The worth of a used boat may be determined with the help of price guides. In the United States, there are three recognized price guides used to evaluate all types of vehicles including boats. These price guides, also called blue books, are:

·    The BUC Used Price Guide (http://bucvalu.com) from BUC Research;
·    The NADA or National Automobile Dealers Association's (http://www.nadaguides.com) Marine Appraisal Guide; and
·    The ABOS Marine Blue Books by Intertec Publishing.

These blue books use different methods and criteria in determining the value of used boats. At best, it is advised that these guides should not used as the sole basis for valuing a used boat but rather as just one of the tools used for more intelligent valuation of used boats prices.

BUC's Used Boat Price Guides claim to the "bible" for used boat pricing. It is used as reference for current market values of all types of used pleasure boats, motors, and trailers.

BUC uses hard market data based on reports from a large number of dealers, brokers, surveyors, and boat manufacturers. From these reports, BUC applies a series of formulas to come up with the listed numbers in the BUC blue books. It also considers other variables such as the engine type and size, fuel, and the current economic climate, as well as the market for luxury items.

The NADA boat values, on the other hand, rely on a sales reporting network of hundreds of dealers, marine surveyors and brokers. These reports are combined with research of various used boat-advertising sources, and then the numbers are factored down to come up with retail values.

The ABOS guide is a trade-only publication and is not available to the general public. It covers boats between $3,000 and $200,000, lists both wholesale low and wholesale high prices but only an Average Retail price. It caters to dealers who use the book heavily for trade-in negotiations.

ABOS also reviews multiple classified advertising of used boats. ABOS factors down the asking prices by 10 to 15% to estimate the actual selling price of used boats for sale. It sets its prices for boats in good mechanical conditions with no repairs necessary. The price guide also considers other various such as the trends relating to the popularity of certain types or sizes of boat, taxes, inflation, interest rates, and the condition of the economy.

Why rely on used boat value guides?

The answer is simple. Buying or selling a boat is a major financial decision so you would definitely want to use all available resources to make sure that you make the best move. Knowing the fair value of a boat is a good starting point to a successful negotiation. However, the evaluation of a used boat can be tricky if you do not know all the factors that are involved in determining its value. This is why marine blue books come very handy.
Dealers of used boats also rely heavily on these blue books to set their retail prices and trade-in values. Banks as well as lending and financing institutions also check these guides to determine the amount of a boat that can be financed. Likewise, insurance agents consult price guides to set the premiums and values for their clients, and marine surveyors use them for guidelines in their evaluations.