Advice on Selling a Boat

superdawgfan · 06-03-2011, 07:32 AM

I hate to do it, but I think it's time for me to sell my 1998 23' Cobalt bow rider. It's the only boat I've ever owned so I have no experience selling one, and I'm not getting another so I can't use it as a trade.

I'd really appreciate any advice on the process, including how to maximize my selling price, best way to sell, etc.

Thanks in advance for the assistance.

Dave R · 06-03-2011, 08:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by superdawgfan

I hate to do it, but I think it's time for me to sell my 1998 23' Cobalt bow rider. It's the only boat I've ever owned so I have no experience selling one, and I'm not getting another so I can't use it as a trade.

I'd really appreciate any advice on the process, including how to maximize my selling price, best way to sell, etc.

Thanks in advance for the assistance.

I only buy used "cream-puff" boats and have no problem spending more on a boat that was lovingly cared for and I continue that care. I would only buy a boat that showed pride of ownership.

Here's what I'd do if I were selling mine:

Make sure it operates perfectly.
Make it spotless and shiny.
Clean areas that are normally hidden from view.
Touch up the paint on the drive.
Clean up any nicks on the prop(s).
Change the oil in the engine so that a dipstick pull reveals fresh oil.
Make sure all fluids are topped up and clean looking.
Address any little things like loose screws, missing snaps, rattles, blown light bulbs, frayed whipping on dock lines, etc.
Include any miscellaneous stuff that you can, like anchors, PFDs, docklines, spare trailer tire etc.
Detail the trailer and make sure it's in perfect operating condition as well.

Show off all the cool storage nooks and quality build techniques that Cobalts are known for. People love that kind of stuff.

Take the serious potential buyers for a test ride and focus on the fun, but also set a good example by not beating on the engine until it's fully warmed up and by being careful to follow all the navigational laws. If you include an "unscheduled" stop at some town docks for a quick bite, you'll go a long way toward selling the lifestyle and assuming the boat is nice, THAT will probably seal the deal.

Good luck!

Jonas Pilot · 06-03-2011, 08:38 AM

That's exactly what I did. I got a great resale value and the guy that bought it got a great boat.

Lakesrider · 06-03-2011, 08:47 AM

Can you PM the info on the boat. Believe it or not my next door neighbor is looking for an over 20 foot bow rider. Pictures too please, phone number, address and so on. I'll give it to them. They are here right now. Well across the street. They are here for the weekend.
Wiki Wiki now there fella!

NH_boater · 06-03-2011, 09:49 AM

Consider a broker sale thru a marina. They have high traffic of motivated buyers. They will promote and show the boat and you pay them 5-10%. Many buyers will purchase from a dealer, even as a broker boat, and not from a private owner.

I sold my boat quickly thru Channel like this.

codeman671 · 06-03-2011, 10:04 AM

Most dealers are going to want 10% for consignment commission. Try craigslist and Ebay. I have had great luck with both.

Dont waste your time with ABLboats.com. I did, it was a big costly mistake. Use boattrader.com directly, the hits that I got through ABLboats ( I advertised with them and they partner with a few different sites) all came from boattrader searches.

lawn psycho · 06-03-2011, 10:33 AM

If you are looking to sell, price it slightly below market price as that is what gets it moving. There's a lot of boats out there and nobody is wanting to over pay. The book values are way out of sync with actual boat values. All of them.

Like was mentioned, condition is everything. Clean, clean, clean is what sells a boat. If you have oxidation, peeling paint on drive, nasty trailer, rotted tires, etc then you need to be realistic on price.

Craigslist and boat trader are the best for DIY online. If you want less hassle and not needing every dollar then you can clean it and have the dealer sell it and they'll take 10-15% of the sales prices.

If you truly don't plan on getting another boat then throw in the extras. Beware that many boat owners have said this only to come back and have to buy the stuff all over again

I'd keep any tubes, skis, and the extra anchors. Just leave the basic orange life vests and keep the nice ones. I would not want someone elses "clothing" anyways.

jrc · 06-03-2011, 10:49 AM

You have to be honest with yourself on condition, this is a 12 year old boat. First you need to get a price range to work within. Go to online boat sales sites and see what people are asking. Go to the local dealers websites and see what they have for sale.

If perfect or near perfect, follow Dave's advice. Shine and polish and fix up everything, put it on Craigslist ask 10-20% over market. Sell it for somewhere near market.

