Maximize the Sale
Maximize the Sale Price of Your Boat
With over 1500 pre-owned boats sold in our history there are few companies that have our level of experience in prepping, shaping and staging boats for sale. We help advise which things will net you extra money and which things are better left alone and money saved. LIMG offers discounted maintenance, repair, and detailing in preparation of your vessel for sale – and when on premises, a free maintenance level of detailing to make sure that it always looks good. We are now in a very competitive environment in boat sales, so whether you do it yourself or if you let us prep your boat – the following checklist is indispensible for getting the highest price.
1) As with the sale of a house – curb appeal is paramount in getting your boat in the game. You will get a huge return on investment in replacing or cleaning tired-looking eisenglass, dirty soft goods like carpet and cushions and most importantly getting the hull cleaned and waxed, the bottom painted, and the running gear cleaned. Consider repairing fiberglass scratches, gouges, cracks in an otherwise clean hull.
2) Make sure your engine(s) performs to normal spec (ie. temperature, pressure, maximum RPM). Nobody is buying a boat that doesn’t meet minimum operating standards and a rushed repair after the survey to save the sale is significantly more expensive than making sure it is right in the first place.
3) Test major systems (eg. Does generator hold a load and run smoothly? Is the air conditioning blowing cold? Do all electronics and other systems work properly? Are your gauges working?) If your boat is older – you don’t necessarily have to fix everything. We can advise what is worth fixing and what isn’t. Only list items in inventory that are working properly. Telling a prospective buyer that the GPS “used to work” or “is easily fixed” doesn’t help your cause. ALWAYS disclose in advance what doesn’t work on the boat. Certain items don’t need to be repaired but nothing puts a sour taste in a Buyer’s mouth and causes sales to fall apart and prices to plummet faster than finding out that something listed in the inventory is not working. Then people begin to wonder what else you are not revealing…..and often walk away.
4 Gather all your paperwork. It is not mandatory to share maintenance and service records – but it is proven to result in higher sale prices and lesser scrutiny by buyers when it can be proved that important service intervals have been maintained and that repairs can be documented.
5) By far – the most important tool you have in your arsenal is your pricing. There are very few mysteries as to what your boat is worth as there are usually enough comparables with which to measure value. Have a professional do the research for you. It is in our interest to maximize your sale price within the scope of what is possible. Beware of brokers who promise you the moon. Not only is it a waste of your time to have a boat online that isn’t really for sale – but you lose alot of money to depreciation and people begin to assume that it must be a lemon if it has been for sale for too long. Do you really want strangers who have no intention of buying your boat tramping all over it and using it only as a showroom before they buy another one? If you aren’t competitively priced in comparison to similar fairly priced boats it is nearly impossible to sell. It is human nature to think that your boat is the nicest one of the bunch – but there is always another one with more equipment or is cleaner or is better priced. We help you play to the strengths of your boat and work to make yours the one that people want. With the enormous depreciation rates that all boats suffer – selling sooner ALWAYS means selling for more.
LIMG has been prepping boats for sale for nearly two decades. Let us be your partner. We’ll get your boat sold quickly and efficiently.