How to estimate used bass boat value

[livemusic]

The only thing I know of is Nadaguides for used boat values. I am surprised they do not have a bass boat section. I haven't seen it. Hard to believe they do not show a trolling motor as an option. Haven't seen either. Is this the only blue book type service? A seller is asking $8500 and I came up with $7300 on Nadaguides, trying to figure out what's up. His boat does appear to be in great shape for an almost 20 year old boat but I want to know more about the used market price. Thanks if you have any advice.

[Brett's_daddy]

I am in the same situation, albeit a smaller budget. NADA is the only thing I know of and you're correct, it's hard to select the proper options as some are close but not quite what the boat has that you're looking at. It does seem that almost every seller for any boat I've looked at is asking the list price and not the low book or high book...I mean it's hard, the boats look great and they certainly look worth close to what the sellers are asking but according to NADA they are overpriced but the fact is they ARE selling at or around that price so are NADA's values defunct...are people really paying attention to them any more? They are helpful for checking the size specs of boats and motors but other than that it seems their value charts are way off compared to what everyone is asking for their boats.

[slonezp]

NADA or compare similar rigs on CL. Unless the trolling motor is new and the electronics are state if the art, they don't add much value, if any, to a 20yo boat. Just because someone is asking $8500 doesn't mean it's worth $8500

[Further North]

NADA is nearly worthless for boat prices around here.  I've never seen any decent boat sell for anywhere near as low as NADA values it.

It's funny how dealers will price your trade in with NADA but always have reasons why the boat they're selling is worth more than NADA.  Same with car dealers.

Best way I've found is to do a wide area Craigslist search (I use SearchTempest to do this, set the distance to about 1500 miles), looking at boats listed on sale boards on fishing forums, prowling dealer websites.

There's some regional variation - a center console bay boat is going to be less in the upper Midwest, a Lund or Crestliner might be less way down south...

Like anything worth doing well, buying a boat takes a lot of time and research.

[crypt]

craigslist,wide search. ebay is another find out what similar models sold for. also call around to local boat dealers and ask.

[Redlinerobert]

If he's asking $8500 he should consider himself lucky to get $6000. 

[Junebugman]

I always check the kelley blue book nada is a joke! Always hills and valleys lower in value check and see what similiar boats are selling for on clist and go from there. Junebugman

[Further North]

On 4/3/2016 at 8:45 PM, Redlinerobert said:

If he's asking $8500 he should consider himself lucky to get $6000. 

I don't understand this...

If someone has an asking price of X, they should feel lucky to get 70% of X at the time of sale?

I've never sold anything that way in my life....I might take a few hundred off if it hasn't sold in a while...but I've never discounted anything 30% from my asking price.

I hope I never get that desperate...or that I'm so out of touch with the market that I over price it that much.

[livemusic]

The boat sold with a 6% discount. But it was an exceptional boat. I missed by a couple hours. After I thought about it, I likely would have paid full asking price if I had to to get it because it was exactly what I wanted and it was in fantastic condition with very little hours on the meter. But generally, people price things too high. Now, 30% too high? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Usually, I think they are too high, but not 30%. Although, when I look at high end boats, I always think no way will he get that! If somebody is going to pay really big money, he'll buy new. I bet a lot of those high end bass boats never sell, the owners get stuck. Or reduce the heck out of them.

[gulfcaptain]

On 4/1/2016 at 4:15 PM, slonezp said:

NADA or compare similar rigs on CL. Unless the trolling motor is new and the electronics are state if the art, they don't add much value, if any, to a 20yo boat. Just because someone is asking $8500 doesn't mean it's worth $8500

A used boat is only worth what someone will pay for it.  Few things to look at to get an idea.

#1 Boat

#2 Trailer

#3 Motor.

#4 Extras

Here's how I did the break down on mine I purchased.

The boat... by itself is well lets say this, mine's about $2500 for a 16yr old 20' Champion.  That's just the boat.

The trailer....Is it single or tandem?  Yes this makes a difference and even more so if it has trailer brakes.  That figures into the price as well as the condition of the trailer.  Mine was tandem in good shape with working trailer brakes....figure maybe $1800

The motor......THIS is where the money is.  How many hrs?  Newer 2 stroke, 4 stroke, or older 2 Stroke.  Mine less then 500 hrs with maint. papers on a Merc OptiMax 225 with a SS 4 blade prop(about $250 in the condition it's in) from dealer of what has been serviced and when. It was well maintained and serviced. And the motor was one of the main things I had to have as our lakes require newer clean motors since older 2 strokes won't be permitted on certain lakes so this was a big deal.  Figured mine is worth somewhere between $8-9000.

Extras, trolling motor....$500. 

So with that said figured the way it sat at the dealer it was worth about $13,500 but it was listed quite a bit more, but paid a little bit less then what I figured.  

 

An $8500 boat......do a break down and see what you can figure out.  Extra's are extras, old electronics are just that old.  What's that mean, well they loose a lot of value quick.  Figure out what the boat by itself would be in the condition its in, the trailer as well, and then the motor.  The cost of those 3 should give you a good idea about what you should pay.  AND ALWAYS TEST DRIVE A BOAT ON A LAKE BEFORE BUYING.  If they won't agree, well then either they don't really want to sell it that bad or they are hiding something.

Of course, the real price of a used boat is what someone is really willing to pay for it.   Good luck on you search and future purchase.