What Is My Boat Worth?

For any first-time boat seller, the first question that comes to mind is, “What is my boat worth?” Assessing the value of your wake or ski boat can be done in several ways.

We've found in our years of experience that the best way to get an idea of a boats value is to search our site and others for the same year, make and model for sale and see what they are being listed for. This will give you an idea of where to start.

Another very usesful tool that we can provide here at OnlyInboards is our Sold Boat Database. This is a database of boats that have been sold on OnlyInboards that includes year, make, model, engine, engine hours, sale date and sale price. This information is provided to us by the sellers of the boats themselves and is not verified in any way. However we have no reason to believe our users would not be forthcoming in the sale price as their information is not included. We only started this database in 2015 and not all sellers opt in to provide the info to us so it may be of limited use as of this writing.

Use the Search Tool Below to search for your boat year, make and model to get an idea of what they have sold for in the past.

If your boat is a popular model or brand, you might be able to find its average estimated value on Nadaguides.com or bucvalue.com. However, those sites provide estimates that sometimes do not correspond to true market value.

Of course, there are several other factors to consider aside from the average estimated value. For instance, those estimates assume that the boat is in clean, working condition with all appropriate components and without any expensive additions, enhancements, and customizations. Without knowing these things, it is impossible to accurately gauge what your boat is worth.

It is also important to have a professional inspect your boat. Unless you are an expert in all of the functions of your boat, which many of us are not, your “walk through” inspection might not mean very much to anyone, especially to a prospective buyer. However, if you have a professional marine surveyor inspect the condition of your boat, you will have official documentation (sometimes up to a couple dozen pages long) that is a comprehensive snapshot of your boat’s condition as of the date of inspection. This is a useful negotiation tool against buyers who may try to lowball you or otherwise strike a deal for less than the boat’s true value. When choosing a surveyor, be careful that you choose the right one. There is no licensing process for marine surveyors, and many unqualified individuals can claim to be one. The best way to verify legitimacy is to check if the prospective surveyor has affiliations with a legitimate organization such as the American Boat & Yacht Council (ABYC) or the National Association of Marine Surveyors (NAMS). You should also make sure that the surveyor is familiar with the type of boat you’re trying to sell.

These are just a few resources to help you get started on estimating the value of the boat. The easiest way is to enter your boat’s information on this page, and we will give you an idea of what your boat is worth. That way, you can easily and quickly list it on the page, and go about your day.