Somehow I'm thinking I won't find many friends here on this but wanted to put this out there just the same as I think it's a good topic. I received a rather rude email this morning asking me the rhetorical question of if I thought my boat was priced too high. I asked the sender if this was supposed to be an intelligent question or if they were just trying to make a point. I pretty much sent the following email.
Perhaps you've heard the expression you get what you pay for? It always amazes me how intelligent people fancy themselves when it comes to these boats. On the one hand there is almost a snobbery in regard to how much better they are than other boats of their size yet when they look for a used boat (buyers and voyeurs alike) they feel the price should be on par with the "inferior" (not my word) brand. Other brands in this size category sell in the $5k+ price range so why wouldn't good Monty's sell for more if they are indeed as most will say, a better built boat? I recall a conversation I once had with the current builder of Montgomery's and in the discussion I off-handedly referred to the other most commonly associated brand, as being the same caliber of boat. At that point I thought I was being reprimanded by my own dad. I was duly and steadfastly reminded that Montgomery's were in no way in the same league or of the same caliber and that "these were real sailing boats not rowboats with sails". My observation is people in the Montgomery used market sit around hoping a boat comes up for sale, preferably by some owner that can be taken advantage of who might not know the true market value, or they settle for a boat in rough and neglected shape then pat themselves on the back they only paid $5k but with a season of work ahead of them to make repairs and pretty them up. Regardless that very good ones are out there and the trailers are in good working order, but that the price reflects the level of quality. People even send emails in this very forum when they discover an M15 for sale at $5k or under eagerly wanting to share the find. As though gold bars have just been discovered at 50% off. I have had a couple of people contact me, clearly knowing what I have listed the boat for, and yet only after exchanging some emails they say, oh it's a bit high for my budget despite their seeing the pictures and complementing how beautiful the condition my boat is in. These people are silly in my opinion and frankly I think are only fishing to see if there's a sucker on the line. You either want a good quality used M15 or you don't. Your choice is to either buy a new one for $14k all in - and deal with the wait time - or buy an older, most likely abused or neglected 80's version, complete with steel shot keel, etc, for about $5k. As one person who contacted me put it, people usually sell boats when they aren't using them anymore. Most commonly this is correct and it more often translates to a boat that has indeed been left sitting outside in the weather to rot before taking the time to try and sell it. An alternative is a well found 1991 boat, well cared for, garaged stored, bells and whistles such as lead ballast which has been preferred, extra rigging, and in ready to sail shape for a fair asking price IMHO. Yet in this niche market of buyers for these fine little yachts, there seems to have become an almost ignorant concept of what should be paid. To answer the lame question my answer is obviously no. And since I am in no hurry to sell my boat I can afford to wait until an intelligent and reasonable new owner comes along. And frankly that's the kind of individual I'd prefer to sell the boat to anyway. If I even sell it at all. I'm sure there will be several armchair replies to this email and most will more than likely slam me for having this opinion. But at the end of the day, the answer to the question of what is the true value of a Montgomery 15, is quite simply, whatever the right buyer is willing to pay. Ashley M15 #478 ____________________________________________________________________________________ Finding fabulous fares is fun. Let Yahoo! FareChase search your favorite travel sites to find flight and hotel bargains. http://farechase.yahoo.com/promo-generic-14795097 _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats
