Beneteau v Bavaria---advice please

[Robin]

[ QUOTE ]
I agree with one of the earlier posts who said that the depreciation on a more expensive boat such as a Najad or Hallberg Rassey will be much less if not zero. If you can afford the extra capital outlay one of the better quality boats may well be better in the long run.
Make sure that when you buy you get the full cost of the boat with all the extras you want including commissioning charges before you sign on the dotted line.



[/ QUOTE ]

Having done that, then work out how much interest income the extra money paid out would have earned because the true cost of ownership is depreciation + investment income lost or depreciation + finance interest paid. I'm not saying one choice is better than another, just be aware of the true cost of the different options.

 

[Rob_Webb]

Exactly. At least with one of the AWB production boats you can pretty accurately forecast depreciation based on the previous market conditions and factor that into your cost of ownership over 5yrs, say. But with the so-called quality boats that allegedly experience close to nil depreciation, you are relying more on a strategy of hope and if for some reason market conditions changed then you might be in for a rude suprise.

Now, I wonder if there might be anything on the horizon which could cause market conditions to change..... for instance a bit of an economic dowturn resulting in a corresponding drop in the price of luxury items like boats?.....

Hint: you only have to go online to already see used boat prices in the US dropping dramatically by the week. I predict that previously unseen high-quality bargains of the century will start falling out of the US economy very soon.

And anyone who banks on buying a particular marque with the expectation (hope) that it will be immune to a general downturn in boat prices is a braver person than me.