The Value of Upgrades when Selling

[LDO]

I've had a 1985 Catalac 10M for about 8 years that I now want to sell. About 2015 I did a number of upgrades, of which many were replacements, some were expensive new additions. My interest is; What is the value to a new owner? I'll give a few examples. 1st - added (2) new Flexofold 3-blades 16" props approx. $4k, could be replaced with OEM props for $500. 2nd - added a 20 gal/hr water-maker appproxamately $4.5K, used for one season in the Bahamas. 3rd - added a new Schaefer Roller-Furled boom, mainsail, rigged vang, and electric winch, lets just say $20K+. What is there value to a new owner? Is it worth removing and selling any of the items at say half of there original value? Is there a market for such items, or will I end up giving them away, or better off to not even think about, just let them go?

[Chotu]

The unfortunate truth is this:

The value to a buyer is nothing. Your upgrades mean your boat will sell first at the higher end of the Catalac selling prices. That's all. Assuming you have it spotless and looking great inside (interiors sell boats).

[flyboy62000]

The upgrades and general condition will certainly have a positive effect on sale price, how much depends on the potential buyer. You will not, usually, recoup a even close what was spent on the upgrades, most likely, but it will make for a more attractive package and should be priced accordingly with the added features and upgrades. Good luck.

[Group9]

IF the upgrades are the ones a buyer wants, it adds some value.

But, if the upgrades are unwanted, because they would rather pick their own upgrades, then they're not going to pay for them by buying your boat with the upgrades included price.

A good example was, we looked at a boat that the owner had installed a bow thruster on, and wanted to be paid for it. I've never felt the need for a bow thruster, and I wasn't going to pay the extra money for it. We bought a similar boat, that didn't have one.

[Sailmonkey]

To me, upgrades like that either

1. Allow a rapid sale of the boat when priced near the upper 1/3rd of the comparable range.

2. Make the seller over-value a boat based on comps because the upgrades were what the current owner wanted, not what the market wants.

For me personally, I like the watermaker and the prop upgrade, but completely ignore things like the boom,vang, and electric winch. They’re not important to me. In fact, unless they’re in pristine condition I view them as a liability. Again that just my viewpoint and we all shop for boats differently.

[Montanan]

IMO, in comparison to a similar boat without the refit items your boat will move quicker on the market and at a modestly higher value. As to recouping the refit costs upon resale, not a lot, say 10 or 20% compared to not having done such routine replacements and select additions from the stock configuration and accessorization.

Basic rule is money spent on a boat or anything titled Marine and thus overpriced compared to terrestrial goods, is for your personal beneficiation and safety, and practically an expenditure without expected return.

As to cruising sails, they are expendables requiring periodic replacement.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Chotu

The unfortunate truth is this:

The value to a buyer is nothing. Your upgrades mean your boat will sell first at the higher end of the Catalac selling prices. That's all. Assuming you have it spotless and looking great inside (interiors sell boats).

This^. Good condition plus upgrades helps sell the boat. Your return on upgrades is pennies on the dollar (a large % net loss), but a boat sitting around waiting to sell chews up $s and is bad for the boat (reducing resell potential). So, they do add some value...to the seller...by hopefully selling the boat faster.

[LittleWing77]

Somebody in this Forum once said that if it's something the boat already comes with, upgrades are worth nothing.

Sounds kinda harsh, but I get his point. If the boat already has a prop, the fact that the Seller has upgraded his boat's prop to a fancy folding one, doesn't mean the value gets added onto the selling price, which is the math a lot of Sellers seem to use - and then wonder why their boat sits there unsold.

Truth is, we're all just stewards of our boats until they get passed along to a fellow sailor.

Good luck!
LittleWing77

[Snore]

Do NOT take the upgrades off. You will get pennies on the dollar when you sell them off the boat. Also, your ‘state of the art’ upgrades are now 5 years old!

If I was asked by a buyer about the boat it would set off alarms in my head. Was the required maintenance was done? Was the maintenance and repair work done right?

As others said, a boat with accessories will sell faster.

[dougweibel]

Hard to hear but true. Money spent on boat maintenance and upgrade is mostly irrecoverable.

