Best selling motor boats in the uk ???

aquaholic

aquaholic

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For sometime now I have been looking into buying a boat for my own use from the states and having it shipped over due to the possible savings, the complication now is that my brother has returned home from Hong Kong and has been looking into this price differential and has suggested we go in together on a boat but sell it on the UK market, have looked into costs i.e vat & import tax, shipping and ce marking, but my main concern is that we buy something that is going to sell reasonably quickly so I thought i would ask for peoples opinions, i was thinking about a 96/97 bayliner 2855 but not sure how popular these are. Any suggestions or advice appreciated.
 
The 2855 (later the 285) is a popular budget boat - budget in that they have a price where they are attractive and will sell. The biggest issue with 10 year old boats is condition. Mid-90's american boats have somewhat iffy interiors, favouring floral print fabrics and basic cabinetry. That said, they sleep 6 and are a fairly competent sea boat.

Don't underestimate the CE process, it is hugely involved and can be quite costly (I have been through it with a US boat). You must declare when you sell a boat that it is an import, and rightly or wrongly this will put some people off and reduce the price that you can ask for the boat.

American boats often have a different spec, and things like converting the electrics are not part of he mandatory CE/RCD requirement, so will be an additonal cost over straight CE certification. Consider shore plugs for electrics will need changing plus most US boats dont come with a remote fire supression system, essential for petrol boats.

Be wary of sun bleached Florida examples, not all are bad but many have very cracked and faded canvasses and cockpit upholstery from being left racked in the sun. Also consider how to show title and ensure that any financial liens are cleared befor export.

Dont forget VAT and Import tax (additional 1.7%) are payable on import to the UK on top of the invoice price.

Not a bad thing to do, so long as you go into it with your eyes open.

Jez
 
I dont think anybody is really clear, but the RYA now has the authority in the UK to issue CE certification. Their web site may shed some light or if you are a member you can call the techincal advise line
 
We nearly imported a sports boat, went through apolloduck.com, found a boat, sorted out transport and shipping etc. I contacted the good old HMCE (Customs) and they told me they reserve the right to impound a boat that is not CE certified. Gave up at that point and got a good deal on a UK boat.

I think its worth it if you want a good value boat and plan to keep it for a season or two, then you can sell it for what you paid for it, and so get some free boating. As a business opportunity I think it may be more hassle than its worth?

Martyn
 
I bought me 1997 Chris Craft 260 Crowne in 2004 for $22500.00, with the exchange rate at the time this equated to £12362.00. Add VAT and Import duty at £2373 and shipping with Peters and May at £1600 the boat on the hard at Southampton owed me £16335.00. CE certification cost an additional £1000.00 with afew bits and all told the boat stood me in at £17335.00.

As with all things within 6 months I wanted to trade up and PXed the boat with a dealer for £22,500.00 - not bad, and it can be done. But I wouldnt do it again as it involved quite a bit of head scratching.
 
I Neal I sent you a PM, in case you don't know how to pick them up you just click on the flashing red envelope by your ID at the top of the forum page.

Having read my PM again it may appear that I am trying to sell you the boat. This is not the case, it is not my boat any more - I p/x'd for my current one. So no vested interest just trying to answer your post.

Martyn
 
sorry martyn, thanks for the pm, very usefull. I gave up trying to reply as it was taking so long, not sure if its my pc or the server.
 
So, you are trying to gather how you can get a cheap boat from the states and sell it back to us at a profit? Dah...

Don't you think that once your potential buyer realises you brought the boat from the states (impossible to hide) your price will be compared to the price of your boat in the american market?
This will clearly show to everyone how much room you have in price negotiations and you will be treated accordingly - just like in the imported car grey market.

If you want to buy a boat for yourself from the states for a saving, or because you cannot afford your dreamboat here, go ahead and do it. There are specialised firms that can help you with minimum involvment from your part, and not much cost.
Trying to make a business out of it, IMHO underestimates the prudence of folk that part with their hard-earned money.

To help you understand what I mean, do not look only at how much you can source a boat for from abroad (all costs included), but also how much the local market would pay for it - do not take for granted that imports sell at the same price as local boats. You may find that there is not much differential left.
 
I have to say that I would never pay UK market rate for a US originated boat. I would think again, there are several co's that already do this en masse and you would have to compete with them e.g Global Trade Partners that are always advertising on apolloduck.
 
So, you are trying to gather how you can get a cheap boat from the states and sell it back to us at a profit? Dah...

Yes, is that such a bad thing when most of our economy is based on goods being imported and sold at a profit?

Don't you think that once your potential buyer realises you brought the boat from the states (impossible to hide) your price will be compared to the price of your boat in the American market?

Who said anything about hiding it? I would quite openly advertise as an import because most reasonably intelligent people would be able to understand the savings that could be made.

This will clearly show to everyone how much room you have in price negotiations and you will be treated accordingly - just like in the imported car grey market.

I don’t agree that everybody knows the exact values of boats on the American market, however most people would probably know that boats are cheaper in the states generally, which is why the boat would be sold quite a bit cheaper than the uk price. I also don’t think people are silly enough to expect to pay the US market price for a boat that’s been imported and the costs that would be attached to doing that.

