Help making a purchase decision between two older Nautiques of the same year. Different condition and price.

[mgitk]

I'm looking at two comparable boats. Both are 2007 Nautique 210 TE boats. One has 1100 hours, 8/10 hull exterior condition, 6.5/10 interior vinyl condition, had a compression test come back 163 PSI minimum and 180 PSI maximum. The other has ~600 hours, 9/10 hull, 9/10 interior, no compression test yet as it has fewer hours I haven't been as keen to order that work.

One is 32K and the other is 41K. I imagine that I will keep the boat for 4-5 years and then resell and maybe take a 6K hit on depreciation. I was thinking that the cheaper one might be easier to resell since it will definitely be a beginner/first boat. At that point they will both be 15 years old.

Does anyone here have advice on what they'd do in a similar situation?

[MikeC]

If you look at it strictly as a business transaction and your biggest concern would be resale in 4-5 years then you need to consider if you'd rather advertise a boat with 1500 to 1800 hours or one with 1000 to 1300 hours. If all you're wanting is something that floats, runs and costs you the least over the course of ownership then I'd say go for the cheap one. But haggle on the price no matter which one you decide on.

With that said - I could't do that. The first thing I'd do to the cheap boat is start fixing it up and I'd end up spending a few thousand on new interior pieces and fixing all the little things that it's bound to have wrong, so my $9,000 savings would be closer to 4K before I was finished, thereby negating all the advantages of buying the cheap boat. Also remember that the cheaper boat has nearly (not exactly I know) twice the amount of hours on it, and if you keep the other boat in excellent condition you may not see the depreciation that you're expecting.

Buying a boat becomes an emotional decision as well as a business decision for most people - if you can keep the emotion out of it you'll be much better off.

[a0128]

I . . . The first thing I'd do to the cheap boat is start fixing it up and I'd end up spending a few thousand on new interior pieces and fixing all the little things that it's bound to have wrong, so my $9,000 savings would be closer to 4K before I was finished, thereby negating all the advantages of buying the cheap boat.

This.

With an interior you rate as a 6.5/10 you will eventually want to re-do it. Depending on where you source the skins and who does the work you won't be saving that much over the other boat with the 9/10 interior.

Post up some pictures so we can better evaluate.

[a0128]

Did you see this one advertised here?

https://www.planetnautique.com/vb5/f...r-sale-indiana

[t.franscioni]

Compression test the lower hour boat as well... hours means very little if the boat hasn't been maintained well or laided up correctly during off season or fired up and ran at least once a month on the garden hose and brought up to operating tempture. Bought my first nautique with 600 hours, come to find the headed needed a vavle job not because they were worn out but because it just sat for long periods of time and developed some corrosion.

[mgitk]

This.

With an interior you rate as a 6.5/10 you will eventually want to re-do it. Depending on where you source the skins and who does the work you won't be saving that much over the other boat with the 9/10 interior.

Post up some pictures so we can better evaluate.

Here are some representative pictures I found. 60% of the seating is like this. Also the dash vinyl is discolored. Carpet is good.

And the one with 9/10 specs looks a lot like the one you showed in Indiana in terms of condition. Color is different and doesn't have the updated outside graphics. Same price so I'll probably go with local one. But the Indiana boat is a good stand in for the higher dollar boat I'm evaluating.

[t.franscioni]

As mentioned above the vinyl will be expensive. I bought a full skin kit for my 02 SAN from Christine's (really good product) spent just shy of $3000 as I recal and did the install myself. What an nightmare, not difficult but VERY time consuming, albeit I had zero vinyl experience going into the project. Project boats are fun if your into that sort of thing but of you just want to get out on the lake and have fun then I'd lean toward something that's in good shape even if it costs a little more.

[vanhanbr]

I think you need to work on price first off, way to much $. 07 is oddball year with 220 style seating. First one is used up, $28K max, second one sounds nice, but should take hit for simple fact that it is 07, $32 tops. Really nice, low hour 07 sold this spring by me for just north of 30K For reference, I bought an 08 210 this spring just under $40k with upgraded ZR6 engine (300 hrs) 7.5/10 interior, 9.5/10 exterior.

I think you are being fair on the depreciation, but make sure you buy the boat right in the first place. Don't get stuck in the buying local mentality. You need to be willing to travel for the "right" boat.

[xrichard]

When I bought used boats, I started out going with cheap ones that needed work. I figured I'd fix them and get a deal. What a disaster some turned out to be....and always more work than I anticipated. Eventually I moved to paying a premium for pride of ownership boats. It was a great decision as I not only spent less time fixing cosmetic stuff, but less time with reliability / running / operational issues. Maintenance matters and I think how a person treats their boat cosmetically is often reflected in how well they've taken care of it mechanically. Not only that, the pride of ownership premium remained in tact when I sold them, so total cost over 3-5 years was hardly any different and I spent more time on the water and less time working on boats..

Go with the nicer one. Having said that, it's on the high side in terms of cost. The 2007 typically sells at a significant discount to 2008 models because their interior isn't as well laid out. So, whatever the year over year difference typically is, maybe $5000, you might double it for the 2007-2008 difference. Of course, the used market seems pretty hot these days, so perhaps people are getting that kind of money for 2007 210s? Still....if I were in the $40s, I'd be looking at really nice 2008 models.

[mgitk]

Guys I wanted to thank you for all of your advice. I ended up finding a great deal on a 2008 nautique 230 with 516 hours and a 9/10 interior and a 10/10 exterior. Got it for 40K which at that time was well below what I was finding in a 1000 mile radius search.

[vanhanbr]

Sounds like you got a great deal. Congrats! Now post a pic of what you bought!

[ScooterMcgavin]

Nice! Post some pictures

[Dank]

Nice! See you on the lake

[mgitk]