Boat search?

[boatman37]

So where does everyone search for boats for sale? We aren't quite ready yet but starting to see whats out there and what kind of prices. I have been using yachtworld and boattrader but not much activity on those sites but i do realize not many people are selling this time of the year too. Obviously i search here too. Probably looking at about 2000 30-32'ers. Don't HAVE to be SR but that would be our first choice. Hopefully next spring we will be ready to buy. I'm thinking about a $40k limit

 

[mwph]

In my opinion you have 3 good starting places. I like to go to the actual websites of the dealers that have boats listed on YW, not all of a dealers inventory is always listed on YW. You can also find local dealerships that don't list on YW. So do a search for local retailers & marinas that may host a broker's listings. Although my upgrade was delayed I still keep an eye on the market. Another point I will make about YW, some of those boats have been on there a long time and have traded hands from one broker to another. Keeping an eye on that and occasionally inquiring about a boat keeps me somewhat in the loop.

 

[Boater420]

I used POP Yachts
https://www.popyachts.com/

 

[chris5635]

I always start at MARINA's. Normally more boats for sale in Marina's than at the dealers. Better deals to be had. As with anything, get a survey

 

[trflgrl]

I always start at MARINA's. Normally more boats for sale in Marina's than at the dealers. Better deals to be had. As with anything, get a survey

+1

If they're publicly accessible, walk the docks at any marina you can, whether local or day trip/weekend adventure worthy. If they're secure, ask the marina staff how a walk around might be arranged. There may be for sale signs on boats not listed online, and direct contact may yield some options you wouldn't have otherwise. You may get to know some official and unofficial brokers that way, too--there's a boater at our marina who buys/sells on his own and typically has anywhere from 2 - 5 vessels for sale at a time. He has a towing rig and is commercially licensed so often brings them from OH, GA, KY, and other nearby states. When I'm ready for a change, I'll let him know what I'm looking for so he can keep an eye out.

 

[Leardriver]

I am skeptical of the online sites. I see boats that are grossly overpriced shown there, by owners who financed and are buried in them pricewise.
Craigslist and ebay are my starting points. If it is a desirable, mainstream vessel, and the price is close to appropriate, there is no need to pay to advertise it. It will sell itself.

 

[Strecker25]

I am skeptical of the online sites. I see boats that are grossly overpriced shown there, by owners who financed and are buried in them pricewise.
Craigslist and ebay are my starting points. If it is a desirable, mainstream vessel, and the price is close to appropriate, there is no need to pay to advertise it. It will sell itself.

I agree many are grossly overpriced, seems to be the methodology of listing a boat. What I will say, at least in our area, is that up to a certain size CL/ebay/classifieds work fine. That size is probably 20-26'. Anything past that, I think the market is relatively thin as far as buyers go and the paid sites and brokers come into play. Again, definitely location dependent. I'm sure there are plenty of people looking for big boats where they have access to larger bodies of water and longer seasons

 

[Strypes]

We shop at Local Marinas, Dealers, Brokers, Craigslist, Ebay, Yacht World, Boat Trader and various internet websites.

Have fun and good luck!

 

[boatman37]

I check eBay every so often but I wonder how a survey would work? Survey will definitely be a requirement for my next boat. Are you locked in once you hit the 'Bid' button? Or is it up to the seller? I would think unless it is stated then it is 'buyer beware'. Our local SR dealer has a few but seem pretty high on prices. Most boats seem to be about 30% higher than you see advertised elsewhere (about $10-15,000 higher). I would still request a survey from a neutral party so no savings there so not real sure what the benefit would be from buying from them?

Saw 2 boats there last year that we were looking into. One was a 2000 Wellcraft 2400 that they were asking $23,000 for and one was a 1997 Signature 210 that they wanted $17,000 for. Found these same 2 boats elsewhere for $14k and 11k respectively. It won't hurt to talk to them but hate to throw away that much money just to support the local dealer.

I have seen Popyachts advertising on different sites but heard a few horror stories about them at least as far as selling through them. Buying would likely be less hassle I would think?

 

[Arickosmo]

Marinas. If you can go on the weekend, Saturday or Sunday Morning, you'll find that there are many boats for sale that aren't listed. Plan a weekend near a few good marinas, walk the docks with your wife/husband/zhe and let fellow boaters know you're looking. I'm sure you've seen them before, the boat buyers that is. We've shown my friends boat to at least 3-4 people and the last one bought it last weekend. It wasn't listed. The dock neighbors know whats for sale.

