I know buying a boat is not an investment, im just curious how much a boats value would go down on average per year. I want to make sure i can afford enough so that i would never be upside down on the loan. If it makes a difference im looking into the 247. Thanks. <BR>

Hard to say with the 247 being a new boat this year. I think the more bling you get it with, the more it will depreciate the first year. I know my 05 VLX has depreciated less than 10% this past year.

My 03 VLX has probably depr. only 10% in the last 3 years. I was expecting more but the new ones are just some much more expensive they are dragging my resale up.

The 247 is new so it's hard to tell. Look at its siblings somewhere like NADA and check how much they depriciate by comparing different year models of the same boat. That should give you at least some idea. As a general rule, if you put 15% to 20% down and don't finance on a longer-than-usual term, you won't have to worry about being upside down. If you can't put that much down, it might be wise to wait or go with a lesser boat for a while, especially if you're concerned with upside down loans. <BR> <BR>You can check the auto loan calculator somewhere like Bankrate and get a good idea of how much you'll still owe after each year based on total sale amount, down payment, and interest rate. It's a bit of homework but it'll save you money on gap insurance.

Dante, all your doing with putting money down is "pre-paying" your negative equity. Some lenders will give you a better rate but with excellent credit it usually doens't make a difference. <BR> <BR>One option: buy a 1-2 y/o boat. finance for 10-15 years , sell in five. <BR> <BR>(Message edited by acurtis_ttu on February 02, 2006)

I realize that you're merely "pre-paying" negative equity by forking over a large down payment but Quinn's stated reason for concern is being upside down on the loan. If he had said, "Hey I want the boat that will be worth the highest percentage of its original value after X years," I'd consider down payment irrelevant. <BR> <BR>The easiest way to stay right side up on your loan is to go ahead and front the cash you will lose anyways on the initial purchase. <BR> <BR>Adam is very correct that nowadays you can borrow 100% on boats and cars with little to no rate penalty if you have good enough credit but that's kind of a chicken and egg situation since the people with the best credit are typically going to put money down anyways (notice I said "typically," not "always").

"all your doing with putting money down is "pre-paying" your negative equity. Some lenders will give you a better rate but with excellent credit it usually doens't make a difference." <BR> <BR>True dat. I put 60% down, good credit, and still got an average rate. <BR> <BR>Either way. Why pay interest on money you have sitting in the bank? Put it down and pay interest against less principal.

i put enough down just to be sure that if in case of an emergency i had to sell the boat today i would easily be able to pay it off and not have to worry about coming up with enough money to pay the boat off..

Looking around, you can buy a 1-2 year old boat for about 75% of what it sold for new. After year 2, the depreciation really slows down, and seems like about 5%/year which is good, and a better reason to not buy new, but your 247 isn't available used, so......

The question is awefully difficult to ask. Totally depends what you pay for it. I was once told, "it is not what you sell it for, but what you paid for it" <BR>That is my moto. You could have paid 60K for it and next year it is worth 54K (10% depreciation). You could have paid 70K for the exact same boat and it is still worth 54K (23% depreciation) <BR>On top of that you still have to find a buyer. <BR>I know some people that owe $57K on an 05' VLX. They are stuck with it for some time obviously, or will take a huge hit. Good luck and you are correct it is not usually considered an investment, but you can take steps to limit that.

I agree with Diggs, I saw 8% on my new 2003 that I traded this summer for an '06.

I layed down 70 large because I will not fiance anything except real property . I would be more concerned about what the finance charges were than depreciation .

not all of us have an extra 70 grand just lying around...

WoW wish I 70 laying around, who did your paintjob on your X-2? Thats SICK!! post some pics!!

prices are going up @ 5% a year maybe a little more. so far the prices i have seen since last year are down right scary. boat show price. $70,000. makes me feel like i did ok when i paid $54,000 out the door a year ago. not much depreciation there.