Need help formulating an offer

[MarkofSeaLife]

Originally Posted by piratesbooty

not one of these boats has gone for more than $35k in the last 10 years

Then the boat is worth $35,000

Stop lying to yourself that its worth more.

Offer $25,000 and tell him his asking price is an insult as you know none have neen sold near that.

Stick to $25,000

After you have looked at 20 or 30 other boats then bring it up to $30k

The after another 20 or 30 boats bring it up to $35k

Don't get ripped off on a boat!!!

[MarkofSeaLife]

Originally Posted by piratesbooty

Well, I think it can be argued the boat is worth $35k and that is the offer I just made!

We'll see what they say. Thanks for all your responses.

Oh I didn't see this.

Withdraw it. Then read my earlier post


Play hardball with them because thats what they are doing to you.

[Minnewaska]

Willing buyer and willing seller set the market.

You've received a lot of good advice, but I would personally caution against take a universally heavy handed approach. That may mean you just buy the boat from the most desperate or willing seller and they may have a reason the others don't.

I have a buddy that bought a 50ft boat for half the asking price. He's had major upgrades and replacements for the past two years, none of which had failures at the time of the survey. He didn't actually get the deal he expected and I think the prior owner knew it wasn't taken good enough care of to last.

[Silvio]

My $0.02 worth is to never embark on a deal that you aren't willing to see fall apart. If you enter a negotiation that you "feel" just has to conclude then you are far too emtionally invested and will end up paying for it.

Just my oppinion. There are a lot of boats out there and at least two of each were built unless a one off. Like it has already been said, fall in love with the boat AFTER you own it, until then it is a item for sale with a fair market value.

[centaursailor]

If its not too late heres how I aquired mine. Had already decided on the Centaur as suitable for my sailing ambitions.
Established a base line price by serching the web and mags.
Checked out how the bid process worked by showing a bit of intrest in local forsales.
Found what I wanted and bid 15K on a 17.5 asking price previously reduced from 20k
Paid 2.5K deposit refundable if sale fell through. He was hooked but thought I was.
Survey showed gelcoat blisters, I would have been surprised if it hadn,t as I checked the hull before bidding. agreed deduction of 2.5K.
Paid over the remaining 10K, he jiped at my suggestuion he pay for an engine service. we did put her in the water at his expense for a test sail before final payment.
She had a nearly new Yanmar gm30, receipt for 7K, and newish mainsail.
I put a week between each stage and feel he would not have been so ameanable if I had appeared over anxious.
Its buisness till you are the owner, then the fun starts.
Safe buying

[capttb]

The sellers are in the worst possible position, doesn't matter how much money they have, I'll bet they want to keep as much as possible. Paying slip fees, insurance, maintenance (top & bottom kept clean) paying for the "old boat" is a hole in the water no one wants anymore.
You hold all the cards, however if they recognize you are in buy mode (money in your pocket and ready to drop the hammer on anything that moves) they'll know they can wait till you counter, don't.
I'll bet it doesn't sell for awhile, don't rush yourself.

[TakeFive]

I find it interesting, in a sad sort of way, that so many of you are certain what this boat is worth without ONE BIT of information about the actual boat. You don't know the make, model, size, age, included gear, etc., but you're sure it not worth the $35k that the guy offered (36% below asking price), and many are claiming he offered too much. HOW DO YOU KNOW THIS? My advice to this guy is be careful of free advice you get on the Internet - it's worth what you paid for it, maybe less.

My prediction is that if this guy buys it he will end up paying $45K. Not based on the boat at all, but based on the fact that the OP let it slip that he would pay that much. If the boat is truly well cared for, owners seldom lower their price by more than 20% in response to a single offer. They may go lower than that 6 months from now, but may not be willing to accept it at this point. But that prediction is also worth what you paid for it (or less).

[sailingfool]

For any discussion about a sensible purchase process, somewhere you need to get to the discussion of value. A smart buyer's challenge is to come up with a thoughtful determination of the value of a boat, which should have no consideration of the asking price, and then see if that can make a deal where they pay up to that amount. Any suggestions about offering xx% off asking, or blind comarisions to average prices...just set the buyer up for the worst possible circumstance...proceeding with a purchase because they think they are stealing the boat. The seller always has more and better information than the buyer.

[bljones]

OP, Gotta link to the boat in question, or at least the model?