Boat Offer Prices
- Thread starter BetweenBoats
- Start date
gjgm
Active member
I still stand by my point that you should not get too price-centric. Lets say his chosen boats are on the market for 150k, and he has 100k. All I am saying is that 150k might be unrealistic, but so might 100k be. Ok, you can wait enough years for the boat to depreciate down to your budget, but you might have to conclude that you cant buy that boat for 100k-no one is that desperate. So, either you would have to pay 100k+, or you have to change boat. You having 100k to spend isn,t what makes the deal.
Cozzy
New member
+1
I placed offers on four boats this year including one I really wanted
Three subsequently sold within a few weeks. In each case I offered 20% below asking rounded up to next 1k. All boats were in the 200k bracket.
To be honest I expected the brokers to negotiate me upwards so I sat tight looking at "sale agreed" signs being posted and remained boat less and frustrated :-/
tom52
Active member
You have to ask yourself am I a serious boat buyer or a serious bargain hunter.
You can live in hopes of finding the "desperate" seller.
But rather than looking at arbitrary numbers, like can I get a £150K priced boat for £100K your objective should be a good boat at a good price.
If you have a popular model in mind and look at enough of them you will soon know what is a good boat and a good price.
If you wait long enough all the boats currently on the market at £150K will be £100k boats and so ever downwards as they depreciate.
But life is too short and buying a boat will never make financial sense. In any event I am not sure I would want to go to sea in boat that was chosen solely on the criteria that its was £50k cheaper than all the rest.
You can live in hopes of finding the "desperate" seller.
But rather than looking at arbitrary numbers, like can I get a £150K priced boat for £100K your objective should be a good boat at a good price.
If you have a popular model in mind and look at enough of them you will soon know what is a good boat and a good price.
If you wait long enough all the boats currently on the market at £150K will be £100k boats and so ever downwards as they depreciate.
But life is too short and buying a boat will never make financial sense. In any event I am not sure I would want to go to sea in boat that was chosen solely on the criteria that its was £50k cheaper than all the rest.
lanerboy
New member
very good reply, I too think getting the right boat is the most important thing , but that's not easy to work out either
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Deleted User YDKXO
Guest
I never said it did and if there's no seller out there willing to accept it, there's no market but that shouldn't stop the OP trying to find out whether there is
ari
Well-known member
Exactly right! What actually matters is how much the boat costs and what it is, not what the (entirely arbitrary) percentage discount is.
What I've learned from this thread is that in order to get the price I want, I need to advertise it at 50% more than I want. That way my buyer can think he's been ever so clever and tell all his mates how he got a third off from a 'desperate seller'.
I suspect that what you will actually get for your £150K boat you bought for £100K is, in fact, a £100K boat. Just as a £105K boat that sells for £100K is a £100K boat.
OP, go and look at some boats, find a couple you like and engage the owners (or brokers) in sensible conversation. That way you might actually end up with a decent boat instead of a 'bargain'.
No wonder DFS and Carpetright do so well...
Nigelpickin
Active member
There is a certain Hardy 62 that has been on the market since 2013 SIBS that has been reduced by 450k in the last 12 months. So around 30%
There's a superb Trader on the hard in my marina that has been reduced by around £100k over the last 2 years, (again around 30%).
I think it's worth making an offer....esp as the op has identified a couple of boats that have been hanging around for a couple of seasons. If a he gets told to go forth too many times, he can revise his budget or expectations but you'd be a bit of a mug not to try...
There's a superb Trader on the hard in my marina that has been reduced by around £100k over the last 2 years, (again around 30%).
I think it's worth making an offer....esp as the op has identified a couple of boats that have been hanging around for a couple of seasons. If a he gets told to go forth too many times, he can revise his budget or expectations but you'd be a bit of a mug not to try...
D
Deleted User YDKXO
Guest
Ari, we know you have a vested interest in talking up boat prices and values but the only thing that a seller is going to learn with that particular tactic is that an overpriced boat attracts no interest so that selling tactic will be pointless
So basically you agree with what I said. There are sellers out there with an unreasonably high expectation of the value of their boat. However since nobody has any accurate data on selling prices, nobody can be sure whether, as you seem to be suggesting, selling prices are the same whatever the asking price
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Deleted User YDKXO
Guest
Not to mention the fact that the original advertised price for that boat was less than £1m which is still less than the boat is being advertised for now. I think the manufacturer now realises that the boat isn't even worth what they are asking for it now as there is a big sign on it at SIBS inviting any sensible offers. Yes another illustration of the fact that for some boats, the asking price and selling price are miles apart
Nigelpickin
Active member
And thats the crux of it, it's the buyer that should be insulted for being taken for a mug; in many cases!
ari
Well-known member
Slightly odd post, but whatever.
