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First Timers Question


ScooterM

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Hi all great forum. I am really glad I found it, as it has been a indispensable source of information. To the point: I grew up skiing and barefooting in the 80's and completely missed out on advent of the wakeboard. I havent even been behind a boat for 15 years (since I got married and got to the business of going to college and working). My kids are getting old enough to learn how to ski or wakeboard more likely, they are 7 and 11. So... for the last 3 weeks I have been researching all things boat and came to the pretty quick conclusion I wanted a wakeboard boat and specifically a Malibu. I'm probably going to spend between 20K and 30K and the problem I have been having is properly valuing all the different boats I see, specifically by NADA guidelines. So my main question is this... NADA says that options should not be added to the blue book valuation if they were standard equipment. Is there a place to go to find out what early 2000 model options came standard with Malibu VLXs or LSVs? I found a boat for sale close to home that is a 2000 Escape LSV for $26,000+ and the copy of the blue book valuation the seller sent me has every option from fire extinguisher to swim deck to wakeboard tower selected? So is this the true value of the boat or is some if this "double dipping"? Thanks again for everyone out there sharing their knowledge, it is a great resource for those of was wanting to get back on the water. Sorry for such a long first post.

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MalibuNation

I don't agree with what NADA is saying, especially expensive options, i.e. Tower, Perfect Pass ... engine upgrades, dual vs single axle trailers. Sometimes options at worth dimes on the doallars. If you have some options in mind let me know as I have a fully loaded 2003 21' Sunscape.

Another thing I would do is search here for going prices, also www.boattraderonline.com, www.onlyinboards.com.

Last, for what you want to spend I think you should get a nice boat.

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I'm probably going to spend between 20K and 30K and the problem I have been having is properly valuing all the different boats I see, specifically by NADA guidelines. So my main question is this... NADA says that options should not be added to the blue book valuation if they were standard equipment. Is there a place to go to find out what early 2000 model options came standard with Malibu VLXs or LSVs? I found a boat for sale close to home that is a 2000 Escape LSV for $26,000+ and the copy of the blue book valuation the seller sent me has every option from fire extinguisher to swim deck to wakeboard tower selected? So is this the true value of the boat or is some if this "double dipping"?

First off, the NADA is a very loose guideline, especially in this economy. I don't blame

the seller for trying to justify a higher price by adding in nickle-and-dime options, but

I'd focus more on the condition of the boat and the documentation of maintenance than

whether or not there is a fire extinguisher or a stereo remote!

The major upgrades, like tower, engine, stereo (some people spend literally thousands

on their stereo systems) are certainly worth consideration. But, all of these boats

come with a swim platform, and most with a wedge. So, I'd just ignore those "options."

One other thing to consider is that NADA does not include the trailer.

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NADA, and boatrader, craigslist, are just a few sites to get and compare prices. Find similar boats from different websites (including dealers) and compare the prices and options with what you're looking for.

Welcome to the Crew. :welcome:

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agreed with what others say, you really just gotta look around at whats for sale and do the research. Nada and BB dont work for boats like they do for cars.

Where are you located? I've got a 02 21LSV for sale, simmilar to that escape, but I can gaurentee its loaded more. A better crossover wake, monsoon, wedge, and an illusion tower (current through 2009) to list just a few. In your price range too!

http://www.themalibucrew.com/forums/index.php?/topic/25874-2002-malibu-21lsv-illusion-x-tower-rockin-wetsounds-system-monsoon-wedge-ballast-pp-sg-loaded-280hrs/page__p__378802__hl__surf__fromsearch__1entry378802

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First off thanks for all the quick responses. All very useful information.

First off, the NADA is a very loose guideline, especially in this economy. I don't blame

the seller for trying to justify a higher price by adding in nickle-and-dime options, but

I'd focus more on the condition of the boat and the documentation of maintenance than

whether or not there is a fire extinguisher or a stereo remote!

"

One other thing to consider is that NADA does not include the trailer.

I couldn't agree more, the thing I'm focused on is finding a good "base" to start with. Something that has been well maintained and serves our expected basic needs, I couldn't really care less about stereo and similar options; I can add that later if it something we can't live without. But I do want to understand the value of each part because I certainly don't expect whatever seller I end up dealing with to remove something I don't want. At that point I can make a fair offer and hopefully come to an arrangement that makes buyer and seller happy. I guess my newbie observation is that the sunsetter seems to be the basic setup, its base value seems to be about $2k-$3K less than a wakesetter. I'm guessing since I can't find documentation that the difference in the two is that a boat called a "wakesetter" comes with stuff like ballast and a tower, thus the reason for the $2k-$3K increase in base price. If the seller goes and adds that as an option and it tacks on another 2K-3K to the asking price. In my particular case the base value is 16K and the options add another 8K in value so I think its worth knowing how much of that added appraisal "belongs". Just trying to understand all the moving pieces. I'm going to be patient (if the wife can stand it) and hopefully we don't miss out on something while I'm getting educated =D.

I am also using NADA to estimate the value of the trailer at $2.5K. Is the length of the trailer determined by its actual length? Or the size boat it carries? I figured a 25' just to be safe.

