A Guide To Buying Pre-Owned

Making sense of a changing market

By Mike Milne

A good used boat at a great price is the dream of both first-time buyers who want to get into boating at a reasonable cost and experienced boaters who want the most bang out of their boating budget. But that well-priced pre-owned creampuff is increasingly elusive.

Dealers and brokers across Canada say high-quality used boats at reasonable prices are in short supply. That’s even more reason why boat buyers should be wary and carefully research any potential purchases. Also more reason to consult knowledgeable, reputable and experienced dealers and brokers. And when the boat and price seems right, why they should move quickly.

During the past couple of years, a recession created a deep pool of well-priced used and repossessed boats in the United States. A high Canadian dollar also created an incentive for Canadians to buy south of the border. But as of this spring – as the U.S. began to emerge from the economic doldrums and American boat companies emerged from bankruptcy or restructuring with smaller production runs and larger prices – market observers agree that genuine bargain-basement deals on good U.S. boats are few and far between.

Buying a boat in the U.S., with or without the help of a Canadian broker, means considering costs beyond the final price. Add exchange costs (a couple of percentage points when buying greenbacks on top of the currency rate), travel costs to see and test-run the boat, your own time, survey and inspection costs plus delivery and customs fees. There are other unique challenges to buying a boat south of the border, but the basic approaches to any used boat buy (survey, mechanical inspection and title search, for example) are the same.

Read the full article

Share on: Facebook del.icio.us Digg StumbleUpon Twitter