Boat Price vs NADA Value
 

I've been looking at a lot of boats lately. Dreaming mostly... But I've noticed that a lot of the boats seem to be priced way above their NADA value. I'm hoping to buy a boat in about 2 years or so. I'm wondering, what a decent price on a boat would be. It seems the market is priced way above their value. The only boats I've seen close to their NADA value have a roached interior which would need to be replaced.

Thoughts?

Most boats I see and deal in are above NADA. If it is a sought after Vdrive it will be over NADA in the NW. I am sure it is different by territory though and brand. I would just learn the market of what is out there and use that as your benchmark.

Many used boats are actually appreciating due to how quickly the price of new boats are rising. Since this almost never happens NADA just can't (or chooses not to) keep up.

I've sold quite a few boats and motorcycles through private party and I have never found a single case where NADA values were even close to market value. I do live in California where boats and motorcycles are both always in very high demand but the NADA value usually isn't close a reasonable purchase price anywhere in the US. In some cases its off by a lot. I've seen it as far off as the market price being double the NADA value. For some reason NADA is typically always on the low side.

Is there an arbitrage opportunity for boats brought into and sold in Cali? As a college kid I would pull a boat from Florida to Northern Illinois every semester and I made good money (for a college kid) and I had a boat to boot. That was in the late 80's and that price differential no longer exists. You also did not have the internet it was all done though local Boat Trader magazines sold in 7-11.

Banks in my area will only finance what blue book value is. I always priced mine at that and never had a problem selling them.

I talked with my dealer yesterday and he said that here in MN the market normally commands 10-20% more than KBB. He said the issue is everyone submits lower than they actually paid for taxes so on the official records everything comes in lower. He also said that they generally can work with banks getting above that KBB as it doesn't accurately account for accessories and what not.

Years ago I recall NADA being closer to actual market value/replacement cost than others but often a bit low. This is mostly the case with classic, niche, or specialty vehicles such as inboard towboats. NADA value on a '89 Taurus, a '95 Crown Vic, or '99 Bayliner is probably fairly accurate, but those are common cookie cutter use it until the next repair costs more than it's worth and scrap it type of mass produced and not particularly desirable commodity vehicles.

Could it be that years ago when information was less fluid that NADA prices were self-perpetuating?

I agree with the statement that the radical increase in new boat prices are dragging older boats along with them. 5-6 years ago you could buy a well kept 2002ish SAN 210 for the low 30s. Today, they are still at about the same price. It is actually amazing when you think about it. Boats used to depreciate to near zero. Now they depreciate and then kinda flatten off. If you buy a 10 year old boat, you could keep it for 3-4years and still sell it for about the same price.

Anyone that uses NADA also has to consider that it does not have specifics on condition or hours. You have to assume it has average hours and average condition. No real barometer for what that is? Banks will live and die by it, so if you are financing, be prepared to have more money down to cover the spread.