Old boat - fair price?

[nightvision]

Hi all,<br />I just saw a boat for sale in a guy's front yard. Not knowing much about boat, but I do like to pick up a fixer upper to learn restoration. I friend will guide me along. Ok,it's a 1973 trihull fiberglass boat 15 footer. It has a fiberglass patch in the hull that's about the size of a 8x11 piece of paper (bad patch). There's a 60 hp johnson engine that they said worked as of last year but needs work. The floor board and stringer are mostly rotted. The seller is throwing in some assessory and there is a trailer. The boat oviously needs work. I'm willing to put in the time to restore it with a friend. The seller wants $400.00 and we offer $250.00. Not knowing much about boats and know that we have to do some major repair, I still think we have a good deal. What do you think?

 

[JB]

Re: Old boat - fair price?

Hard to say without viewing boat and checking engine.<br /><br />You probably wouldn't hurt yourself if you went to $300-350. Engine and trailer should be worth more than that.<br /><br />Good luck.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Old boat - fair price?

Ya, I'd Stick to your Offer........<br />That boat Could turn into a Real Money Pit........

 

[Mikevn1500]

Re: Old boat - fair price?

All boats are money pits,just some more than others. That being said,$400.00 is not all that much to get a start.Do like JB says and dont pay the asking price that way you at least feel like you you got the better end of the deal. You should get your money back if you bite off more than you can chew. Heck if you only get half back,your still not that bad off.

 

[nightstalker]

Re: Old boat - fair price?

When you pay $5000 for a boat and it turns out to be a money pit, you get ticked off. When you take a shot at $300 or so, it's not that bad. A few years ago, I paid a guy $300 for a 14' fiberglass run about with a 1982 40Hp Merc. on the back. It had a trailer, but it was totally shot. I figured it was a good project boat, and it was. The engine ran pretty good after some minor maintainence which had been neglected for years., and the boat needed only a lot of cosmetic work. Do a compression test, that's what made me offer the guy $300 for my rig. No compression test, no offer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<br />Stalker

 

[Solittle]

Re: Old boat - fair price?

Years ago I picked up a 19' rig with motor and trailer (repo) for $375.00. Put in seats, floor & canvas. Ran that sucker all over south Florida for 8 years. Repowered it and ran it for another 7. Sold it for $1,100.00. <br /><br />It can be done.

 

[CalicoKid]

Re: Old boat - fair price?

Of course, make sure the registration/ title is OK before handing over any cash.