How do you know the true price?

GTbay · **Posted:** Sun Jun 29, 2014 11:26 am

In looking at boats and the asking price, there can be quite a difference. Where would you go to get a "blue book" value for a boat you are looking to buy or sell?

RotaryRacer · **Posted:** Sun Jun 29, 2014 2:02 pm

NADA has a free valuation for boats on line. Not the most accurate but it gets you in the ball park.

BUC Book is the marine industry standard.

GottWhat · **Posted:** Sun Jun 29, 2014 3:33 pm

One thing about NADA I don't like is it does not factor hours. In my opinion, it would kind of like be estimating the value of the car without knowing the mileage. For example, we just bought our 2000 H180 with only 148 hours which is super low for a 14 year old boat but NADA would value it the same as a boat with 800 hours.

Paul I. · **Posted:** Mon Jun 30, 2014 8:00 am

Also go to YachtWorld.com and compare.

ric · **Posted:** Mon Jun 30, 2014 8:36 am

GottWhat wrote:

One thing about NADA I don't like is it does not factor hours. In my opinion, it would kind of like be estimating the value of the car without knowing the mileage. For example, we just bought our 2000 H180 with only 148 hours which is super low for a 14 year old boat but NADA would value it the same as a boat with 800 hours.

That's because hours does not represent anything but when you should change oil. A boat with 100 hours can be beat to dirt with faded vinyl and engine about to blow while a boat with 800 hours could be showroom condition cosmetically and mechanically.

Generally speaking in the marine world.... You want to see at least 50 hours a year. Anything less and you're most likely going to see issues.

Jdpber · **Posted:** Mon Jun 30, 2014 8:47 am

dad just repowered his 1988 Sea Squirt Center console replaced the 175 yamaha. it has 4,280 hours.. yes four thousand.. and the only reason for the repower is because the #5 piston blew a ring and lost compression. but the hull is immaculate. Hours do not mean jack sh!t to me i look at condition and service logs. Also you need to remember that low hours the same as low miles on a car does not always mean it is better than a used boat/car.. cars and boats that sit and sit without use actually have more mechanical and little issues than those that are used.. motors do not like to sit. My dads boat has NEVER been winterized. their has been no reason because he uses it year around. drains the block after a flush the salt water out and life is good.

RiC hit the nail no the head with condition>hours. use hours as an indicator but do not steer away from a great condition boat because of high hours or seek out a super low hours bout that has been siting.. Boats are not regulated or as tight on the "sticker" price as cars.. you have more room with a dealer and used individuals to haggle.

rpengr · **Posted:** Mon Jun 30, 2014 10:00 am

I agree.

The lifespan of a marine I/O could be estimated as 20 years or 3000+ hours... whichever comes first. For the vast majority of recreational users, that means that age and condition are what matters. (obviously, there are some out there that fail sooner, and others that are going strong at 30 years)

Hours can be used to help indicate if the engine was used often enough to keep the internal parts oiled and free of water moisture. An engine that does not get used can fail prematurely due to rusted internal parts, such as the camshaft.

GottWhat · **Posted:** Mon Jun 30, 2014 12:18 pm

I understand that condition and maintenance are major factors but if two boats were in equal condition with equal maintenance, wouldn't the one with the lesser hours be the one you would want? Similar to a car. Sure, you can find cars with 100,000 miles that look better than cars with 30,000 miles but the mileage is still a factor. This is just in general, of course there will be specific circumstances where things might be different.

Up here, 50 hours a year is harder to achieve when you only have half a year for boating.

Jdpber · **Posted:** Mon Jun 30, 2014 12:33 pm

condition tells me more than hours.. how a person maintains the hull, carpet, upholstery, cleans the hinge seams. tells me that the owner maintains the boat well and that more than likely equal effort was put into the motor and drive.. My boat did not have the hour meter option.. i have added one for my own piece of mind, but non the less my motor could have 20 hours or could have 20,000 for all i know.. the scope camera showed good cal walls and piston tops.. but i f i have 2 boats next to each other with equal condition and one with higher hours. i will probably go with the lower hours out of principal of resale.. then again my tahoe has 182k miles on it and the inside and out are mint. Then again i am the type of person that i love to buy things from because i meticulously maintain and take care of my toys.

rpengr · **Posted:** Mon Jun 30, 2014 12:36 pm

GottWhat wrote:

One thing about NADA I don't like is it does not factor hours. In my opinion, it would kind of like be estimating the value of the car without knowing the mileage. For example, we just bought our 2000 H180 with only 148 hours which is super low for a 14 year old boat but NADA would value it the same as a boat with 800 hours.

In order to compare this with how we think of used cars...
I would say the 14 y/o boat with 148 hours is like an 10 y/o car with 6000 miles.
......... and the 14 y/o boat with 800 hours is like an 10 y/o car with 32,000 miles.
Both are low mileage, but both are 10 years old. Buy the one that was garage kept, cleaned, waxed, and maintained and ignore the relatively small mileage difference.

ric · **Posted:** Mon Jun 30, 2014 12:56 pm

Low hours = it's been sitting. Sitting in storage does more damage than being used weekly.

If you were to sell me two identical boats. Take for example a 2005 268 Vista. One with 50 hours always in storage it's whole life. The other with 600 hours with a full service history used almost every weekend.

I would buy the 600hr boat. No questions asked. You know it runs and works perfect. The other boat? Who knows. Very low hour boats are generally always abused. Taken out once a month on last year's oil and usually doing laps at WOT. No thanks.

GottWhat · **Posted:** Mon Jun 30, 2014 1:17 pm

Like I said, condition and maintenance are definitely the biggest factor. I just think hours should have some consideration. For example, when buying our boat I looked at two identical H180s except the I did NOT buy was two years newer with about 40 less hours. I went with our boat because it was meticulously maintained and in great condition. The owners lived on a small lake but never stored the boat in the water and you could tell (plus, they only had room for their pontoon boat in the water). The owner knew the boat inside and out. When not being used, it was in the garage. You could tell this family really cared about this boat.

Whereas the newer boat with slightly less hours had a tip of one of the aluminum prop blades was cracked off. It looked like he had backed the boat and trailer into a wall with it. The interior had a few small holes that looked like they were sealed by some type of glue. When I asked if they had maintenance records, the son said dad was a master mechanic and did the work himself. I asked for specifics of when things were done and he really didn’t know. Oil looked dirty and other maintenance was suspect. Worst of all, the guy said the boat was owned by his dad and his buddy which means it wasn't loved the same way a one family boat would care for it.

What I am trying to say is, condition and maintenance are definitely the biggest factor but hours should have some consideration.

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