Selling boat outright or trading in?

[walleyewild]

I am looking at buying a new boat, it would be a bit of an upgrade from my boat I have now. I know that I would get a little more for it if I sold it outright on hsolist or FM but is it worth the hastle? It is 14 years old and still in reasonably good shape. Or should I try and beat up the dealer a little to get a little more out of them for my boat?

They have also told me that they are very short of used boats right now! So I might have my boat appraised by them to see if it is worth it.

I am looking at going from a 16' tiller with a 40 hp to a 17' council boat with a 115 hp. I have done all the rigging on my 16' and am the only owner of that boat.

I would like to go new on the next one as well and enjoy rigging up the boat as I want it the way I want it as it is hard to try and explain to someone else how I want something done on the boat.

I also have the option of keeping the 16' ( I have a hard time calling it the old boat) so I could just walk away on the deal, but as I get older I find that a tiller isn't as pleasant to fish out of as a council boat might be. I get beat up pretty good when running a ways on a windy day with others in the boat.

So is it trade or sell?

WW

[LakeTahoe]

I would say sell it... I sold my 14ft lund in a week on hsolist when I upgraded boats... In fact I sold my dads boat in the same period... now is the time

Good Luck

[PerchJerker]

The best way to answer that question is to compare your options and see which one's a better deal financially, and just how much different they are.

One tip though - if you trade in your boat, the options you leave on it aren't going to add much if anything to your trade value. You're probably better off keeping them or selling them if you trade the boat. For example, I traded in my last boat ...... but I kept the batteries, the on-board charger, the bowmount trolling motor, the vhf radio and antenna, the rod holders, and all the locators and gps, etc. I used some of that stuff on my new boat, but most of it I sold.

When I looked at what I got for the stripped down trade-in, plus what I got for selling my accessories, plus what I kept so I didn't need to buy for the new boat, plus the sales tax savings from the trade-in ........ and when I compared that to what I thought I could sell my boat for, less advertising fees and the hassle of selling it ....... it was pretty clear to me that I wanted to trade.

If you decide to sell outright, it's a tougher call on if you should part out and sell some of your accessories. One option might be to advertise you boat as a price with accessories and a price without accessories.

Hope that helps a bit. Have fun shopping for your new boat!

[walleyewild]

PJ,

I have actually found the one I would like to buy, it's an 08 but never been in the water.

I would not leave my electronics on the boat, I have an lcx-25c in it right now, picked it up late 07 for a great price at Cabela's when I upgraded from my 337. New boat has a x-135 which I would sell with old boat if I decide to sell it outright, most buyers on hsolist and fm would like a locator on the boat.

I'd let the 2 bank onboard charger go with the old boat, i'll need a 3 bank for the new one.

The wave wackers will go with the old boat, couldn't use them on the new boat anyway along with the 3x vector transom mount trolling motor, ( I don't think I'll be able to use that one on the new boat, new has a 70# pd on the bow with us2 so I have need for the 337 up front). And would like to network the 2 together.

Lake Tahoe,

Thanks, I know this is the time to sell, and the prices will be a little higher now then in the fall.

And thanks for both of your inputs.

WW

[fasternu]

When you trade something in, it is gone when you want it gone. When you sell, you never know how long you'll have it around. Your boat could go in an hour, but it also could take longer too. I personally would just trade it in and be done with it, no hassles and worries. It's not like you'll make a ton of money selling versus trading in.

[dan z]

selling outright will bring more money and you will maybe also meet a new person just getting into fishing or you never know you could end up being friends and fishing together... i have never traded in a car or ne thing for that matter sold outright everytime...

[walleyewild]

I'm not looking to get as much out of the old boat as I can, I would like to see it go to someone that will use it and take care of it like I did. I also know that once I trade or sell it I'll have no control over how it is used. It would be nice if it was a first time boat owner like I was.

Motor runs as well as it did the day I bought it.

I really just want the best value out of my old boat. If I trade it the dealer will be getting a good sellable boat with little to no problems, so will the new owner if I decide to sell it on hsolist.

[marine_man]

Lots of good advice shared here already.

If you trade the boat in I'd definitely strip it of all the accessories. I guarantee you you're not getting one dime more for your accessories than what the boat, motor and trailer are worth.

I think before you can make this decision you need to figure out what the boat is worth (check out the prices on similar used boats) and what the dealer is going to give you for your rig.

marine_man

[Black_Bay]

If I remember right when you trade in, the difference is taken off the price of the boat/car/whatever and so you pay less sales tax. I may be wrong on that though but I thought that's what happened when I got my truck last year.

[walleyewild]

Marine Man,

I was told by the rep at the sport show that Blue book value for my boat would be around 4000.00 for a boat in great shape. After 14 years there is some dock damage on both sides, scratched decals and paint scraped off, but nothing that affects the seaworthyness of the boat. Transom is solid, floor is solid, had to replace a section of the floor a couple of years ago.

I believe it would be a great starter boat for someone.

Fished 3 out of it many times and no complaints from anyone who has been in the boat about fishability or room to move.

WW

[marine_man]

I would post it on the for sale forums here on FM prior to buying your new boat. (I might think about editing out what the dealer would give you). Boats in that price range seem to move pretty quick on here... the bigger, 10K + boats seem to take a bit longer.

marine_man

[Walleye Guy]

Black Bay is correct in that your trade in will reduce the taxable amount on the new boat price. Make sure to factor that into your analysis.