Quote:
Originally Posted by camaraderie
Fred...while you're entitled to your opinion, I think your depreciation data is WAY off base too. Maine wasn't really talking about flipping. He was talking about a boat kept in good repair. My own experience (6 boats - 38 years of ownership) says that you can buy used production boats...keep 'em for a few years and spend a bit on them and still sell for VERY close to what you have in them in initial price and upgrades (not maintenance).
Now the economy is in the tank so EVERYTHING has changed for the moment but I am talking about normal times. Hell...right now, you might buy a boat as an investment and do better than most other choices!
|
So answer this:
How much is a $20k boat worth after 5 seasons seeing 60 days a season onboard, with no cleaning, maintenance, upgrades, etc?
MY feeling is, that boat is going to be trashed. You'll be LUCKY if its worth 60% of its original value, and that's assuming you didn't BREAK anything. Everything will be worn substantially.
So then, how much is that same boat worth if you maintain it to its original condition, maybe you add a small something here or there as an upgrade? Probably close to its original price.
The question that my article, and what I've spent a lot of posts trying to help many here who don't seem to be getting it is - that maintenance is EXPENSIVE. So are the slip fees and insurance. It all adds up and the longer you keep the boat, the more that number adds up on paper.
That has been my point since post #1 - Pay it in depreciation after 5 years of total neglect and usage what would you say... 30% depreciation? 40%? 50%? Try to honestly answer that question.
As many have said here, we buy distress saled boats where the last owner got in over their head and is wearing that boat and can't afford it. In the case of my Coronado, I bought it for 2,000. In working clean condition its worth 8-12k. How much depreciation is that? You tell me.
And as I said originally, you are arguing about 5 or 10 % depreciation. Even if I'm 50% wrong, were talking a difference of a few thousand maybe. AGAIN thats not the cost I have been talking about since post #1. I'm talking about those TENS OF THOUSANDS you will spend on simply docking the boat, hauling it for storage, getting the bottom cleaned, etc. etc. Basic costs.
That is stuff that a novice doesn't think about.