Has anyone had luck selling a Ranger Tug on their own?

[cavok]

Hello. We've decided to sell our 2018 Ranger Tug 31CB, because since retirement, we've just been too busy to adequately utilize it (hence the reason for only having 190 hours). We're trying to figure out whether we should sell this on our own, or go through a boat broker. We're in the Seattle area. I'm wondering if anyone has had luck selling their Ranger Tug by themselves, or how it has worked out otherwise for you?

 

[ALICE J]

I sold my R27 through a broker who has handled Ranger Tugs, BUT I did a lot of cleaning, up graded the upholstery, monkey fur, and deep cleaned the whole boat. Emptied all the lockers, toilet (composting or holding tank) and took off all that was not attached to the boat. Then I took lots of photos and wrote detailed descriptions of how I used the vessel, why I upgraded the items and their uses and gave this to the broker. The boat sold within a week, at 10% below asking broker price, and very near the monies I wanted. Now did the broker have to do much "work", no, but he had the network in interested buyers.
This was two years ago, and the boat market was much different than it is today. Look at the R31's for sale on Tug Nuts and how long have they been listed. You might list it on this site, but remember today's market is very price sensitive, (a buyers' market) and you might be emotionally/ financially attached to your boat. A broker is not emotionally connected to your boat and his motivation is to make money quickly! REMEMBER an item is only worth what someone will pay for it! ------ NOT WHAT YOU THINK ITS "WORTH". ---- What is the real cost on holding on to the boat? insurance, depreciation, weathering, non-use corrosion (worst things happen to a boat that is not used). These costs could easily be near the broker's commission.
The real trick is to find the proper broker, you're comfortable with, who knows Ranger Tugs, perhaps an active dealer. Have the boat detailed; thoroughly cleaned and polished, inside and outside, and list it with him at a price he thinks is fair market value that will motivate interested buyers. DON'T worry about his commission, your goal to find a good home for you boat and cast off this drogue that is slowing your enjoyment of life's adventure.

 

[Ernie]

A few years back I tried to sell an R23 on my own, literally no interest. It never did sell. I tried a weak broker in Seattle with my r31 and it sat unsold for 6 months.
A few months ago I used a broker in Anacortes to sell my r31 and he had a buyer after just one day on his dock at Cap Sante , easy sale at asking price.

 

[glider4]

We sold our R-25 Classic in just a few days in 2022. Priced about 5 percent below comparable asking prices from YachtWorld. Listed it on the Facebook RT owners group pages, this forum, Craigslist and Boats.com. Had LOTS of photos (150 plus?) and a recent survey. About 15 parties inquired in first week - several who scheduled showings. Buyer did his own survey. All in all a good transaction. I think the buyer is still very happy with his purchase.
Sold our boat prior to that myself as well in the fall of 2015. Much lower priced boat - Sea Ray 24 ft Sundancer. That one took about 45 days to close the sale.
I sell all my cars myself as well. Don’t trade them in. Sold my airplane myself as well.

 

[cavok]

I sold my R27 through a broker who has handled Ranger Tugs, BUT I did a lot of cleaning, up graded the upholstery, monkey fur, and deep cleaned the whole boat. Emptied all the lockers, toilet (composting or holding tank) and took off all that was not attached to the boat. Then I took lots of photos and wrote detailed descriptions of how I used the vessel, why I upgraded the items and their uses and gave this to the broker. The boat sold within a week, at 10% below asking broker price, and very near the monies I wanted. Now did the broker have to do much "work", no, but he had the network in interested buyers.
This was two years ago, and the boat market was much different than it is today. Look at the R31's for sale on Tug Nuts and how long have they been listed. You might list it on this site, but remember today's market is very price sensitive, (a buyers' market) and you might be emotionally/ financially attached to your boat. A broker is not emotionally connected to your boat and his motivation is to make money quickly! REMEMBER an item is only worth what someone will pay for it! ------ NOT WHAT YOU THINK ITS "WORTH". ---- What is the real cost on holding on to the boat? insurance, depreciation, weathering, non-use corrosion (worst things happen to a boat that is not used). These costs could easily be near the broker's commission.
The real trick is to find the proper broker, you're comfortable with, who knows Ranger Tugs, perhaps an active dealer. Have the boat detailed; thoroughly cleaned and polished, inside and outside, and list it with him at a price he thinks is fair market value that will motivate interested buyers. DON'T worry about his commission, your goal to find a good home for you boat and cast off this drogue that is slowing your enjoyment of life's adventure.

