Trade-Ins

by Steve Curran

After 45 years as a new boat dealer here in Marina del Rey, the marketplace forced a change of focus for me. Instead of selling new boats, we focused on used. The size of the used boat market versus new, the greater value of used boats versus new, the decreased quality of new boats, driven by the manufacturer’s efforts to make price points and keep new boats affordable were all part of this transition. I now only stock and sell used boats, both my own and brokerage listings.

I am committed to having a broad used boat inventory, both power and sail and both brokerage and company-owned. This opens up the opportunity of taking trade-ins on brokerage boats. Since we are driven to buy boats, why not use this purchase as a means to help sell another boat?

This puts us in a very unique position in this Los Angeles / Southern California marketplace. There is no other area broker that does this. While most new boat dealers take trades on their own new boat inventory, none, to my knowledge, accept trades on brokerage boats. They are driven, and understandably so, to use their inventory dollars to sell, and until sold, finance, their own new boat stock.

How does this effect the boat buyer? It is well known fact that it is easier to buy a boat than sell one. So many people are forced to sell their existing boat prior to committing to another. The ongoing costs of multiple slips, repairs, and installments make it very prohibitive to own multiple boats. For some, this puts their boating somewhat on hold, waiting for the boat of their current needs while they are paying the costs and dealing with the complex issue of selling their prior boat.

We buy boats, too. For those boat owners who find themselves pressed for time and unwilling or unable to wait for a sale, providing the boat fits into our inventory needs, we are here to make a purchase. Obviously we need some margin to be able to cover the costs of ownership over the time period to sell the boat and make a profit. Let’s talk!

STEVE CURRAN was raised in Santa Barbara, California, attending local schools and actively racing the 29′ Olympic Class “Dragon.” He sailed for University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) from 1968 through 1971, graduating with a degree in Economics in 1971. Additional sailboat racing and yachting experiences include Olympic Trials in 1968 (finishing 5th), several TransPacific Yacht Races (winning his class in 1985), Commodore of the California Yacht Club in 1986 and Principle Race Officer Alpha Circle (Wind Glider Sailboard) in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.

While still a student at UCLA, he started a Hobie Cat Dealership in 1969. This started his 45 years of selling boats in Marina del Rey. Among the brokerages that Curran owned or managed are Steve Curran Yacht Sales, Voyager Marine, H & S Yacht Sales, Cruising Yachts Unlimited, and now Marina del Rey Yacht Sales.

Steve is impassioned by boating, the boating life and the community of Marina del Rey. He and his wife BJ have lived aboard various “Friendships” for about 20 years, once with their two boating oriented children Drew and Deidre. He eats and breaths the boating life and provides good counsel to new and old boaters alike.