Buying New question

[Johnboy2004]

hello
i have bought a new boat, expecting delivery in may.
the dealer told me that i would have to pay in full for it two weeks before it arrives.

is this normal practice?

he also said that i wouldnt have the title documents until the boat arrives,

from what i see there is an element of risk involved, what if the company goes under before my boat arrives, and i have no tital documents to the boat? then i guess i would loose out, and loose my money?

also i read the article in aprils sailing magazine, where people lost money,
made me very wary ......

any advice?



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[alan]

From my experience this seems to be the case, at least with Beneteau. Apparently Beneteau insist on being paid before the boat will leave the factory gates; obviously the dealer will not front up the money, so it is up to Joe Muggins to take the risk!! Yes, I would agree with you, if the selling agency goes bust before you get your boat or the title documents then the boat could be nabbed by the receivers - at least in theory.
But that seem to be the way it works ............ at least here in Italy; but I have never heard of anyone having this problem. I would say it pays to buy from a respected agency/boatyard.

Good luck.

Alan.
Nettuno, Italy.

<hr width=100% size=1>Alan Cloke

 

[boatless]

From memory, there's no reason that the dealer can't give you a Bill of Sale in exchange for your final payment. Ask them well before you hand it over.

Are you paying cash or using a finance company? If the latter, I believe that they will give you some protection in the case of liquidation/disputed ownership.

Have close experience of this twice. In the first case it was a Benetau and they were big enough to pass title to the boat direct to the owner, even though the agent went belly up with their money. In the second case the agent (an employee of the dodgy dealer) warned me and stamped a Bill of Sale before the boat arrived. As a precaution I got a solicitor to put an "Interlocatary (sp?) injunction" on the boat and had it 'hidden' until the case was resolved.

<hr width=100% size=1>my opinion is complete rubbish, probably.

 

[tony_brighton]

It is normal practice with all the big companies. If its a respectable dealer the funds should be held in a nominee account and not fundged with the dealers own accounts and this should provide you with some protection - definitely worth checking though.

Also - check with the dealer on the status - its likely that ownership resides with the manufacturer (not the dealer) until handover so your credit question is how likely is Beneteau to go under vs. your local dealer. At handover you get the title docs - unless you have a mortgage on the boat in which case the mortgagee keeps their sticky fingers on them and you get a bill of sale.


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[pandroid]

Interesting. With HR you pay the last third on collection. The contract is also with HR not with the broker. You can also take out a bank guarantee if you want (but at a price. Its fairly obvious that if you CAN take out a bank guarantee, the chances are you dont need to....)

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[ChrisIp]

Hi John,

I am aware of some companies who use a third party to hold the money until the delivery of goods but I have not heard of this with the boat industry. It would be a way of taking the risk out of the situation then if the buyer is not satisfied or the goods don't arrive his money would be returned.

Chris

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[ubuysa]

Perhaps you could find a specialist insurer who'd be prepared to insure you against the potential loss? Shouldn't be prohibitively expensive??

Tony C.

<hr width=100% size=1>There are 10 kinds of people, those who understand binary and those who don't.

 

[shamrock]

I don't know if this is possible, but you are probably paying a portion for the boat and another charge for 'delivery and commissioning' My observation (of friends and realtives with new boats) is that the boat arrives but the commissioning can (does!) leave niggles and problems to be sorted out.

Why not try to pay for the boat but withold the commissioning payment until that is completed, then pay half on handover and perhaps leave the other half in escrow or solicitors for one month against resolution of any problems.

Dealers are often charging you huge amounts for installation (i.e. see April YM review of the Legend - how do wind instruments cost 6.5k as an extra? - takes less than a day to fit 1500 quid's worth of kit. Custom gold plating?) So use that to try and ensure you have some leverage to get things fixed.

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[davidwf]

Have gone throughthis three times now, its common practice, if a little nerve wracking. However the dealer can insure the money against receivership etc.

From the dealers point of view its vital that they do it because if the manufacturer went bust your contract is with the dealer and you would probably cause them to fold if push came to shove.

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[Andy_H]

When we bought, we paid the money into a holding account that could only be released with the signatories of both parties (I think this is called an escrow account).
Has your agent offered this?

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