Used Boat Prices Falling

[oldjeep]

My pricing indicator is 2012ish Malibu VTX.  The listing prices seem to be coming down a bit from last year and there is a pretty good inventory, but still higher than what I paid in 2014.

[theloungelife]

7 hours ago, Sixer said:

I've been "casually" looking at Onlyinboards for years.  The highest I can recall is somewhere around 1200.  I think this time last year was about 900 if I remember correctly, can't recall the year before, but it was definitely less than the current number available.  In peak pandemic when everyone was buying boats like crazy it was down to 300ish.  Inventory is slowly climbing back up.  

Still pretty low in the long term.  Grabbed this from a 2021 wakeworld thread.  That said, not sure how much of this is less boats vs people just using FB marketplace etc instead.

Edited April 14, 2023 by theloungelife
Added more

[Five Cent Worth]

Rates have to be curbing a ton of buying.  Lets face it, most buying new big ticket items aren't paying cash.  I know there are some that are - but we have to be talking less than 20 - 30%.  That leaves a big portion waiting for rates to come back down.

[oldjeep]

7 minutes ago, Five Cent Worth said:

Rates have to be curbing a ton of buying.  Lets face it, most buying new big ticket items aren't paying cash.  I know there are some that are - but we have to be talking less than 20 - 30%.  That leaves a big portion waiting for rates to come back down.

Rates are still pretty low unless you are awfully young and don't know what a normal interest rate looks like.

[Sixer]

4 hours ago, theloungelife said:

Still pretty low in the long term.  Grabbed this from a 2021 wakeworld thread.  That said, not sure how much of this is less boats vs people just using FB marketplace etc instead.

That's total boats, not just Malibu boats.  There are almost 5000 total boats listed now.  And just went over 1200 for Malibu!

[braindamage]

It’ll take a while if things not moving before prices really start to fall.
 

On my lakes in Michigan and Wisconsin, during the Great Recession there was a ton of lake inventory. Due to the perception of high prices that were ingrained into the waterfront market, it took 2-3 years before people started to accept offers at a substantially lower level.

I think this may happen in todays boat market. A lot of people have inflated price expectations and it’ll take a while for that to whittle down.

[theloungelife]

14 hours ago, Sixer said:

That's total boats, not just Malibu boats.  There are almost 5000 total boats listed now.  And just went over 1200 for Malibu!

Good callout.  I misread the other thread.  Sounds like back to or above normal inventory then across all brands

[dlb]

23 hours ago, Sixer said:

That's total boats, not just Malibu boats.  There are almost 5000 total boats listed now.  And just went over 1200 for Malibu!

I searched within 500 miles of Raleigh for a 2019 to 2021 23 WSLSV.  There were 3, all with the M5, two of the 3 wanted more than I paid for my 2020 with a M6.  The other had twice the hours of mine.  

So while there might be 1200 Malibus nation wide, their best seller might be in short supply.

I have no interest in trading mine.

[Five Cent Worth]

On 4/14/2023 at 5:24 PM, oldjeep said:

Rates are still pretty low unless you are awfully young and don't know what a normal interest rate looks like.

Jeez...  where is the eye roll emoji....  

[SaskBoater]

I’ve been looking for an inboard in Canada for 5+ years and no sign of prices dropping up here yet.  Interest for a 2005-2010 used boat is 10% give or take.  I’ve missed out on 3 boats already that sold while still in storage. So in the prairies anyways in Canada prices seem strong still.

boats I missed 1992 F3 Euro $19900 sold in less than a fay

1994 mastercraft 205 DD $15500 sold in half a day as well.  

[Cole2001]

44 minutes ago, SaskBoater said:

I’ve been looking for an inboard in Canada for 5+ years and no sign of prices dropping up here yet.  Interest for a 2005-2010 used boat is 10% give or take.  I’ve missed out on 3 boats already that sold while still in storage. So in the prairies anyways in Canada prices seem strong still.

boats I missed 1992 F3 Euro $19900 sold in less than a fay

1994 mastercraft 205 DD $15500 sold in half a day as well.  

Come to BC. Wouldn't say the prices have cooled down but more options for sure. Here are a few.  A handful of ski brendella's which are amazing ski boats. Few 190 pro stars.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/874138807147205/?mibextid=6ojiHh

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1409501459861315/?mibextid=6ojiHh

[Steve B.]

After an extremely brief look at our local dealer it did seem like there were definitely a few more used boats than usual. High prices yes, but was a little surprised at the prices of a few late models thinking they will sell fast at that price. We'll see.

Steve B.

[sidekicknicholas]

I am a compression test away from getting a "new to me" boat... seller seems to be a bit more in tune with the marketing shifting.

Its a 2016 Nautique G25, XR7, trailer, fully loaded but higher hours than most at 650, copious service records, and very clean (one seat has some damage but a skin is an easy fix), and we're in agreement at $105k (pending compression test).  Their original asking price was $140k... after sending them some comps in terms of spec with less hours, they seemed reasonable about coming down.  I feel pretty good about the price, I think it slow but still fair. 

For anyone else looking in terms of rate, I got 7.25%.  Started at 7.99% but there was a .25% drop for 20 year vs. 15 year, and .5% drop for financing over $100k.  They basically told me, don't put anything down, and then just put that money towards the principle day one of the loan vs. put it down because of that.  No early pre-pay issues so long as the loan is kept open at least 1 year.  My credit score was 837 at the time of the credit check.

