Shogren on Used Boats: “Be prepared for reality.”

Caught up with Scott Shogren, the owner Shogren Performance Marine in Waukegan, Ill., late last week. Shogren was working on one of his upcoming Powerboat magazine website blogs, which happened to be about used boat sales in today’s wobbly economy. A Nor-Tech and Sunsation dealer, Shogren said he is on the lookout for used boats to buy and resell, sell on consignment or take in as trade. One thing he emphasized was the need for owners interested in selling their boats to be realistic given the state of the performance boat market.

“If you can buy a brand-new as a repo boat for 50 cents on the dollar, which you can, what does that tell you about the value of your used boat?” he said. “Wholesale is the new retail. What I mean by that is if you look at the majority of new boats being sold to consumers today, they are being sold at what used to be wholesale prices to dealers. So regardless of what the NADA listings say your used boat should be worth, you have to be prepared for reality when it comes your boat’s true value and what it can actually sell for.”

At least Shogren is still buying used boats, as well as selling new models. At a time when “about 90 percent” of his competition has gone out of business, that’s no small feat.

I’m looking forward to seeing Shogren’s complete blog on the used-boat sales topic, because he certainly comes from a place of knowledge and experience. In the meantime, check out his latest blog—it just posted moments ago—called “RF Powerboats: In the Balance.” It’s sure to get a few people talking.