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The reason I’ve searched for repo boats across the U.S. and Canada for the past seven years is that frankly I’ve found no other source that produces cheap boats than repo boat auctions. As newer boat prices climbed in the past decade boat repos sold at local and regional auctions for almost 44% less.

According to YachtAuctions.net in 1998 a brand new cruiser sold for over $255k on average. Only four years later that same new cruiser sold for $367k… Fast forward to late 2008…a new cruiser averages a staggering $465k. The Reason why I pursue repos is that same cruiser sold at a local boat auction house or dealer liquidation (used of course) for an average price of only $250k.

But boat auctions aren’t fighting for ad space in your local classifieds. You have to really look if you’re a DIY’er, but the payoff can be staggering as well. If you’re able to keep your self in front of enough lenders and they actually have boats in repossession than you can possibly work out a deal as they are often in a must sell situation to write off their “non-performing asset” as quickly as possible. Your offer(s) to a lender may not be accepted but they’re almost always considered.

When it comes to finding a repossessed boat you have to find credit unions or lenders in general who finance boats regularly and are willing to keep you informed of new inventory. Not as simple as you would I used to believe. As it turns out most lenders already have an ongoing relationship with a auction company. For this reason I got smart and leverage several online auction sources primarily www.BoatAuctionsDirect.com to keep of any seizure or repo type auction in my area. Do that and you’ll stay ahead too.

The year 2009, was a banner year for buying boats and water toys at state or local bank repossession boat auctions. Unashamedly, I’ve been a long time boat auction enthusiast it’s generally accepted that a repo’d vessel sold at auction will offer a 15-20% savings compared to book value.

That’s significant especially when you consider larger vessels retailing over $100,000..the savings can be really be worth while. This year is even bigger where the repo the boat auction climate has only served to inflate that percentage-to as much as 35%.

Boat auction in the states — especially in the harder hit(California, New York, Florida, and Arizona) are seeing lenders along withre-marketing strategies of bad debt assets. SunTrust Banks Senior VP, Don Parkhurst concluded with regards to their repossessed boat inventory within todays climate, “You’ve just got to lower the price to where you can move it. You’ve just got to take the hit.”

The continued escalation in auctioned boats across state lines with most lenders has attracted first-time buyers who can now literally buy the same but later model vessel for suprisingly less than what a new boat buyer paid 3-4 years prior for the same vessel. Boat auction companies like National liquidators and Boat Auctions Direct have indicated that with the decline of the U.S. dollar coupled the rise of repossessed collateral has perked the interest of shrewd overseas boat enthusiasts particularly from Australia, UK, and Canada who have been taking advantage of this high tide.

So how can you save on a boat this year as well? According to the experts the key is regularly reviewing listings. Regularly attending online listings, classifieds, and dealer liquidations. Only by comparing asking prices and recent sales of similar models of the type of boat you’re interested in can you brag about savings of 50% or more. It’s really not rocket science.

When anyone hears the mention of boat auctions in todays economy they conjure up images of 50′ Hatteras yachts and Triton Bass Boats being liquidated for “Up to 90% off!”. After all financing companies need to clean up their books, and the U.S. Government simply can’t hold onto its seized or theft recovered boats forever!
To some degree there is truth in both schools of thought but marketers tend to inflate these realities so as to serve their own needs to where they become outright myths. I’m sure there are a few folks somewhere who somehow managed to attend a US Government Boat Auction or Bank hosted auction managing to miraculously ’steal’ a 20′ aluminum Skeeter with a 220 outboard and trailer for a jaw dropping $699. But these types of steals though not impossible they’re are highly improbable.

Any boat auction that liquidates boats for $100 isn’t worth attending. Seriously, any vessel with size that bids for under a couple hundred bucks is going to be a salvaged vessel. So, unless you’re a DIY’er you’re just not going to have fun and recreation out on the lake anytime soon with a salvaged vessel.

For the most part this may seem obvious yet there are the innocent naive attending publicly held Manheim boat auctions across the North America who have delusions of grandeur when it comes to buying bank owned boat repos at auctions.

I’m not saying deals don’t exist..they absolutely do. But most of the the larger, well-known used boat auction companies will tell you that on average their bank repo inventory will liquidate for between 15-30% off of retail. This has been supported by National Liquidators, Boat Auctions Direct, and International Boat & Marine, companies that liquidate boat repos on a daily basis.

Popular makes such as Hatteras, Sea Ray, Viking, etc. are far more likely more likely to sell at a boat auction for more than less than popular ‘odd’ makes and models. Also, understanding the repairs and maintenance needed (if any) can give you a lot more leverage when negotiating with the lender or owner. Use that to your advantage.
Saving 30% on a 50′ bank repossessed yacht is not only a reality it’s a substantial savings. Considering that as the average you can more than likely expect to improve upon that by surveying more boats more often than what others are willing to. That’s really what it boils down to…finding a bargain inside any type of free market i.e. real estate, garage sales, the stock market, boat auctions, etc. It boils down to the harder you work the luckier you get