Buying from South of France - tips on where to look

[Solent Sailor]

Hi everyone

We've narrowed down our search to three boats at present, the Prestige 46, Antares 13.80 and Rodman 41.

We're planning to visit the South of France next week to visit several of these - mostly around Marseilles/Toulon, but a couple in the far west.

I'm happy that I've explored most options that are shown online, but are there any specific places that we should consider looking between Port St. Louis and the Spanish border? We will have quite a drive between the two and if there are places that are worth looking into on spec, then we will probably have the time to do so.

Thanks.

 

[mcanderson]

This is in the opposite direction, but an easy drive from Toulon (Antares 13.80)

http://www.annoncesbateau.fr/bateau-moteur/occasion-annonce-829566.html

 

[BartW]

between Port st Louis and Toulon, ... (and possibly Frejus)
is quite some distance, and will take the best part of the day !

don't forget to stop for lunch or... in Cassis and or Sanary sur mer,
my 2 favourite places in the region,
and enjoy being there !

we all like wandering in marina's
but my approach for searching a boat is / was, browsing the internet, getting detailed info and pics per mail, and than narrow down to REAL candidates,
and then do a visit and thorrow inspection on these boats,
this way you can't do much more than 2 baots a day....(depending distance ofcause)

 

[Solent Sailor]

This is in the opposite direction, but an easy drive from Toulon (Antares 13.80)

http://www.annoncesbateau.fr/bateau-moteur/occasion-annonce-829566.html

Thanks, seen that.

 

[Solent Sailor]

between Port st Louis and Toulon, ... (and possibly Frejus)
is quite some distance, and will take the best part of the day !

don't forget to stop for lunch or... in Cassis and or Sanary sur mer,
my 2 favourite places in the region,
and enjoy being there !

we all like wandering in marina's
but my approach for searching a boat is / was, browsing the internet, getting detailed info and pics per mail, and than narrow down to REAL candidates,
and then do a visit and thorrow inspection on these boats,
this way you can't do much more than 2 baots a day....(depending distance ofcause)

Absolutely - we can make several trips if needs be, and have already identified the ones we're most keen on. My point was just that if there were other ports that were worth looking into, it would be good to know, because not everyone advertises as prominently online as each other, and I have had some good deals in the past by approaching things from unconventional angles!

 

[mcanderson]

You might want to try looking at some of the port/marina websites as they might offer a 'for sale' section. Ours (Beaulieu sur Mer) does and some of the locals use it to advertise their boats.

Also have you tried le bon coin? A French version of gumtree that you can narrow down a search on. Link - https://www.leboncoin.fr/

 

[Solent Sailor]

You might want to try looking at some of the port/marina websites as they might offer a 'for sale' section. Ours (Beaulieu sur Mer) does and some of the locals use it to advertise their boats.

Also have you tried le bon coin? A French version of gumtree that you can narrow down a search on. Link - https://www.leboncoin.fr/

Thanks - just the type of thing I was looking for.

The brokers would be fine if some of them would occasionally answer the phone or respond to emails. You would wonder if some of them actually want to sell their boats!

 

[mcanderson]

The good ones will get back to you. We bought our current boat through a French brokerage last year and the broker we dealt with was very very good. Sea trial on 14 July and nothing too much trouble. keep plugging away.

 

[iapetus]

There are a quite large marinas further east, especially on the Côte d'Azur proper. Marina Baie-des-Anges, Golfe-Juan, Mandelieu, Hyères, Fréjus, Santa-Lucia (St Raphael), Cannes...

For example, I see two P46s for sale in Golfe-Juan, just east of Cannes, one in Saint-Laurent-du-Var (close to Nice), another one in Frejus, etc.

As mcanderson wrote above, don't hesitate to call some brokers. There are pretty reputable/reliable ones (yes, even in Southern France), and our buying experience was very good (first, they answered our mail, and called back multiple times to discuss options. Then came in our current boat, which wasn't even listed yet in their books as it was somehow a panic sale, we were first to make an offer and got a really good deal).

 

[KINGFISHER 8]

Down near the Spanish border you might try Alliance 66 at Canet and Marine Center at St.Cyprien ... both advertise on their own websites and also on EYB. Both are main dealers for Beneteau and Jeanneau and always have plenty of used stock.