You're gonna lose a TON when you sell it...

[GFC]

We've all heard that, as well as the line "The 2 best days in a boaters life are when he buys the boat and when he sells it". Well, I'm going to lay both of those rumors to rest BUT these only work if you do things right and only IF the times are right for you.

We bought Beachcomber almost exactly 10 years ago. The timing couldn't have been better for us for a number of reasons.

First, 10 years ago the US was just starting to find its way out of a deep financial depression/recession.

Second, the brokerage had picked up this boat as a repo in late 2008, expecting the financial recovery to come much sooner than it did. They had expected to flip the boat in early 2009 and make a killing.

Third, if you know anything about how bank flooring works you know that after a year of being floored, the brokerage must buy it from the bank that has been holding title to it.

So the brokerage had bet a lot of money that the financial crisis would end and when it didn't they had to take a bunch of their money to buy the title. That sucked for them but was great for me.

I started dealing with then in mid-January, 2010. I needed to trade my 330DB in and that was the only way I was going to make a deal. They didn't want to take my boat on trade but after 3 months of negotiating with them (Oh, did I tell you I LOVE to negotiate!) they agreed to take it. I had a price in mind that, if we hit that price I would have STOLEN their boat.

After the 3 months I got to within $10K of what my price was so I agreed. At that point the real work of getting a shipper, taking the fly bridge off, etc.

So, fast forward 10 years and now we have sold Beachcomber. Was I sad? Absolutely but I am looking forward to out next venture--buying a motorhome.

The diff between what we bought Beachcomber for and the price we sold it for amounted to about 14%-15%. So, it cost us money to own it for 10 years but I figure that small amount was a small price to pay for all the enjoyment and fun we got out of the boat over that 10 years.

Now, on to our next adventure.

 

[lipets]

Good luck trying to book a spot to park it, the surge in RV's has most parks booked solid.

 

[RT Firefly]

 

[Comodave]

I guess that is one place to park it...

 

[Crusty Chief]

I guess congrats is in order! Allways sad to here a friend sold there happy time. Ten years and only 15% loss, not to shabby. Hope you and Tina find a nice motor home and get to travel as much as possible.

Cheers, my friend!

 

[Dougcole]

Yeah, it's not always a money losing thing, as far as selling vs purchase price goes.


I have a 2001 1802 Action Craft Flats boat that I bought new on their guide deal for $17K, boat, motor, trailer. I ran it hard (but took good care of it) for 12 years as a guide boat, repowered it in 2011, put a new trailer under it in about 2014. It was a great platform for a lot of charters.


I don't guide anymore so I don't use it as much, but I still lavish it with care. I poked around the other day on some websites, it's worth at least $25K as it sits 20 years later. Best boat investment I've ever made.


Good luck with the RV. I'll miss your posts.

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

She is a good boat and I had fun helping her to Seattle. I did see a tear or two as we pulled away from the dock.

Now next to the next great adventure. You, Tina, Jim and his wife are always welcome on ASD.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. C. That RV is not parked. It's amphibious.

https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a15146512/terra-wind/

 

[markpierce]

I guess congrats is in order! Allways sad to here a friend sold there happy time. Ten years and only 15% loss, not to shabby. Hope you and Tina find a nice motor home and get to travel as much as possible.

Cheers, my friend!

The govment fooled you. The dollar lost at least half its value in those ten years. Now calculate the loss/depreciation.

 

[magna 6882]

Bought out first motorhome and made a couple bucks when we sold not counting tires and maintenance. We sold to upgrade and i would even think of selling our current unit for what we paid for. The X factor is what brand and model. Motorhomes and boats are similar in some brands do a better job and holding there value. We boat in the summer and head south for the winter in the motorhome. We have no problem living in either.

 

[Seevee]

Loose money? Hardly.


Our recreational toys and activities are expenses, not investments, so there is no loss. After we sell the parts we needed to enjoy our activity, it's only choked up to the price of doing it.


Same with any other activity. The membership at the golf club isn't much different that the cost of boat ownership. And same with the RV. And the same as taking a cruise, except we "rent" a small part of a bigger boat for a shorter time. And we don't worry about loosing money and the selling of our golf clubs.


Yes, there's costs and more commitment when you buy a boat vs a country club membership, but both are the cost of enjoying what we like.


My friend has had several large SeaRays over the years. He'll buy onr for $500k, sell it 3 years later for $320 and his comment that his boating only cost him $5k a month (plus fuel, etc) to enjoy boating. He thought that was a good deal for his needs.



It's just a matter of expenses, not profit and loss.

 

[Peter Keating]

"I figure that small amount was a small price to pay for all the enjoyment and fun we got out of the boat over that 10 years."

