Price check - 2001 Crownline 248 BR

[pdw5000]

Hello everyone!

I am new to the forum and from Central PA - near Raystown Lake. I have been out of the boating world for a few years, but my family and I have decided to get back into it!

We found a 2001 Crownline 248 BR for sale locally that we are interested in. It has the 496 HO Mag with Bravo 1 outdrive with 300 hours. The owner's late husband took immaculate care of this vessel. They are the original owners, always stored indoors, and there isn't so much as a small scratch on the bottom of the hull or outdrive. She has all the service records from the dealer as well. The boat also includes a trailer, SS docking lights, fill in seat cushions, bimini top, camper top, storage cover, etc. They are asking $25,000.

I have spent a lot of time trying to research the value of this boat. There are not many of them out there for sale to help me determine what a fair price to pay is. I can find some that are a year or two older, 225 models, CCR models, smaller engines, not as nice of condition, etc. but nothing just like this boat. I know the engine and condition should add to the value and I'm willing to pay for that. I spoke to a local dealer and a Marine Surveyor and they were estimating a value of $15-17k without seeing it. This quite a bit lower than their asking price and what I believe they would ultimately accept. I would like to own the boat, but I don't want to over pay for it either. What do you guys think is a fair price to pay?

 

[Scott Danforth]

About 15k-18k my estimate, however depending where you live, could be a higher priced market

 

[pdw5000]

We are located in Central PA. It has only been used at Raystown Lake it's whole life. Thank you for your feedback Scott!

 

[dwco5051]

If you check it out on NADA Boat values it shows $26,000 to $28,000 for that boat. Due to the low number of that model having been sold that may have been based on only two having been sold. The condition looks to be excellent from the pictures and it is obvious from the lock out tags shown in the pictures it wasn't serviced by some shade tree mechanic. Two problems I see are the lack of comparable sales and the fact it is being sold by the widow of the owner. It looks like that boat was his pride and joy and he almost doted on taking care of it so sentiment comes into play with the price she is asking. The $15,000 to 18,000 from the surveyor was more in likely based on similar generic boats. The high end of that would be a fair starting point but how much over that I can't really say but it sure looks nice.

 

[tpenfield]

I get $14,000 - $15,900 on Bucvalu.com , but that is in average condition with the 6.2 engine.

So, if you go +15-20% on condition and add maybe $2K for the 496 HO Mag, then it puts you in the $20-21K range.

If I do NADA, and add the engine and trailer, I get . . . .



So, I think $20K is your range. See what you can do.

 

[dwco5051]

I get $14,000 - $15,900 on Bucvalu.com , but that is in average condition with the 6.2 engine.

So, if you go +15-20% on condition and add maybe $2K for the 496 HO Mag, then it puts you in the $20-21K range.

If I do NADA, and add the engine and trailer, I get . . . .



So, I think $20K is your range. See what you can do.

These are the right numbers from NADA. I entered the wrong engine size when I calculated it and got 5K more.

 

[dingbat]

A 19 year old boat with 300 hours.

How much is it going to cost to replace all the dry rotted rubber on the boat?

Fuel and vacuum lines, bellows, new tires on trailer, etc.

 

[pdw5000]

Thank you everyone for your input. I know this boat means a lot to the owner and she feels it is a rare boat with the engine and the condition. I would agree, just trying to figure out what the premium is associated with that. A few things I have been considering are:

1) The boat has been sitting for 1-1/2 years. It has stabilizer in the fuel but still a concern with the ethanol in today's fuel. It's also winter in PA so I can't start it up without re-winterizing it. I trust them that when they parked it before the husband passed away it was in good running order.
2) The boat is almost 20 years old so I would agree with "dingbat" there may be some dry rotted rubber on the boat. The tires are 2 years old on the trailer so that's not a big concern.
3) I don't want to be the guy that overpays for the boat and has the most expensive Crownline 248BR in the country. However, I don't want to low ball and offend her either. They started out at $27,500.
4) NADA pricing seems off to me. The boat, engine upgrade and trailer puts a high "retail" in the upper teens. The owner was showing me a NADA pricing of mid-20s with all the options like bimini top, covers, etc. included. I can't believe those options would add 25% to the base value of the boat since most used boats you find for sale include that with the sale. Also, with so few of these boats out there for sale, makes me wonder how NADA is getting accurate data for their pricing?

I'm thinking $17,500 is a fair private sale price given the situation. Do you all agree?

 

[wahlejim]

I think that is a fair starting point for negotiating. The biggest determining factor for me would be the floor. All glass construction with snap in carpet would be preferable over what is installed in this boat. This is right around the time that manufacturers were making the switch to all glass, many hybrids in the mix (ie the bow is all glass but the rest is glued in carpet), but it appears this one is not the case with the way the carpet is installed. Rubber is easy to replace, floors and stringers are not and the all glass construction will last longer.

 

[tpenfield]

As far as NADA is concerned. . . They get very little market data as opposed to other sources. NADA is more of a depreciation table than a market analysis. That is why it is good to check multiple sources (Like BUC) and see if they correlate or not. In this case NADA and BUC are in the same range given the appropriate adjustments.

