used boat values?

[scuppers]

For the life of me I do not understand why used high quality boats are so under valued?   When a person considers the value of an old (restored) classic car, the costs for these vehicles are expensive.  Yet, a classic "flatback", which are getting rare, are valued far too low for the boat that it is.  Considering the quality, durability, & performance of these boats,I would think they should be valued like a classic car.  All one has to do is price a new boat of similar length, with trailer & motor and you'll find yourself in +$50,000 price range.(conservative estimate)  Yet $10,000 for a used "flatback" is considered too expensive.  Talk to any experience boat repair shop & they will quickly tell you that the new boats are not the same quality as the older ones, and many of them don't last much beyond 5 yrs. Please note I'm referring to  older Aquasports that were well cared for.  I realize the engine has a lot to do with value, I'm considering the hull value only, engines can be replaced.  Feedback will be of much interest to me. I have a 1970 "flatback" and wouldn't consider selling it for anything less that $10,000.  My boat is 99%  factory original and well cared for.  I have priced other boats & nothing comes close to performance, quality & economy of these older "flatbacks"  Last but not least regarding quality ,is a "15' Hobie Power Skiff" a boat designed by a California surfer, and designed to launch off the beach directly into the Pacific Ocean.  These boats were only  made from 1980-1985 by Hobie.  They were made of Kevlar, featured in James Bond movies and were expensive.  They evidently didn't sell so well & were discontinued.  Other companies purchased the molds but the quality isn't the same.  Scuppers

[fitz73222]

For the life of me I do not understand why used high quality boats are so under valued?   When a person considers the value of an old (restored) classic car, the costs for these vehicles are expensive.  Yet, a classic "flatback", which are getting rare, are valued far too low for the boat that it is.  Considering the quality, durability, & performance of these boats,I would think they should be valued like a classic car.  All one has to do is price a new boat of similar length, with trailer & motor and you'll find yourself in +$50,000 price range.(conservative estimate)  Yet $10,000 for a used "flatback" is considered too expensive.  Talk to any experience boat repair shop & they will quickly tell you that the new boats are not the same quality as the older ones, and many of them don't last much beyond 5 yrs. Please note I'm referring to  older Aquasports that were well cared for.  I realize the engine has a lot to do with value, I'm considering the hull value only, engines can be replaced.  Feedback will be of much interest to me. I have a 1970 "flatback" and wouldn't consider selling it for anything less that $10,000.  My boat is 99%  factory original and well cared for.  I have priced other boats & nothing comes close to performance, quality & economy of these older "flatbacks"  Last but not least regarding quality ,is a "15' Hobie Power Skiff" a boat designed by a California surfer, and designed to launch off the beach directly into the Pacific Ocean.  These boats were only  made from 1980-1985 by Hobie.  They were made of Kevlar, featured in James Bond movies and were expensive.  They evidently didn't sell so well & were discontinued.  Other companies purchased the molds but the quality isn't the same.  Scuppers

I think its really about market size. A restored '69 Chevelle has a much larger market size and interest compared to a '69 Flatback. Now I have a completely original '73 22-2 thats still running fine, in nice shape for 40 years of wear and tear but its not worth anything because the market really isn't interested in our boats in their original state. So the market is buy for cheap, build the way you want, use it for 5 years and take a loss trying to recover the rebuild costs when you go to sell it. Our boats are just not rare enough or desireable to a broader market. I would love to see pics of your original '70 because I like original things. I still get lots of oohs and ahhs at the ramp but that's all it is.

[Blue Agave]

For $10,000 you can rebuild better than the original.

'69 Chevelle - Ooh & Aah  

[gran398]

This is the one I remember....had the curved console. They were made by the sailboat outfit, Hobie Cat.

[seabob4]

Scuppers, it's all about market value...and the cost of bringing the boat up to what you want it to do, the latest gizmos, the tower, all that.  A lot of people will take a knock off hull, newly built, and pay the $$$ to have a boat they can put in the water now.

Boats are a whole lot different than cars.  You can leave a flattie hull in a corn field somewhere for decades, and it is still a usable product.  Do the same with a '69 Chevelle, and you'll have a rusted out piece of scrap metal...worth what the recycler will give you for it.  So you have a dwindling supply in the car end of things, which of course, given the laws of supply and demand...well, you know the deal...

Lastly, if you scoured the state of FL, I'm sure you would find neglected flatties, 19-6s, 22-2s, pretty much strewn throughout the state.  Tampa/St. Pete has a ton of them, betcha the Miami area is a gold mine.  So there is the supply side of the equation.  Now, if you could find a flattie that WAS in showroom condition, circa 1973 or so, she WOULD command a high price.  But, given what these boats sold for originnally, and who used them and how they were used, that would be a tall order.

So it's all about what the market dictates, who is willing to pay what for what they deem the value of...a lot of emotions, not much text-book economics...

[bondobill]

For $10,000 you can rebuild better than the original.

'69 Chevelle - Ooh & Aah  

$10,000 in a restoration of a 69 Chevelle ain't going to get you no where :cry:

Maybe the drive train..... if your lucky

My son and I have been working on his car restoration since Oct. of 2011.....
I quit keeping track of the hours at 500.....
That was 6 months ago  

As SB said......
Fiberglass doesn't disappear like metal

Bill

[gran398]

I'd imagine our old rebuilt boats are like any other cult following; a lot more valuable to the cult than the public. When I bought Craig's flatback fireboat, I got it to "get it off the street". Knew what it was, but also knew it would have a declining value and interest the farther north of Tampa it went.

When I went to pick it up, told the Admiral I was picking it up for a friend. Which was true. Only thing was, didn't know who the friend was yet

[pigbike]

I keep a eye on the muscle car prices from the 60's and early 70's and they are suffering also. A car that was worth $80,000 and few years back would sell for much less now. The numbers are higher but the value has fallen also.