Asking price vs. what you paid

We're in the process of searching for our Loop boat and may be ready to make an offer, but are unsure of where to start on price. It seems that prices drop regularly by 10K and even 20K at a time on Yacht World. The boats we're looking at in Ontario seem to be priced higher. Love to hear from anyone who is willing to share so we have some idea what to offer as our starting point. What was the difference in asking price vs. what you paid, even a percentage would help, if you'd be willing to share. Thanks!

Vahevala said:

We're in the process of searching for our Loop boat and may be ready to make an offer, but are unsure of where to start on price. It seems that prices drop regularly by 10K and even 20K at a time on Yacht World. The boats we're looking at in Ontario seem to be priced higher. Love to hear from anyone who is willing to share so we have some idea what to offer as our starting point. What was the difference in asking price vs. what you paid, even a percentage would help, if you'd be willing to share. Thanks!

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Offered 20% less pd 17% less on well maintained boat. How bad do you want it?

Heard of deals for half asking... All depends, how reasonable is the asking probe? Good luck and have fun!!!

offered 10% less on a Craigs list boat...renegotiated after survey wound up only about 5% less..but it was a model I wanted and in the right price range...which is a bigger deal than the actual price....because it's the boat you want and no other model will do.

We paid the asking price but that was because the owner had just purchased a larger GB and didn't want to own two boats. He simply wanted to unload this one. His asking price was so much lower than the typical price for the same age and condition GB in the Puget Sound area that the cost of the boat, trucking from Alameda to Tacoma, a bunch of yard work, and adding some new electronics still put us ahead of buying a similar boat up here.

I don't know if the huge price disparity between boats up here and the same age and condition of similar boats in California still exists today, but it could pay to buy a boat in an area where the market for that kind of boat is not as good as in your area. Even with the transportation costs you could come out way ahead.

psneeld said:

it's the boat you want and no other model will do.

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This is what its all about. Once you've narrowed all the choices down to make and model. Try to go see several. This will give you an idea of what range they are marketed at in varying condition. Take notes when you check them out. If one boat has an inop Genset and is significantly lower than one that works but is very dated or marginal for the loads encountered, it may be better in the end to buy a boat with some "problems" esp if they are areas you'd likely want to address anyway.
We probably looked at a dozen Mainships, this also will probably let you find what a particular make's problem areas are and you can look more scrutinizingly. Its also nice to have a back-up boat incase your offer is rejected. Once you get down to the offering stage you've probably got the bug BAD and want a boat ASAP, don't fall in love. There are lots of boats on the market and they aren't moving fast. Esp true in northern climates with winter approaching.

twiisted71 said:

This is what its all about. Once you've narrowed all the choices down to make and model. Try to go see several. This will give you an idea of what range they are marketed at in varying condition. Take notes when you check them out. If one boat has an inop Genset and is significantly lower than one that works but is very dated or marginal for the loads encountered, it may be better in the end to buy a boat with some "problems" esp if they are areas you'd likely want to address anyway.
We probably looked at a dozen Mainships, this also will probably let you find what a particular make's problem areas are and you can look more scrutinizingly. Its also nice to have a back-up boat incase your offer is rejected. Once you get down to the offering stage you've probably got the bug BAD and want a boat ASAP, don't fall in love. There are lots of boats on the market and they aren't moving fast. Esp true in northern climates with winter approaching.

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True but when there's only ONE available after you have narrowed it down...it's not a question of lot's of options...it becomes the question of whether or not you'll pay a negotiated price or NOT....fot the boat you want...

psneeld said:

True but when there's only ONE available after you have narrowed it down...it's not a question of lot's of options...it becomes the question of whether or not you'll pay a negotiated price or NOT....fot the boat you want...

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Yep. I love my boat. Matt and I were talking today. If someone offered us TWICE what we paid... We MIGHT sell...

Yes tis true. I'm used to living in the land of every used boat possible is on the market here!

PG right there with you. I know I got a great deal and I'd have to get quite a bit more than I paid to turn loose as I know I couldn't run out and replace with the same condition for the same money very easily.

We offered half of the asking price and the owner took it. He was detached from the boat and had a new toy. Two boat owners get tired of storage costs and Fall is a great time to get a deal.

