Boat Price Reckoning

Don’t finance things that depreciate-best financial advice I ever got. Have I driven ugly cars that towed ugly boats? Yup & yup.

Boats hold there value because the new ones keeping going up. Tim you only live once cant take your money with you, go out and get that new boat you always wanted.

tim hurley wrote:

Don’t finance things that depreciate-best financial advice I ever got. Have I driven ugly cars that towed ugly boats? Yup & yup.

As stated a couple years ago earlier in the thread the only reckoning coming is if/when we have a serious financial recession or depression.

tim hurley wrote:

Don’t finance things that depreciate-best financial advice I ever got. Have I driven ugly cars that towed ugly boats? Yup & yup.

I don’t think that’s very good advice Tim! By the same logic old boats and old commuter cars have been appreciating the last few years, but I still would not recommend a loan on them .

tim hurley wrote:

Don’t finance things that depreciate-best financial advice I ever got. Have I driven ugly cars that towed ugly boats? Yup & yup.

If that’s the best you may want to find a new financial planner.

tim hurley wrote:

Don’t finance things that depreciate-best financial advice I ever got. Have I driven ugly cars that towed ugly boats? Yup & yup.

That’s probably good advice. The problem with it is who knows what is going to depreciate. Even homes have as some points. Probably the safest item over the years has been land. But then again, you never know.

tim hurley wrote:

Don’t finance things that depreciate-best financial advice I ever got. Have I driven ugly cars that towed ugly boats? Yup & yup.

My truck is at 0% and my boat is under 2%. I’m not paying a cent extras on the truck and pay extra on the boat when we can. The boat I bought 3 springs ago has gone up in price by over $15,000 if I bought it now. Where in this would it have made sense for me to wait until I saved up enough cash? Have 1000 hours racked up on my humminbird already using it now instead of years later. Cash doesn’t buy time

Uh oh, I think this is devolving into one of those classic IDO threads about financing. Didn’t mean to steer it in that direction, I was honestly just surprised by Carter’s numbers. The numbers from his follow-up do make more sense.

Anyone else curiously watching the used market the last few weeks? Is it just me or are we finally seeing a notable downward trend? Maybe it’s getting close to end-of-season for a lot of casual boaters and they don’t want to deal with another year or winterizing and storage? Or maybe interest rates and cost of everything else is finally making boat ownership unrealistic for some people? Seems like a lot has hit the market lately and prices, while still high, are $2000-$3000 less than earlier in the summer.

Yes prices are falling somewhat. I know I couldn’t get what I asked for my ProV this spring. I still have it and am compilating what to do. I’m fortunate in that I don’t owe anything on it. I’m tossing the idea of maybe trading it or selling it or maybe even trade it with a private party who wants to move into a bigger glass boat. I’m going back to a tiller although I haven’t decided what size yet. For anybody who saved their pennies and won’t need financing there will be a few deals around if they can move fast.

Just my personal opinion.

ThunderLund78 wrote:

Anyone else curiously watching the used market the last few weeks? Is it just me or are we finally seeing a notable downward trend? Maybe it’s getting close to end-of-season for a lot of casual boaters and they don’t want to deal with another year or winterizing and storage?

I have also noticed that. I have been shopping for a used boat for the cabin.

I put it down to two things. First a return to normalcy. This decline in pricing as the summer wore on is not unusual, it’s normal. We just had a period of years where there was massive and extended demand for both new and used recreational products. That trend is over now.

Also I think for now at least the market has kind of reached an equilibrium. Everybody that wanted a boat over the past five years now has one. On top of that many have tried it and discovered it wasn’t for them. Those vehicles are out on the market on top of just the normal number of used boats for sale.

In my opinion prices on used boats are going to decline on like for like models simply because the supply is back and the demand has been reduced. It’s obviously going to take some sellers some time to adjust to the new reality. I still see plenty of prices where the seller is clearly trying to break even on what they paid or what the item was worth during the period of peak demand. As they say, that ship has sailed.

I watch fb, CL, and WC on a regular basis. Boats that would of got snatched up in a day last spring are now hanging around for weeks. Some models are still hot if priced right. Some sellers are still in fantasy land with prices.

Well Subway gets $15 for a 12″ sub so I’m not sure there is a fantasy land for boat sales. Boats get priced at what the market will bare and how bad people want to get away from them.

I have started seeing a number of expensive 1-2 yr old boats with low hours coming for sale…and not guide boats. I’m guessing either inflation costs made these unaffordable or not as much time to fish compared to the covid years

Dutchy saw a 1998 690 listed for 30k just 3 weeks ago. It did have current DF’s and TM. Boat, outboard, and trailer was 1998 vintage. He was in fantasy land in my opinion.

I just sold my 97 lund dropped 1500 from where I started. On the other hand it’s 3500 under what I payed for it new in 1998.

