Is this a good price?

First time posting here. Looking at buying my first boat. Its at a local dealer. Its a 2016 1648 Seaark modified V with a 20 hp mercury on it. No trolling motor, no depth finder. Tiller steer. Has livewell. Has trailer w/ spare. Boat has supposedly only been in the water twice. Basically looks brand new. Guy is asking 7800 and says hell go through the engine before I buy it. Is this a reasonable price?

Where are you at? That makes a diff.

https://www.theboatplace.net/new-boats/alumacraft/2018-alumacraft-mv1648-ncs-15/

Central Texas. 7800 is out the door.

Why would he have to go thru the engine if it has only been used twice?

He offered it for peace of mind, the engine is supposed to be good.

Offer him 7200 and if he wont take it say you want to look at some other boats and you'll think about it...

I have no idea of my suggestion is good lol but food for thought

I'm not in Texas so any comment I would make about the price would be pretty useless.

If you decide to move forward, have them confirm the engine hours. Couple of uses shouldn't be much over the break-in period. If it is then adjust the price accordingly.

Hope it works out!

In this area you can get nicer rigs for less money, and most of them are used seldomly. Look at the texarkana and little rock craigslist. Maybe even fort smith. I've bought several from fort smith craigslist and have always done well with them, most recently a 1542 Grumman with a 25hp 4 stroke yamaha for $1200. Picked it up, got home about midnight, went fishing at 0600 next morning with nary a problem other than I didn't really care for how it was laid out.

If he's only used it twice, he'll probably have to address old gas. Depending on how badly the old gas has penetrated and what motor it is, may just need a carb kit/cleaning or it may need a VST pump & injectors (carb vs efi). If EFI, there's a possibility that it may get real expensive if a dealer/tech had to be paid to do the work (parts + labor).

To me that's a lot of money for a used rig, I don't care if he's used it twice or two hundred times, it's still used. If no hourmeter, there's no way to know how much it's actually been used. Lot of folks have complimented me on my "new" boat. Mine's a 2012 and has been used a LOT, I just take care of it. I see/hear this all the time and the most recent one is a barge I'm working with that has a F115 on it. Guy said he bought it and it dont' have 40 hours on it. I hooked it up to find that it's got over 1400 hours, and it shows how many hours it was used from 0-1000 rpm, 1000-2000, 2000-3000, etc. About half under 1000, the other half above 5000. Thats the nice thing about yamaha. I don't know of tohatsu/mercury does that or not. Had a guy bring a bass boat by a couple weeks ago wanted to get the hours off of it. Seller said it had a few hundred at the most. Turns out it had 27 and 24 of it below 1000 RPM (F250). Buyer paid the seller on the spot, $18,000 in cash.

Thirdly and finally, a 1648 seark is a heavy well-buit hull. A 20hp on that hull is a pig. I'd be surprised if it'd see 20 mph max with that tohatsu/mercury assuming it will even get on plane. In this area, it'd be lucky to fetch $3500.

turbotodd said:

If no hourmeter, there's no way to know how much it's actually been used.

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Todd, can't they see the actual hours on the diagnostic equipment? Just like you did on the one with 1400 hours. Seems a 2016 model should have than capability.

When you are buying from a dealer, they have to make money on the sale to stay in business so they will probably charge more for the same boat than a private sale. One of the things you get from buying from a dealer should be some kind of warranty so if the boat has something wrong they may repair it for you. Generally, the dealer will have gone over the boat and fixed most of what needed attention before they sell it. In a private sale, it’s almost always with no warranty. If if breaks down tomorrow, it’s all on you to pay for repairs. People who are selling will not put much money into the boat before selling. They don’t want to pay for repairs, so they get rid of it instead. For me, I’d pay a bit more for a boat from a dealer just for the peace of mind. As for the boat you are looking at, get a price on a comparable new boat and use that information for comparison.

Seems a touch high, but fair. I'd say that combo is probably about 10k brand new.

If you were going to spend that much, I'd try to find a left over new 18 or 19 model. Probably wouldn't cost much more and you get the factory warranty.

If you were wanting to spend less, there are loads of used boats out there in the 5k range.

A 20hp is kind of small for a 16' as well, I'd want a 30.

I live in austin texas and have bought and sold my fair share of boats. That boat is overpriced but its a fair price if you are gonna be financing. They have to make money. Cash I would pay around 5 or 6 at the most.

I recently bought a 1994 grumman 1444 with a 25hp evinrude. I paid 2700 and I think I overpaid. Motor is in top shape and has been garage kept. I overpaid because of the piece of mind I got from being able to test it before I bought and the owner had every receipt for maintanance that was done since new.

What im trying to say is for a lot less you can find really good boats. Especially since its a first boat. Id get something in the 2 or 3k range and really learn the ins and outs if boating. And in a couple years you will figure out what you need and want.
It would suck to buy that 7800 boat and realize its not your cup of tea. It would be a really hard sell for you to get your money back.
It seems a bit underpowered too.

Btw there is a 2017 sea ark 1652 with a 25hp evinrude with 32hours for sale on austin craiglist. He want 7500 and has clean titles. And has a really nice trolling motor.
He would probably sell for less

Price the rig out brand new, then deduct 2K assuming it's a 19' model year. Look at the skeg and prop for wear and tear just in case.

20HP on a hull rated for up to 50HP? Walk away, that's just a mismatched mess, you will have to run the piss out of that little kicker just to make way. Actually borderline dangerous if you had to outrun a storm. Keep shopping.