Thanks again

P.S. I am an engineer and I think this is more than likely the reason for my over-analyzing of details....

Edited by ScooterM
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Hi all great forum. I am really glad I found it, as it has been a indispensable source of information. To the point: I grew up skiing and barefooting in the 80's and completely missed out on advent of the wakeboard. I havent even been behind a boat for 15 years (since I got married and got to the business of going to college and working). My kids are getting old enough to learn how to ski or wakeboard more likely, they are 7 and 11. So... for the last 3 weeks I have been researching all things boat and came to the pretty quick conclusion I wanted a wakeboard boat and specifically a Malibu. I'm probably going to spend between 20K and 30K and the problem I have been having is properly valuing all the different boats I see, specifically by NADA guidelines. So my main question is this... NADA says that options should not be added to the blue book valuation if they were standard equipment. Is there a place to go to find out what early 2000 model options came standard with Malibu VLXs or LSVs? I found a boat for sale close to home that is a 2000 Escape LSV for $26,000+ and the copy of the blue book valuation the seller sent me has every option from fire extinguisher to swim deck to wakeboard tower selected? So is this the true value of the boat or is some if this "double dipping"? Thanks again for everyone out there sharing their knowledge, it is a great resource for those of was wanting to get back on the water. Sorry for such a long first post.

Welcome to the forum! Hopefully you will find a nice Malibu and get your family hooked on boating - we love it.

We just purchased our 2nd Bu (a 2002 Wakesetter 23 XTI) and I used a few sources to figure out a fair price to pay. We knew we wanted the XTI as it is a good crossover boat - ski, board, surf, carry 13 people and gear, tube, float and swim - it can do it all. I used boattrader.com and onlyinboards.com to look around. Craigslist isn't very reliable and in a given market there might be one or two models for sale - not a good comparo, in my opinion. I also used NADAguides.com to see what the "value" would be. My bank and my insurance company use it to assess value.

Anyway, I searched nationwide and compared years, options, condition, ownership history, color combos I preferred, etc. I would certainly never include NADA options like "ski pylon" or "swim platform", or "stereo CD with 4 speakers" in any ski boat's value - those are standard. The biggies as far as option go are the ones that are not on every boat and were expensive options initially - engine upgrades, factory towers, ballast systems, perfect pass, trailer, and tower accessories like board racks and speakers/upgrades stereo components. Basically things I would want/need to buy if I were to buy the boat, and have to spend $$ out of my pocket to acquire. I applied value to those things.

Also, I am an anal fanatic on how I keep my stuff, so I would also pay more for a one owner boat that was kept inside, in near flawless condition, over one that was "cheaper" and in average condition. I am also a do-it-yourselfer for maintenance and look closely at service history. A bank repo boat, while cheaper than a one owner boat most likely, would potentially concern me. But that's just me.

Good luck!

-- Mike

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Another thing I've noticed about boat values....... in our small town for boats or pretty much anything else, are very inflated. A boat that NADA values at $30k may get listed for $30k, or even a bit more if it has more features (stereo, rims, gear, etc.), but it can very easily list for quite a bit less in nearby larger cities.

I can't tell you how many times I've bought items in Seattle &/or Portland for a LOT less than I can find it locally, ie; my boat, golf cart, washer & dryer, fridge, etc. 300 or 400 miles & save hundreds or thousands of dollars. :unsure:

I do a lot of my comparison shopping on Craigslist using http://www.craigslook.com.

Edited by Bill_AirJunky
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I would certainly never include NADA options like "ski pylon" or "swim platform", or "stereo CD with 4 speakers" in any ski boat's value - those are standard. The biggies as far as option go are the ones that are not on every boat and were expensive options initially - engine upgrades, factory towers, ballast systems, perfect pass, trailer, and tower accessories like board racks and speakers/upgrades stereo components. Basically things I would want/need to buy if I were to buy the boat, and have to spend $$ out of my pocket to acquire. I applied value to those things

Thanks for the info Mike this is exactly what I was thinking but wanted to be sure

Another thing I've noticed about boat values....... in our small town for boats or pretty much anything else, are very inflated. A boat that NADA values at $30k may get listed for $30k, or even a bit more if it has more features (stereo, rims, gear, etc.), but it can very easily list for quite a bit less in nearby larger cities.

I can't tell you how many times I've bought items in Seattle &/or Portland for a LOT less than I can find it locally, ie; my boat, golf cart, washer & dryer, fridge, etc. 300 or 400 miles & save hundreds or thousands of dollars. :unsure:

I do a lot of my comparison shopping on Craigslist using http://www.craigslook.com.

Bill, this is kind of what I'm seeing and I live in a fairly large town (maybe half a million people in the greater suburban area). The seller is asking $2,500 over combined average retail of boat and trailer(21,500 plus 2,500) after including things in the valuation that I think are standard (included in the base price). Also thanks for the Craigslook tip, I have been looking at individual cities in the 250 mile radius and taking quite a while to do it.

One last thing, what kind of impact should engine hours have on an evaluation? I'm not expecting to find a 200 hour boat this far south, but is closer to 800 about expected?

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