Buying a new boat at the Southampton Show

Nothing too specific but the exhibitors like to crow after the event about how many orders they took so they are in the right frame of mind to do a deal. They often have "boat show offers" in the form of bolt on nice to haves like a wheelpilot that have a high book value but don't cost them that much to give. Part ex can be an issue - most of them would broker your boat for you at a reduced rate but Px isn't that common - I think there are a couple of dealers who do but others can advise you. You will certainly do better financially (as with a car) if you sell privately and come to them as a cash buyer IMHO. If you aren't absolutely fussy about what extras are on the boat see what stock boats they have - they are always keen to get rid of those.
 
prv said:
+1 - I think motorboat dealers do it occasionally, but it really doesn't work the same way as cars.

Pete
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I did a deal on a sense a few years back and managed to PX a 7 year old 40 footer for a 50 foot. but its rare.

prefer really to buy a boat that a few years old with problems sorted and a lot of kit on it already.
 
We had a look at the London show this year, there were definitely some excellent offers available (discounts, inclusive commissioning, cruising packs etc) from the usual suspects (don't think Dufour were there), but the longer you waited the higher the price... so if you were able to proceed there and then you'd get a good deal. So they'll certainly take you order!

No idea on the p/x question though.
 
Unless things have changed a lot over the last two years, they are desperate for the business and there are some very good deals to be had if you are a good negotiator.

We were looking for a new boat two years ago and had narrowed it down to three options - all in the £200k to £250k range. The main dealer of one of the big name brands had come up with a package that we could have at about £210k and we had told him we would go along to see one and take it out for a spin. We subsequently decided to go for one of the other two options and negotiated a decent price - put down a deposit. A couple of days after that, the other main dealer called me to see when we were going along for our demonstration run and we told him we were very sorry, but we had decided to go for one of his competitors. Without a moment's hesitation he asked if an extra £50k off the price would change our minds? (It didn't)

Everyone we spoke to was happy to offer part exchange.
 
There's a lot of wriggle room in their pricing. I wouldn't necessarily rush to do a deal at the Show; you may find that there are better offers in the dark days of winter.
 
pvb said:
There's a lot of wriggle room in their pricing. I wouldn't necessarily rush to do a deal at the Show; you may find that there are better offers in the dark days of winter.
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Probably right. Our experience was as the end of the year approached - they have a certain quota of boats they have to sell to keep the franchise and I'm sure he was offering it effectively at cost price to make his numbers up.
 
maby said:
Unless things have changed a lot over the last two years, they are desperate for the business and there are some very good deals to be had if you are a good negotiator.

.
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I suspect they may well have changed a lot. 2 years ago was in the middle of the recession when people were hanging onto their money. Currently I am in the market for a new touy car looking at Lambo/ Ferrari / Aston and without any exaggeration the prices of the second hand ones I'm looking at have gone up by 20 to 30% since end 2014. Whats more I am finding many of them selling within a few days of first appearing on the market. Maybe its the new pension regs or maybe just the poor bank interest rates but I guess that the boat market will be similarly active. But the one thing you do have going for you is the strong pound.

Nothing lost by asking but when I did last look at changing the boat, the only part ex deals I could get were at a heavy discount to normal second hand prices.
 
PX prices will always be low in comparison with the theoretical resale value, but boats seem to sell slowly and the cost of ownership can be very high. I've watched people advertising a second hand boat at an optimistic price while keeping it on a marina berth that's costing £5k per annum. Sometimes, the boat has been on the market for a couple of years without selling and the owner has hardly used it - add the cost of insurance and maintenance and they could have knocked £10k off the asking price and probably still come out in pocket.
 
Laundryman said:
I'm looking for a new AWB 37-38ft subject to them taking my existing boat in part ex. Looking at closer to £100k than £150k. Has anyone who has done similar any advice or words of wisdom please? Thanks Alan
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I have bought two Hanses a 312 and lately a 345 at SBS over 10 years from Inspiration Marine (at Hamble Point) both times they have taken my previous boat in part exchange although they will put it through Michael Schmidt brokers prior to the delivery date to try to get you a better deal than the back up PX - which I have acheived on both occasions.
 
