Boat purchase in Phuket

[spottydog]

Having recently returned from 10 days sailing in the bay bounded by Phuket and Thailand I would like to purchase and keep a boat there. I have found a couple of boats that I feel are suitable and I can afford, one offered through a broker and the other a private sale. I have no knowledge or experience of buying a vessel abroad, I am told in Thailand there are very few trading protection laws. All of which makes me nervous.
Has anyone any experience and or advice on how to proceed ( or not ). All suggestions wellcome, favourable or not.

 

[Sea Devil]

I spent quite a lot of time in Phuket - had major surgery in the hospital there on a new years eve. Purchased some gold items in a little shop which turned out to be of the higest quality when I had them valued in France.

Whilst I have no specific knowlage of their laws it is a very civilised and ancient civilisation and reckon you are no more at risk than in Europe or UK... You could get a Thia lawyer to check it out I suppose..

 

[Koeketiene]

First of all: the location worries me.
How much do you know about boats? Boats you are looking at are most likely insurance write offs left from the Boxing Day tsunami.
As you said: there are very few laws in place in Thailand protecting the buyer. Would not consider a buy without a full survey.
Next: are you planning to bring to boat back to the UK (or EU)? RCD & VAT status spring to mind immediately.

Why not look around in Grenada? Simmilar boats on the market left over from the last hurricane. Their legal system is based on ours, so should be more familiar.

 

[Sea Devil]

Grenada is nice but Phuket is far nicer - the islands around there make the Caribbean look like a slum - also the tsunami really did not affect the bay -

The indian ocean side with the holiday resorts suffered badly but where the marinas and main anchorages are the boats were hardly touched.

considering how relativly inexpensive charter flights are and the excellent marinas and facilities I would have thought it was quite a good place to keep a boat.

I do not think sailing it back to the UK is an option many people have time for - long way with the choice of pirates or cape of good hope - looking at a couple of months at very very best.

 

[spottydog]

The area I am looking to buy a boat from suffered no damage at all from the Tsunami and the 2 boats are from the marina I chartered from. I, of course will get a full survey it was more the actual procedure of purchase when the purchaser is many thousands of miles away and any advice on ways of protecting myself from being rippedoff.

 

[Sea Devil]

Are the vendors Thai or European? The Marine broker ?

 

[spottydog]

The Broker is Thai with premises in Phuket and Thailand.