Buying a sailboat: how much to offer

[bubles]

Hi all,
I know this may sound like "how long is a piece of string", but I wanted to know your opinions about how much below the asking price sailboats are usually sold in the UK.
I was recently talking to a broker who was showing me one that was advertised for £7k but he told me it should be sold for £4-5k. I was surprised for the honesty and also for the huge drop in price (without me asking!). I am not trying to make money with my purchase, but just don't want to be the innocent guy offering the ask price when the seller is keen to reduce the price considerably.
Thanks

 

[K-ron]

Hi and welcome,
Brokers take a cut of any transaction so it is in there interest to "encourage" sales. My advice when buying a boat is to make a short list and then go and look at as many boats as possible. Then reduce your wish list to ideally one or two then try to go and see as many boats of that class as possible. That way you get to fully understand the market for your chosen boat, both advertised price and actual price sold for. Also when you visit yards and brokers you will find and see other boats. Armed with this knowledge you start to know what you want and what you are willing to pay. Ideally being able to travel helps, I brought a s**te car to go look at boats. Good luck.

 

[skipmac]

There is no standard of always offer XX% less than the asking price. Some sellers list their boats stupid high thinking their boat is better than the rest or trying to recoup every penny they ever spent on repairs and upgrades or sometimes because they really don't want to sell. Some sellers list their boat slightly high anticipating any buyer will offer less and leaving room to negotiate. Some sellers list their boat at a low price to get a quick sale and won't negotiate since they know it's already a good deal.

You need to make yourself an educated buyer. Look at other listings for the same boat on the internet to see their asking price. If you can't find listings for the same make and model then look at similar size, age and quality boats. Going into a purchase knowing the market will let you know when to pounce on a good deal, when to offer low and when to walk away.

 

[NormanB]

Offer about 10 pence more than the seller really wants.

 

[johnalison]

Many years ago I read an article about bargaining in which the advice was to screw the seller down until they lost their temper, when you would know that you were getting there. In the case of a salesman, the salesman would always win, but n boat sales the situation is complicated by the fact that you may be the last chance he has of selling.

 

[Tranona]

Down at that price level you can only offer what you think the boat is worth to you after having looked at all the alternatives you reasonably can.

Almost all boats will have significant negative aspects, mostly worn out gear so you have to judge whether you can use the boat with its current deficiencies or if you are willing to spend money, the final cost will be what you are prepared to live with. bear in mind that most of boats that you are looking at will end up being money pits if you keep them for any length of times - repairs and running costs dwarfing initial purchase price.

 

[jac]

Many years ago I read an article about bargaining in which the advice was to screw the seller down until they lost their temper, when you would know that you were getting there. In the case of a salesman, the salesman would always win, but n boat sales the situation is complicated by the fact that you may be the last chance he has of selling.

You're assuming the seller has to sell. I accepted about 96% of asking price. I had one stupid offer at about 85% of asking price.

As a seller you can weed out the people who are a waste of oxygen as a sale is a two way process, both parties have to be happy. Also bear in mind that as buyer, you're probably going to be relying on the seller to some extent. No where in the contract does it say that the seller has to do more than hand the boat and it's legal documents over.

Nothing that says the seller has to answer your questions, give you the instruction manuals for all the gear, show you all the boats wrinkles so think carefully before screwing every last penny out of the deal.

 

[grumpy_o_g]

Basically there's a top limit that you're willing to pay and a bottom limit to which he's willing to go. In between the two there's a band and, if the band has his bottom limit lower than your upper limit then a transaction should be possible. The problem is that not only is he not willing to tell you his limit and you not willing to tell him yours, those limits can usually be changed and often do during negotiations.

Sometimes you get a seller who is an experienced and reasonable person and sometimes you don't (we'll assume you are too for the moment though most have some requirement or behaviour that will appear unreasonable to the other party). A good broker will help smooth over any problems but do remember he or she is actually contracted to represent the best interests of the seller, no matter how reasonable and nice they appear.

Basically your task is to find out his lower limit and, if at all possible, get him to lower it even further and it's as "simple" as that. As said, the first stage to this is research - research the boat, the market, the area and the seller - especially the seller. In general I would advise against leaving the the seller feeling bitter if you possibly can. A happy vendor may throw in unexpected bonuses, from spares to a tip off about a cheap mooring. It also means that he will be more likely to help out with problems after the sale.

