Buying a Pre-owned Yacht vs a New Yacht

[Paul D H]

This is probably difficult to answer, with many possible variables.

However, as a general rule, what would people recommend?
1) Buying a Pre-owned Privilege series 5 2015 or a newer Pre-owned 2019 Lagoon 50 ft for approximately the same money?

2) Or are you better to buy a new Yacht, but a smaller size & brand that meets your budget?

The use would be for a family of 4 (kids, 8 & 11 years old) to live on board & travel for a year.

 

[Tony Cross]

When we were buying, the general advice was that if you buy new then plan to sail close to the dealer for the first year to make it easy to get all the snags fixed quickly.

 

[Cloud 5]

Totally agree , allow a year to sort out snags on a new yacht , never again , been there .

 

[jordanbasset]

I would go second hand, the snags are normally sorted out and a lot of the 'extras' that are often essentials have been added and you normally get a lot more for your money
I notice you are talking about boats that are quite new anyway, 5 years or only one year old, chances are little will need replacing so the best of both worlds
Having said that I would not rule out an older second hand boat, there are some very good ones out there. I also would not limit yourself to specific models at this time, unless you have already done your home work and you really want one of those two you mention

 

[Ningaloo]

I'm going to contradict the previous advice and say buy new if you can afford it. Nothing like the joy of specifying exactly what you want and (maybe) seeing I being built in the factory.
Like houses, boats are complicated and largely assembled by hand so there may be snags. Most of these will be picked up by a good dealer at or before handover.

On handover I needed replacement reef line (too short), adjustment to steering (cables too tight) and some mastic residue removed from the hatchway.

I took ownership in Germany and based myself at the marina adjacent to the yard for three years, but after handover I didn't return there for 4 months, 1,600Nm.

Overwinter I had the floor boards trimmed (to stop squeaking) and the masthead wind sensor replaced (intermittent faults).

There were further warranty issues over the next season but nothing that I couldn't fix myself once replacement parts has been obtained via the dealer.

On the plus side I had brand new electronics, sails and running rigging. 5 year old electronics may not be supported with upgrades and anything much older may be totally obsolete. And new running rigging makes reefing so easy.

If buying a used boat I would budget for replacing the MFD and running rigging at the very least. Maybe sails too if you want to race or performance.

I am not familiar with the brands you have mentioned but I do think the the new boat experience is enhanced greatly by a good dealer. Inspiration Marine (UK Hanse dealer) who I bought from have an excellent reputation.

 

[Koeketiene]

Both new and used boats will need fixing.
But with new boats you have to be sure to identify all the things to be fixed before the warranty runs out.

 

[Cloud 5]

With a fresh used boat , and a detailed survey , having owned 9 boats that’s the way to go . OR keep your new boat local to dealer.

 

[sailaboutvic]

We had new and I would never buy new again , for a start forget the price you pay there going to be many Moreno thousand to spend especially if it's going to be used as a cruising or liveaboard boat .
We spend most of the first year arguing with the dealer Dufour to get repairs done even threatening them with court action ,
In the end near the end of the warranty we ended doing repairs at our own cost .
The biggest item the think about is how much valve it lose in a very short time .

 

[Cloud 5]

We had new and I would never buy new again , for a start forget the price you pay there going to be many Moreno thousand to spend especially if it's going to be used as a cruising or liveaboard boat .
We spend most of the first year arguing with the dealer Dufour to get repairs done even threatening them with court action ,
In the end near the end of the warranty we ended doing repairs at our own cost .
The biggest item the think about is how much valve it lose in a very short time .

Totally agree , I am 14 months since delivery and still trying to get things sorted .

 

[nortada]

New boat - once in a lifetime is enough??

 

[shan]

We have not bought new but the money we saved buying used more than paid for the things we wanted changed several times over.

 

[Skylark]

I'm going to contradict the previous advice and say buy new if you can afford it. Nothing like the joy of specifying exactly what you want and..............

+1, couldn’t agree more. Handover of a new boat is a very special, unequaled experience. Not only are all of the boat systems new but so too are mattresses, heads and galley equipment.

 

[Paul D H]

Thank you, everyone. Some very interesting replies that I did not expect. I will take on the advice you have provided.

 

[Graham376]

We had the choice of buying new Bav, Ben, Jan etc. or older second hand and refitting. Chose the latter and never regretted it.