How much to pay for a cruising boat

[bmullan]

Is there a rule of thumb for how much a boat will sell for as a percentage of it''s asking price ?

Any other thoughts on how to price a boat greatly appreciated. I am in the market for a cruiser 32-34 feet (< $50K)

thanks,

Baz.

[Irwin32]

Check with the BUC. They have a web site and track that sort of thing.

[catamount]

No rules of thumb. A lot of boats on the market are over-priced, and some are over-priced at any price. A few are under-priced. Much depends on the particular boat, its market niche, its condition, and the psychology of the seller and of the broker (and the buyer). In my case, I bought an obsolete 34'' racing boat in need of some TLC from a seller who was "walking away from sailing" through a broker who didn''t really want to be representing the boat in the first place.

You have to decide for yourself just how much you are willing to pay for any given boat, given its condition and suitability for the sailing you want to do with it. Then you just have to come across the right boat in the right place at the right time.

Regards,

Tim

[sailortonyb1]

Generally speaking, most will accept 10 to 12% less than the asking price, but ...That may still be too high.
I would suggest that you first go to yachtworld.com, key in the 32 to 34 feet and leave the price open. See what it pulls up and you will notice a ''trend '' of sorts in the pricing. Next go to NADA values on the internet and see what the retail price should be. That will tell you fairly closely what the boat is worth. You dont want to pay more than its value because of insurance or bank loan issues.
Next, buy a boat in very good shape for no mare than $38 to $40k. This will allow you $10K for repairs and replacement of items that worked great when you bought the boat but die in 30 to 60 days.
$38 to 40K should buy a fairly nice boat.
Good luck and have fun.

[JDD43]

ask the broker for all previous sales of the same or similar model boats. all boats listed on YachtWorld have to report the sales price (although not all brokers comply) but brokers have access to this sales data at YachtWorld or BoatSold. your surveyor should have this info as well. a 10% discount is not at all unusual and much larger discounts to asking price are common depending on time of year, time on market, and seller''s motivation etc.

good luck