JohnP

In the spring of 2004 in a fairly strong market we offered 25% less than asking brokerage price as listed on Yachtworld and got the boat for 22% less than asking. I'd think that those numbers could still be good today. However, each seller is different and has a different situation and motivation.

JohnP said:

We offered half of the asking price and the owner took it. He was detached from the boat and had a new toy. Two boat owners get tired of storage costs and Fall is a great time to get a deal.

JohnP

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True of a lot of boats...but owners of boat models that they know are in demand or popular may not be so quick to drop that far.

its not just a percentage thing, its how how badly the owner wants to sell, and how much the owner can afford to sell the boat for.

Often times the "best" bargains are boats that the owner owns outright and really wants to sell.

My boat would have been to some a great deal, and to others no deal at all.

It was owned by a bank and the owner had mechanically neglected her. The inside looked great but a previous offer had been made and the survey showed high blowby on one of the Cummins engines.

The boat is a 2001 Bayliner 4788. The asking price started at $249 then dropped to $199 after the engines failed survey.

I offered $115 and settled on $130

I then had the boat repowered, new genset, and brought back to better than new condition. That cost me a little over a hundred K out of my own pocket.

Did I get a bargain??? I think so. I have into the boat a little over what I could have purchased one in decent shape with lots of "options". The difference is that my options are exactly what I wanted. The engines are brand new cummins factory remans, the generator is factory new northern lights, new furnaces, new watermaker, waste system, satcom system, the list goes on and on.

Our boat - Asking price $110K, appraisal from two different surveyors ( Seller ) $179 & ( Mine ) $149, Market price ( several researches ) $180K, Final offer $92K providing seller brought it to a Marina that was close to me ( 19hrs of steam time for him ) and motor ( 5hp ) placed on tender. Deal set and happy with everything.

Elwin

ksanders said:

its not just a percentage thing, its how how badly the owner wants to sell, and how much the owner can afford to sell the boat for.

Often times the "best" bargains are boats that the owner owns outright and really wants to sell.

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Every situation is unique and a one size fits all percentage can not apply IMO.

Condition sells the boat , and sets the price.

Ask your broker or ask a broker friend. Brokers who list on Yacht-World have the ability to see what the listed price and what a boat actually sold for. They can do this for a specific make, year and model.

Thanks everyone for the great responses! So helpful to us as we move forward. Twisted: so true we are at that stage! I think we have settled on the style and this one fits the bill. I think they have her overpriced by about 20K after looking at others that are similar. I guess we throw the number out there and see where it takes us. Great to have all this info to help us in the process. Will keep you updated!

1st Post here and no I am not a yacht broker but I do have access to soldboats.com If you let me know the year and model I could email you the sold boats data.

For those not familiar with it ...when a boat that was listed on yachtworld is sold, the broker is required to report the acrual sales details. yachtworld takes that data and posts it on soldboats (paid access).

Is some of the info fudged ?.... maybe a little but not much (my opinion)

Paid 40% less than the asking price. Survey helped a lot, plus the timing (mid december in NY is not the best time to sell a boat).

Not surprisingly everyone KNOWS they made a killer deal on their current boat. The best advice so far is to find comparable sales which will require a broker to access the database. The asking price is irrelevant so a discount from asking is equally irrelevant.

Bank Repo. Started out at 30% below asking settled in at 20% below and it was a hell of a deal. Surveyed out at almost double what I paid. The PO took care of it and added a new generator, 160gpd watermaker, 2 new A/C's and added a bow thruster a year and half before I got the boat and then walked away 8 months later. It did have a bad aft fuel tank but the bank had a new one made and installed before I signed. NOTE: If a tank is empty have it pressure tested. The best 300 bucks I ever spent on a boat. That cost the bank another 8k.

