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Vasco · 28-01-2013, 13:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by tommyh

You need to reread your statment. Your right a bare boat is not worth much. Thats why I offered what I did. 15,000 was generous. They screwed up and should have countered and not got their feelings hurt. By the way the broker thought it was solid and a good starting point. Every body out there,if your in love with your boat,keep it and do not wast the real buyers time.

Perhaps a change in attitude and negotiating strategy might help in realizing your dream of owning a boat. The seller did not counter. You say your offer of 15K was generous. By saying the seller should have countered you seem to be indicating that 15K was not your final position, although you do say it was generous. Perhaps an opening offer closer to your final position might have resulted in a counter offer. No use bad mouthing the seller. He was obviously disillusioned by your initial offer and might have thought you were wasting his time. You are still no closer to owning a boat. Learn from this experience and next time you might end up a boat owner.

Cheechako · 28-01-2013, 13:42

In a nutshell....forget nada. find comparables, how long on the market, last lowest price listed, subtract about 30% and start there. 40-50% for a little known boat in poor condition, 20% for a well known boat in decent condition....
Buying a boat is also "selling". You need to sell your position to the broker or seller. convince them your offer is fair with facts, similar boats, work needing done, location... etc...
Some sellers are too new to market conditions to be realistic. time will convince thm , but you cant.

tommyh · 28-01-2013, 13:54

Sounds like your in touch with reality. I have a great attitude,just trying to be prudint about this. Just because some rich guy overpays for a boat that should not set the standard for what I am going to do.

Fishspearit · 28-01-2013, 14:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by tommyh

I offered 15,000 hopeing a counter would be just under 20,000. By the way tire kickers doNT walk around with cash.

That makes me chuckle.

I've found that most tire kickers don't realize they are tire kickers. They almost always have money for a boat and consider themselves serious buyers, but then nothing ever quite lives up to their expectations and they never find that Perfect Deal they are looking for. Often that's because they got bad advice such as Offering 1/2 to 1/3 of asking price and then thinking that they realistically have a chance of buying a boat like that. (Sellers never put an asking price of twice their bottom line on a boat, they know that would scare away buyers. They often factor 5-10% in for negotiating room) The tire kicker then spends years looking at boats and always getting upset at the Sellers because they think the Sellers want too much for their boat. For the tire kicker, it's all about The Deal, and they don't care how long it takes to find a boat, as long as they get The Deal. That's why they hunt, and hunt, and hunt and take years to buy a boat. The whole time they honestly think they are shopping for a boat, but the truth is they are only shopping for a Deal.

A serious buyer realizes that there is a cost to searching for a boat, in fuel and time among other things. The serious buyer will set limits to their search, such as 'in the next 3 months' or 'within a 100 miles' and then find the best deal they can within those limits, even if they end up paying fair market value instead of getting The Deal.

For the OP, I would personally be unwilling to travel to another country for a <$40,000 boat. You could easily wind up paying 5-10% of your purchase price just to find out that the boat is not what you thought it was. It makes sense if you're searching for a >$100,000 boat, but I would look close to home or in one high density boat area like Florida or the Chesapeake for a <$40K boat.

tommyh · 28-01-2013, 14:39

Alls I can say is wow. I guess I need Dr. Phil.

Doodles · 28-01-2013, 15:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vasco

If you really want a boat you might have to rethink you bargaining strategy. Saying you've got cash doesn't help, all sellers expect cash. Few will finance your purchase.

As was pointed out in another thread recently, in this market if you haven't found a boat and you've been looking for a while then you probably need a new strategy.

tommyh · 28-01-2013, 15:22

My new strategy; Go on Dr. Phil and have my head examined. I need therapy,and I guess more money or,be more impulsive,or,or,or,or.....you guys fill in the rest.

Doodles · 28-01-2013, 15:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fishspearit

That makes me chuckle.

