Buy a new boat from Europe

[robinborton]

I have been procrastinating over buying a new boat from a dealer on the South coast but the boat is built in Finland.Now I have a friend in Finland so I asked him to get me a price in Finland and would you believe it I can save £10,000 less delivery.On an £80,000 boat an £8,000 saving is worth having even if I lose some on the exchange rate.
Have I missed something ?
Robin

 

[jfm]

Yes......all sounds good, a few thoughts:

VAT will be paid in the UK not Finland. If your friend quoted a VAT inclusive Finalnd price, you will do even better becuz Finalnd VAT is 22% (I think) whereas UK only 17.5%

However you may have to manage the cash flow. You may have to pay the Finland VAT then get it back a couple of months later, meantime you might have to pay the UK VAT

Don't understand why you will lose on FX. You can buy the Euros that you will need forward, so the FX rate is fixed

I assume the specs are the same for the UK market and Finland market boats, or you have costed out the difference?

 

[Guest]

Don't know about real boats, but in the early nineties I bought a couple of seadoo jet skies in Holland. Ran them for a season, got very bored with them, and sold them for a small profit. Both my cars are Euro imports now as well with no problems.For these kind of savings I'd give it a go.

 

[Piers]

VAT is one cost - the CE verification and marking another.

Piers du Pre
MBM Cruising Club enthusiast
www.dupre.co.uk

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Showing my ignorance here but is'nt Finland already in the EC in which case the manufacturer has to CE mark the boat if its sold in Finland. Anyway, if the boat is sold in Europe generally, CE marking should'nt be a problem

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

One of the problems you will have is getting warranty problems fixed as the UK dealer will not want to know you. Speak to the supplying dealer/manufacturer in Finland about the problem - they may agree to accept invoices from UK repairers. You should'nt have a problem with the engine(s) -Volvo, I presume - as the engine manufacturer's warranty is probably worldwide or at least European
As jfm says, currency is not a problem as you can buy forward - just speak to your bank. VAT is a cashflow problem but you could get round this if you own a UK VAT registered company. By giving the Finnish supplier your VAT no, the supplier can invoice your company ex-VAT and then your company sells it onto yourself + UK VAT. Your accountant may take a dim view of this.
If the UK dealer will not budge on his price, for a £6000 saving I would look at this seriously. I would also ask the UK dealer why the price difference exists