Thank you for the detailed advice! We will definitely make sure it looks perfect and hopefully find the right broker if we go that route. I'm not sure how the market is out here in Seattle, there are a lot of Ranger Tugs in this area, and the price for a new one has gone up over 100K since we bought it. I can't actually imagine spending that much more for something new!

 

[cavok]

A few years back I tried to sell an R23 on my own, literally no interest. It never did sell. I tried a weak broker in Seattle with my r31 and it sat unsold for 6 months.
A few months ago I used a broker in Anacortes to sell my r31 and he had a buyer after just one day on his dock at Cap Sante , easy sale at asking price.

That's an amazing story. I can't believe the difference that such a broker can make! I shall PM you, if you don't mind!

 

[cavok]

We sold our R-25 Classic in just a few days in 2022. Priced about 5 percent below comparable asking prices from YachtWorld. Listed it on the Facebook RT owners group pages, this forum, Craigslist and Boats.com. Had LOTS of photos (150 plus?) and a recent survey. About 15 parties inquired in first week - several who scheduled showings. Buyer did his own survey. All in all a good transaction. I think the buyer is still very happy with his purchase.
Sold our boat prior to that myself as well in the fall of 2015. Much lower priced boat - Sea Ray 24 ft Sundancer. That one took about 45 days to close the sale.
I sell all my cars myself as well. Don’t trade them in. Sold my airplane myself as well.

You sound like a pro! I have never been comfortable selling things, but I sure don't want to lose a lot of money on a broker. Maybe we will try for a bit and then turn it over to a broker if there is no luck. Interesting that you got a survey yourself, but I suspect that helped it sell so quickly.

 

[glider4]

We got a survey to address everything on the needs attention list before putting the boat up for sale. Even with that, an oil pressure sensor grounding wire came loose after my survey. And a trim tab actuator leak was found in the buyers survey. Both relatively easy repairs. I spent 50+ hours detailing and prepping the boat for sale. It came with literally thousands of dollars of worth of spare parts.

 

[cavok]

We got a survey to address everything on the needs attention list before putting the boat up for sale. Even with that, an oil pressure sensor grounding wire came loose after my survey. And a trim tab actuator leak was found in the buyers survey. Both relatively easy repairs. I spent 50+ hours detailing and prepping the boat for sale. It came with literally thousands of dollars of worth of spare parts.

Wow, you really did a lot of work to get it ready. Sounds like the buyer was lucky to get it.

 

[Rebel112r]

I bought my R27, privately with no broker. Agreed on a price, sealed deal with a hand shake. Did my own due diligence, deal was consummated in two weeks. Buyer happy and seller the same. No problems with boat, other than normal maintenance issues. All in all very satisfied. Boat was delivered full off fuel and parked in my drive, about a100 mile haul, for seller. I think there needs to be a mutual respect between buyer and seller and confidence in each other to fulfill their part.

 

[cavok]

I bought my R27, privately with no broker. Agreed on a price, sealed deal with a hand shake. Did my own due diligence, deal was consummated in two weeks. Buyer happy and seller the same. No problems with boat, other than normal maintenance issues. All in all very satisfied. Boat was delivered full off fuel and parked in my drive, about a100 mile haul, for seller. I think there needs to be a mutual respect between buyer and seller and confidence in each other to fulfill their part.

That sounds like the ideal situation. Win/win. I hope we are that fortunate, if we find a buyer ourselves.

 

[cavok]

Well, we ended up going with a broker and it's been listed for 4 1/2 months with no offers, though supposedly plenty of interest. There's nothing wrong with it, it's in excellent shape, low hours on the engine, and we've cut the price three times. Other 31CB's in the area have sold, but not ours. I do not get it!

Now that we're getting close to the end of the contract, I'm trying to figure out what to do. The broker is charging us $600 per month for an uncovered slip in Anacortes, which seems crazy expensive. The options we've narrowed it down to are:

1. Bring it back to Lake Washington and keep it on fresh water (zero cost moorage). Slash the price by 20-25K (the broker's commission). One would think that would be a huge bargain and it would sell quickly, but you don't have the same visibility that you have with a broker. It would be kind of nice to be able to use it for another season, but now we have three boats, so there's two boats too many!

