New Outback

[Moomba9795]

My wife and I are in the process of buying a 2005 Outback. I have done a little research on the internet and I like what I have read so far. I have heard that resale can be a problem from a freind who is a Malibu owner. Has anyone had any problems?
We decided that we wanted to buy a new boat and the Outback was the right price for the accesories we wanted.

[Zihuatanejo]

I just bought a 2005 outback this summer as well, I was told that moomba holds it's own on resale. I was told however that a wakeboard tower is a must for resale value.

[jburnside]

We live in Michigan near Detroit, so I certainly can't speak for everywhere but out dealer was able to sell our 2003 Outback LS during our boat show in January. We pick up our 2005 Mobius LSV near the end of April. If you take good care of your boat and and put at least 10% down you should be able to re-sell it and not take a big hit after a couple of seasons. Good luck.

[silverski]

I always scratch my head when I hear about people basing their buying decisions on resale value. I'll float this out there and you folks can jump on my logic and tell me what I am missing.

Assuming a hypothetical malibu vs moomba purchase
Malibu price = $40,000
Moomba price = $30,000

If both boats depreciate 20% in two years (hypothetical) your resale would be:
Malibu = $32,000
Moomba = $24,000

In this scenerio, your "cost" was $8,000 for the malibu and $6,000. Your moomba may have a lot less "resale value" but you can't loose site of what you paid. Your Moomba would have to depreciate at 1.33 times the malibu to catch up.

Also you have to factor in the cost of money and tax. For me, the malibu would cost an additional $650 in sales tax, insurance would be more per year ($100?) and if you financed the boat at 8% it would be an additional $800 per year in interest. Put that on a 5 year note and you have paid $5,150 in tax, insurance and interest over 5 years not to mention the fact that you paid $10,000 more for the boat!

I may be speaking prematurely because I haven't picked my boat up yet, but I am confident that it will serve my needs just fine. Malibu makes a great boat, but there is a better value option out there. There may be a lot of reasons to pay $10,000 more for a boat but at this point, better resale value is not one of them me.

[Dave A]

You'll love the Moomba. I have had more comments about my boat. I had one guy ask if it was a Malibu. Moomba does very little advertising, so not many people have heard of it, but when they see it they are impressed. If I spent 10k too much for something, I guess I would have to find a way to justify it.

I'm with Ed though, my boat is part of the family and is going to be with me until resale value doesn't matter, not that it does now.

[Moomba1016]

Thanks for the info.......I can wait for this Michigan weather to break so I can get the new addition to the family in the water....This is the first boat I have owned so I'm sure you guys will be answering a lot of questions from me.....Speaking of that I have one now. Can anyone recommend a good board for an intermediate skill level?

[james yarosz]

This Michigan weather sure sucks,I heard the ice on the lake is still 12 inches thick.Where will you be running your boat?

[Moomba1016]

Sylvan Lake ....It's between West Bloomfield and Pontiac...

[Buttafewcoe]

Geez.........I used to live in Hazel Park, not too far from the Race Track. In '83, had a chance to move to North Carolina. Best thing I ever did. Now, boating season is extended by 4 months. Cycling is extended by 5............we have been on the lake 5-6 times already....and temp this week post to be near 80 deg.............a lil' too cold to get in the H2O just yet, w/o a wet suit, but it's getting there...........lmfao..... they used to say......'Go West Young Man'......but I say.........HEAD SOUTH!

[Moomba1016]

Maybe some day ....an extended boating season does sound nice. The weather here is killing me. The ice has melted but I need the weather to break so we can get that water to warm up. Today 40 degress with 8-10 mph wind off the water.
GO SPARTANS ........................