How do you buy a boat?

I tried this on wb.com, but didn't get any responce. I am very curious as to how you can buy a $50-60k boat. How long do people usually hang onto them? How much do you loose when you sell it? Can you lease them? Is trade in really good on them or something? Not trying to be a punk, just really curious on how to go about buying a boat, and what to do with it, and how long I can use it for. Thanks for the help

JER

Not trying to sound like a smart a$$, but first thing y0ou have to do is figure out what boat you want to get, make model, new, used, options, etc... Then you have to get a loan to pay for it. 10 to 15 years is about normal for a boat loan and expect to pay a higher interest rate than on a car loan. Then get your boat and enjoy it, but bear in mind the work it takes to do that. You have to keep it clean inside and out, you have to have it serviced on a regular basis. You need to keep it covered or garaged when not in use. A boat can last for a long timw if you take care of it. Take a good look at some of these used boats that are for sale out there and compare them to a new one. You will see that for that kind of money, people tend to take care of them really well. Hope this helps you some.

Try going out with friends first on their boats. Figure you will spend 40-60 on a new boat. Divide by the number of days you will be able to ski and add insurance cost and fuel cost per day.

This usually seperates new boat buyers from used boat buyers. Also seperates ski boat buyers from pleasure boat drivers.

Just some suggestions on where to start. Last year it cost me nearly $700 dollars per trip (10 trips). I had a blast but is it worth it? To me it is.

On financing check out your local credit union then lastly remember the best time to buy a boat is fall or winter from a buyers perspective.

Hope this helps.

Here is another option. Save your cash - and buy your first boat used for 8,000-10,000. Buy a name brand (like CC or MC) so it's easy to sell. Keep it for two years - learn the ropes of boat ownership. Make a few simple upgrades to help it keep it's value (add a new stereo, or speakers, or detail it or tune it up). Then, sell it (old boats don't depreciate as fast as new boats so you should be able to get most of what you paid for it) and try to dump in another 10 grand. Now your up to a 18-20 grand boat and keep on repeating the process. If you really like it - you will keep getting better and better boats. If it's just OK - then you will keep your original boat and not have to make a payment. I'm on my third boat using this method - works for me. Only problem is that this approach takes patience - but at least when you go to spend 40K on a new boat you know what you want.

WOW, finally, good help! Thank you guys. I like your idea Keith, that is a really good idea. Do you just get a loan for the boat? Or are yousaying save up 8-10k's? I don't wanna admit it, but I am having so much trouble justifieing getting a boat for 50k's, and getting rid of it after like 3 or 4 years (I know they last longer if I want). But i'm assumnig thats about when you'd want another one. When you sell a boat after you bought it new, about how much are you loosing when you dump the money down for another nwe one?

Once again, thanks for the help!

JER

Jeremy, It really depends on the boat. Some names hold more value than others. It also depends on your area. Orlando has a bigger boat population then say Boise, so you would find them selling for less in Orlando. Correct Crafts may retain more value than Moomba (not stating that as a fact, just an example). Several factors to consider. It is also possible that you may really love the boat you get and keep it. Nothing says you have to get rid of it in 2 or 3 years.

There are also a lot of good boats in the 20's and low 30's for those of us who aren't so financially well endowed. I set my limit at 17 and ended up spending a little over 20 for a new moomba. We financed for 12 yrs (D'oh) but are paying extra monthly to get it paid off earlier. And yeah dont forget about all the crap you have to get as an owner you dont think about as a rider, insurance, cleaning, maint, saftey equip, etc. I guess I plan on keeping it about 5-6yrs then stepping up to a Mobius. It may have worked for others but I havent seen very many people split big ticket items like a boat and come out happy.

The key to my strategy is finding a "diamond in the rough". Example - a buddy of mine bought a boat from a guy that wanted to dump his boat. We went to see it - it wasn't covered, hadn't been waxed, really bad shape - on the surface. We wiped down a layer of grime and realized the hull was in great shape, it was mechanically sound (after a thorough test drive) and all it really needed was a good cleaning. Bought it really cheap, spent three days after work cleaning and waxing (we took all the seats out and scrubbed it top to bottom). He had the boat for two years and ended up selling it and getting $200 more than he paid. This is an not typical, but it just goes to show you you don't have to accept huge depreciation.

The other key factor is hours. I personally feel that once a boat hits 1000 hours - it depreciates substantially. Boats can last much more than that - but kind of like 100,000 miles on a car, the 1000 hours is some kind of psychological issue. So, I always buy a boat with the intention of selling it when it hits 700-800.

Obviously, this means that you may have to spend quite a bit of time searching - but it will be worth it when you go to sell.

Jeremy I think what you are asking is what are the steps of purchasing a boat? I am only 23 and I had no idea how to do this either. What I did was called my credit union, told them I was looking at a boat and gave them some price ranges. They gave me the terms and monthly payment options and after I got a good idea of what I wanted in a payment per month then I knew how much I could borrow. So using that price range I got onto Boattraderonline and started looking! After about 15 phone calls, and 5 test drives I came across a 90 Mastercraft. Once I decided that this was the boat I wanted I dealt with the guy, agreed on a price and then I went back to the Credit Union with the hull#, Engine#, and Trailer#'s. They wrote up the loan, I signed the papers, and then got a check! Delivered the check and picked up my boat! Then after that I added it to my insurance ($267 a year). Then I had to register the boat number with the state and show proof of insurance. Then you are ready to hit the water!

Oh one word of advice, check the laws in your state for sales tax and personal property tax. In Kansas you only pay sales tax on the boat trailer, not the boat itself, so make sure the seller of the boat puts a price on the bill of sale for the trailer and the boat separately. Secondly, in Kansas you only pay personal property tax on your boat if its in Kansas at the first of the year, so I store mine in Missouri where they don't charge PPT on Recreational Vehicles! Happy Boating, hope this helps!

Brad makes a really good point. In Illinois, if you buy a used boat from an individual (as opposed to a dealer), you do not have to pay sales tax on the sale. This can be a substantial savings...

Here is California they will charge you sales tax on everything. If it was bought privately, you pay it when you go to transfer title. Also what needs to be mentioned is when you are going to buy a new boat, plan on allowing it to take a while, up to a week from the time you apply to the time you take delivery. Its not like buying a car where you walk in and walk out in a few hours.

Jeremy, Some good points here…. I think some people have the misperception that buying a $50,000 dollar boat means actually spending 50k. Take a look at boatrader.com and use the payment calculator in your state for some more ideas on monthly payments. If you put 5k down on a 50k boat and finance over 20 years as an estimate your payments are 300-350 depending on % rate. The people that buy a new boat every few years are essentially ‘leasing’ the boat. The “loss” when they trade-up depends on boat brand/ relationship with dealer and what price point you are looking at 30/40/50/60k+. I think most of the Wakeboarding addicts that post here have started with much less than a top of the line boat.

Remember you are buying a boat, not a payment. By that I mean, if you put only 5% down, your mo. payment contains a lot of interest charges. Say you fin. 45K @ 8% for 15 yrs, the total of all 180 payments are $77,407 + 5,000 dwm = 82,407 for a 50K boat, ouch.

But, you sell after 5 years, you are prob. upside down, or breaking even when you figure in the first 4 years, that boat will depreciate aprx. 4K / year.

Buy the boat, not the payment.

Thanks a bunch, you guys helped me even more than the last time I read! You all have given me good advice, and I'm going to be sure to post here again when I have more questions! Thank you all!

JER