2. Move it to the broker who sold it to us in Bellingham. He sells a lot of Ranger Tugs, and his brokerage has recently sold two Ranger 31CB's just like ours with far more hours. He's very knowledgeable and a familiar face in the Ranger Tug world.

Any opinions from you Tugnuts folks?

 

[glider4]

I can’t find your listing on Yachtworld. One of the main benefits of a broker is visibility. If it’s not on Yachtworld I think you are missing a lot of potential buyers. That site has been my go to for finding all broker listed boats for sale for the past decade.

 

[Jcat2010]

No personal experience selling a RT myself, but after 22+ boats, 21 used, I can offer some perspective. We started serious search for our Tug in late 2022, and it took until mid 2023 before we found our current boat. I've sold all but one boat myself, boat trader, Facebook, even craigslist. Also, I just sold my center console, and it was the toughest market I've seen since the 80s. Much tougher than pre covid, or early covid. Inventories are up, rates are up, and cash buyers are demanding a bargain. As two dealer friends told me, it is all about price in this market. And it takes longer for a sale. If you can't bear to part with the boat at low book value, you'll need an exceptional buyer, and those are rare these days. Add the brokers fee on top, and it's really tough. In this market, a well cared for, like new boat will sell for low book, and anything less will either not sell, or have to be heavily discounted. Early last year my boat could have sold for almost what I paid for it new, quickly. This year it sold for 25% less, in like new low hours condition.

Most of the brokers I've encountered are looking for a quick sale. Not the best deal, just a quick sale. There are exceptions, but difficult to find. I'd rather deal with the owner directly, get a sense of how they've maintained the boat before I waste the money on a survey.

Just my observations of the experience we had as a buyer and a seller.

 

[cavok]

I can’t find your listing on Yachtworld. One of the main benefits of a broker is visibility. If it’s not on Yachtworld I think you are missing a lot of potential buyers. That site has been my go to for finding all broker listed boats for sale for the past decade.

It is there, I just checked. But a problem with Yachtworld is that they have four categories of the same exact Ranger Tug model. R-31CB, 31 CB, 31 Command Bridge, and R-31 Command Bridge that are all selected separately, even though they're the same dang boats. Mine is in the R-31CB category. And they only show up in that one category. Irritating!

 

[cavok]

No personal experience selling a RT myself, but after 22+ boats, 21 used, I can offer some perspective. We started serious search for our Tug in late 2022, and it took until mid 2023 before we found our current boat. I've sold all but one boat myself, boat trader, Facebook, even craigslist. Also, I just sold my center console, and it was the toughest market I've seen since the 80s. Much tougher than pre covid, or early covid. Inventories are up, rates are up, and cash buyers are demanding a bargain. As two dealer friends told me, it is all about price in this market. And it takes longer for a sale. If you can't bear to part with the boat at low book value, you'll need an exceptional buyer, and those are rare these days. Add the brokers fee on top, and it's really tough. In this market, a well cared for, like new boat will sell for low book, and anything less will either not sell, or have to be heavily discounted. Early last year my boat could have sold for almost what I paid for it new, quickly. This year it sold for 25% less, in like new low hours condition.

Most of the brokers I've encountered are looking for a quick sale. Not the best deal, just a quick sale. There are exceptions, but difficult to find. I'd rather deal with the owner directly, get a sense of how they've maintained the boat before I waste the money on a survey.

Just my observations of the experience we had as a buyer and a seller.

Thank you for your perspective. 22+ boats, wow, that is a lot of boats to buy and sell! I do think the market is better over here in the Seattle area, as I've seen a number of Ranger Tugs go for a good price. Thinking that maybe we'll just keep it on fresh water and use it for another year if it doesn't sell at our highly discounted price, maybe next year will be better.

 

[jack_patricia]

Cavok, you asked for opinions from the peanut gallery so here's one of mine: I'd pick option 2 on your list if in your shoes. It's not that brokers and their sales people are necessarily lazy, it's just that they tend to rely on tried and true ways to find boats and find buyers. The brokerage & broker you mention in #2 sounds well connected within the regional sales community and has a rep for handling Ranger Tugs. Grapevines work in both directions, and that broker no doubt knows where other pockets of RT likely buyers are located and who the better brokers are in those areas. Moreover, buyers know how to navigate the internet and, if searching for a RT like yours, they'll see previous sales of those same boats have occurred through that broker. And finally, that broker is likely, based on your description, to give some realistic, grounded advice on how your boat will be seen thru the eyes of a potential RT buyer and what the market says about its approximate selling price. You've already swallowed the distasteful notion that a broker's fee needs to be paid. Other than that reality, what downsides keep you from Option 2?

