20 year old boats?

[marshman]

Why are 20 year old bassboats still $15-20 grand? Not trying to insult anyone,,just genuinely curious… a 20 year old truck is like $5 grand..

[JR19]

Some of it has to do with shallow water anchors, spot lock trolling motor, livescope and multiple large screen graphs. I’ve had my boat 22 yeas and in that time I’ve spent a lot of money attaching things that was not available 20 + years ago. That may not be the exact reason why they are so expensive but that’s what I think has cause some of the price increase. Then there is the economy. The number of people that have $ to buy new verses used has gotten smaller. With there now being more people looking to buy used it has drove up the price some because of demand. I think there’s multiple things driving up the price of used boats and I only touched on a couple…accessories and demand

[pantherdad]

I have a 05 201 Stratos would not take $20k for and it still has low hour hpdi. Hate to know what what I’d price it for with a new 4 stroke.

Pricing and selling are two different things but couldn’t replace it

[wildkat7]

The market on a solid, older used boat is good for the seller, tough on buyers. I have a 1998 BassCat Pantera II. It has a 200 Merc 2 stroke EFI with less than 15 hours on a new powerhead. Has Garmin livescope, 2 126 echomap ultra graphs, Garmin force trolling motor. I gave $13k for it and probably would sell it for less than $15k. It already had everything on the boat when I bought it.

[marshman]

Guess I should’ve mentioned.. I get it, if it’s got a newer motor on it there is value there..

but, say, 20 year old boat, 20 year old motor.. nothing special on electronics.. what gives?

[plbass]

That could be asking price but not what they'll get for it.

[pantherdad]

Very true

[Bjxds]

It appears older boats were indeed an appreciating asset. Its what the market will bear.

I know someone that just sold his 97 boat for the same price as what I sold mine for in 2000,

[ECobb91]

Because peoples greed blinds them from seeing reality. Unless the boat has upgraded electronics and has been repowered within the last 5 years, the sellers are just looking to take advantage of an uninformed person

[rboren]

There is also a huge difference in an older boat that has been taken care of and not abused and one that has been beaten to death and left out in the elements. Like said the equipment does cost money on any boat. Why does everything cost so much? I have a 23 year old truck and it cannot be replaced for 5,000$ but it still looks new and is dependable. So there are a bunch variables I suppose. I have seen older boats that I would not even give 5 grand for. And don’t get me wrong I think old and new boats are way too expensive.

[bbqpitboss]

Sold my 02 Triton TR20 with an 02 225EFI for $19K this summer. Had a ghost and 2 carbon 9's with 235hrs. Buyer got a great deal on a solid boat.

[RonCat]

My BassCat Puma is 10 years old, half the age you mention, garage kept and is 2023 tournament ready. Upgraded electronics (yes, a Livescope too), new padded carpet, getting new Power Poles next week, engine has about 400 hours and has been maintained, new trailer tires. If I had to sell price would be double what you are talking about.

[Jbass123]

Because peoples greed blinds them from seeing reality. Unless the boat has upgraded electronics and has been repowered within the last 5 years, the sellers are just looking to take advantage of an uninformed person

I think uninformed is the key word here. There are plenty of resources available for reasonably accurate valuation of 20 year old vehicles, but not for boats. Plus, the woods are apparently full of people who want to dabble in boating without taking the financial plunge that a new boat entails. Those people do not follow boat models or know what to look for in terms of features or condition, or how to judge the health of an older boat. They may not be brilliant in terms of car/truck information, but they have FAR less information to apply to a boat purchase. We saw this big time in 2020 and 2021: anything that looked like it might float left the dealer’s lots, and boats under $20k still sell 10 times as quickly as boats over $60k do.

[FISHON317]

People tasted the Covid economy that was over inflated.houses cars boats,just about everything.time to come back down to earth. You can ask what you want as long as you are willing to not sell it.

[Classicxl]

Because peoples greed blinds them from seeing reality. Unless the boat has upgraded electronics and has been repowered within the last 5 years, the sellers are just looking to take advantage of an uninformed person

If they are being bought it has nothing to do with the seller.

[mattmann7]

I bought my 2000 Ranger R71 in 2001 for 6K sight unseen. I knew the original owner and had first shot from his estate after he passed. By comparison at that time during Covid I stole the boat. Nationally they were priced over 10G. My opinion is the difference between a 20 year old and a near new is a bridge a lot of guys cant cross so they take whats available and sacrifice a couple grand to get ownership.

[yetti462]

I wish I got $15+ for my 25 year old boat. I sold it for $7K, It was 25 years old and had some battle scars. I replaced it with a 15yr old boat, my hopes of getting a 5-10 year old rig were sunk with high prices.

[Austin21i]

I don’t disagree completely. But it depends a lot on what truck because not all 20 yr old trucks are 5 grand. You’re in the same ballpark for a 20 year old Cummins or duramax . I paid 26 or 27k for my 07 skeeter 21i in 2019 with nothing other than stock 20 yr old electronics, but the boat was like new. and honestly would probably still be willing to pay close to that for the same boat if something happend to it.

[Jbass123]

My opinion is the difference between a 20 year old and a near new is a bridge a lot of guys cant cross so they take whats available and sacrifice a couple grand to get ownership.

This ^ is really well said: a great metaphor. Sacrificing a couple grand to get ownership also is an understandable action if clean used boats in your price range are not easy to find in your area and you don’t want to spend months/years looking. I think we’re a little rough here on guys who “overpay,” but not everyone looks at spending/purchasing the same way. Buy what you want and move on to enjoy it!

[mactlman]

sold my 2000 stratus (garage queen) with a ficht for 14k 2 season ago. boat looked 95% new and the ficht is still running great! 22 YO

sold my 2002 basscat for 14k last yr easily and it still runs like new with 2002 opti 21 YO