Eichoma, I second that.I have owned a few and hands down the best out there..CIG #1...

I'll answer your post in two parts.

First; why all the heated debate when the topic of price is brought up on the forums?

In my experience and opinion it's not that people get offended if a TRUE BUYER makes an offer to the seller. I think people get offended and the term "bottom feeder" comes out when people come on here and start bashing a price or trying to beat down a price on a boat they really aren't even interested in or can't afford. Some do it to make themselves feel better that boat prices may be coming down to a price range they can afford and others do it just to make conversation. I don't personally think it's good business to discuss price on an open forum.

Which brings me to the next point.

Why don't people talk about price on here?

I think the main thing is if you publicly display your purchase price it may screw you in the end. I think 99% of the people that buy, expect to sell at some point. What if you got a really good deal on the boat and figure you can sell it for the same price you bought it or maybe even a little more (though those days have sense past I think)? If you talk about what you paid at any point on here, when you go to sell it some tard will bring up the fact that you paid such and such for it and you shouldn't be selling it for that price, etc. etc. etc.

I think when you get around people in a face to face setting (bar, boating, etc), you'll hear what people paid. But advertising it online is not smart in my opinion.

Now, congrats at being one of the few people in this country that can still afford to buy the best offshore boat built in the world! Hope to see you around.

Tank

I agree with Tank.......if you bought a nice 2004 red corvette and posted the price paid....so what, there are alot of those out there and in a few months no one will care what you paid. Buying a boat, especially a Cig, people will always know that EXACT boat and what it once went for. As Tank said, having that info out there will haunt you (good or bad) when you do try to sell it one day.

Now, if you think we're wrong. Once you buy a boat, please come tell us what you paid for it and how much it took to get it "fixed" up to your liking. (and then you'll probably hear how you paid too much, etc, etc, etc. )

Good Luck with the search and don't take offense to my sarcasm, it's just my nature.

Tank and 500, well said...CIG #1

Tank hit on it...well stated.

Personally I find it very disrespectful to the seller to question or bash the asking price in a public forum or to post lowball offers.

Of course everyone wants to buy "right", but IMHO the negotiating should be done privately. There are a ton of boats "for sale", but not every boat is "must sell".

This is a very relevant thread to me, as I plant to buy this spring, and hopefully a Cig.

It is extremely tough to judge what a 15 year or older boat is "worth" these days. Basically, the way I see it is the economy is in the ****ter for a while, and when it rebounds, gas will sky rocket. So, there is no rebounding for these types of boats in my mind. There will always be some value to some crowd, but if you buy a 90 now and use it for 5 years, how much value is left if gas is $5+ a gallon, etc.

Combined with the wide range of prices out there, lack of "comps", and the inability to go personally see/seatrial more than one, two tops, it can be quite daunting to make an offer that feels right to you, but could still get accepted.

I sold my 42 Tiger 2 years ago to the day, the boat was listed for about a 3 weeks on Offshore before it was sold. There were several boats that listed at that time with mine and are still for sale today. That said, there could be several reasons, power, options, paint etc. but at the end of the day, it boils down to do you want to sell and do you have a realistic number. I believe that if I held out to what I thought was a fair market price, the boat would not have sold, it had to be a no brainer for the buyer. When you reach the point of negative equity, its time to re think your position, and think to yourself worse case scenario, if I had to get out, could I.
I sold it for $200K, and the boat was 10, with 250 hrs, with all the bells and whistles. stock 500's. I miss it badly, but it was time to sell, not enough time to enjoy.
You can never place a dollar amount on the great times of enjoyment with your family and friends while owning a boat, and for that reason alone, try not to look at it soley on $$$$.
Good luck with your purchase whatever you buy.

Robbie
P.S Also remember you be willing to over pay for something you like, and can't buy it cheap enough if you don't.

Thanks for all the input. These days who knows what happens tomorrow right?
I have the internal debate daily. Of the 35ts's that I can find right now, i've got as much info as I can find. Ones with a broker who bought it from repo from another broker/dealer deal that was kinda sketchy. It sat for almost 3 years now. Who knows whats happened to it since. Yes a survey is obvious, but I'm so much more comfortable knowing history. Good or bad, history is important to me. I like the look of the boat for sure. But I baby all my things and take care of them. That one screams "beat the $hit out of" to me. ANd i'm not saying it is, but it just seems so to me. Granted the price reflects it, and what I'd actually be willing to pay reflects that as well.
The day the boat came back on the market I made an offer. Probalby one that some here would consider offensive but to me it was real. The boat has weak history, a couple of problems and other than looking good, and bearing the Cig name, doesn't really have much value to me. It wasn't meant to be offensive but at the time he wouldn't move from 140K. Now its at 99K and I'm sure will sell less than that. Another one, has FI. That again creates "value" problems for me atleast. To me FI on a boat is ok, but agian, who knows what's happened to it during that time? Few people do motor work to run 55mph. So for me personally, blowers lowers the value of the boat for me.
Another one, which may work is not really how I'd like it to be as far as color, again value. So I sit and wait and hope another one like the one from Channel Is. shows up, one that oozes confidence and not a "Low mileage, runs great" mood.
And as far as the 38. Thats my internal debate almost daily. I know boats. Been on them my whole life. I know the minute you own a 30 you want a 35 and then a 40 etc. I just dont' want to move into something that is so varied. Steps, no steps, 160K, 300K. Huge differences, and I'm not so sure where I'd want to put my money. I love the tg look. Its a beautiful timeless boat. The 35 seems to fit my needs. I'm patient and waiting. I'm sure one will come that all the pieces fall into place.
My assumption is that in reality a 35 with stock power that has a good history will probably cost me around 100K. Not meant to be offensive and I may be off a little but boats don't seem to be moving too fast these days. If I have to pay a little more to make myself feel comfortable I'm prepared to do so. Lets face it, in the end, i'm the one, who needs to sleep well at night. buying one for 80 grand that blows motors, and has issues all season that put more time on the mechanics timecard than on the hourmeters are not what i'm looking for. As we know, even when you have an open line of credit with your mechanic, time is the variable you can't control. And it always seems that the most beautiful weekends are the one when abused parts seem to let go. Thats just my thing but I' don't mind paying for something that I feel is right. I'm not nickle and diming to save a buck as much as I"m tyring to get a decent price on something that I feel I can bring fam and friends down the dock with our coolers and sunglasses turn the key and go. Not say "I bought my boat 40k below market everyone but we can't use it this weekend cause its being fixed." No amount of money can replace the joy of internal combustion, seawater, and sun all in harmony on a saturday.
But who knows, tomorrow is another day. Maybe I'll wake up and want a 38.

Cw, take your time and eventually the right one will come along..If you feel you like boating every weekend, than reliabilty is a must, big horsepower tends to require alot more hands on time than the stock lower horsepower boats.I personally love the fact that I can enjoy my boat every weekend if I choose to and not have to worry about the boat breaking down...As for speed, it doesn't matter what you have someone is always going to be faster, so don't worry about speed.My boat runs right around 90, not the fastest, but definitely runs 90 every weekend and to me that is priceless...Like you said, TURNKEY.....so, take your time and enjoy the time you spend on shopping for one and gain all the knowledge you can along the way...ENJOY...joe