I would not expect to have to replace a bunch of rubber components, but let a Marine Surveyor weigh in on the details of the boat's condition. I would make a pre-purchase survey a condition of the sale.

I think $20K is your number to arrive at in the end. As to how you get there will be the art of negotiation. Your risk is if someone else thinks the boat is worth more that you do. Sellers typically have a high impression of their boat's worth, and in this case, that is probably why the boat remains on the market.

You mentioned that the sellers were previously at $27,500 . . . do you know how long the boat has been on the market?

 

[pdw5000]

It was for sale last summer too. That was when it was listed for $27,500. At that time I felt it was too much money based on my own research. I spoke to the owner back then but never looked at in person because of the price. I continued my search and never found anything that interested us locally (not much available around here). So I reached out to them a few weeks ago to see if it was still for sale ($25k now) and it was. I set up a time to go see it and sure enough it was as clean as they told me. It’s a perfect fit for our needs but they are telling me $22,500 is the best they will do.

 

[pdw5000]

Also, the boat has been in storage about 1 mile from the lake it’s whole life. From what the owner has explained to me it has never seen bad weather, sat outside, had water inside the boat, etc.

 

[pdw5000]

Forgot to mention the marine survey is over 3 hrs away so he would charge me over $500 to look at it (closest around). Based on a 45 min discussion with him, sharing pictures, etc. he was kind enough to give me a range of $15-17k if it was perfect. With such a large gap in what the owner wants he agreed it didn’t make sense for him to look at it and waste my money if they weren’t going to accept something close to that.

 

[wahlejim]

These cases are tough and it may be time to walk away and keep shopping. It reminds me of a lady near me selling her boat after her husband died. It was when I was shopping for one about 5 years ago. It was listed as best offer. It was a 1990 Bayliner Capri. It was taken care of well, and the guy knew what he was doing, but it was a Bayliner Capri. She was asking $11,000!

Her reasoning, it was in perfect shape and that was what NADA said it was listed for. I had to explain to her that the list price was what it sold for brand new with all of her options. Her response, "well it is like new and he took care of it meticulously, I am not going any less than 10" I said good luck and left. The emotional attachment increased the price of the boat and there was no compensation available for that. She wants to be compensated for her loss and there is nothing you can do about it... right now anyway.

One of two things is going to happen. Someone will come along and pay her $25,000, but that doesn't have to be you. Or, she will continue to drop the price.

If I were you, I would move on completely. Expand your search and make a road trip out of looking at boats. There are plenty of really good bowriders available for the $20k mark. Talk to the surveyor and see if there are any around him that caught his eye that he has seen that are available. The right boat will come along.

The other reason I would move on is that the boat has sat unused for 1 1/2 years and growing. Engines don't like to sit. Boats don't like to sit. It allows for 'gremlin growth' that can be very difficult and costly to fix.

 

[tpenfield]

It sounds like you have the seller moving in the right direction if they are at $22,500. If it has been for sale since last summer, then it is a pretty good indication that others think it is over priced too. Not necessarily language you can use with the seller.

. . . but . . . You are thinking $17K ish . . . they are $22,500 . . . you might work something in the middle @ $20K.

Tell them that you had set a budget of about $17K, but you really like their boat. Would they meet you in the middle at $20K?

If so, everybody walks away happy. If not, then move on, because 'it was just too much of a stretch' . . .

 

[dingbat]

The boat is almost 20 years old so I would agree with "dingbat" there may be some dry rotted rubber on the boat. The

It's not going to be some...it will be most once you put it back in regular service. Been there, done that

The filler hose is a PIA

 

[jkust]

Hard to believe a boat like that retailed for only 40k at one time. Amazing how much more the comparable new boat would cost today. I'll chime in and just say that I agree that 25k no matter the condition is just too much and that is coming from MN where we have some of the highest boat prices do to the massive demand and 3rd highest cost of living in the country where everyone owns a boat but most aren't well cared for, so nice condition like your subject boat can be far and few even though most have low hours due to the 90 day boating season. To me, there should be a nice off season discount in addition to whatever the fair price is deemed to be. When emotion enters the equation, on either side, things tend to get a bit skewed. Getting up into that over 22 foot or so class however brings dramatically higher prices than the smaller boats even in older boats like this.

 

[dingbat]

Coming from MN where we have some of the highest boat prices do to the massive demand and 3rd highest cost of living

If that is the case, I would look for boat prices to come down considerably. Minnesota has dropped out of the top 20 in that latest cost of living numbers

https://www.missourieconomy.org/indi...ost_of_living/

 

[pdw5000]

I offered $18,000 but the owner did not accept. She is stuck at $22,500. She said she is in no hurry and will wait until someone gives her what she wants. As bad as I want the boat, I don’t think it makes sense to go that high. If I bought it today and for some unknown reason had to sell it tomorrow, I don’t think I could get more than $18k.

 

[pdw5000]

By the way, Boat US appraisal came back at $13,611 not including trailer. However, it did say given the age the price could be significantly more or less than that.