Boat shopping never seems to end. The quest continues.

Somewhere in the deep dark corners of the internet there is a polar opposite post happening right now - "I can't believe how fast my bold sold and how much money I made on it". :)

Gotta take the good with the bad. Hopefully you did well on your 04 340 sale!
 
Golfman25 said:
Buying a boat in this market is ridiculous.
Click to expand...
Hear hear. My local SR dealer called to see if I wanted to sell my boat. They have a buyer but ordering one takes until late summer/fall at this point so they are looking for options. I am certain I could get what I paid for it 3 years ago in this market. Problem is then I need to find one by April and inventory is low, prices are high, and ordering takes too long. Another dealer has a 310 Slx that is nice, but it is IO’s and I have become really fond of outboards. Standing on the driveway to do maintenance outweighs the reduced swim platform.....
 
SeaNile said:
Maybe i shouldn't have sold our perfect 04 340 in the fall but between the market and the quest for something bigger with diesels here I am 4 months into shopping and still haven't found the one yet. Initially wanted a 97-02 400/410 DA and looked at several. None of them really spoke to me as the one.

Lots of road trips to MD to look at about 3 of the 400/410 boats, trip to DC for a 410, trip to MA for a 400 and they all pretty much showed the same. Never made a real offer on any of them. Then comes to the joys of searching online, lots of 4260 Regals, Formulas and even Maxum options. This prompted a trip back to Kent Narrows area of MD to check out a Regal 4260, like the layout but not this particular boat. Was really interested in the Trojan 44 Express but the one in Canada is practically impossible to buy and deliver thanks to COVID.

Always though the 450 would be a little big for us but the wife quickly changed my mind and now we are looking at 96-? 450 with Cats, either the 3116 or 3126 flavor. So here I am on the eve of my flight to Missouri to check out a 96 450. Pictures look great, spoke to the owner for about an hour who has had the boat since 2004 and sounds like they have done a great job on upkeep and maintenance with all receipts and even a recent (june 20) out of water survey for insurance value.

Never looked for so long or for so hard for a boat. Hopefully this is the one. Good thing I enjoy the process.

Will update as the search continues.
Click to expand...
You are in good company! It was hard to decide to sell the 44 in October even though there were several replacement boats on the market at the time. It seemed like once we were boat less the inventory dried up and what was on the market were just not what we wanted mainly due to condition. If it wasn't for the boat we are buying literally falling in our lap we would still be looking. Beats ending up owning two boats though. I did get several projects completed in the mean time. We close in a week or so and then my free time will be filled up for sure.
Hope this boat works out for you. Looking is fun for a while but it does get old.
Carpe Diem
 
SeaNile said:
Let's remember this everyone, my budget started with 100k. Zero doubt Frank's boat is the one to buy but I can't afford it.
Click to expand...
Another $50k in the grand scheme of things means nothing.... buy the boat !!
 
It’s cold here in MO and going down to about 5 tonight. Brrrr

7am flight back to Philly just in time for the next winter storm warning. Good times!
 
IMG_1180.JPG
We bought boats mostly when the economy was in the dumps. Jimmy Carter saved us lots of money with the luxury tax on boats. Our 1993 sat in the the showroom until the tax was repealed. It went down in value for a couple of years, and we bought it when the tax was repealed and the dealer got tired of owning it. Maybe Uncle Joe will do shoppers a big favor with his Green Deal policies and taxes. There will always be boats for sale. We need to be patient.
 
SeaNile said:
It’s cold here in MO and going down to about 5 tonight. Brrrr

7am flight back to Philly just in time for the next winter storm warning. Good times!
Click to expand...
Where about in missouri? Mississippi River or LOTO perhaps?
 
Carpediem44DB said:
You must be married to my wife! I knew she was living a secret life:D
Click to expand...
LOL... I guess I am lucky. I had mine all up in the roof fiberglass helping me run wires becasue she can fit her little arm up there. She helps out quite a bit, the cabin is her domain... But she demands to be first in line for upgrades to "her" space.
 
endless seas said:
Snoozers will regret not buying Franks boat....His will be gone soon and he doesn't play games.
Click to expand...