If not perfect and it will cost you more than 20% of the market value to make it perfect, do a quick clean up, then put it on Craigslist at 10-20% below market and sell it quick. It's usually not worth it to spend $1000 on a boat to get $1000 more in sales price. Unless the boat is unusable, let the new guy spend his money.

robmac · 06-03-2011, 12:04 PM

I agree with Dave,if you don't want to deal with the phone calls,no shows and the free demo ride crowd I would look to a marina. They will market it and can assist the buyer with financing if needed. I would call Shep Browns they do a great job selling boats. 603-279-4573

Winnisquamguy · 06-03-2011, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lakesrider

Can you PM the info on the boat. Believe it or not my next door neighbor is looking for an over 20 foot bow rider. Pictures too please, phone number, address and so on. I'll give it to them. They are here right now. Well across the street. They are here for the weekend.
Wiki Wiki now there fella!

My sister is also in the market for a boat if you could do the same that would be great!!

NHskier · 06-03-2011, 05:10 PM

I would also recommend having maintenance records on hand if possible. That's something that was a factor in my decision on buying used.

We purchased through a marina consignment sale. In this case they had originally sold it and had all maintenance records, providing a degree of confidence in how it had been cared for.

JasonG · 06-03-2011, 10:15 PM

A few years ago I took my 8 year old Maxum there and they sold it rather fast. Brokerage boat so no warranty from either of us. Paid fast and they took the time to talk to me about the process. Yes they took 10 %, but was worth it. People look to go to a dealer vs private sale. Just a level of comfort for those that dont know "what to look for"

jean4 · 06-04-2011, 06:15 AM

Dave R. Is absolutly right. A clean first impresion means alot.
Lots of people go boat window shopping around the lake. When we decided to get another boat back in 94 we just jumped in the car and hit all the major marinas around the lake. We felt we knew these boats were lake used only. To us a 10 year old boat would be better than perhaps a 1 or 2 year old boat that had some salt in and on it. A marina like Silver Sands or Irwin are right on the main roads in the most populated areas and get tons of lookers. One thing I liked a Silver Sands is that if I wanted to take a test drive. That boat was in the water in about 10 min. that was important to us. That made is very convenient for us to not have to keep coming back and forth. Like I said these as well as other marinas have great reputations for quality used boats. Good luck.

Lakepilot · 06-04-2011, 06:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JasonG

A few years ago I took my 8 year old Maxum there and they sold it rather fast. Brokerage boat so no warranty from either of us. Paid fast and they took the time to talk to me about the process. Yes they took 10 %, but was worth it. People look to go to a dealer vs private sale. Just a level of comfort for those that dont know "what to look for"

We had the same experience with Meredith Marine 4 years ago we brought our Four Winns there. It was sold fast, and again with no warranty from either of us. They were good to work with.

Two dobys · 06-04-2011, 07:19 AM

I sold one of my last boats, a Eliminator on CL. I had a ton of calls and e-mails from the northeast. Most of the buyers wanted more pictures and my bottom line. I did sell it to a man from Mass for my price. I found a lot of tire kickers on CL. It took about 3 weeks from advertising to selling.
I have also sold a Formula thru Lakeport landing, took a few months but painless on my part and a Checkmate thru Silver Sands, again painless.
Good luck

michael · 06-04-2011, 12:01 PM

8-9 years ago posted my boat for sale on this websites classifieds. because i posted the location of boat, the buyer did a "drive buy", called me, he wanted it, and i had "cash" money within 24 hrs of posting my classified. actually had to sign some kind of tax form stating were i came up with $20,000 cash, when purchasing our next used boat several days later. the buyer wanted the boat "yesterday", and went to the bank for cash versus my wanting ANY type of check to clear. if the right buyer wants your model boat, it will sell, so start advertising. good luck!

Winniboater81 · 06-05-2011, 08:11 PM

I bought a boat over the winter at Irwin Marine. They made it really easy, and hassle free.