We used to have a beach party every year when the kids were young. I used to have people park on the mainland and I'd nose into the beach and grab them, coolers, chairs....then run over to a beach reserve. At the height of all this, we probably had 25-30 friends there.

Several years ago, I had a buddy come up next to me at the beach party and start talking "boats". He was asking how much does it cost to fill the gas tank, MPG, slip fees etc. Mind you, we were standing at the waterline watching the kids climb onto my boat. get up on the gunwales at the bow, hold hands and jump off.

I pretty much have never added up the cost vs. quality time, fun and memories we had together, when my daughters (and friends) were young aboard the boat(s).

If you spend too much time calculating $$ trade-offs etc.....well, you're doing it wrong!

My .02

 

[Alaskaflyer]

The boats (and one camper trailer) I owned I always sold for a few hundred $ +/- of what I paid for them. Of course there were some upgrades that I wasn’t “paid out” for but none of them were super major like a repower.

Of course I’ve never bought a “new” boat in my life [emoji6] Haven’t bought a “new” car since I was twenty-two. Let someone else take that steep depreciation hit.

 

[Cigatoo]

I have owned 3 larger boats in the past. A Fortier 26, a Cape Dory 28, and a (new) Nunsuch 30 . I sold all of those boats for close to what I paid. Quality boats IF PROPERLY MAINTAINED hold their value fairly well. Now what i have spent to maintain them is another story.

 

[PM]

"You are going to lose a ton when you sell it"

You know, I don't necessarily agree. I will conceed to the fact that you are going to lose some, or maybe a lot of money sometime during the ownership. Maybe even a ton!

I think you lose most of the money the day you buy it.You will never, ever get back the sales commission, set up charge, sales tax, final destination charges etc.

From day one through the day you finally sell it, the depreciation is a fairly steady downward slope. I prefer to think of my boat as depreciating every summer, or day or month. Not a lot at a time but some!

When I finally sell it, I will get EXACTLY what it is worth. Every penny of value in the boat will come back to me. Ir might be just a penny, or a few dollars or whatever. But I didn't lose the money when I sold it. I lost some of it every day I owned it.

pete

 

[gsholz]

These are very unusual times. We just sold our boat for full asking without it even going onto Yachtworld. No haggling over survey items.

 

[oscar]

In 2004 I bought a Catalina 42 out of foreclosure. She was disheveled, her hair a mess, her makeup gone, but she was all there. I figured I paid $.60 on the dollar.

I put three months of 12 hour days in to her and quite a bit of money which got me to $.95 on the dollar. But, new electronics, barrier coat, engine in top shape, standing running rigging all up to par, sails and canvas in good shape, interior spotless and decorated to a T. Her electrical system was updated and expanded to the point where you could run AC in the master cabin for 8 hours without generator. She was a joy to cruise.

In four years we put 6000 miles on her, and in 2008 in the middle of the financial crap storm she was one of 6 for sale on the Bay. She was the only one that sold, the surveyor was stupified as he found NOTHING, and I got ALL my money out of it.

Buy it right and then a lot of elbow grease and a few more $$. And Maintenance, maintenance, maintenance.

 

[FF]

There are a number of internet sites that allow one to compare the price changes caused by inflation. The current value of the money received needs to be compared with the value of money used to purchase anything.


****

"Good luck trying to book a spot to park it, the surge in RV's has most parks booked solid."

Boaters call it anchoring out , the RV folks call it boon docking.
There are many folks that go RVing and almost never spend a night in a costly camp ground.

The masters of this lifestyle are the Escapees,

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[Bacchus]

Just think how much you "lose" if you never own a boat or RV!
Our boating memories are some of our fondest and we consider them PRICELESS

 

[smitty477]

Best ways to save a lot of money....
- don't have kids
- don't get married
- don't have hobbies
- don't have friends

Did I miss any?

 

[psneeld]

Best ways to save a lot of money....
- don't have kids that cost much.
- don't get married to a poor person, marry into money or moneymaking.
- don't have hobbies unless they also make you a lot of money.
- don't have friends that drag you down or aren't rich.

 

[slowgoesit]

Best ways to save a lot of money....
- don't have kids
- don't get married
- don't have hobbies
- don't have friends

Did I miss any?

Yep, with all the above, you missed - don't have a LIFE!

 

[slowgoesit]

So, fast forward 10 years and now we have sold Beachcomber. Was I sad? Absolutely but I am looking forward to out next venture--buying a motorhome.