If you want to buy a boat for yourself from the states for a saving, or because you cannot afford your dreamboat here, go ahead and do it. There are specialised firms that can help you with minimum involvment from your part, and not much cost.

Thanks for the advice, I would be obliged if you could pass on the details of one.

Trying to make a business out of it, IMHO underestimates the prudence of folk that part with their hard-earned money.

Quite the contrary, I think that most people are very prudent and if a someone is looking for a particular boat and they are faced with two choices one considerably cheaper than the other then I think they would weigh up the pros and cons for themselves.

To help you understand what I mean, do not look only at how much you can source a boat for from abroad (all costs included), but also how much the local market would pay for it - do not take for granted that imports sell at the same price as local boats. You may find that there is not much differential left.

I have been looking into this for some time and still doing so, yes you are right; on some boats the profit margin would be quite narrow; however on others it could be somewhat wider. I also don’t think anyone would be silly enough to think they could sell an imported boat for the full uk market price, but lets not forget that all of these American sports/cruisers have been imported at some time either by a recognised dealer or a third party. As with all used boats i think whats more important is the condtion, documentation and surveyors report.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I have to say that I would never pay UK market rate for a US originated boat. I would think again, there are several co's that already do this en masse and you would have to compete with them e.g Global Trade Partners that are always advertising on apolloduck.

[/ QUOTE ]

So does that mean you would never pay the UK market Price for a brand new Bayliner from a dealer? because it would be a US originated boat?
I take your point that there are several businesses doing this already but I am not looking to start a business, I am just looking into a possible one off transaction which may or may not result in some profit, if we cant make the profit then we keep the boat as planned.
 
Neil

In your original post you specified a Bayliner 2855, and in a later response you said that you acknowledge that it would only work for some boats.

IMHO I do not feel that this is the right boat, I haven't seen your numbers but I would venture that you would not make money on a 8 year old 2855, after factoring in shipping, VAT and CE proofing.

I don't know your numbers but looking at UK boats for sale, Essex Boatyards have a 1997 spec 2855 listed at £27,950 but a buyer could probably get 10% off that which makes it around £25k.

So working backwards from that, in your scenario how much can you spend on buying the boat?

Well for starters you would have to pay VAT. So if you were to try and sell for £25K (and this assumes people WILL pay them same for a "grey import" as they will for a boat UK specced and imported new by a dealer). At £25K VAT would be £3700, so knock that off for starters - £21300.

Then you've got to get it here. It cost me £4000 to ship a 2855 from the UK to Mallorca so I would guess US-UK would be about £6K - £15300

Then you have to CE mark it which I think I read somewhere is about £4K - £11300

So I suppose if you could pick one up for $20,000 you might just breakeven, except of course there will be incidental costs - shipping to destination in UK, advertising etc.

Not to mention of course that you won't get the same price as a dealer as you are a private sale, and will you give 3 months warrenty (Essex will).

Doesn't add up on a 2855 IMHO

I've just done a search on Boats for Sale on this site, selected 28-30 Bayliners 1996/98 up to $20K - Result 0 boats - try it yourself



Martyn
 
[ QUOTE ]
Neil

In your original post you specified a Bayliner 2855, and in a later response you said that you acknowledge that it would only work for some boats.

IMHO I do not feel that this is the right boat, I haven't seen your numbers but I would venture that you would not make money on a 8 year old 2855, after factoring in shipping, VAT and CE proofing.

I don't know your numbers but looking at UK boats for sale, Essex Boatyards have a 1997 spec 2855 listed at £27,950 but a buyer could probably get 10% off that which makes it around £25k.

So working backwards from that, in your scenario how much can you spend on buying the boat?

Well for starters you would have to pay VAT. So if you were to try and sell for £25K (and this assumes people WILL pay them same for a "grey import" as they will for a boat UK specced and imported new by a dealer). At £25K VAT would be £3700, so knock that off for starters - £21300.

Then you've got to get it here. It cost me £4000 to ship a 2855 from the UK to Mallorca so I would guess US-UK would be about £6K - £15300

Then you have to CE mark it which I think I read somewhere is about £4K - £11300

So I suppose if you could pick one up for $20,000 you might just breakeven, except of course there will be incidental costs - shipping to destination in UK, advertising etc.

Not to mention of course that you won't get the same price as a dealer as you are a private sale, and will you give 3 months warrenty (Essex will).

Doesn't add up on a 2855 IMHO

I've just done a search on Boats for Sale on this site, selected 28-30 Bayliners 1996/98 up to $20K - Result 0 boats - try it yourself



Martyn

[/ QUOTE ]
Martyn,
you are quite right that the numbers dont crunch too well on that model and i know that we will have to increase our budget and or choose another boat. I have a quote for a 25 footer which came in at $3500 us from jacksonville to s'hampton so i reckon on another 5-700 us for a 30 footer.
As for VAT, .thats payable to customs at the port on the cost of the boat and shipping along with 1.7% import tax. Ce marking should be no more than £3000.
But will keep on looking, not giving up just yet.
 
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