Value of hours on a boat?

I am looking at two 220 superair team CC's. One has 350 hours and the other has 120? Any ideas on how I should compare the boats price wise? Assuming they are in the same condition--what kind of price difference should there be?

if they are identical boats condition and options I wouldn't expect to see more than a couple hundred $$$ difference. Reality is neither one has that many hours and as long as they were serviced regularly I could see them go for the same price. Buy the one that gives you the warm and fuzzies and has service records

I say buy both and rotate

What year?

06

I think it would be more than a couple of hundred dollars diffence. 230 hours is 2 or 3 years of use to the average boat owner. All things appearing the same, I'd expect to see at least a thousand bucks difference. You still have to look at each of them separately though.

My two cents,

Jman

My guess would be same price after you negotiate. Like Whiskey said, 350 hours is nothing if maintained correctly.

3000 hours is nothing if maintained properly.

I agree that 350 hours is not a lot of hours, but it is almost 3 times as many as 120 hours. That is almost 3 times as much use and everything made has a life expectancy based on age and/or use. I'd get the boat that was in the best condition and had the best records kept. Those two things probably go to the same boat. However, I would expect to pay less for the boat with more hours.

Assuming all the comments are true. Would you rather have the exact same boat with 250 hours or 750 hours with the one with 750 hours being $2500 dollars less?

Assuming both were properly maintained.

Gene, I'd gladly pay the extra cash for the low hour boat.

All things being equal, I'd take the one with 750 hours and pocket the $2500. You can come close to buying a shortblock for that price, or a trans, or a V-drive if the boat happens to need any of those things in the near future.

No guarantee that the one with 250 hours won't grenade any of those three things in the next 10 hours of ownership anyhow. Now if the manufacturer's warranty is still in effect for the one with 250 hours that is a different story, tough call there.

You can't assume that the manufacturer's warranty is still in effect when you transfer ownership though. Read the fine print if it concerns you, back in the day there was a $500 transfer fee for my Mastercraft. I skipped it and took my chances.

In many ways, and up to a point, low hours can be just as bad as high hours. An 06 with 120 hrs could easily have accumulated all of those hours in the first 2 seasons, owner lost interest, and it sat parked for the last 2 seasons until they decided to sell it. An 06 with 350 hrs has just been used regularly.

Very true Trace, good point.

Just remember that everything has 500 extra hours on it, not just the drive train. The interior alone would cost that much to have redone. It might not look like anything is wrong with it now, but when mine starting going, it went pretty quick. The vinyl on three different seats started to crack at about the same time. IMO, only a boat that has set unused for a really long period of time is likely to experience problems. While I wouldn't want a boat that had been sitting unused for 5 years, one that gets light use is fine, IMO. The important thing is where has it been kept.

It was my understanding the boats were comparable in year and appearance and upkeep so the vinyl is going to harden up over time whether its used or not.

And yeah, once it starts to harden up in one place its not going to be long before you start seeing it other places as well.

Its not all that expensive to purchase skins from the factory and restaple them. I have redone my rear bench once and getting to be time to do it again.

How long the vinyl lasts will depend on several factors. As I said in my previous post, where and how the boat is stored plays a big role in how long the vinyl stays in good shape. There is a big difference in keeping a boat covered, but outside versus keeping it uncovered in a temperature controlled garage. Have you ever seen the machines that they use to test for wear on things like mattresses, car suspensions and stuff? They simulate repeated use of the item. The more something is used, the sooner it wears out, plain and simple.

It was my understanding that the factory skins were quite expensive and were not available for a lot of boats.

I'm not just trying to argue here. I just don't think the price for a well used item should be the same as for a slightly used item. The slightly used item has more life left in it.