Rag Top Daze · 06-09-2011, 04:53 AM

We sold our boat a few years ago. We ran the ad on Craigs List at 10 PM on a Sunday; priced it realistically; it was gone within 24 hours of listing it. A couple of guys came down from New Brunswick. They told us all the boats up there have been run in salt water, so they looked around Winni to find one that would have been run in fresh water. They were tickled with the boat and we were tickled to have sold it so easily! We finally bought a newer boat a few weeks ago. We are desperately trying to find the time to get it in water so we can use it. Life is hectic!

hilltopper · 06-09-2011, 11:22 AM

Mine was posted on Craig's List last year for 72 hours before being sold to a fellow who came down from the Montreal area.

Tell you what, that day made me understand the popular saying... The best two days of being a boat owner are the day you buy the boat and the day you sell it!

06-03-2011, 07:32 AM	#1
superdawgfan Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 15 Thanks: 7 Thanked 10 Times in 3 Posts	Advice on Selling a Boat I hate to do it, but I think it's time for me to sell my 1998 23' Cobalt bow rider. It's the only boat I've ever owned so I have no experience selling one, and I'm not getting another so I can't use it as a trade. I'd really appreciate any advice on the process, including how to maximize my selling price, best way to sell, etc. Thanks in advance for the assistance.

06-03-2011, 08:38 AM	#3
Jonas Pilot Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Wolfeboro, New Hampshire is my home, 24-7-365 Posts: 1,686 Thanks: 1,047 Thanked 336 Times in 189 Posts	Excellent advise Dave ... That's exactly what I did. I got a great resale value and the guy that bought it got a great boat.

06-03-2011, 05:10 PM	#11
NHskier Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 291 Thanks: 43 Thanked 36 Times in 33 Posts	I would also recommend having maintenance records on hand if possible. That's something that was a factor in my decision on buying used. We purchased through a marina consignment sale. In this case they had originally sold it and had all maintenance records, providing a degree of confidence in how it had been cared for. __________________ NHskier

06-03-2011, 10:15 PM	#12
JasonG Senior Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 310 Thanks: 48 Thanked 45 Times in 33 Posts	Meredith Marine... A few years ago I took my 8 year old Maxum there and they sold it rather fast. Brokerage boat so no warranty from either of us. Paid fast and they took the time to talk to me about the process. Yes they took 10 %, but was worth it. People look to go to a dealer vs private sale. Just a level of comfort for those that dont know "what to look for"

06-04-2011, 06:15 AM	#13
jean4 Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Georgetown/Gilford Posts: 8 Thanks: 1 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Best way to sell a used boat Dave R. Is absolutly right. A clean first impresion means alot. Lots of people go boat window shopping around the lake. When we decided to get another boat back in 94 we just jumped in the car and hit all the major marinas around the lake. We felt we knew these boats were lake used only. To us a 10 year old boat would be better than perhaps a 1 or 2 year old boat that had some salt in and on it. A marina like Silver Sands or Irwin are right on the main roads in the most populated areas and get tons of lookers. One thing I liked a Silver Sands is that if I wanted to take a test drive. That boat was in the water in about 10 min. that was important to us. That made is very convenient for us to not have to keep coming back and forth. Like I said these as well as other marinas have great reputations for quality used boats. Good luck.

06-03-2011, 08:47 AM	#4
Lakesrider Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 2,129 Thanks: 380 Thanked 1,016 Times in 345 Posts	Can you PM the info on the boat. Believe it or not my next door neighbor is looking for an over 20 foot bow rider. Pictures too please, phone number, address and so on. I'll give it to them. They are here right now. Well across the street. They are here for the weekend. Wiki Wiki now there fella!

06-03-2011, 09:49 AM	#5
NH_boater Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 298 Thanks: 14 Thanked 147 Times in 62 Posts	Consider a broker sale thru a marina. They have high traffic of motivated buyers. They will promote and show the boat and you pay them 5-10%. Many buyers will purchase from a dealer, even as a broker boat, and not from a private owner. I sold my boat quickly thru Channel like this.

06-03-2011, 10:04 AM	#6
codeman671 Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 3,486 Thanks: 221 Thanked 810 Times in 486 Posts	Most dealers are going to want 10% for consignment commission. Try craigslist and Ebay. I have had great luck with both. Dont waste your time with ABLboats.com. I did, it was a big costly mistake. Use boattrader.com directly, the hits that I got through ABLboats ( I advertised with them and they partner with a few different sites) all came from boattrader searches.

