When I was pricing out 06 and up 382 Fastech's last year the values were as much as 30K to 50K apart. Brokers insisted that their BUC prices were sellable but I would not pay them.

That is what they told you and they may do some of this for mass production boats, but not for most high performance boats. Realistically, there is not enough sales volume to get accurate market values.

250 dealers???? How many of those dealers have a clue about custom built performance boats and their value??
How many of those dealers, brokers, surveyors have even sold, brokered or surveyed a used high performance boat??
How can they track the value of boats when only 5-10 of a model were produced in year and all the options vary so much that value varies by 30-50%??
They can't......they guess and depreciate them based on averages and percentages.

So you’re guessing that they are guessing…:lolhit:

I followed up with the Analyst at NADA that originally responded to my question about the source of their values. She reiterated the fact that they come up with their values using a variety of sources, but did admit that some times the values for performance boats can be more for a ‘base boat’ because of the highly customizing available (engines, paint job, options, etc). Some of the sources are:
-new/used sales
-auctions
-manufacturers
-advisory board, made up of; dealers, brokers, surveyors

She also mentioned that their values go up or down based on the economy and demand in the market.

Finally, she said they are always looking for more data to help them come up with their values. And, if someone in the industry wanted to join their advisory board they could contact them. Also, if someone thinks the value on their boat is off they can contact them too.

When trying to value a boat you need to use ALL the resources available to make an educated GUESS on value. There are so many variables that it really boils down to a guess and it is only good for that given set of circumstances. They are all guides and not rules but UNFORTUNATELY, many banks use NADA as the rule.

Having sold boats for 20 years, NADA is NOT THE BIBLE. My company was NEVER asked to submit any sales data as NADA will try to make you believe. They use a straight line depreciation of about 6% per year and rarely include environmental factors like the same boat in Florida will depreciate quicker than the same boat in Michigan considering all the factors (Salt vs Fresh etc). Dealers like NADA when you want to trade in because of the lower pricing. Plus as someone said they, the dealer, will still lower the trade in value by 10-15% to protect them from market volatility.

BUC does require quarterly reporting of sales data from all their dealers. A big problem occurred when the Internet hit, BUC was way behind the power curve and didn't expect the Internet to take off like it did. Many dealers jumped ship and went to Yachtworld. More dealers on the East Coast use BUC (FL based) then West Coast dealers who mostly use YW (Seattle based). YW members report sales data to YW and YW runs SoldBoats.com accessible by dealers, surveyors, and bankers if members of YW (No Buyers).

When it comes to performance boat dealers, most don't do YW or BUC. Manufactures do send in data to NADA for model years basic pricing if they want to be included in NADA.

At best, boat valuation is a guess for that day and that set of circumstances.

I agree that NADA is just one resource that buyers/sellers/banks have to value boats. But the OP is asking how good of an indicator it is.

So can someone explain this to me, because I’m just trying to learn too. If a 2003 358 Sonic had NADA Low/Average Retail values of $76,880/$84,380 in 03/2010 and now has the values of $92,600/$100,350, they aren’t just doing straight line depreciation.

Contact NADA. They are the only ones that can explain that. Maybe it's Nobama economics. :evilb:

I did ask when I spoke to the Analyst earlier; the values were lower back then because of the repos, auctions, and sales prices being lower with the recession, and now they are higher because the market is getting better. That seems valid to me, although I’m not sure if the market has increased 20%. But that also means NADA is using a combination of data to come up with their values, not just simple depreciation.

Sounds resonable but you may want to also contact these guys:
http://www.surveyormarine.com/default.asp

I know a few years back they did a very detailed analysis of boat valuations to include the "Books" and how the books determined value. Marine Surveyors include values when they inspect boats. This particular company gives multiple values like current condition value and another value if repairs were completed. I don't know if they have updated their findings since the economic down turn but I bet they have.

Hard to say how good an indicator NADA is. It just varies from boat to boat, for better or worse, depending on what team you're batting for at that time (buying or selling). :)

But the boat is only worth as much as someone is willing to pay for it.....like anything for that matter.