 

... During the search, it was everything though.  Dealers with used boats that when I called said I can get you a new one cheaper, private sellers who wouldn't budge on price, even $1, dealers who were selling new dropping 35% from MSRP without even pushing, dealers who were "giving me a deal" at 8% off MSRP (same OEM as the 35%).  Its just all over the damn board right now.  I was patient, was afraid getting to spring that would screw me, but ultimately seems to have worked out.

[shawndoggy]

That’s a lotta scratch for a boat that will be 10 years old next summer tho. 
 

but I’ve barely even come to terms with 6 figure new boats… so obvs very late to the party. 

[kstateskier1]

26 minutes ago, shawndoggy said:

That’s a lotta scratch for a boat that will be 10 years old next summer tho. 
 

but I’ve barely even come to terms with 6 figure new boats… so obvs very late to the party. 

Um, I'm not great at math, but I believe next year is '24 right 

[Five Cent Worth]

2 hours ago, sidekicknicholas said:

For anyone else looking in terms of rate, I got 7.25%.  Started at 7.99% but there was a .25% drop for 20 year vs. 15 year, and .5% drop for financing over $100k.  They basically told me, don't put anything down, and then just put that money towards the principle day one of the loan vs. put it down because of that.  No early pre-pay issues so long as the loan is kept open at least 1 year.  My credit score was 837 at the time of the credit check.

Where?  

And congrats! 

[COOP]

4 minutes ago, kstateskier1 said:

Um, I'm not great at math, but I believe next year is '24 right 

Well, if it was built in 2015 as a 2016 model the 2024 would be 9 years or close to it, maybe hes rounding up?

Edited April 18, 2023 by COOP

[granddaddy55]

20 hours ago, Five Cent Worth said:

Jeez...  where is the eye roll emoji....  

pretty accurate generational comment.  so why the eye roll.  my first boat note was 8% in 1985 (ok yes it was only $8000 😂, first car note 11% in 1983) , which made me avoid such non sense in the future. i currently have a boat note at 4.49% but on original loan amount of $102k with 60 down.  luv the boat but i feel foolish even at that rate.  if you really want a used toy its perfect time to negotiate price and accept the rate.  since most currently jettison their notes at ridiculously low rates regularly by selling it shouldn't make a difference except now you lose money on sale. it couldn't last forever these ridiculous rates snd i never buy a boat with the intention of selling it, why buy in the first place, pay your wake buddy to go on his

[Cole2001]

on the bright side if we are calling it a 10 year old boat 650 hours is considered low.

[sidekicknicholas]

1 hour ago, shawndoggy said:

That’s a lotta scratch for a boat that will be 10 years old next summer tho. 
 

but I’ve barely even come to terms with 6 figure new boats… so obvs very late to the party. 

Yeah, it is killing me too.  In 2014 we paid $24k for a 2004 LSV ... crazy that 10 years later we've gone 4x for a similar vintage of boat, but I guess that same LSV is probably worth $40k now. 

I was pushing hard for an A24 or T250, so new boat for $100k, but my wife was very against Axis and was a big fan of Nautique or Supra.  Based on that, I figured to get new was going to run me $200k+ which I couldn't come to grips with.  Starting hunting for 2019+ SE450 (wanted sub floor ballast + new dash) or 2016 G23/25 (wanted the new hull).  Found one that checked all the boxes and the price seems as fair as they get these days. 

Part of me says boats feel like high end watches right now with pricing.  Every year the new model goes up 7-10% in pricing, so the used ones go up 3-5% in pricing behind them, so assuming your maintenance and usage keeps the the boat in a condition that follows that 3-5% it helps preserve value a bit.  The guy we're buying from just bought a G25P to replace this G25 and I think he said his sticker was $425k (I'm sure he paid 65-70% of that) but still an insane price tag.  So new boats are absurd.  Used boats are tough to find anything that has modern speed control, ballast, and a surf system for <$50k so there is this weird bubble that keeps the floor at like $50k.

 

34 minutes ago, Five Cent Worth said:

Where?  

And congrats! 

Vantage, this was who the dealer storing the boat suggested.  So far, super easy to work with and their rate was in the range I expected.

https://vantagerecreationalfinance.com/BoatLoanApplication?gclid=CjwKCAjw__ihBhADEiwAXEazJqyntmg6d1j0obndL9aoXqFjC26uC357RGbKt-F97eYn5hreQkxZfhoCWfAQAvD_BwE 

Edited April 18, 2023 by sidekicknicholas

[shawndoggy]

1 hour ago, kstateskier1 said:

Um, I'm not great at math, but I believe next year is '24 right 

Lemme know if you see any 2025 models introduced next summer?

[oldjeep]

1 hour ago, kstateskier1 said:

Um, I'm not great at math, but I believe next year is '24 right 

Inflation, its impacting everything including model years.

[Michigan boarder]

2 hours ago, kstateskier1 said:

Um, I'm not great at math, but I believe next year is '24 right 

It's boat years, gotta do the conversion.

[kstateskier1]

1 hour ago, shawndoggy said:

Lemme know if you see any 2025 models introduced next summer?

Still would only be 9 years 

[shawndoggy]

17 minutes ago, kstateskier1 said:

Still would only be 9 years 

2025-2015=9?

(a boat produced in june of 2023 is a year old come september)  Doesn't make a lot of sense, but it's a "last year's boat" at that point. 

Or to say it another way, the 2025 that will be produced in july 2024 is gonna be a 2025, just like the boat produced in June 2025 will be.  Nobody is gonna check the production date when determining how "old" the boat is.  To the market, a "fresh" 2025 is still gonna be the same age as an "old" 2025 10 years from now.