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Complete boats are MUCH cheaper than ONLY outboard motors? Why?

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djcamera

Contributing Member
So I'm shopping for a replacement Mercury outboard to put on my Starcraft, and when I started the search, I thought JUST a motor would be relatively cheap, but I'm finding the opposite is true. *MOTOR ONLY* seems to be priced at a premium, even though they're on a stand or on the floor, condition unknown, whatever. Complete rigs, though...boat/motor/trailer, in the water or ready to drive away on a trailer...prices run the gamut, from a great deal to too expensive.

It looks like I'll definitely buy a complete rig and just swap the motor, but I'm curious about the phenomenon and whether anyone else has the same phenomenon in their area (I'm in Georgia). I'm guessing it's because people want to get rid of functioning & complete boats more quickly (need cash) or don't know how to price them.
 
Good point, and certainly a valid on. It's the same with buying a complete race car--it would cost twice as much to build one than buy one.

Jeff
 
I find that often times, the fiberglass boats are in need of transom work, flooring, or other life-threatening problems, some of which may not be obvious. Aluminum boats may leak, have flooring problems, etc...too. trailers often need tires or bearing work, have rust, need paint. The good thing about a complete rig is that you can test out the motor in most cases and you can see how it's been kept up based on the rest of the outfit. If the boat is fiberglass and no good, it is expensive to scrap.
 
Sometimes folks price a motor based on what new ones sell for.------Used boat / motor / trailer packages become a liability to some owners.-----Needs lots of work .---Storage costs.-----Don't look modern enough .----They just want to get rid of them.------Low price gets attention and usually a " sale " to the next handyman.
 
I find that here in Canada, there are some great deals on tinny’s with kickers & trailer, especially this time of year. You can get the entire rig for the same as a stand-alone 9.9HP.
i think it has much to do with storage. The complete rig takes up a driveway/garage spot. A small kicker can sit unobtrusively in the corner for years. Up here, people want the driveway cleared before winter, & price it accordingly.
Another thought is full rigs mean the owner is quitting fishing, or upgrading to bigger, newer, & wants the package gone. Single motors might mean not enough power, wanting to upgrade, & seeing sticker shock of new, thinking theirs is worth half of new, even though the asking price is more than it sold for 25+ years ago.
When hunting for a kicker for small Jon boat, I nearly bought a complete rig, with the idea of selling the tinny/trailer.
Already having 7 boats, the wife wasn’t keen on another cluttering up the dock!
 
The wife often nags about that "piece of junk parked in the driveway or the backyard" so the (package) sells at a discount to facilitate the peace.

A motor alone can be stored in the back corner of a garage or in a basement - unseen and un-nagged about, so there is no "pressing need" to dump it at a discount.

I'm on my third wife so the above comments come from experience and perhaps stupidity for not learning after the first wife :)
 
Case in point. A quick look at ads here shows a 1980 Johnson 9.9 on a 12’ tinny. Both look clean, no dings, paint intact, brand new plastic tank & line. it’s a cottage boat, small lake, so only seasonal use. Of course one would want to run it, & compression test, but the price is $400 that’s about $300 USD.
You can always dump a decent non leaking tinny for $200, that makes for a pretty cheap kicker.
 
Graham, my younger wife of 20 years loves boats.....I hit it lucky on second try. We were pen pals....her in Philippines. Knew I was in love when she asked for a picture of my boat.
Ed, excellent buy, what part of Ontario? We have 2 "portage in" camps near Dryden.
 
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..." I was in love when she asked for a picture of my boat. "

Isn't that supposed to work the other way around?

Jeff
 
Ha! I'm laughin' out loud in the grocery store. Now they KNOW I'm crazy.
Seriously, I do way better on used outboard sales than complete "turn key" outfits. Really can't explain why.
 
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