How to account for low or high hours value wise?

[jmo]

Hey guys,

Anyone know of an accepted practice for determining the increase or decrease of a boat's value based on having low or high hours? Nada doesn't seem to take this into consideration.

Thoughts?

JMO

[BrennanK]

I think you will find that there is no set guideline. It all depends on how those hours are put on and how old the boat is.
If it was a promo boat with 300 hours, that is nothing. If the boat was beat on hard 'put away wet' then as little as 100 hours could be a lot. These boats can easily go into the 2000 hour mark before needing a rebuild.
Personally, I would think that anything less then 200 is low, and might demand a premium(depending on age). A boat in the normal range (200-800) should be find at a normal price.
Also, remember that low hours on an older boat is not always good. It might have sat for three years will all the oil sitting in the pan.

I don't think NADA has a really good estimate of these boats values also. It all depends on how they were maintained, same goes for the amount of hours.

When I was looking at my boat, hours ment nothing if the boat was maintained well.
When I bought my 1997 SN, it looked like East-TX-Skiers, thus demanding a premium on price. Well above the NADA value.
I was lucky to get it, I got several emails from people that wanted to buy it as well once they saw it as boat of the month on CCFan.

Unfortunately, it is very hard to set a standard for hours like you can for cars and miles.
Maintenance and age of the boat dictate the price, not the hours. In my opinion.

[jmo]

I concur with your thoughts, although I think it's worth comparing where the boat is hour wise (assuming it was taken care of) against the 2000 hour rebuild mark versus where it would be with "normal usage" which in the northern states I put at 50/season - not sure what that is for warmer climates.

[swc5150]

The midwest rule of thumb is 60 hours per year. Looking at used boats all over the country, that number doesn't appear too out of line with southern boats either. Club boats are the exception, of course. A thorough test drive will tell you most of what you need to know, along with a compression test. If a boat is solid, tight, free of rattles, and the engine/tranny are responsive and strong, I wouldn't care much about the hours.

[crowmobe540]

I agree with BrennanK. Also, most people change their oil every 50 hours. So you can (in a way) equate to miles that way (3,000 per change). But it really does matter how well it was maintained. i've put tons of hours on boats. Most of the time my boat ran way better with over a thousand hours than did a friends with less than 200. His sat all the time and mine didn't. I guess keeping all that rubber wet is a good thing.

[BroncoSki]

1 got 4300 hours on my 87 2001 before a rebuild

[skiinxs]

My '04 Suburban is sitting right at 4,000 hours and 135,000 miles (a good portion towing a boat). The engine is still strong, runs great, no issues. (I probably just jinxed myself). At that rate 100 hours would only be 3,375 miles. I think many people get way too hung up about hours on boats when few ever need a rebuild from high hours. Much more important is the condition of the boat, how well it was taken care of, was it wiped down after each use, was the oil changed on-time, was kept dry or put away and covered wet, etc. Boats sitting with little use, no fuel stabilizer, old oil in the engine will likely need major repairs far sooner than a well taken care of boat that is exercised regularly. Generally a five minute walk around the boat and look under the motor box can tell a lot.
Dave

[EntiatSkier]

My 1998 SNOB had 142hrs at the start of this summer when i bought it. It now has 184hrs