Should You Trade Your Boat in a Boat Dealership

One of the best ways to get a new boat, if you have one that you are trying to get rid of, is through boat trading. Similar to how you sell your boat, you can easily trade your boat on your own, or choose to trade your boat in a boat dealership. Much like with anything else, there are positives in both cases and the decision on what to do usually comes down to personal preference. To help you better understand the world of trading here are some thoughts on the DIY versus professional trade in.

When to Trade your Boat on Your Own

Reasons to trade your boat directly to a new owner:

  • Your budget is tight,
  • You want to receive a better offer,
  • You have friends in the boating community who are ready to trade their boat, and
  • You have the required time and effort to find a proper deal

If you meet any of these criteria, trading your boat on your own might be the better choice for you. However, when doing so, you should note that when trading directly with another owner, you will be getting their direct estimate of the boat. That being said, before closing the deal, make sure that you have examined the boat you will be getting. If you don’t have someone to help you out with the examination you can always call a friend, or hire a boating expert, so that you will be able to save time, money, and stress, by knowing that the boat you will be getting is ultimately working properly.

When to Trade your boat to a Boat Dealer

When time isn’t on your side and getting the ultimate value of your boat is not as important, trading your boat to a boat dealer is the better choice. Usually, the difference in the expected value is not that huge, especially keeping in mind the time and effort needed for trading your boat on your own, as well as the money saved from the boat maintenance and storage until you are able to find a proper trade. With a boat dealer, the trade will be almost instant. What’s more, you can almost always be sure of the quality of the boat you are getting, as it will be sold to you directly by the boat dealership. Boat dealerships and boat dealers often offer discounts on new boats when you trade an older boat, which is a hard deal to find when discussing trades directly with boat owners.

If you are looking at boats for sale, consider a boat trade in.