Only thing separating me from Frank's boat is about $42500. These boats are not going for more than 115 at most from my research. Deals are out there on well maintained boats in the 92-110k range as well.
 
Shit, a 380 is getting between 90-100k here in the Midwest, I know salt water lessons the value, but how can you put a price on peace of mind and knowing the boat has been perfectly maintained over that amount of years
 
You found what the typical 25 year old $115K Sea Ray has in store for you...........the one you posted about this morning means you write about a $5000 check just to get the swim platform where it is safe to use and that covered no deferred maintenance you discover after you do a $2000 hull survey and a $2500 Mechanical survey on the engines and generator.

I may be asking more for our boat, but the swim platform isn't damaged and ALL maintenance is current and the boat needs nothing. As an example, on my '96 we just discovered that the halon bottle has leaked down. Rather than get some get bootleg fire extinguisher service guy to add some halon (which is illegal to sell now) which would leave the next owner a potential $4500 problem to solve in the near future. We went to Sea-Fire and bought a new fire extinguisher bottle charged with new, legal fire suppressant chemical and had it installed last week.

SeaNile said:
Only thing separating me from Frank's boat is about $42500

How do you know? You never even looked at our boat.......All you did was complain about the price , but you never made us an offer !

These boats are not going for more than 115 at most from my research. Deals are out there on well maintained boats in the 92-110k range as well.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
SeaNile said:
Only thing separating me from Frank's boat is about $42500. These boats are not going for more than 115 at most from my research. Deals are out there on well maintained boats in the 92-110k range as well.
Click to expand...


I’ve been boat shopping since Oct after selling my 320DA. Where are these deals in the 92-110 range? That’s where I want to be but all I’ve come across is lots of deferred maintenance and wet decks....to top it off the sellers are holding strong. I’m starting to regret selling my boat. I’m also starting to lean towards Frank’s boat. I feel like I know what I’m getting with that one. Just venting. Not arguing....just my experience on the “deals” in the 100k range.
 
TTG said:
I’ve been boat shopping since Oct after selling my 320DA. Where are these deals in the 92-110 range? That’s where I want to be but all I’ve come across is lots of deferred maintenance and wet decks....to top it off the sellers are holding strong. I’m starting to regret selling my boat. I’m also starting to lean towards Frank’s boat. I feel like I know what I’m getting with that one. Just venting. Not arguing....just my experience on the “deals” in the 100k range.
Click to expand...
I have been looking for just over 1 year. 340 DA is on my very short list. I have considered 7 of those boats. 4 had ongoing foredeck wetness issues, 1 had it fixed (saltwater boat that got away from me), 1 was a deferred maintenance nightmare with a wet swim platform, 1 was well kept, but way over priced imho. Good boats are tough to find, especially when you limit your models under consideration.
 
Blueone said:
Another $50k in the grand scheme of things means nothing.... buy the boat !!
Click to expand...
Beginning to think that. Need work manifolds, risers, outdrive, etc. on boat and mechanic came down with serious diabetes. Flapping in breeze, don’t know what to do now before April 1 launch. I near 68 and thinking fk this, get a new one, finance forever, let the bank have it when I done. (I know a 78 yo lady just got a 30 yr house loan). Problem is I cannot stand style of new boats. HATE em, all bow riders and outboards. Not buying a newer used again, same issues I got now, but worse, with all the fancy electronics on them. Spend all time chasing ghost problems.
 
C3B49088-512B-4AB9-94F5-014A419D1003_sRGB.JPG

25 year old boats are always going to have things pop up that need expensive fixes. They are like old airplanes. You can keep them running/flying forever but it gets very expensive as the years pass by. The market is unforgiving when it comes to price, unless there is something unusual about the item being sold. Very old Porsches come to mind. They command a premium. Old Sea Rays, not so much.
 
SeaNile said:
Only thing separating me from Frank's boat is about $42500. These boats are not going for more than 115 at most from my research. Deals are out there on well maintained boats in the 92-110k range as well.
Click to expand...
And you’ll pay 30k in deferred maintenance for those, just guessing...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,171
Messages
1,427,815
Members
61,081
Latest member
Agent360
Back
Top