Yes I have found some owe and then want to bag some cash on a sale.
Some have them paid off but a broker wants a fat check on the sale so they show inflated sales listings to jack the price up.
Some think whatever they own is golden so they want top dollar for junk.
All in all price sells and some listings are gone in a flash and some last for many years and still don't move.
Some need a reality check.

Bottom line is the boats aren't cheap and it's a very limited market. People that are buying these boats want this style of boat. No one goes I'm going to get into boating lets go buy a cigarette boat. Those people buy bayliners and tahoes and that is why there are a million of those out there. These are a very luxury item and if you want one you gotta pay. Also there are deals out there, but you better be ready to deal when they pop up because they go quick.

Well my friend bought a 29 foot formula early this past spring with twin SB's. The seller wanted like 74K for it and he ended up getting it for like 43 or 44K. The boat only had like 160 ish hrs on it and it was a very clean and well maintained boat.

All depends on how bad the seller wants to get rid of it..

He just sold the Formula for the same amount he paid for it due to wanting to upgrade to a 36ft CC Concept with outboards...

I look forward to haggling when I am ready to buy my next boat. Hopefully there are some nice 353s at reasonable prices when I am ready to upgrade.

Can anybody give any insight to experiences with trading in a boat? This is the first boat I have owned and expect the values to be similar to trading in a car i.e. you get more on a private sale.

I am moving to Key West next spring and will wait until I move to Florida as I feel it is a more high performance friendly market compared to California. I do not see very many go fast boats in my area, plus the Navy will compensate me to tow my boat across the country.

Two kinds of for sale listings:

1) Listing with a price that indicates seller actually wants to sell the boat.
2) Listing with a price that effectively puts it "for sale" to appease the wife, but husband has little to no interest in selling.

Some of you guys are really down on your wives!

My current partner doesn't really like boating but never stops me from going out on the boat. It's nice when she comes out too but it's not essential. I had the boat before I met her and she knows if she told me to sell the boat, it would be the last conversation we would ever have.
I'm not really a nasty tough guy but I've always owned boats and as long as I am active enough to enjoy them, I always will.

RR

It seems to me that if a spouse is telling their husband they need to sell the boat, pretty sure they would have an idea of the value and costs associated with that possession.

Some people buy their boat and immediately put it up for sale. They set a price that is what it would take for them to sell it when they aren't really interested in selling it. I know a guy who does this exact thing. When asked what his favorite boat is his answer is "the next one".

I support this method and come spring, my "new to me" boat will go up for sale as well. I am not going to ask ridiculous money for it, but I would have to get top dollar to sell.

I'm thinking a little different about this matter, if my Wife or GF doesn't want to boat, I'm not getting rid of the boat, something else is hitting the road, that's what happened to the first one 25 years ago, I never missed a beat or her either for that matter.