Aside from marinas, I like forums, boattrader, yw and craigslist, in that order. When I was looking for my 400DB I had at least 4 people point me towards a lead on a boat in this forum.

 

[JVM225]

I spent about a year searching for my current boat before buying it last December.
Based on my recent experience, I'd start by talking to some reputable brokers and dealers and let them know what you're looking for. They talk to people all the time who are looking to buy and sell boats and may come across someone looking to move up that has to sell a boat you might be interested in before they can make the move.
Once you find a broker you like then let them find you a boat and negotiate on your behalf. Often they will be putting the seller in another boat and will work hard to make the two deals go through.
A good broker will sense how serious you are and if they find something you like, you'll generally be able to have a more objective conversation about that boats strengths and weaknesses than you might with an emotionally involved private seller.
If you are going to focus on a Sea Ray then I would pay a visit to MarineMax. Nobody buys, brokers or sells more Sea Rays than they do. That's how I wound up finding my current boat.
Several months in to the search I happened to call a MarineMax salesman in NJ about a boat listed on Yachtworld last year. After a short phone conversation we both realized that particular boat wasn't for me, but he got a good idea of what I was looking for and stayed in touch with me whenever he heard of something he thought I might like. For logistics, I asked him to limit the search to up and down the east coast.
Around 6 or 7 months later he got wind of what sounded like the perfect boat coming in on a trade up in Westbrook Ct. and called me about it very excited.
My wife and I went up to see it before they even closed the other deal, fell in love with it, negotiated, had it surveyed once they took title, and closed in early December.
MarineMax stored it up in Ct. over the winter as part of the deal and I took delivery in April.
The salesman from NJ was fantastic to deal with and although he called me over 6 or 7 months time with several boats, he never bothered me with stuff I wasn't looking for, or never got pushy at all.
Once the deal closed, during winterization, storage, prep, and delivery absolutely everyone I dealt with in their Westbrook Ct. location was great.
By the 2nd or 3rd visit up there it was like greeting friends.
They were extremely fair with me and other than some kind of crazy distress type situation I don't think I could have gotten a better deal buying privately.
Apparently my experience wasn't unique. My daughters boyfriends dad bought a used 23' boat from MarineMax here on Long Island a year or so ago and was extremely happy with them. As with any used boat, one or two minor things arose (I think a switch and then a port-a-potty issue) after he had the boat and they told him to bring it back to them, and they took care of it right away.
Again, he paid about the same as he would have paid a private seller for the boat.

 

[TheBigb]

So where does everyone search for boats for sale? We aren't quite ready yet but starting to see whats out there and what kind of prices. I have been using yachtworld and boattrader but not much activity on those sites but i do realize not many people are selling this time of the year too. Obviously i search here too. Probably looking at about 2000 30-32'ers. Don't HAVE to be SR but that would be our first choice. Hopefully next spring we will be ready to buy. I'm thinking about a $40k limit

My first boat I found on Craigslist , the 2nd on eBay , the third at Marinemax , and the current another trade at Marinemax. Marinemax always had more sea rays than anywhere else, and if your trading in it's a good tax savings move... sometimes.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ronjon]

I use yachtworld.com and local marinas. I prefer local marinas but if you can't find what you are looking for and are willing to expand your search area YW has a lot of listings.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[boatman37]

Thanks all. not planning on trading in. my boat is in great shape but i doubt they would give me much for a 31 year old boat. i will add these to my search lists.

 

[dvx216]

I found my 2000 310 Da. on Boat Trader in the Michigan area.Another tool I used to make up the admiral and my mind was you tube it gives you a great perspective on the size of the boat when you can see a person on board moving around . Plus I even checked out two boats on face time with a forum member who had cabin fever that saved me a 5 hour drive to check them out myself. So don't be afraid to ask us to jump in and do a look for you on a boat that might be the one but the drives to long just for a first look. I didn't find my boat on Boats.com but i did a lot of window shopping there .I liked their filter system and you can hone in on what you want plus another site I used a ton was Sea Ray archives for specs.

 

[boatman37]

Good idea about youtube

 

[boatman37]

Started looking through popyachts site but never enter my contact info or anything. only clicked on a few boats to look at. today i got an email from popyachts addressing me by name asking if they could help me or answer any questions. scary that they are tracking visitors like that.