Buying in Europe

[Johnboy2004]

hi folks, i am based in Ireland, and thinking of buying a boat in europe, i have heard that you can make good savings by buying the boat, from a dealer close to the factory.... is this true? also are there any dangers/pitfalls from going this route rather than buying in dublin?

are there any vat implications?


cheers

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[chrisb]

I think you are stuck with VAT but you can choose to pay it elsewhere if you can find a better rate ie french tva rather than vat. I DON T know if you have to pay the balance if you then import home and vat is greater. The big advantage to UK purchasers untill recently was the strength of the pound but as you are in the euro you willnot have this benefit.Transport by road is expensive but i got the impression last year that commisioning was fairly standard. It is worth checking out some dealers on the web-

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[irishmark]

heard recently that if you buy a boat in malta before apr 1st that you can pay a redauced rate 12 % or so and have the boat vat paid when malta joins the eu. One of the biggest boat dist in malta is also in ireland mg marine or something like that, and you don't even have to have the boat over there..................

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[stiknstring]

Hello, Johnbuoy-

I bought in France & took advantage of then, a weak euro. All went well. Visited the factory for the technical acceptance with the dealer's engineers. Best of all though was negotiating an interest free loan in France. Well, it wasn't actually interest free, but the French Government rebated 50% of the VAT to the mortgage company as an incentive for the financing. Effect however is that I only pay (paid) an amount exactly equivalent to the capital sum borrowed. And this was for a German boat bought by a Brit from a French dealer!

What really led me to this was an unhelpful response from the UK dealership to me as a serious buyer at the UK dealership (the sales-prevention commitee!). The service I received in France was exemplary - and even the warranty issues (two small ones) were handled quickly and efficiently.

Let me know if you want more details of the financing....

Good luck

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