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Motor boats cost about 3-4 times the amount of a sail boat, based on a quick survey of prices. I did much of my initial searching on the web and have found a few good sites for boats (both power and sail).
Boats that are about 12 years old generally seem to have new engines and other major work recently done. So, this is an opportunitiy to catch a boat early on in its "second life". Alternatively, one could look at boats that are only about 2-5 years old and still have a good life span left on their original engine. Since 'good' boats that are only about 5 years old are out of my price range, I focused on boats that are 12 years old or more, and in good condition.
I did some research of listing prices of my "preferred" boats in the 1988 - 1995 era. I also checked the average retail prices of these boats using the NADA reference information that is available on many boating web sites. It appears that there is a great discrepancy between asking prices and the actual sell prices. It looks like boats end up selling for about 65-70% of their original asking price. The chart below tells the story
Used Boat Price Survey (done July 2004) - Cobalt, Chaparral, Crownline, Formula
| Length | Price Type | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | Averages |
| 22/23 | Asking | $12,333.33 | $14,750.00 | $15,666.67 | $20,000.00 | $30,000.00 | $18,000.00 | $22,000.00 | $25,125.00 | $18,150.00 |
| Retail (selling) | $8,833.33 | $9,666.67 | $11,466.67 | $12,500.00 | $12,750.00 | $14,050.00 | $15,200.00 | $16,450.00 | $12,900.00 | |
| 24/25 | Asking | $20,250.00 | $17,100.00 | $15,500.00 | $22,583.33 | N/A | $27,000.00 | $24,500.00 | $26,833.33 | $21,282.61 |
| Retail (selling) | $9,500.00 | $11,033.33 | $12,833.33 | $14,766.67 | $15,725.00 | $17,025.00 | $18,425.00 | $20,250.00 | $15,360.71 | |
| Price Differences - Asking versus Selling | ||||||||||
| Selling Price % of Ask 22/23 | 72% | 66% | 73% | 63% | 43% | 78% | 69% | 65% | 66% | |
| Selling Price % of Ask 24/25 | 47% | 65% | 83% | 65% | 0% | 63% | 75% | 75% | 67% | |
I noticed that there were hardly any 1992 boats on the market. Maybe it's because they are in the shop getting their new motors !!!
After doing some searching of boats on my short list and of that vintage, it appears (to me) that Formula Boats of that era are more advanced in their styling and features than many of the other boats. So, my search began to focus on the Formula line in the 22 - 26 range. It turns out that Formula made a line of boats between 1987 and 1992 in the 22 - 24 foot range that had a cuddy cabin and a swim platform. The styling of these boats seemed to be more to my liking than other boats of that era. So, the focus was on Formula, but I planned to look at the other brands on my short list, just to verify my thought process. The pricing on Formula boats is outlined below. It looks like they sell for about 10-15% more than the average of the boats that I am considering.
Formula Boats (July 2004)
| Length | Price Type | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | Averages |
| 22/23 | Asking | $12,500.00 | $16,250.00 | $30,000.00 | $22,000.00 | $23,000.00 | $18,928.57 | |||
| Retail (selling) | $10,000.00 | $11,600.00 | $14,100.00 | $14,900.00 | $15,700.00 | $16,000.00 | $17,500.00 | $20,000.00 | $14,887.50 | |
| 24/25 | Asking | $20,250.00 | $21,500.00 | $21,500.00 | $27,000.00 | $27,000.00 | $22,166.67 | |||
| Retail (selling) | $11,500.00 | $13,600.00 | $16,000.00 | $17,000.00 | $18,800.00 | $18,600.00 | $20,800.00 | $23,800.00 | $17,512.50 | |
| Price Differences - Asking versus Selling | ||||||||||
| Selling Price % of Ask 22/23 | 80% | 71% | 0% | 0% | 52% | 0% | 80% | 87% | 74% | |
| Selling Price % of Ask 24/25 | 57% | 63% | 0% | 79% | 0% | 69% | 0% | 88% | 71% | |
Pricing and selling information is good stuff to know early on in the process in order to find a 'good value' purchase.
I figured that it will take some time to sell my sailboat, and I could do lots of looking at motor boats during that time. This would enhance my knowledge of the market, and afterall value is based on comparison.
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