We went through the buying process, and selling process, last year. Our previous boat was in very good condition for its make/model/age and we had done a variety of good, expensive upgrades. The boat sold quickly and for a good price. I think we got some of the value of the upgrades back, versus the sale price we would have gotten without the upgrades, but as everyone is saying pennies on the dollar.

On our purchase I can tell you exactly how I valued upgrades. We ended up choosing between two boats of the same make and model and within a couple years on age. Condition was very comparable, so really it did come down to the equipment and price. For upgrades I would not have made on my own I assigned a value of $0, even for very expensive upgrades. For upgrades that I not only would upgrade on my own, but would also be high on my list of things I wanted, I assigned a value of 50% maximum, but maybe less due to age of the upgrade. Desirable (to me) upgrades that I was not "really excited about" I valued at 20-25%.

Of course if you are the seller you can have no idea what equipment the buyer will desire.

[GordMay]

Greetings and belated welcome aboard the CF, LDO.
I agree with the previous opinions.

[Dave22q]

Similar to houses, cosmetics pay back but upgrades generally do not. Best to spend on your boat for your own benefit and once you decide to sell, spend on cosmetics only.

[MAJICDAN]

I have found that the expense of upgrading an older boat does not increase the value of your boat, but it will increase its salability.
The surveyer compares other boats like yours that have sold in the last five years.
I have a 1974 Gulfstar 53ms.
I have receipts over the last two years for over $100,000 of improvements that were not on the boat when it was new.
I have another $100,000 of receipts over the last two years to return it to like new quality.
My recent survey was for $70,000 because that was the average price of sales of my model and year of boat in the last five years.

[denverd0n]

Okay, probably some bad news from the OP's perspective. Upgrades don't generally add a whole lot.


The one good thing that I will say is that it does not sound like your upgrades are going to LOWER the value of your boat. I see that a lot. Like, the guy who put a 165hp turbo diesel in his 35' monohull sailboat, and thought that made it worth SOOOOO much more. What does he think? I'm planning to waterski behind the boat!!??!!


Or the one who built a "back porch" on his sailboat. Wonderful for sitting at the dock having sundowners -- he thought -- and made the boat worth far more than the others on the market. Except the thing was an absolute MONSTROSITY of ugliness that any real sailor would have to spend time and money getting rid of!


Even things like permanently attached mast steps. Some think they add value. Some think they actually REDUCE the value of a sailboat. And, of course, things like adding wings to the keel, or shortening or lengthening it, or adding or removing a bulkhead -- anything that tries to alter basic design elements -- is going to be seen as a very big negative by a whole lot of potential buyers.


So, good luck to the OP, and to anyone else considering upgrades to their boat, be aware that if the upgrades are not something that virtually every boater in the world would want, you may well be LOWERING the resale value of your boat, not increasing it.

[tekdiver]

Originally Posted by LDO

I've had a 1985 Catalac 10M for about 8 years that I now want to sell. About 2015 I did a number of upgrades, of which many were replacements, some were expensive new additions. My interest is; What is the value to a new owner? I'll give a few examples. 1st - added (2) new Flexofold 3-blades 16" props approx. $4k, could be replaced with OEM props for $500. 2nd - added a 20 gal/hr water-maker appproxamately $4.5K, used for one season in the Bahamas. 3rd - added a new Schaefer Roller-Furled boom, mainsail, rigged vang, and electric winch, lets just say $20K+. What is there value to a new owner? Is it worth removing and selling any of the items at say half of there original value? Is there a market for such items, or will I end up giving them away, or better off to not even think about, just let them go?

So lets start with they are all used parts now 5 years old.
Value of the whole boat depends on quality of the whole boat.
So if all your mantinace is 5 years old your boat slips down. Example The boats I was looking to buy were running 45- 55k But most were not setup the way I wanted and were going to take 15-25k to get setup my way. Electronics Props etc. Bought a boat way under value and expect to put my 25 k in for a boat I want. If I sell it in 5 years Your hoping someone wants what you have!
Lastly do you want to waste your time tearing your boat apart and the cleaning the used parts to get 30-49% or retail?