Avoid these mistakes when selling your boat privately
If it's time to move on and sell your boat, you'll want to make sure you the get the best price for it.Unfortunately, many people make a number of errors when trying to sell their boat privately. Avoid these common mistakes to make sure you don't get caught out!
1. Not prepping for a buyer's inspection
First impressions matter, which is why it's incredibly important to prep for a buyer's inspection or test drive. First of all, you'll need to thoroughly clean your boat. Get the boat looking the best it ever has. It's a bit like going on a first date - you wouldn't show up wearing trackpants and smelling of cheese, would you? Why would you make a similar mistake with your boat and its potential new owner?
Another sound practice is to give your engine a test run before a potential buyer comes to view it. This way you can be sure it'll start first pop when they arrive - an engine that doesn't is only going to diminish their first impression.
Empty all of your gear from the boat too - the buyer wants to see how much they could fit in the storage space available, not all the stuff you've managed to jam in there.
2. Not having your paperwork sorted
A boat is a big purchase and buyers want to be assured they they're not getting a lemon. A good way to do this is to have all your paperwork sorted in a tidy binder - registration, title, warranty (if any) and service records. This way the potential buyer can see you're on top of things and not the kind of person to mistreat your boat. The little things can sometimes go a long way!
3. Failing to advertise
It doesn't matter how great the condition of your boat is, the speed it's capable of or the cool accessories it comes with if no one knows it's for sale. You'll want to place ads in the local boating press and newspaper, as well as on any online forums or pages frequented by local boaties.
If you're boat is particularly big, rare or special, it may be worth putting ads in further-reaching publications - buyers may be willing to travel if your boat fits their needs. And remember, the phrase "a picture is worth a thousand words" is not a well-known idiom for nothing - it works wonders for helping to sell your boat. Make sure you get a picture of your boat that communicates its strengths and makes it look worthy of people's attention.
4. Setting the wrong price
Pricing is probably the most difficult factor to get right when selling your boat privately. You don't want to show your hand too soon and set the price too low or close to your bottom line but you also want to avoid setting it too high and scaring people off. It's really a Goldilocks act - not too hot, not too cold. Unfortunately, if you're not an industry professional, this can be a hard figure to determine.
There is an easy solution to these problems - sell your boat with Hunts Marine. We buy used boats, taking the headache out of the selling process entirely. All that's needed to start the process is for you to fill out this form and send us some pictures. When all's said and done, the cash can be in your account within 24 hours - or you can put it towards a shiny new boat!
