planned on turning it over to sell next season. I work at boaters world and the 50%+ discount is helping significantly. I bought boat for 2k.
i think i should continue to invest money cause well its a boat, but also i think this boat/model is fairly rare. what do you think?

thanks, Seth

 

[CATransplant]

Re: such thing as a boat investment?

Rare isn't necessarily a good thing when it comes time to sell a boat that's 20 years old. If you look at Craigs List in several cities, you'll see that the boats that bring the highest prices at that age are the well-known names, not oddball brands.

It's tough to make money fixing up boats that fall into the 20-year-old category. There are lots of boats that age around and for sale, some of them already in excellent condition. Again, Craigs List should be your guide on values.

 

[CATransplant]

Re: such thing as a boat investment?

More info:

Cheetah Boats has a website:

www.cheetahboats.net

There's also an informational page here on iboats.com on Cheetah boats:

http://www.iboats.com/Cheetah_Boats/bp/20br1102

All that and more came up with a Google search for Cheetah Boats.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: such thing as a boat investment?

i've been restoring boats for years. i retired at 42 y/o, needed a hobbie, that turned into a sort of business. the only way you make money doing this, is to repair other peoples boats, for a fee.
i have 3 running completed boats and a project boat presently.

 

[Scoop88Cheetah]

Re: such thing as a boat investment?

your right its sort of "off the wall" brand boat, although it has the 3.0 merc, im thinking i should invest money in this boat for me, because it is very sharp looking and of course need a boat for myself lol.

And that website looks like a failed attempt to bring an old company back to life haha

 

[ArkBoater]

Re: such thing as a boat investment?

your right its sort of "off the wall" brand boat, although it has the 3.0 merc, im thinking i should invest money in this boat for me, because it is very sharp looking and of course need a boat for myself lol.

And that website looks like a failed attempt to bring an old company back to life haha

You have a picture of your boat??!!!! I have a 1988 Cheetah 1650ls with the 3.0 Merc in it too!!

 

[Scoop88Cheetah]

Re: such thing as a boat investment?

i have pictures, but im at work so i can explain it to you lol.

the hull is black, and above water line its red. all the seats are a red black and white, its a 9 person capacity which is alot i think. it has two swivels and bench in the back. lol ill just post pics later!

 

[ArkBoater]

Re: such thing as a boat investment?

i have pictures, but im at work so i can explain it to you lol.

the hull is black, and above water line its red. all the seats are a red black and white, its a 9 person capacity which is alot i think. it has two swivels and bench in the back. lol ill just post pics later!

ok. haha

Sounds like a little different layout than mine. Of course mine is like 17' length and yours I'm guessing is 19.5 or 20' right?

Here is mine.

I bought mine from a family friend last spring and he had it since it was new. We have enjoyed it greatly so far.

 

[Scoop88Cheetah]

Re: such thing as a boat investment?

yea i would say its a good 19' although iboats said it was 18' something"

and thats a very clean looking boat! i love the cheetah decals in certain places on mine and yours. you got a good deal whatever you paid, being the second owner and knowing the first. who knows what # owner i am haha.

 

[ArkBoater]

Re: such thing as a boat investment?

yea i would say its a good 19' although iboats said it was 18' something"

and thats a very clean looking boat! i love the cheetah decals in certain places on mine and yours. you got a good deal whatever you paid, being the second owner and knowing the first. who knows what # owner i am haha.

Yeah I paid $3500 for it so I think I did pretty well. Helps knowing the previous owner.

 

[Scoop88Cheetah]

Re: such thing as a boat investment?

and since i have not put it in the water, the boat is still on the trailer wrong cause the guy before me had an emergency and had to go (his baby) and i was with him, and didnt have time to get it right haha

 

[ArkBoater]

Re: such thing as a boat investment?

Looks like it?s a nice boat! You will enjoy it I'm sure! I can definitely see some resemblance in some areas to my cheetah.

 

[fishingdan]

Re: such thing as a boat investment?

I buy and sell a used boat every couple of seasons. I enjoy the changes and learning about different boats. As noted above, it is rare that you will make money doing this.

In pristine condition, I would say that you could get somewhere between $3000 - $4000 (assuming you don't want to spend a lot of time selling the boat) in my area. That said, that pretty much sets your budget.

My goal is to always get out of a boat for no less than I have put into it. That means that my family enjoys the boats for a couple of seasons and then we move on to another. In the end, our only costs have been operating costs and time.

That said, I just picked up a boat that I expect to keep longer than those I have recently owned/built. It is a 19' bowrider with a nearly new (50 some real hours) 4.3 mercruiser (engine and outdrive). The previous owner was meticulous and kept detailed records of everything done on the boat. That is the value of a used boat - knowning the maintenance history.

Don't invest too much $$, be realistic about your end goals and ENJOY the project.

Good luck,
Dan

 

[Nandy]

Re: such thing as a boat investment?

Hello scoop, Im also in Charlotte. I boat mountain island lake mostly. Maybe we can see each other there some time. Enjoy your boat!!!!

 

[Scoop88Cheetah]

Re: such thing as a boat investment?

thank you all for the replies and as for the investment, my boaters world discount makes everything needed ridiculously cheap, and i feel i can do more and potentially get more out of it in the long run, both pleasure and a good boat to sell someone. But in the end, its how impressed the buyer is, ultimately making the sell!

and yes Nandy mountain island lake is BEAUTIFUL! but havent been boating there yet. im right on Wiley, and if one day this season i want to see a white wake behind my boat and not a brown one, ill call you up!!! HAHAHA

 

[Nandy]

Re: such thing as a boat investment?

Well, I have boated in Wiley just a couple of times. I am doing a temporary fix on my boat which I should be done by the end of this week. Maybe we can work something out, "my" lake or "your" lake.

 

[tnduc]

Re: such thing as a boat investment?

An investment is something that you put money into expecting to gain back more than you put in. If that boat does that for you, then I guess it is an investment .