Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

So is it just me, or have prices on toon's gone up. I know the economy is "not so good" to say the least, but if you look at the whole boat thing from the following point of view, I can see how the values would go up.

Say the average toon owner ( that has a toon of less than 5 years old ) is paying roughly $200 / month for the boat. This would include payment, insurance, storage etc. Then you add to that, maybe another $50 - $100 in fuel, per month used, so 5 months, for most of us.
When you really think about it, this is cheap, and good family entertainment. I know for a fact that the wife and I, before purchasing the boat, would go out to dinner at least once a weekend, sometimes even twice. We would typically spend about $50 per meal, which would include drinks. That is $200 a month, if you only go once a week. There's you boat payment. That's for only 2 people. What if you have a family of 4 to take out once a week. You wuold probably spend anywhere form $60 - $75 per outing. To add to this, you get the piece of mind that you are purchasing something, that usually will not drop in value, faster than you are paying on it, like a car does. Hence the reason you can get a longer loan period, with just a good of rates on a boat.

So what brought this all up is I was bored at work today, and I decided to see how much of a HIT I had taken with our boat, in the actual 9 months that we have owned it. I really haven't put much money into the boat itself, but have done some major cleaning, and waxing the trailer, toons, etc. to make sure she is going to last. After looking up the BOOK value of the boat, motor, and trailer on NADA, I come up with a value near $17,000 Now, I'm not sure if I could actually get this out of it, IF I ever decided to sell it, but the principal here is, that is a substantial amount more than what I paid for it last year.

Am I wrong to think that I may be sitting on a relatively good "investment" here ????

I don't plan one bit on selling any time soon, so it really doesn't matter, but it's the piece of mind that comes with knowing that we ( the wife and I ) made a smart buy. The boat seems to be rock solid, and doesn't have an ounce of wood on it ( alluminum decking, fiberglass seats, etc ) so it should last quite a long time.

I just want your ( the more professional or seasoned owners ) points of view.

Think you are pretty much on it. Especially, the dining out thing, really enjoy a good prime rib or filet but that's anywhere from 50 to 100 with tip. I have known folks that even made money on the sale of their boat, but there does come a time to sell. If I had sold my old toon a year or so earlier it would have brought about 2 or 3k more. Guess the main thing is to keep a close eye on your boat and you will know when it is time to sell it an move on to another one.
doc

For the fun, relaxation and pleasure we get from the boat you can't put a price on. Saying that it don't matter what it cost.

If you choose wisely with the purchase of your pontoon they do seem to hold their value well. But if you failed at making the right purchase you actually could have a real problem trying to sell, even for what you actually owe for it like ours. Our big mistake was not having enough motor on it to suit most people, we were always happy with it ourselves but most want 90 hp. or more on their toons. Fact is a few folks said they'd have bought it with more motor.

Fact is I was having the boat selling blues and wrote this blog http://blog.pontoonhouseboatodyssey.com ... boats.aspx about our boat selling experience. All I can really say is choose your perspective boat purchase wisely, because at some point you may want to sell it and equipped right it should sell easier.