1st post: How's the used DD/V-Drive market right now?

[Jeff d]

I've been wakeboarding for 15+ years but have never really advanced much because in the early years it was always just goofing around behind aluminum flat boats and if I was lucky a 19' center console. When I bummed the occasional pull from a competition boat (Pretty rare back in my prime) I was getting so much air I didn't know what to do with it and could barely land a jump.

Anyway, fast forward to today: I'm 30, boatless, wakeboard 1-2 times a year if I'm lucky, a father of 3 (2 boys, 1 girl) and can almost afford one of these boats that I lusted after in high school. And, I literally mean one of those boats because I only have about $12k that I should spend which means I'm probably looking at a mid to late '90s boat. I might be able to round up another few thousand by the time I actually find the boat I want.

I went into this assuming that it's a seller's market right now given the economy but the prices I've seen over the last couple of weeks seems to indicate otherwise.

For '01-02 and later it seems like asking prices are generally pretty close to NADA values (If you go in and check ALL of the appropriate boxes for accessories) but all of those are just out of reach for me. However, the older boats are way, way over NADA and most of these sellers seem to be asking the same prices as comparable boats (Condition, accessories, etc) that are 3-5 years newer.

What's the general condition of the used market right now? There seems to be a huge number of boats available within 500 miles of my house and I'm not really in any hurry. Am I generally in a good position to negotiate a really low price or do I just need to shutup and pay for the most reasonable boat I can find in my price range? Nobody seems to want to negotiate at all via email but it's hard to justify making a long drive to have the seller end up being firm on their price when they say "OBO".

Thanks,
Jeff

[a.klos]

I think that the market is where it was last year. Nothing really changed but you have to look for the deals, they are out there. Just have to keep looking.

[TRDon]

If you try to negotiate a boat that is a long distance via e-mail, sight unseen, it makes it seem as though you may not be genuine in you offerings. Call them up and ask good questions and show you are genuine in wanting a boat or thinking of purchasing their's. If you prove you are wanting thier boat with asking "buyers questions" and asking for multiple pictures to justify a multihundred or even thusand mile trip so you are not wasting your time or their's, you may be taken more seriously than you just dropping a line and saying, "hey dude, what is the lowest you would take for your boat, I am 2000 miles away and have never seen your boat or asked for more info or pics but what can we work out?" No, not a good first impression. As a seller, I would totally blow off someone doing that to me.

On the other side, driving out with a worry of lack of negotiation is something easily settled by discussing what I said above. If you just say your boat is nice, nice enough to come 800 miles just to look, they know you are pretty serious and may not move as much knowing a guy is invested so much to drive that far just to look at a boat that was probably exactly or really close to what he or she is looking for. I would try to milk that cow too, knowing that. Make it clear and ask for a lot of pics, history, how long they owned it, have a phone conversation and feel them out. Have a couple of conversations over a couple of days, show you are interested and if it gets to saying you want to look, tell them what you are looking to spend on THEIR boat, because they dont really care what you want to buy A boat for. Ask if that is realistic and work that out before you show up. Let them know that THIS is what you are willing to spend on that boat in the way it was represented and if it is misrepresented, you expect the price to be lowered or you will be upset you wasted the time and the money to look at it when you clearly were interested as a real buyer and they knew that you would see the boat and know that you have invested the time and money knowing you would see the real condition of their boat.

This is how I negotiated my boat over a long distance. Keep realistic, set your boundries and make your expectations clear and that will make everybody's time not go wasted.

[mpas]

NADA is more of a guide. Their expertise is in vehicles. When you book a boat on NADA.com they have no add or deduction for hours like they do for vehicles for low vs. high miles. You can find boats at the auto auctions and can pick some up cheap but buyer beware these are usually repo's and are not always in great shape and you have no idea of the history. Price is market driven but I believe there is value for condition, low hours, maintenace records,extras (i.e. 2 custom covers, stereo, etc.). Just food for thought.

[jonfo]

I haven't seen too many amazing deals on nautiques, at best expect to pay a bit less than NADA, but then I dont trust NADA too much. Our local dealer rarely has a new nautique in stock, mostly you have to order one unless you want a 226 or something that doest sell as well.

If you want great deals get a malibu or mastercraft where there are more new and used ones for sale. Here is what i see searching nationwide for 21-24 foot boats from each mfg on www.boattrader.com. These numbers probably reflect the manufacturing numbers for each as well.

Malibu: 377
Mastercraft: 333
Correct craft: 168

[Jeff d]

I'm defintely open to a MasterCraft or Malibu even though I'm crazy 'bout the abrupt Nautique wake. There are a ton of Malibu Sportsters in my price range but they have so little freeboard by the time you add ballast it's borderline unsafe. Also, the bow seats on them are pretty much for kids only.

What I'm really interested in doing is getting a really good deal on a boat that has pretty much bottomed out on depreciation. Something I can have fun on with the family/freinds then sell it in a few years with minimal loss and maybe get a SAN. So, whatever I find doesn't have to be my dream boat.

BTW, I've decided that 500 mile radius is as far as I'll travel. Obviously the further out the boat is the more appealing/better price it has to be.

I have found a nearby '98 Air Nautique that's right in my price range and only 120 miles away but it's been run in brackish water for 1/3 of its life and one side of the boat has some fading from being stored outside. I also don't like the color. My father in law lives nearby and looked at it in person for me and said it was pretty nice but the graphics have been removed and you can still see where they were. It's also got some cracked vinyl in the rear and missing a bow cusion. All of this adds up to me wanting to keep looking.

[hondaprlud]

I would take TRDon's advise on how to handle the transaction. But as far as finding the right boat for you, in the price range you need to be in, I'd worry way less about color, DD/V-drive etc and more about a well maintained boat and trailer. I bought my first boat when I was 21 and single and now I'm 35 and 3 kids and the scene is completely different. 2/3s of my time on the water is pulling a tube, teaching kids to ski,knee,wakeboard, or just parked and swimming. None of those things require a world class wake. The rest of the time on the water you'll be boarding and building your skills. Then in a few years you can upgrade to something a little more wake specific if you need to. Since you bought a well maintained used boat, and hopefully you kept it up, you'll have no excuses for the next owner. Thus a stronger selling price and easier transaction.

I had my 96 DD Sport with some fat sacs and a extended pylon, from the time my oldest was born in 2001 until my youngest was 3 (2008) and for the work that sometimes went into just getting on the water, it was fine.

Good luck!