Classic or clunker? Buying a used boat

This is especially true if you are buying an older boat – a rig that is more than 20 years old and that may need to be refurbished. In this instance, a great deal of homework is required to make sure you buy a good quality, well-built craft.

Related stories:

This is where it gets tricky. It's all very well to decide you want a fibreglass runabout or perhaps a half cabin, but which one? There are thousands of runabouts and half cabs advertised for sale each week on the internet and in newspapers across the country. Picking a good boat from the riff-raff is your immediate task.

So where do you start? Regardless of whether you have been boating for years, or are just getting into boating, the key is to identify the best and most popular brands of boats produced over the last few decades.

Everything! That's the short answer. Buying a well-known, popular brand is imperative, more so if you intend to sell the boat in a few years time.

The resale value on a well known brand will always be better than with some weird, one-off boat that no one has ever heard of.

Further, with a well-known brand of boat, you are virtually assured that the boat you are buying will be well built, and that it will handle, ride and perform at least reasonably well.

It is very rare for the big brands to produce poor boats; if they did, they would quickly go out of business.

Sure, some models will be better than others, but it is most unusual for a big name brand to produce a boat that is an absolute dog out on the water.

So how do you identify a big name brand? It's not that difficult once you start looking into it.

Visit a boat show or two, talk to friends and relatives, check out the local new boat dealers, join a fishing club or Facebook group.

It won't take you long to figure out which are the most popular, best-selling new boat brands, and to discover what brands have been in business for many years.

As a rule, the best-selling used boats are those built by manufacturers with a long production history.

Australian brands such as Haines Signature, Cruise Craft, Savage, Quintrex, Haines Hunter, Whittley, Horizon, Stacer, Seafarer, Sea Jay and more have all been in business for a number of years, and can generally be relied on.

If you are intending to buy an older boat in the 30- to 40-year-old bracket, identifying the good brands is a little harder, but if you wade through the boats for sale on websites like boatsales.com.au, and visit boat ramps in your area, you will find the same names popping up time and again.

There are, for example, a number of well-known and respected brands available which are no longer in production – boats from brands such as Huntsman, Nova, Monark, Pongrass, Steber, Pride, SharkCat and more remain popular on the used boat market because they were well made, and have proven durable over the years.

Once you have figured out the type and style of boat which best suits your needs, and have started identifying the best brands and models, it’s time to get shopping.

There are a number of places to start looking for a used boat, but your best avenue to find a great selection of models these days is the internet. And the best place to look for a used boat on the internet is right here on boatsales.com.au.

With more than 15,000 boats advertised online at any given time, boatsales.com.au is your number one resource for buying a new or used boat. You can easily compare individual makes and models, and importantly, you can figure out what they are worth.

Other options include the classified sections of suburban and metropolitan newspapers, along with websites such as eBay (which also owns Gumtree) and the Trading Post.

Failing the above, type in “boats for sale” in any internet search engine, and you will be confronted with dozens of boat dealers and specialist online boat brokers.

Just make sure you restrict your search to Australia – otherwise you will be wading through thousands of irrelevant websites.

Before you rush halfway across the country to inspect a used boat you spotted on boatsales.com.au, make sure you drop by your local boat dealer, especially if you live outside a major city.

Even if you can't find your first choice of brand or model at the dealer, chances are you will find one that is pretty close. If a dealer has sold you the boat, he will also be happier to service and look after your investment in the long term.

Buying a used boat from a dealer is also a much safer prospect than buying a boat privately.

Many dealers offer a warranty of around three months, so that if something does go wrong, the dealer will be legally bound, and usually quite happy to help you out.

Private sellers will not be nearly so co-operative. Indeed, once you have paid your money in a private sale, you are stuck with the boat even if the motor croaks on your first outing, or you find the boat is full of rot.

Having made this observation, when buying privately you do have a vast choice of models to choose from, and it is possible to pick up a bargain if you know what you are doing.

But it is fraught with danger, particularly if you are buying an older, cheaper craft. In this instance buying from a dealer will be much safer, but you must expect to pay a little more because the dealer is in business to make a profit.

Clearly, the budget you set aside to buy a used boat will depend on what you can afford, and on the size and type of boat you are targeting. Mind you, it is quite common for identical model boats to differ dramatically in price.

For example, a boat in immaculate condition will always command a lot more money that one which has been run down and neglected. Similarly, the fitment of a new or reconditioned engine will also jack up the price of a model.

The trick is to find a balance, to hunt for a craft which has a price tag relative to its condition. The only effective way to do this is to scour the internet for similar models until you have worked out the lowest and highest asking prices.

Before you actually get to the specifics of pricing a specific model boat, you need to decide what class of boat appeals to you most.

To my mind, there are three distinct classes of used boat. The first is the near new boat. These craft are the contemporary models, modern craft with just about the latest in hull design and interior fit-out.

Usually between three and five years old, these near-new boats sell for between $5000 to $10,000 below the new boat price, depending on the size of the boat.

The price here is usually determined by the age of the boat/engine combination, more than its condition.

The near-new boat is not for the budget boat buyer but for someone who can afford, but can't see the benefit of, a new boat.

The advantage with the near-new second-hand boat is that it has depreciated about as much as it is going to in the short term so the new buyer isn't likely to lose much money when it comes time to sell again.

The second class of used boat can really be aged anywhere between six and 20 years old, the retail price being dependant on the condition of the boat, not when it was made.

Age is still a factor – especially with regard to the engine – but it isn't the major price-influencing factor.

Buying a good condition used boat like this is the best option for most families. Priced from anywhere between half to two-thirds the cost of a similar-sized new boat, these models are a pretty safe bet.

They may require some restoration or minor repair, but they are usually a good buy, especially as most will have been re-powered at least once.

Mechanical repairs may still be necessary, but this can also apply to any class of used boat.

The third class of used boat is the wreck you come across on the side of the road while driving down to the supermarket.

These craft, which may come across as being extremely cheap, are very rarely as good a bargain as they might appear at first glance.

Many, though, will need major structural repairs, and most will require a complete engine overhaul or even a new powerplant.

Buying a boat like this is always a risk unless you are prepared to undertake a partial or even full restoration and refurbishment.

With these craft you'll likely find common problems such as rotted transoms and floors. Serious structural problems like this can be fixed, but the cost can be high.

Buying a run-down old trailerboat can be a proposition if you are happy to spend a lot of time and money restoring it.

Pick a good brand and model and you could even make money on the project, although I'd consider any profit to be an unexpected bonus.