Florida Boat Buying Season?

[JoLin]

Up here your best bet is from October to February. The boats are coming out of the water and being stored on the hard. It's the time when "the season" seems a long, long time off. Heck, I'm dying here myself.

My wife and I recently purchaed a condo in a "yachting" community in Stuart. Came with a deeded dock space and the price was amazing. (Before anybody starts thinking we're rich, it's part of our "retirement asset planning." For at least the next 5 years, our time there will be extremely limited, and we're doing our darnedest to rent it out as much as possible to defray the cost of ownership.)

Anyway, I fantasize about buying an old trailer boat to keep there Nothing fancy- a runabout or w/a cuddy with an outboard that we can use on the St. Lucie river and intracoastal for day trips. I have access to cheap storage.

So, when's the best buying time "down there", if there is such a thing?

 

[seabob4]

Re: Florida Boat Buying Season?

Up here your best bet is from October to February. The boats are coming out of the water and being stored on the hard. It's the time when "the season" seems a long, long time off. Heck, I'm dying here myself.

My wife and I recently purchaed a condo in a "yachting" community in Stuart. Came with a deeded dock space and the price was amazing. (Before anybody starts thinking we're rich, it's part of our "retirement asset planning." For at least the next 5 years, our time there will be extremely limited, and we're doing our darnedest to rent it out as much as possible to defray the cost of ownership.)

Anyway, I fantasize about buying an old trailer boat to keep there Nothing fancy- a runabout or w/a cuddy with an outboard that we can use on the St. Lucie river and intracoastal for day trips. I have access to cheap storage.

So, when's the best buying time "down there", if there is such a thing?

Right now, in our economy? EVERY DAY!!!!

 

[JoLin]

Re: Florida Boat Buying Season?

Right now, in our economy? EVERY DAY!!!!

LOL

Can't really argue with that. In the north country, however, prices will start trending upward in another month.

Know what REALLY kills me? I sold my 21' Pro-Line w/a, 175 Johnson and really good trailer last September. The Chris Craft was gonna be coming into the driveway soon and I 'couldn't' keep them both. AND, I took the same beating on the Pro-Line, that I gave to the guy who sold me the Chris Craft.

The condo purchase was totally unexpected. I always feel like I'm living in a sit-com <sigh>

 

[Chiliando]

Re: Florida Boat Buying Season?

Not so much of a "season" down here as you guessed.

If your time down here for the next five years is going to be very limted, you might be better off renting a boat when you come down. Nothing worse for a boat than sitting for months at a time. When you do make it down, do you really want to deal with the maintance and repairs that an older trailer boat that has been sitting will need?


The purchase may be best when you make the move down.

Just a thought..........

 

[JoLin]

Re: Florida Boat Buying Season?

Not so much of a "season" down here as you guessed.

If your time down here for the next five years is going to be very limted, you might be better off renting a boat when you come down. Nothing worse for a boat than sitting for months at a time. When you do make it down, do you really want to deal with the maintance and repairs that an older trailer boat that has been sitting will need?


The purchase may be best when you make the move down.

Just a thought..........

It's a very good thought, and one that's occurred to me as well. I've gathered some info on daly rentals and also joining one of the "clubs". Thanks.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Florida Boat Buying Season?

renting one, several times a year, says you are rich. buy the time your rent several times you can buy. you should be able to fine something reasonable. Craigslist, the boating sites.

bro in law & sister, just bought a 2004 280 Aquasport Cuddy, with 2 225 4 stroke Yammys.

There is a flood of boats for sale in the Ft Myers area.

 

[JoLin]

Re: Florida Boat Buying Season?

renting one, several times a year, says you are rich. buy the time your rent several times you can buy.

Yeah, the "info" I've gathered certainly supports that view. I doubt I'd go the daily rental route as a strategy. The club thing, I'm thinking about that. If I planned to do that for say, 5 years, the cost starts looking closer to ownership. It's still more money than I can afford now, tho.

Anyway, all of it's just fantasy at this point. The new mortgage payment is a bit painful.

 

[freeisforme]

Re: Florida Boat Buying Season?

The way I look at renting a boat is that's money that you could have put towards owning it yourself.

I had the chance to spend two months down in the Stuart area last fall, I was shocked at how cheap boats were selling for. My original plan was to borrow a buddies boat while down there but happened upon several deals that I couldn't refuse, within a week, I found myself a boat, which for $1500, and a couple of trips to Walmart and the dealer along with another $300, I had a perfect running late 90's center console boat to fish with, which I in turn brought back with me and sold for a huge profit last week. The second boat I bought I left there at a buddies place, parked in his garage for when I return, that one a mid 90's center console skiff which I also got in shape with only basic maintenance. Both boats were bought for super cheap, the latter for less than 1/8 the value of it's two year old outboard.
I may tow that one back after my next trip down and sell it up here as well.

I had gone there to look at a few places there, several of which are definite possibilities. My concerns with moving to Florida aren't with having a boat, (I would not and could never see living down there without owning a boat and fishing daily), but with their policies on automobiles brought into and registered for the first time in FL. I was quoted over $2300 to transfer my 5 vehicles to FL. They wanted just shy of $500 for each vehicle. There's a very high initial registration and titling fee for out of state vehicles. I was all but told and given the impression that I should sell off and leave my vehicles behind and replace them in FL. That's not going to happen. Their $100+ worth of fishing licenses aren't too welcoming either. I was told that even with a current FL Driver's License, I'm considered a non resident until I can show 6 month or older tax bill as proof of residence. I'm now on the borderline as to whether or not FL is worth the move and all the expense it will create just to get everything down there. Between 5 vehicles, 7 boats, a couple of ATVs, 8 trailers, and a camper, plus all my other toys, tools, and household items, the move would mean over $33K just to become a FL resident. On the up side, the cost of the house and property is less than I can buy a new camper here for. My other option was elsewhere along the gulf coast but property values aren't as favorable as FL right now. Anything beats a North East winter though.