Is nadaguides a reliable source for pricing?

[hostage]

I am new to the forums and boating. Does anyone know if nadaguides is a reliable source for pricing? I am looking at 2 boats, one is a private owner the other is a dealer. Both are asking more than the nadaguide average retail value. The private seller is close, while the dealer is a lot higher than the nada guide.

97 Sea Ray:
Dealer: $6,900
NadaGuide: $4,500

93 Celebrity:
Private Seller: $4,500
NadaGuide: $4,100

Average Retail Value ? An average retail valued boat should be in good condition with no visible damage or defects. This boat will show moderate wear and tear and will be in sound running condition. The buyer may need to invest in either minor cosmetic or mechanical work.

Thanks in advance,
Hostage

 

[mjgates]

Re: Is nadaguides a reliable source for pricing?

I have never seen nada as an accurate guideline for boats, or any other recreational vehicle for that matter. I would do your research online to find out what those boats are selling for on average.

 

[hostage]

Re: Is nadaguides a reliable source for pricing?

Seems like car shopping is easier, there are so many different boat companies, very few boats for sale compared to cars so it seems to be hard to find good comparables. Then finding information on that specific boat company or model is nearly impossible.

 

[mjgates]

Re: Is nadaguides a reliable source for pricing?

I'm sure there are some people here who can give you some great resources and know much more than I do, but your right, it's not nearly as easy as cars since the market isn't nearly as large. boattrader.com is a good place to start. Also, depending on what web browser you use, find a way to search multiple cities and states on craigslist. crazedlist.org is what I use in Firefox. nada is not completely useless, but you will find most used boats are above nada average retail, but your better deals will actually be less. depending on if your looking for an average deal to get yourself on the water, or willing to look around until you find the steal. Boatauctionsdirect.com is also a pretty good resource to find bank repos. Either way you go, I suggest paying a marine surveyor to come out and inspect and water test your boat, particularly for an as is or private seller deal.

Edit: beware of scams on Craigslist, especially ones pointing you to ridiculously cheap fake ebay adds that want you to wire money.

 

[blairjbyrd]

Re: Is nadaguides a reliable source for pricing?

I use nada just to compare. If I think the boat is worth more then i will buy it. I just use it to get an "idea" of what the price should be.

 

[hostage]

Re: Is nadaguides a reliable source for pricing?

Thanks for the suggestion, any idea how much a marine inspector would cost for a water trials etc?

Thanks,
Hostage

 

[mjgates]

Re: Is nadaguides a reliable source for pricing?

in between $400-$500.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Is nadaguides a reliable source for pricing?

the problem in the used boat market, is most people used the lucrative financing, that was available. now they owe more than the market value of their boats. here is an article you need to read

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=244013

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=300472

 

[jkust]

Re: Is nadaguides a reliable source for pricing?

NADA pricing to me is like pitot speedometers. Never accurate. I wished I could buy a boat for the NADA high retail price even in the private party market. Now I will say I have never priced boats as old as you are seeking so my observations could be diminished with that vintage. Someone mentioned it earlier but for some reason people have the propensity to finance their stuff so for me it was actually hard to find a boat where the owners didn't have a loan to pay off. Of course they pay off their loan slower than the boat depreciates.