I believe its coming down a lot. I have been watching for awhile. Even reached out to the dealerships on new and they have dropped a lot since spring. Some 10%. I think you will be able to find good deals on 2023s as the 2024s start hitting. Used seem to be trending down as well.

I bought my boat in the summer of 20 . Not one regret . One of the better things I’ve ever boughten . Can wait forever for a better price for a few grand or you can jump in and have tons of memories and pictures to go with it .

People are tapped out, banks are tightening up lending, and loans are no longer affordable. Even taking it out of the house is not affordable anymore. No one is doing cash out refis with the current rates. People have high CC balances. Hard to come up with the cash for an expensive boat.

isu22andy wrote:

I bought my boat in the summer of 20 . Not one regret . One of the better things I’ve ever boughten . Can wait forever for a better price for a few grand or you can jump in and have tons of memories and pictures to go with it .

Totally agree with this. So many guy seem to be waiting around for the flood of boats to hit the market. But no one is going to be giving them away. So it’s a few thousand cheaper. Is it really worth waiting for a few thousand off if that’s your dream boat and you can afford it. Live is short.

I haven’t paid as close of attention to boats lately, but atvs are starting to hit a wall too. I’m trying to find a small used Honda to bomb around the land with and use ice fishing. Units priced to move still go fast, but the people who bought a used ATV 5 years ago and think they will flip it for a profit are starting to see that window has closed.

Just sold my boat for 4k more than what I bought it for 10 years ago. Took 3 days.
Upgraded to one that I though I got a fair deal on. Enjoying it very much.
Both were used.

Dealer had a boat i was interested in . 40 grand plus , same rig precovid 30 grand . Stealership telling me act now many interested it will go fast ! That was May now 1/2 way through AUGUST and its still not sold ! LOL They can pound sand ! Not playing that game .

I’ve been watching C. L. all summer. Mostly trying to find the nonexistent 9.9 to 25hp outboard. Tons of 18′ t0 30′ pleasure boats for sale. Think due to a lot of the lower Mississippi pools have been flooded all spring, then after a month or so after getting boatable. They drop the bottom out and you’re chopping rocks and backing off the ramp. Very few fishing boats though. Think I’ve just figured out. Due to not getting new inventory. There is a dealer in town, that is buying every used fishing boat that’s not grossly overpriced. Then marking it up 30 to 100% and selling the heck out of them. You may not see a drop in prices, but stabilization. Unlike the RV industry. Boat manufacturers never got caught up, then overproduced. I believe they will back off manufacturing and keep supply below the demand. Then be able to maintain inflated prices. The same way they are doing with trucks. Noticed today, they have burned up the overstock of OSB. So, it’s back up from $12 to $20.

My friend was looking at a 2023 Lund Adventure 1775 back in March and the dealer he spoke with wanted $53k for it. That conversation ended pretty quick.

Today my friend texted me and it read that the very same boat he wanted in March is down to $40k.

gim wrote:

My friend was looking at a 2023 Lund Adventure 1775 back in March and the dealer he spoke with wanted $53k for it. That conversation ended pretty quick.

Today my friend texted me and it read that the very same boat he wanted in March is down to $40k.

A lot of pricing the last 2 to 3 years has been people ”swinging for the fence”. Often not caring if something sells quickly or sells at all. But if someone pays it, yeah, I’ll sell it!! House we rented in Florida 4 years ago had a Zillow estimate of $130,000. Last year someone offered them $480,000. Yeah, it was for sale!!
$40k has probably been the real number on that boat all along. If he still has it next spring. The price will probably go back up. There are a lot of people that have been on the right side of inflation the last few years that won’t hesitate to overpay $10k if it’s what they want, and someone has it.

So did he buy it or still kicking tires?

gim wrote:

My friend was looking at a 2023 Lund Adventure 1775 back in March and the dealer he spoke with wanted $53k for it. That conversation ended pretty quick.

Today my friend texted me and it read that the very same boat he wanted in March is down to $40k.

bigcrappie wrote:

So did he buy it or still kicking tires?

Lol I don’t think he bought it but I couldn’t tell you for sure.

gim wrote:

My friend was looking at a 2023 Lund Adventure 1775 back in March and the dealer he spoke with wanted $53k for it. That conversation ended pretty quick.

Today my friend texted me and it read that the very same boat he wanted in March is down to $40k.

Id text the dealer back and tell him 30

I hope the pricing comes down by next spring. I hope to be in the market for a newer used boat by then. Like some have said, If I find the boat I’m looking for I will probably still buy it even if it still seems like the price is slightly inflated. But not if the prices were near what I was seeing them at last year when I was doing some looking around.

Jake D wrote:

Id text the dealer back and tell him 30

I have a feeling that if its still available towards the end of this year when they need to make room for 2024 stock he might make an offer that they’ll accept.