So, what happens when you need a hard to find boat item, or a discontinued engine part not even the distributor can order? Well, you have a couple options left. You can look into a salvage part or a surplus one. But what is the difference, and what does this really mean to you?

Buying Salvage can be tricky. Salvage parts are rescued from an old, wrecked or disabled ship (or its cargo) from a loss at sea, insurance claim, or even a repossession. You can try begging and digging for a beat up, used part at a salvage yard which would have you replacing your already beat up used part with another; crossing your fingers and hoping and praying this “new to you” part lasts as long as the prior one.

Or you can check availability with a SURPLUS company and find a NEW item that may be exactly what you are looking for.

Surplus by definition is an amount of something left over when requirements have been met; an excess of production or supply over demand. When boats are being built sometimes there is an excess of parts which is more than what is needed to complete a model production run. In some situations these parts are stored in factories, collect dust and become what the industry calls “new, old stock”. This is exactly how the surplus business came to be. Most of these parts are in beautiful new condition, but some may have scratches or dings from being handled at the factory. Brand new boats can not be sold with a scratched item, therefore the scratched item may be uninstalled (if it was ever installed in the first place) and put back in its box, or into a surplus pile never to used. Because of the accumulation of scratch and ding items, surplus is often confused with salvage.

Don’t get me wrong salvage sometimes is the only option, and a good option at that; especially when it is an item that has proved almost impossible to find. However, the price difference between Surplus (new part) and salvage (rescued part) in today’s market is feeble. Marine or Boat parts are expensive by nature, so finding the best deal and value for your money is crucial. We like to call it the “best bang for your buck”!

Questions or comments, call us today 941-758-3552.