I bought my boat at the beginning of this year I must have looked at 30 boats Prices were all over the place The condition of the boat did not seem to figure into the price I finally paid 50% of asking price The owner owed asking price to the bank and paid it of berfore we closed the deal Husband died and wife wanted to get rid of the boat

There are lots of factors to consider when making an offer. Sometimes its things that come out of the blue that make a seller say yes. My boat's owner was advancing in years, didn't use the boat much that year, and had just gotten it out of the shipyard. I made a LOW but not absurd offer on a Thursday. PO asked if he could have 24 hours to think it over (we had gotten the "I'm tired of boat shopping we're about to buy one" bug) as I told him there was only one other boat in contention and we were buying it or his! The recent haulout bill and lack of use had prompted him to put the boat on the market seriously, what got us the boat however was on Friday the stock market took a BIG hit. Not only had his savings took a loss but he knew most of the people in the trawler market were in the stockmarket just like him, so some guy itching to write a check started looking good!

Great info, thanks! I think he has about 1/2 tank in there now.

We're in NY as well. We're thinking maybe we sit on it for awhile. A friend said the same thing, dock reservations are due in Jan. so Dec. is a good time to move. The owner has it set for haul out end of Sept. The hard part is there are few diesel trawler/MY in this area. So we have literally put 2500 miles on in the past month or so driving around to find something. Going to Trawlerfest in Baltimore and hope to learn more, meet others of like mind and see some trawlers all in one spot!

boatpoker said:

1st Post here and no I am not a yacht broker but I do have access to soldboats.com If you let me know the year and model I could email you the sold boats data.

For those not familiar with it ...when a boat that was listed on yachtworld is sold, the broker is required to report the acrual sales details. yachtworld takes that data and posts it on soldboats (paid access).

Is some of the info fudged ?.... maybe a little but not much (my opinion)

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2002 Mainship 390?

Many thanks

Can't seem to atttach this file type. Send me a PM and I'll send it to your email address

boatpoker said:

Can't seem to atttach this file type. Send me a PM and I'll send it to your email address

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My email is bill3558@yahoo.com

The hard part is there are few diesel trawler/MY in this area.

Why diesel????

Planning on over 200 -300 hours a year?

Or a 1500 - 3500 mile offshore leg?

Pineapple Girl said:

Yep. I love my boat. Matt and I were talking today. If someone offered us TWICE what we paid... We MIGHT sell...

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By Jiggity = = > Jennifer hit the nail on the head - - > Again!

That's the same way Linda and I feel bout our baby girl Tolly!
Soooo... IMHO that means:

1. Make sure the craft you offer on is exactly the brand, size and design boat you want to keep and use for a long time.

2. Before paying... "You - Personally" check it out super carefully from top to bottom - marine surveyors and mechanics as required.

3. Get real with your offer price and push the seller to get real with the sale price; especially in today's super soft market. CASH TALKS!

4. Upon purchase completion plan for years of boating enjoyment!

Also, don't be afraid to wait to locate the correct craft, i.e. a boat that's in the correct condition and available at the correct price. It took us a four (4) year search to find our Tolly. We'd been aboard many boats during our search and had been on several sea trials. When we came across the right one she gave us "that" feeling the moment we boarded and I began opening up her confines (I have a background on boats). Went for a romping sea trial the next day with surveyor and mechanic I already had lined up for a quick schedule review. I pushed her hard through the passes in 3’ to 3.5’ white capped choppy seas of SF Bay – inc WOT (4400/4500 rpm at 21/22 knots) for some minutes (owner was all a quiver on the bridge by how hard I pushed her! He even got in argument with my surveyor about that being how hard I should push her - LOL) Then I donned my mask/fins and with strong u/w flash light dove under her... she was just as owners invoice copy and as had been expressed by workers at adjacent boat yard - hauled a month prior for coats of bottom paint, new boot stripe, shined props, new zincs and good through hulls. Seller and I sat down that eve for a real-honest “CASH-VALUE” chat. That was August 30th 2008. Piloted our well surveyed, good condition, and fully paid for (affordable-value to say the least) Tolly to our preferred marina’s slip the next day. Haven’t looked back since! We’ve no plans to sell her and she continues to be a champ in every way! We use her in SF Delta cruising and on the hook during long weekends and vacations often as possible I will admit... there were circumstances that strongly affected the seller to make him want to sell a very good condition craft at the right “cash” price. That said... and like I mentioned above... “Don't be afraid to wait to locate the correct craft, i.e. a boat that's in the correct condition and available at the correct price.” I believe you will then be glad you took the time and effort to locate the boat of your dreams!

Get It On... Be Careful... And, Enjoy Your Boating Daze!! Art