 

[cavok]

Cavok, you asked for opinions from the peanut gallery so here's one of mine: I'd pick option 2 on your list if in your shoes. It's not that brokers and their sales people are necessarily lazy, it's just that they tend to rely on tried and true ways to find boats and find buyers. The brokerage & broker you mention in #2 sounds well connected within the regional sales community and has a rep for handling Ranger Tugs. Grapevines work in both directions, and that broker no doubt knows where other pockets of RT likely buyers are located and who the better brokers are in those areas. Moreover, buyers know how to navigate the internet and, if searching for a RT like yours, they'll see previous sales of those same boats have occurred through that broker. And finally, that broker is likely, based on your description, to give some realistic, grounded advice on how your boat will be seen thru the eyes of a potential RT buyer and what the market says about its approximate selling price. You've already swallowed the distasteful notion that a broker's fee needs to be paid. Other than that reality, what downsides keep you from Option 2?

Thanks for the response, I have learned a huge amount of information from this peanut gallery! My thought about selling it ourselves is that we could drop the price below market, making it a great deal for someone (potentially selling it quickly), and we could park it at our house with no moorage fees, and be able to use it if we want. The thought of mooring it at a brokerage and paying $500-$600/month moorage for who knows how long is definitely a turnoff.

This discussion could be all moot, though. We got an offer yesterday (pretty much at our lowest acceptable number), and hopefully will be working it out today. If this doesn't work out, maybe we'll try selling it ourselves for a few months and if we don't have any luck, go to the broker who deals in RTs, like you suggest.

 

[Boatdreamer]

Here’s my thoughts on selling a Ranger Tug on your own. We sold our R27 a couple of months ago by ourselves to a wonderful gentleman and here’s our thoughts on it. Make sure your boat is priced appropriately for today’s market. Take all your personal items off before you take pictures, a cluttered boat could turn off potential buyers. Clean or have a professional cleaning service detail the interior and exterior before you start marketing it. I’ve looked at many boats on yacht world and it’s shocking how dirty many listings are, I don’t understand how professional brokers can list boats that aren’t spotless and could look so much better with a good cleaning. On Ranger Tugs the drain gutters around the engine compartment and storage areas collect debris quickly but a quick wipe down is all it takes to clean them and that makes a huge difference in the overall appearance of the boat. I could go on but you get the idea. Best of luck selling on your own.

 

[cavok]

Here’s my thoughts on selling a Ranger Tug on your own. We sold our R27 a couple of months ago by ourselves to a wonderful gentleman and here’s our thoughts on it. Make sure your boat is priced appropriately for today’s market. Take all your personal items off before you take pictures, a cluttered boat could turn off potential buyers. Clean or have a professional cleaning service detail the interior and exterior before you start marketing it. I’ve looked at many boats on yacht world and it’s shocking how dirty many listings are, I don’t understand how professional brokers can list boats that aren’t spotless and could look so much better with a good cleaning. On Ranger Tugs the drain gutters around the engine compartment and storage areas collect debris quickly but a quick wipe down is all it takes to clean them and that makes a huge difference in the overall appearance of the boat. I could go on but you get the idea. Best of luck selling on your own.

That sounds like excellent advice, we will make sure and follow it for sure, thanks! When we first listed the boat with the broker, it was in our location for a month, and every other day I would go down and remove every single particle of dirt that blew onto it. But not one person came to look at the boat after all that, so we moved it to the brokerage location in Anacortes. Now I go up there every couple of weeks. Last time I was there, there was a huge load of dried up bird crap on the command bridge deck that I cleaned up, because they only power wash it once a month. It will be much easier to maintain it when we move it back home and onto fresh water, but there is much less visibility.

I am wondering, did you get your own survey? We were thinking of doing that to show buyers that the boat is in excellent condition, but we don't want to spend that kind of money if people are going to do their own survey anyways. We were also thinking about getting bottom paint, though I don't know that it needs it, since it's been on fresh water for much of it's life. Really wondering if it's worth it to invest the money into doing things that aren't completely necessary, and won't help the sale.