 

[bitbaltic]

Not surprised that a 7k boat might be available for 4-5k. A lot of boats in the sub 10k category (not all) are functionally worthless and it often boils down to a knackered engine costing more to replace than the whole boat plus a working engine is worth. At this price point I would suggest the OP tell us his budget and some particulars of the boat he is looking at because it sounds like a motivated sale, which could be any number of reasons including a broker delighted to finally move a poor boat. I would not be to worried about the etiquette of offers and negotiation, as much as this applies to anything it applies to newer, higher-value boats where plenty of similar, good condition boats are on the market. Old low value boats are bought exclusively on the condition of that boat alone-or should be, if a first time owner.

 

[ghostlymoron]

It's all about negotiation as grumpy o g has said. The complication with boats in this price bracket is that there's no 'Parkers guide' and sellers often over estimate the value of their boat because of what they've spent on it.
Only you can decide what it's worth to you. Then offer a bit less. If the seller wants more, walk - there's plenty of choice around.

 

[sailorman]

Sailboat Eh

 

[raymondmcm]

In all honesty I'd offer about 75% of what YOU think its worth.

 

[chrishelen]

I wanted 4 grand for my lovely Eventide about 10 years ago. A young lady offered me £500 more then the asking price because she thought I was under selling it. She still owns it and lives aboard full time.

 

[jac]

A happy vendor may throw in unexpected bonuses, from spares to a tip off about a cheap mooring. It also means that he will be more likely to help out with problems after the sale.

This is worth bearing in mind.

We've just agreed a price that was right at the minimum of what I would have accepted. 1 p less would have been a no.

As a result I've just removed 2 car loads of gear that was not boat equipment or on the inventory that otherwise I would have been happy to leave much of it. Must be a couple of grands worth of stuff new, a lot less 2-3 years old. Equally I' m happy to do a hand over / demo of gear / quick sea trial but as they bought at a bargain price I wouldn't be doing anything like helping to deliver to her new destination. Plenty of delivery skippers who will do it.

Buying is a two way process. Screw the buyer for every penny off that you can but don't be surprised if the seller then delivers the bare minimum to comply with the contract.

 

[sailorman]

This is worth bearing in mind.

We've just agreed a price that was right at the minimum of what I would have accepted. 1 p less would have been a no.

As a result I've just removed 2 car loads of gear that was not boat equipment or on the inventory that otherwise I would have been happy to leave much of it. Must be a couple of grands worth of stuff new, a lot less 2-3 years old. Equally I' m happy to do a hand over / demo of gear / quick sea trial but as they bought at a bargain price I wouldn't be doing anything like helping to deliver to her new destination. Plenty of delivery skippers who will do it.

Buying is a two way process. Screw the buyer for every penny off that you can but don't be surprised if the seller then delivers the bare minimum to comply with the contract.

Aint that the truth

 

[Malish]

Appreciate that the broker is a salesman ......... he could well show you a boat for £7k and say that it will sell for £4k..... A nice carrot to draw you in don't you think .........

 

[ostra4]

The last boat I sold I advertised at what I knew was a very reasonable price making it clear there was no room for negotiation , my eventual buyer came and spent many hours going over the boat, a night on board on the hard as we were in Greece in winter and we also had meals together .It was I hope for both of us a pleasurable experience and I certainly went above and beyond both to achieve a sale and because the potential buyer was clearly being not trying to screw me for every penny .A year after the boat was sold to the above buyer who happened to be French I was having a clear out of my loft and found the nearly new yanmar instrument panel I'd bought years ago as an eBay bargain , I contacted the guy in France to see if he still had my old boat which he did and sent him the panel which I know I could have sold for a couple of hundred quid at least .Iknow my gesture was appreciated ,just be careful you don't piss someone off when you want there boat ,there are plenty of good genuine sellers out there who want their boat to be looked after and enjoyed by the new owner so goodwill is worth such a lot .Good luck with your purchase .

 

[GrahamM376]

Some good advice above. When you've shopped around to compare with other offerings then, whatever you decide to buy, don't go ahead without a survey unless you have enough knowledge yourself. Very easy to get bitten, particularly with first boat.