When to buy?

[dead pair]

I have around $20,000 to spend and want to get a SAN 210. I wanted to wait until the season is over and hopefully find someone that doesn't want to store their boat all winter. I am a little worried that once winter arrives, boats owners put them away for the winter and forget about trading up or selling. Anyone have any experience with looking for a bargain in the off season?

[BWB-745-]

I have been shopping around (although not close to buying yet maybe one more year to save up) and have noticed a big drop in selection now that summer is here.

Wait till winter and there will be a larger selection of boats with better prices, the more patient you are the better you will feel about the purchase.

[east tx skier]

IMO, the time to buy is when you find that perfect boat. I wouldn't pass on something that fits the bill in hopes that there might be more selection come winter. Much easier to get a good test drive while it's still warm. If anything, start looking in late August.

[HS]

End of Year

Found ours here on PN in October of 2007. Had been seeing a lot of Limiteds and then saw a listing for a Team, low hours and with a color scheme that I wanted. The seller had a new Nautique on order and needed to make room for it. I think the rule of thumb is sell in the spring, and buy in the fall.

[behindpropellers]

If you have $20K then plan on spending 15-18K.

Save the extra for repairs.....etc.

Tim

[GoBig]

October

Picked up my latest in Oct. '08. This wasn't planned, just when I found the perfect boat at the right price. But the time of year certainly helped with the last half of that sentence! I had been looking actively for 8 months after I sold my previous boat.

[74green]

I bought mine in November 2009. Found a great deal in the off season. Some people are in need of money out there and need to sell assets. I checked criaglook.com daily.

Also I had bought my sea doo in October 2008. Same scenario.

Most people don’t want to buy a new boat in the winter cause they can’t or don’t want to use it. So I think that is one of the driving factors to make the prices cheaper. Also if you are not hurting for money as a seller then summer seems to bring more $$. So it may seem that someone wanting/needing the money would sale in the off season.
Just my thought based on my experience in recently hunting for a boat.