06-03-2011, 10:33 AM	#7
lawn psycho Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: On the move... Posts: 987 Thanks: 113 Thanked 248 Times in 133 Posts	If you are looking to sell, price it slightly below market price as that is what gets it moving. There's a lot of boats out there and nobody is wanting to over pay. The book values are way out of sync with actual boat values. All of them. Like was mentioned, condition is everything. Clean, clean, clean is what sells a boat. If you have oxidation, peeling paint on drive, nasty trailer, rotted tires, etc then you need to be realistic on price. Craigslist and boat trader are the best for DIY online. If you want less hassle and not needing every dollar then you can clean it and have the dealer sell it and they'll take 10-15% of the sales prices. If you truly don't plan on getting another boat then throw in the extras. Beware that many boat owners have said this only to come back and have to buy the stuff all over again I'd keep any tubes, skis, and the extra anchors. Just leave the basic orange life vests and keep the nice ones. I would not want someone elses "clothing" anyways.

06-03-2011, 10:49 AM	#8
jrc Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: NH Posts: 2,689 Thanks: 33 Thanked 439 Times in 249 Posts	You have to be honest with yourself on condition, this is a 12 year old boat. First you need to get a price range to work within. Go to online boat sales sites and see what people are asking. Go to the local dealers websites and see what they have for sale. If perfect or near perfect, follow Dave's advice. Shine and polish and fix up everything, put it on Craigslist ask 10-20% over market. Sell it for somewhere near market. If not perfect and it will cost you more than 20% of the market value to make it perfect, do a quick clean up, then put it on Craigslist at 10-20% below market and sell it quick. It's usually not worth it to spend $1000 on a boat to get $1000 more in sales price. Unless the boat is unusable, let the new guy spend his money.

06-03-2011, 12:04 PM	#9
robmac Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Nashua,Meredith Posts: 951 Thanks: 213 Thanked 106 Times in 81 Posts	I agree with Dave,if you don't want to deal with the phone calls,no shows and the free demo ride crowd I would look to a marina. They will market it and can assist the buyer with financing if needed. I would call Shep Browns they do a great job selling boats. 603-279-4573

06-04-2011, 07:19 AM	#15
Two dobys Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 22 Thanks: 53 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts	Selling your boat I sold one of my last boats, a Eliminator on CL. I had a ton of calls and e-mails from the northeast. Most of the buyers wanted more pictures and my bottom line. I did sell it to a man from Mass for my price. I found a lot of tire kickers on CL. It took about 3 weeks from advertising to selling. I have also sold a Formula thru Lakeport landing, took a few months but painless on my part and a Checkmate thru Silver Sands, again painless. Good luck

06-04-2011, 12:01 PM	#16
michael Junior Member Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 14 Thanks: 9 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts	winni.com classifieds 8-9 years ago posted my boat for sale on this websites classifieds. because i posted the location of boat, the buyer did a "drive buy", called me, he wanted it, and i had "cash" money within 24 hrs of posting my classified. actually had to sign some kind of tax form stating were i came up with $20,000 cash, when purchasing our next used boat several days later. the buyer wanted the boat "yesterday", and went to the bank for cash versus my wanting ANY type of check to clear. if the right buyer wants your model boat, it will sell, so start advertising. good luck!

06-05-2011, 08:11 PM	#17
Winniboater81 Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Posts: 18 Thanks: 0 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts	I bought a boat over the winter at Irwin Marine. They made it really easy, and hassle free.

06-09-2011, 04:53 AM	#18
Rag Top Daze Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Moultonborough Posts: 119 Thanks: 11 Thanked 13 Times in 9 Posts	Realistic pricing We sold our boat a few years ago. We ran the ad on Craigs List at 10 PM on a Sunday; priced it realistically; it was gone within 24 hours of listing it. A couple of guys came down from New Brunswick. They told us all the boats up there have been run in salt water, so they looked around Winni to find one that would have been run in fresh water. They were tickled with the boat and we were tickled to have sold it so easily! We finally bought a newer boat a few weeks ago. We are desperately trying to find the time to get it in water so we can use it. Life is hectic! __________________ I live for a rag top day

06-09-2011, 11:22 AM	#19
hilltopper Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Meredith Posts: 725 Thanks: 25 Thanked 107 Times in 68 Posts	Mine was posted on Craig's List last year for 72 hours before being sold to a fellow who came down from the Montreal area. Tell you what, that day made me understand the popular saying... The best two days of being a boat owner are the day you buy the boat and the day you sell it!