The point I'm trying to make is that rather than getting fixated with how much money you can get off, concentrate instead on buying the best boat for the least money.
And that just might be a £105K boat that you end up paying £100K for, rather than the crappy, tatty, no make, wrong engines, never serviced heap that was up for £145K and you ended up 'stealing' for £95K (and selling a year later after spending a fortune on it for £65K because no one wants a no make, wrong engined, no service history boat).
In really simple terms. There's more to buying the right boat for the right money than how much you knock off the price.
And maybe the boat that sells for 'a third off' sells for that for a very good reason. ie, that was all it was ever worth.
BetweenBoats
Member
Very interesting replies to my original post. Thank you.
I should clarify something - I'm not looking for a an academic discount on a 150k boat. This will be my 5th boat, I've had 28ft boats and 65ft boats in that time. The next perfect boat for me happens to be 150k, but my budget right now is 100k - that's what I have in the bank. My wondering is, should I try to negotiate now, or save the additional 50k between now and say January and make an offer then.
I should clarify something - I'm not looking for a an academic discount on a 150k boat. This will be my 5th boat, I've had 28ft boats and 65ft boats in that time. The next perfect boat for me happens to be 150k, but my budget right now is 100k - that's what I have in the bank. My wondering is, should I try to negotiate now, or save the additional 50k between now and say January and make an offer then.
capsco
New member
I am rather surprised that the OP seems to need so much guidance, he's had quite a few boats, has not insignificant funds available, so is not stupid, so is he just a bored new poster?
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Deleted User YDKXO
Guest
Best time to buy is Nov/Dec when the interest generated by the Southampton show has evaporated and people are thinking about Christmas rather than buying boats. By January the London boat show may have perked up the market and the new season is not far away
Nick_H
Active member
OP's question was whether he's wasting his time offering £100k for a boat advertised at £150k. The answer is fairly clearly that he's not wasting his time, because the boat has been on the market for two years, the owner faces more costs to store it over the winter, it's a 40' sport cruiser on shafts which isn't what most buyers want at that size, and some boats do sell for a third less than they are advertised for. That doesn't mean it's guaranteed, or even likely, that the seller will accept, but he's certainly not wasting his time IMO.
ari
Well-known member
Nail hit on head. There's never any harm in having a conversation.
The only thing I'd say is, go and see the boat and talk to the owner ideally, or the broker if not, in person. I suspect (for the reasons given above of people making multiple offers) that a phone call along the lines of 'will you take £100K for that asking £150K boat?' is too easily answered 'no'.
Go see it, make the right noises, explain that you are serious and that you WILL buy if a deal can be reached (subject to...) but that this is the budget. If he'd like a fast sale then here is an opportunity.
It has worked for me in the past (albeit not quite as much of a percentage reduction, and to be honest, by the time I got the boat into good shape which was the reason it had been for sale for so long at a 'reasonable' price without selling, I hadn't saved much over buying a good boat at the 'right' price. In other words, I got what I paid for).
gjgm
Active member
If you are driven by price, yes. But if the interest form SBS means all the best boats have been negotiated haggled and sold, it doesnt sound like a great strategy...
Anyway, I think it just depends when the boat you actually want turns up on the market, and then ..well..you have to negotiate,eh ! There is no winning formula.
volvopaul
Well-known member
I thought exactly the same before I got to your post Peter, nothing wrong with any new user on here but I wonder if he's looking for a story for a magon boat prices and buyers attitudes. Prices in my view are still all over the place and have been for a long time. As someone said its no good buying the wrong boat just because its cheap.
BetweenBoats
Member
You're a suspicious lot!
My situation is as I said, been out of boats for a while, primarily due to the recession wiping me out. I'm very keen to get a boat for next year and very clear about what my budget is.
I've learned a lot from my past mistakes - previously, if a boat was out of my reach, I would mortgage a little more and get it. Not this time - I have 100k to spend and no more (unless I delay purchase) and the boat must fit that budget.
As I said, there's a couple of boats that suit me down to the ground that have been on the market for a while. They're both in the 150k range. I could see both boats, and they could be dogs. Alternatively, they could be great and all I ever hoped for. My question was simply if I like the boat and it's a good boat, it is unrealistic to attempt to buy a 150k boat for 100k? Or should I delay purchase and build a bigger fund.
No intention of buying a bad boat that fits the budget.
No conspiracy theories.
Thanks for the helpful replies.
