How much to discount for worn upholstory/aesthetics?

Hey Everyone,

I'm working out the budget for a boat I'm currently restoring and it's looking like my best option now is to sell another boat I have to free up some fun money so I can get the current project finished and back on the water.

The boat I'm considering selling is a ~30 year old 18' aluminum boat similar in style to a Starcraft Holiday. It has a mid 70's Evinrude 115 and everything is mechanically sound. The boat also have a new floor done last year and has new(er) seats.

Unfortunately the rest of the upholstery is 30 years old and for the most part has not aged well. Mostly faded but a few sections are torn too. The paint is also all original and is worn looking on the outside of the hull and pretty chipped along sections of the gunnels.

I was planning to refresh the aesthetics this coming Summer and do new upholstery but I'm wondering if it makes sense if I'm only going to be selling the boat.

Basically I'm wondering how much less a completely mechanically sound boat is worth than the same boat that's also pretty?

Re: How much to discount for worn upholstory/aesthetics?

Wow, another (somewhat) western NY'er.

On to your question - I think it's a difficult one to answer. There are so many other variables involved, it would be tough to nail it down to an dollar figure. I'd start with what will it cost to redo the upholstery? The discount is certainly less than that - maybe 50%? Just guessing, but if you put $1000 into new vynil, then sold it, you likely would NOT recoup the entire $1000.

In the end, it all comes down to finding the right buyer. One thing you have going for you is most people looking at a 30 year old boat will (should?) expect less than perfect upholstery. If everything else is good, give it a good cleaning and see what the market will bear.

Re: How much to discount for worn upholstory/aesthetics?

i agree. a 30+ year old tinnie with a 30+ motor is an "as is" sale. It needs to be running, and clean (no leaves, etc.) but that's about it; you are at the bottom of the market.

Re: How much to discount for worn upholstory/aesthetics?

It's probably about a $2k-$2.5k boat with or without snazzy upholstery.

Re: How much to discount for worn upholstory/aesthetics?

ezmobee said:

It's probably about a $2k-$2.5k boat with or without snazzy upholstery.

Click to expand...

Thanks for throwing a number out.

That's actually more than I was thinking of asking if I do decide to sell it...