Boat Depreciation

Were looking to buy a boat. depending on the deal we might buy new, but we also might buy a 05 or newer boat that is used. what i would like to know is which boats hold their value the best. it seems like mastercrafts do because i can never find a cheap v-drive. also ive noticed malibu's hold well also. pretty much what im getting at is ill spend the money on a good boat if i know i can turn around and sell it in a few years with the least depreciation. in your opinion what boat should i go with, new or used?

XSTAR, i have a 2001 and the origianl owner bought it for 45,000 new and now its still worth 38,000 or thats what nadaguides.com says

I think it all depends on how good a deal you negotiate when you buy. Certainly, you will lose less $$$ in the end if you buy used to begin with, unless you are able to get a smokin deal new. Also, if you keep the hours reasonable and the boat in tip top shape, I think it will make more of a difference than what brand you buy. Get the boat you want, keep it in good shape, and have fun.

(Message edited by atropine on April 11, 2007)

Good advice Sam.

I have not seen a noticeable difference in depreciation amounts between brands in my looking. Don't pay more for a boat that you think will hold its value better, that's counterproductive.

Most of the cost of the boat will be born in opportunity costs anyways. Buy a boat for 50K, sell it in four years for 35K. You didn't just spend 15K, but also opportunity on 50K which is probably 50% of that. That boat just cost you 15+25= 40K for four years.

I don't think you'll be able to draw any good brand conclusions on depreciation. Just keep the boat well maintained and I would say to run as many hours on it as you can. Hours aren't going to cost you much, so enjoy it.

ryan, nadaguides are just that guides. Market value, i.e what you sell the boat for.

Shane...If the boat is loaded, and well maintained...he's not far off. That would be full retail value though.

(Message edited by snyper1d on April 11, 2007)

I still stand by my statements, and dealers usually get full retail vs an owner.

well heres the dilemma.

for instance we have a option of getting a 2004 tige 24v with 55 hours for 40 grand.

or would it make sense to buy that same boat new?

thats basically the question because if i buy a brand new mobious lsv for 45k is it worth it if i can buy a used 2005 for 38 in the long run??

Is the 05 the new hull design? If you are looking at the mobius, you will definatley want the new hull.

As for depreciation...You will be much better in the long run if you buy a 1-2 year old boat and let someone pay the sales tax and take the initial hit.

The new hull for the Moomba LSV came out in 06. A much better hull IMO, I've had both. Wake pic from my 06.

Randy, do you happen to have a wake pic of the older hull to provide as comparison? I've heard a lot about how much better the new one is, but I've been wondering how big of a difference there actually is. The wake on that 06 definitely looks nice.

Here's the deal on new vs used. Used APR is about 8.75 vs new at 6.99 and these are just for instances and hopefully you will/can do better. It also is based on time financed. You pay less for used boat with about equal payment for new. How much you going use it? How long you going to keep it? Boat prices are increasing at a rate of about 5% a year in cost. I sold an 02 VLX in 03 for $35k and see them for close to that price now. Sold an 05 VLX for $45k in fall of 05 and see them for that price now. This is not just about VLX's, but wakeboard boats in general. If you have a big list of needs I would look at new so you get what you want for not alot more. If you are going down in years say 01-04 you will have to search more for a boat with the equipment you want, color you want, etc. So there is my two cents worth. Good Luck!

You will Lose taxes new or used

I have seen many used boats where you could use it for the season and then sell it for enough to cover all your costsincluding taxes on the initial purchase. usually those deals are on 01-03 boats. There are screaming deals on used boats. you just have to keep an eye out for them.

this is a perfect example of a boat that you could probably use for the season and unload it for what you paid for it.

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/boa/308245735.html

before you buy new, look at the used market for the boat you are considering (sounds like you already did), and consider the time frame you will keep. Mastercrafts do very well. My 2001 Malibu didn't do so well, but a lot has changed since 2001 for Malibu.

You can use the above to project your cost of ownership over your duration ownership.

A private owner will often fudge the bill of sale to a lower amount to save you dough on taxes. I usually negotiate this in my deal.

Boats take the biggest hits in the first couple of years, so if you're only planning on keeping for a year or two, the cost of ownership will be high unless you buy very low.

I recently did this with a motorcycle. I new I would only keep for 1 year. Cost for this one year (I figured) was about $1500.00 (after taxes) for a 2005 bike with 1K worth of upgrades, and closer to $3000 for new, stock bike. Not worth it to roll a new machine. When I'm ready for a Ducati 1098, that I know I will keep for 5 years, I will probably buy new.

Oh...I just read Mike's post about APRs. This wasn't a factor for me, but it ceratinly is a big one if you are financing the bulk.