I've found that most tire kickers don't realize they are tire kickers. They almost always have money for a boat and consider themselves serious buyers, but then nothing ever quite lives up to their expectations and they never find that Perfect Deal they are looking for. Often that's because they got bad advice such as Offering 1/2 to 1/3 of asking price and then thinking that they realistically have a chance of buying a boat like that. (Sellers never put an asking price of twice their bottom line on a boat, they know that would scare away buyers. They often factor 5-10% in for negotiating room) The tire kicker then spends years looking at boats and always getting upset at the Sellers because they think the Sellers want too much for their boat. For the tire kicker, it's all about The Deal, and they don't care how long it takes to find a boat, as long as they get The Deal. That's why they hunt, and hunt, and hunt and take years to buy a boat. The whole time they honestly think they are shopping for a boat, but the truth is they are only shopping for a Deal.

A serious buyer realizes that there is a cost to searching for a boat, in fuel and time among other things. The serious buyer will set limits to their search, such as 'in the next 3 months' or 'within a 100 miles' and then find the best deal they can within those limits, even if they end up paying fair market value instead of getting The Deal.

For the OP, I would personally be unwilling to travel to another country for a <$40,000 boat. You could easily wind up paying 5-10% of your purchase price just to find out that the boat is not what you thought it was. It makes sense if you're searching for a >$100,000 boat, but I would look close to home or in one high density boat area like Florida or the Chesapeake for a <$40K boat.

This sums it up pretty well I think. I would just add ... why do so many buyers think having "cash" in hand is something special! NOBODY is going to finance a 30 year old boat in these price ranges.

tommyh · 28-01-2013, 15:38

I realize now that im wasting my time with all this reading and writing and need to get back on the road looking for that perfect boat.

Kettlewell · 28-01-2013, 15:43

Older boats, smaller boats, and project boats will sell for prices completely unrelated to any NADA price, and back to the OP it really depends on where the boat is "offshore" with regard to pricing. One thing you can generally count on is that boat prices don't reflect actual selling prices very well. Having seen quite a few boats that were offshore and for sale while out cruising I would say it is a tremendous crap shoot whether or not you can get a bargain. You would have to look at the trip as an adventure that might or might not yield a bargain. Some folks get to places like Guatemala or Panama and decide the cruising life isn't for them and decide to sell a well equipped and sorted boat for a good price. However, if that same boat then sits there through a rainy season or two you will find the decks green with mold, down below in serious need of fumigation or worse, and much of the equipment not worth purchasing. Other times, there are tricky paperwork issues because someone doesn't have clear title or something else--personally, I would avoid going to see any boat if the owner wasn't willing to prove to me its title was clear before I went down to see it. On the other hand, I once ran into a boat in Colombia that I had seen listed when I was back in the U.S.A. and it really would have been a tremendous buy at the asking price, and was probably very negotiable as it had been sitting for a couple of years in a very dusty boatyard. Assuming the interior was OK, it would have been a great deal for someone.

tommyh · 28-01-2013, 16:01

All kidding aside,I do value this fourm and its members welth of knowledge. Some time humor just has to prevale.

barnakiel · 28-01-2013, 16:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eddiefuego

(...) assuming that I like the boat and it is well fitted...what is a fair price to offer the seller for the boat?

Assuming you like her and she is well fitted then offer to pay the asking. If the boat is located in Arab Emirates or thereabouts, offer half.

Another take: offer less than asking. I did. I got a dumb look. I bought the boat nonetheless.

If it is your first boat, look for quality, not for bargains. If it is your first boat, you may or may not be able to know a boat bargain from a never ending project.

b.

terminalcitygrl · 28-01-2013, 16:37

We were very seriously looking at a boat last fall. It had sold but then came back in the market. The sellers broker let us know that the first offer on the boat listed for $59k was $48k and it was rejected. The second offer was $52 and it was accepted. This offer ended up falling through and the seller had already bought a new boat so he was motivated to sell. We didn't end up offering because after shipping costs, we couldn't make that budget work for us. The boat sold soon thereafter - it was good value IMHO.

That said, we continue to look and to been almost a year. We've learned that with our budget, we will buy something fairly local to maximize value. If you're not in a hurry, don't let anyone else tell you that you should be or you should pay more than you're comfortable with. Taking the long view for us has been really useful, we have a much better sense of what value is to us and we will buy when the right deal on the right boat comes around. We do have a good laugh from time to time about some of the outrageous expectations many sellers have. If you can find a broker you like to work with, ask them to send you the sold boats list for a few different models you're interested. That will be helpful for you.

Good luck.