Laundryman said:
I'm looking for a new AWB 37-38ft subject to them taking my existing boat in part ex. Looking at closer to £100k than £150k. Has anyone who has done similar any advice or words of wisdom please? Thanks Alan
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Think you will struggle to get a 37' anywhere near £100k. A well specced Bavaria 37 is around £125k. However, list price is largely irrelevant other than as a benchmark for comparing boats. If you are part exchanging the only price that matters is the price to change, that is the net cost to you after they have taken your boat. The comparison then is with what you believe you could net for your existing boat by selling it against the best price you can get for buying the new one cash. The unknown in this is the price you get for your old boat and the uncertainty of timing.

I have just been through this and with one boat i was offered a heavily discounted boat (as it was a model about to go out) with a 6 month free storage and no commission brokerage deal. On another a reasonable part exchange but no discount on list and the one I bought a similar part exchange but a significant discount on the list plus a couple of good "free" extras. Deal went very smoothly and as you will see elsewhere took delivery today (whoops now yesterday!). I don't think based on the response when trying to sell the boat on brokerage that I would have got a better deal selling first and then getting a discount. I also got exactly the boat I wanted (rather than a stock boat) when I wanted it and the old one is no longer my responsibility.

So, you have to weigh up the deals on offer and look at the net benefits, not just financial. Deals will be around at the boat show - they are already being widely advertised. For example you can get a £17k discount on list on a Hanse 345 if you order it now - but probably no pex and Clipper have a number of boats in stock or on the way. The strong £ will have an effect and prices are unlikely to rise, even if the euro prices do as expected.

PM me if you would like more details of what I got.
 
I managed to do a PX on my Moody 336 against a new 12 mt Dufour six years ago , I ended up getting what I paid for the moody when I brought it 13 years early , off the price of the new Dufour plus some extra packages throwing , good deal at the time , especially has I got 50k for the Moody and if I sold it thought a broker I would had ended up with no more then 30k if I was lucky , plus I didn't have the hassle of trying to sell it , so yes some dealers will do PX , one dealer you might like to consider if you interested in a Ben , is Foxes they may not still do it , but what they use to do is you let them have your boat on there brokerages and if it not sold by the time the new boat arrived then they will take it in PX price agreed before hand , might be worth having a word, personally I wouldn't buy another new boat for lots of reasons , but hey , it an exciting time for you .
Good luck and enjoy .
 
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We bought new 41ft AWB two years ago and part exchanged a 10 year old 36ft AWB into the deal. The list price is pretty meaningless. Ours was a stock boat and already had a lot of options fitted. We asked for a few more creature comforts (should I be embarrassed to say that this included a TV antenna?). Once we had agreed a specification the negotiation started. I could say that including a reasonable price for my old boat, I still had >£40k taken off the list price but as I've said, it's pretty meaningless. The only important figure is the cash you hand over. Does it represent value against your very precious recreational aspirations?

Perhaps also I should add that there is something very, very special in taking hand-over of a brand new boat! Go for it!
 
Clarke and Carter on the East Coast do part exchange. I saw a new Jen 34 on the hard at Levington at £99950 and they are offering p/a on it .They usually have bigger boats as well.
They sometimes go to SIBS.It may be worth a call.
 
The level of the deal sometimes depends on whether the dealer has a boat in stock which is costing them in cash flow terms, has one coming through or needs a sale to meet a manufacturers target.

Manufacturers who build boats and sell to order tend to be less flexible especially if they have a forward order book.
 
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ditchcrawler said:
Clarke and Carter on the East Coast do part exchange. I saw a new Jen 34 on the hard at Levington at £99950 and they are offering p/a on it .They usually have bigger boats as well.
They sometimes go to SIBS.It may be worth a call.
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C&C are good - we bought our previous boat from them and they accepted PX. Nice people to deal with
 
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