Advice on buying 2012 150 SUPER SPORT

A conversation among Whalers
ducktales
Posts: 4
Joined: Sat Jul 30, 2022 3:32 pm

Advice on buying 2012 150 SUPER SPORT

Postby ducktales » Fri Aug 12, 2022 11:03 pm

I found a 2012 150 SUPER SPORT for sale for about $18,000 in Baja California. I think about this boats resale value down the road.
150SPORT.jpg
Fig. 1. 150 SUPER SPORT
150SPORT.jpg (61.39 KiB) Viewed 1296 times

Q1: would I be better buying this 2012 150 SUPER SPORT or buying and restoring a very old and very bare 16-foot hull?

Maybe I could get the 2012 150 SUPER SPORT at a little lower price. It seems in really good condition and has only had one owner. It has a Mercury 60-HP engine with low hours. From what I've seen on-line they go for [more than $20,000] without the tower, and I'm assuming the tower adds value.

I have had a 17 Montauk before and it was a lot of fun. I would use this 150 SUPER SPORT for angling and water skiing. I understand the Super Sport is not comparable to a MONTAUK for angling, but it does seem like a lot of fun.

jimh
Posts: 11670
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2015 12:25 pm
Location: Michigan, Lower Peninsula
Contact:

Re: Advice on buying 2012 150 SUPER SPORT

Postby jimh » Sat Aug 13, 2022 9:46 am

ducktales wrote:Q1: would I be better buying this 2012 150 SUPER SPORT or buying and restoring a very old and very bare 16-foot hull?
If you want to take on a project and restore a very old and very bare hull, you should get the very old and very bare 16-footer. If you want a nice boat to use right now which seems to be offered at a below-market price, get the 2012 150 SUPER SPORT, go boating, and have fun. It is really up to you to decide.

Q2: are you are boater or are you a boat restorer and flipper?

Buying an old boat and putting a lot of labor into restoring it generally does not pay off unless you consider all the time and labor you provided to be worthless. You also have to consider the marketplace into which you might sell an very old Boston Whaler boat you restored.

Q3: is there really a market for restored Boston Whaler 50-year-old boats in your area?

Also, unless the restoration is really done well with the proper original components, a somewhat badly restored 50-year-old Boston Whaler boat is really just a 50-year-old boat.

Q4: what is the market like for 50-year-old boats in your area?

You seem to always be thinking about buying a boat and then selling it. Boats are generally not considered an INVESTMENT. Boats are an expense. If you want to invest in something that you can later sell for more than you paid for it when you bought it, consider other areas of investment.

The only way you can sell a boat for more than you paid for it is if you bought the boat at far below market value and sold it at or above market value. But the joy in boating is not creating wealth from boat ownership. Usually it is the other way around, wealth creates boat ownership.

Rather than continually asking readers to give you advice of the financial aspect of buying and selling particular Boston Whaler boats, I recommend you buy a boat you like and you can afford, and then use the boat as a boat, not as a project to keep your hands dirty and busy every night after work or as a financial investment to grow wealth. Get a boat and go boating.

As boats go, Boston Whaler boats tend to hold their value about as well as any boat can. It is very unusual that anyone buys a Boston Whaler boat and then loses a great deal of the purchase price they paid for the boat when they decide to sell it or trade it in on another boat, as long as the boat was in good condition when purchased and that level of fit and finish on the boat was maintained.

NorthShoreWhaler
Posts: 21
Joined: Sat Oct 19, 2019 7:51 pm

Re: Advice on buying 2012 150 SUPER SPORT

Postby NorthShoreWhaler » Sun Aug 14, 2022 10:58 pm

I’d say that is a pretty good deal at $18,000. The tower is nice but will definitely get in the way for fishing. I have a 2015 150 Super Sport without a tower. It actually fishes well. Great bow casting platform and there is room in the stern to stand and fish. Be aware that 60 hp will limit waterskiing. Wakeboards might be ok, but when you load the boat up with people 60 hp is not enough power.