Savvy boat buyers and sellers today utilize Boat Trader's Boat Price Checker tool for the most accurate pricing information for both new and used boats, based on real-time market data. 





For years, NADA Guides was considered the go-to reference for boat values, offering blue-book style pricing across many types of vessels and watercraft. In 2015, however, the tool was acquired by J.D. Power—an organization primarily focused on land-based vehicles—and absorbed into its broader portfolio of valuation resources.





Today, boat buyers and owners looking for reliable pricing have a better option: Boat Trader’s Price Checker. This modern tool delivers up-to-date values for powerboats, motor yachts, sailboats, personal watercraft, trailers, outboard motors, and more, all based on the latest sales data.





Boat Values And Pricing Guide
Above: Boat Trader's online Boat Price Checker tool can give accurate real-time values of boat's based on the current market. Photo by Boat Trader.




Best "Blue Books" for Boat Buyers





The old world of the used boat price guide, better known as the "blue book", felt like it required a degree in statistical analysis. Historically there were not only different blue books, but each had a different way of reaching a value for your boat. Just as in the automobile world, used boat dealers and bankers relied on these "books" to set their retail prices, to figure trade-in allowances, and to determine the amount of a boat that could be financed. Insurance agents used these price guides to set the premiums and values for their clients, and marine surveyors rely on them for guidelines in their evaluations. You should also be aware that the Internal Revenue Service may have used these price guides to see if you're spending more money than you appear to be earning. There were previously three generally accepted price guides in the U.S. for boats, each bearing a distinctive style and name.





The Three Blue Books





From BUC Research came the old BUC Used Price Guide. The National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), used to be one of the best known blue books until it was purchased by J. D. Power. Today it's an online resource commonly used by retail buyers, which lists out pricing for 1,905 manufacturers. ABOS Marine Blue Books evolved into Price Digests by Randall Reilly and today offers online pricing and data tools that include the ABOS Marine Blue Book Online.





Legacy Tools: How They Did It Then





Before the modern Price Checker tool from Boat Trader, there was a different, more complicated realm of boat valuations to navigate. Here we'll take a look at where we came from, versus where we are now.





BUC





In business since 1961, BUC always started with hard market data, relying on a network of more than 4,000 boat dealers and yacht brokers nationwide. Taking dealer reports into account, BUC used computer programs to apply a series of formulas that modify the raw numbers, resulting in the listed values that appeared in the BUC books.





For example, the boats of one manufacturer may be known to have an initial drop in value after the first year and then a steady depreciation, while the boats of another manufacturer may hold their price better the first year. The formulas for each manufacturer, combined with historical data, were then used to adjust the retail prices published in the previous price guide. Other variables that are factored into each listing include the engine type and size, fuel, and the current economic climate in general as well as the market for luxury items.





Each retail value reflected a boat in "BUC Condition" (requiring no additional work and with average equipment). BUC included boat specifications, which they gathered directly from the manufacturer because, as BUC president Walter J. Sullivan III once noted, "a surprising number of brochures from manufacturers contain incorrect data." BUC priced outboard boats without engines or trailer, and provided two separate price guides for that equipment that must be added to the retail low or high prices listed for the boat alone.





Above: Accessories from electronics to power choice will all affect the boat's valuation. Photo via Lenny Rudow.




ABOS





Founded in 1949 to provide prices on outboard boats and remaining trade-oriented, the starting point for ABOS price listings were reports from dealers and brokers. ABOS also reviewed classified advertising, various marine multiple listing services, and the Internet. Another formula is used to reduce the asking prices to the estimated wholesale low and high prices that a dealer would use for trade-ins. Prices were set for mechanically sound, clean and sellable boats with no repairs necessary. Other variables used by ABOS to determine prices were the trends relating to the popularity of certain types or sizes of boat, taxes, inflation, interest rates, and the condition of the economy.





J.D. Power





J. D. Power historically relied on sales data and a sales reporting from a network of dealers, marine surveyors and brokers. Those hard number reports were combined with research of various used boat advertising sources which, factored down from asking price, came up with the retail values. It is interesting to see how each book handled stern drive boat prices. ABOS and J. D. Power, for example, listed a single model of each boat and then provide a chart that lists additional values depending on the horsepower increase of upgraded engines. BUC went to great lengths to list nearly all of the possible boat and motor combinations for each manufacturer along with the specific values of each boat.





Each book also handled condition differently, with ABOS adjusting the boat values based on a percentage from a descriptive chart (Excellent to Rough). BUC combined condition and equipment into a single scale, adding 15 to 25 percent for a heavily loaded and perfectly maintained boat, and deducting up to 50 percent for a boat in poor condition or with no extras. J. D. Power, with three value ranges, traditionally made no mention of condition other than advising that overall condition must be taken into account. Again, all of this is now obsolete with Boat Trader's Price Checker tool, which takes it all into account automatically.





The size and type of powerplant will, of course, have a significant impact on a boat's blue book value. Photo via Lenny Rudow.




The books also differed on their handling of optional equipment. J. D. Power followed the automobile blue book style by listing nearly every possible item of optional equipment, broken down by year, and then adds a dollar figure to the retail boat value. ABOS, on the other hand, noted that optional accessories originally costing less than $500 don't increase the value of a boat on the used market substantially. They did, however, provide a table to add up the original value of the options and then offer a schedule of values that should be added to the boat price.





BUC, as mentioned before, combined condition and equipment together, leaving the question of how to price a perfectly maintained but poorly equipped boat, or a heavily equipped but cosmetically flawed boat. And that, in essence, sums up the old world of marine price guides. Each book, at some point, made it perfectly clear that the values listed were simply guidelines and that anyone — dealer, broker, insurance agent, buyer or seller — must use their own knowledge of the boating market to judge the value of each boat. As one broker commented when discussing the use of price guides, "Every seller thinks a boat is worth more than it really is, and every buyer thinks a boat is worth less than asked. That's the nature of the business."





The New Way of Blue Book Value





It shouldn't surprise anyone that in this day and age, online resources have overcome printed books as the best way to get a boat value. And, while strictly speaking it isn't a blue book, the latest way to look up boat pricing in near real time to is use an entirely different tool: the Boat Trader Boat Price Checker. This (free to access) service is based on current listing prices for boats, so it accounts for variables affecting the used boat marketplace like market trends, inventory levels, location, and more.  You select the boat by year, make, and size, then add in your zip code and specify the area to search. You can make it a tight radius like 10 miles, or search at any distance. In addition to pricing information the Boat Trader Boat Price Checker gives you a link to all the current listings in the Boat Trader database under the parameters you've set.





The Boat Trader Boat Price Checker tells you listing values that are as up to date as possible. Photo via Boat Trader.




For anyone using these guides to buy or sell, the best advice is to do some market research in your own area for comparable boats, understand that the price guides don't necessarily agree in values, and be prepared to negotiate a satisfactory price on your own. Simply checking the pricing of boats for sale on boats.com will also add to your base of knowledge. Visit the boats.com Boat Buyer's Guide, to learn more about the ins and outs of buying a boat.





Editor's Note: This article was last updated in September of 2025.