GFC, we're going the other direction, we bought a new to us boat, and we'll be selling the Dutch Star motor coach as soon as we get up to WA State and move onto the boat! At this point in our lives, no need to have both. I had a 1959 34' Monk back in the '80's, bought it at a Sheriff's auction, used it for 4 years, "sold" it to my Dad when I joined the Army. He ended up selling it about 5 years later for WAY more than we bought it for.
Had a 36' Grand Banks in Hawaii in the late '90's. Only had for 2+ years as the Army had different plans for us. Sold her for 4k more than we purchase her for. Had a Prowler travel trailer, bought for a good price, to see if we liked RV'ing. We DID, bought our current Dutch Star 6 years ago. Sold the TT for $2k more than we purchased her for. But it was in better shape when we sold her than when we bought her! Did we make money on any of them? Not if you figure out what we spent on upgrades, and maintenance/repairs, but that's not what it's about, at least for us. We'll always treasure the times we spent on our boats, and in our RV's . . .
Life's too short to not live life! Having money in the bank is just a way to keep score, and not what's important to us . . . Learned that lesson a little later in life than I WISH I had.

 

[moparharn]

Anyone making money on the purchase and sale of a boat or RV is clearly the exception and not the rule. My hat is off to all of you who have had fun on the cheap as I wish to join you. However, given the current boat market, anyone who purchases these days is in for a seriously downward slope in value. 1980's trawlers appear to have doubled in value in my area. For that matter so have houses and some other things. When this free money interest rate goes away things are going to change, and quickly.

 

[phillippeterson]

Loose money? Hardly.


Our recreational toys and activities are expenses, not investments, so there is no loss. After we sell the parts we needed to enjoy our activity, it's only choked up to the price of doing it.


Same with any other activity. The membership at the golf club isn't much different that the cost of boat ownership. And same with the RV. And the same as taking a cruise, except we "rent" a small part of a bigger boat for a shorter time. And we don't worry about loosing money and the selling of our golf clubs.


Yes, there's costs and more commitment when you buy a boat vs a country club membership, but both are the cost of enjoying what we like.


My friend has had several large SeaRays over the years. He'll buy onr for $500k, sell it 3 years later for $320 and his comment that his boating only cost him $5k a month (plus fuel, etc) to enjoy boating. He thought that was a good deal for his needs.



It's just a matter of expenses, not profit and loss.

absolutely nailed it!

 

[phillippeterson]

Just think how much you "lose" if you never own a boat or RV!
Our boating memories are some of our fondest and we consider them PRICELESS

true dat!

 

[Simi 60]

Ours makes us money every week

Being full time liveaboad cruisers we don't need to pay for.....
Expensive waterfront real estate be it rent or buy
Rates nor utilities
Marina berth
Cars
Save a motza on discretionary spending as no shops or restaurants out here.

Boat was essentially stolen and paid for with cash
Anything past year two of ownership has been money saved

 

[Simi 60]

Best ways to save a lot of money....
- don't have kids

True
If I wanted a pet I'd get a free cat

- don't get married

Not married but with the same woman for 30+ years
I don't understand why, aside from the cost of the wedding, marriage means expense.

- don't have hobbies

Hobbies don't have to be expensive
Some can actually make money

- don't have friends

Never had to buy friends
Why would they cost?

Yep, with all the above, you missed - don't have a LIFE!

Quite the opposite

 

[BandB]

So happy you came out ok in the sale and can now move on to your next adventure.

Some of the most miserable people I have met have been those who tried to make all their decisions financially good ones. It's like sports and the arts. They cost money. Do we need them? Well, they bring a lot of people a lot of enjoyment.

I'll share something more though, thinking financially on all decisions doesn't work in business either. Very early in my career I made a large proposal that was to enhance our customer service. I was asked if to show financial justification and they felt that since my background was accounting I would. I said, "I can't. There are too many variables involved to ever prove the impact of this one move. If you don't inherently believe in the value of good customer service, there is no way I'll ever convince you."

Trying to make life all about dollars and cents or profits and losses will eliminate 90% of those things that bring us pleasure and enjoyment.

 

[Capt. Jon]

so happy you came out ok in the sale and can now move on to your next adventure.

Some of the most miserable people i have met have been those who tried to make all their decisions financially good ones. It's like sports and the arts. They cost money. Do we need them? Well, they bring a lot of people a lot of enjoyment.

I'll share something more though, thinking financially on all decisions doesn't work in business either. Very early in my career i made a large proposal that was to enhance our customer service. I was asked if to show financial justification and they felt that since my background was accounting i would. I said, "i can't. There are too many variables involved to ever prove the impact of this one move. If you don't inherently believe in the value of good customer service, there is no way i'll ever convince you."

trying to make life all about dollars and cents or profits and losses will eliminate 90% of those things that bring us pleasure and enjoyment.

Amen!