Has Anyone Sold A secndhand Boat Recently?

[ianphillips]

I know of several boats on south coast, including our own, which have been on the market for some months now, but have not heard of anyone recently selling a secondhand boat. (Judging by the ads, brokers included!)


Has anyone sold their boat in recent weeks? If so how and did you have to accept a silly offer?

 

[lyc]

This last 2 weeks have gone to look at 3 which I was told had just arrived in and within 3 days of their arrival had been sold. On one boat I was the 6th person on its first day to look at it and an offer had been put in. All were priced between £72000-£90000.

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by lc on Wed Sep 26 07:11:27 2001 (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[c_j]

The boats either side of me in the Marina are for sale, both Princess, V40 and V42 and every time I have been to the Marina recently (most days) there has been some interest in one or other of the boats. There are I think a number of people getting out of boating but at present there seem to be a number looking.

The V42 is I think practically sold with two people keen. If the bottom falls out of my world and I have to give up the boat then if I cannot sell it I will park it in the back garden and pretend.

I am not sure from which industry the majority of boat owners emerge but I think construction related has its fair share and at present developers and people involved in property are having a good time. The recession in houseing will I think follow other downturns, but perhaps not for a while and until then there is equity around to finance the boat.

The Southampton boat show was full of visitors and remember this is not the best time to sell your boat with the new owner having little to look forward too except upkeep and bills until Spring and only snatching the odd day of good Winter weather.

Me? I am expecting an Indian Summer!

 

[BarryD]

Speaking as someone buying (OK at the lower end) interest on boats for sale seems high with the brokers running around a lot. Quite a few that I have thought "hmmm that looks interesting" have gone to offer in less than a week.

Right boat, right time I guess.

Barry D.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

I talked to one broker recently who said the bottom has fallen out of the market this year thanks, presumably, to the dotcom crash (no tears from me), falling stock markets generally and looming recession. The terrible events in NY will only serve to increase uncertainty
I sold my previous boat back in Feb this year but I had to take a 26' sports boat in p/x. The broker said it would sell quickly but it took nearly 6 months to sell even with a price cut. I bought another boat in March and, judging by the ads, most of the boats I looked at then are still on the market now.
More anecdotal evidence. Apparently Sealine sold only just more than half the number of boats at this years SBS compared to last year, apparently Fairline have plenty of new boats in stock and some Brooms are on unusually short deliveries
Should be some bargains about come mid-winter?

 

[Gludy]

From the other angle, I have just bought my first boat in the last week (38 foot) and the owner is now purchasing a much bigger boat (43 to 50 foot).
Having said that, and considering the commission earned by the broker (in excess of £16000), I am frankly amazed to find how rude and difficult the broker was as I watched the person who I had purchased the boat from fail to return calls, fail to make appintments with days of notice, just fail to treat this cash buyer with a few hundred thousand in his pocket with any respect at all.
I am new to boating so any observations I make are only made with limited experience but I am an experienced businessman and frankly find the boating 'business' to be a cosy world that is still living in the past, overcharging and in need of a rude awakening. This applies to a wide section of the boating business I have dealt with. Only this morning, after ordering a about 9 charts from the shop on this site, I get three charts in the post with no notification or paperwork of any kind to indicate when the others will arrive, no invoice - just three charts in a packet. Whilst this example is small, the attitude seems to run through the boating world.
Back to the point. Boating is like housing I guess, the first time buyers start the sequence off and the boating industry, in my view, does not do a good job in encouraging first time buyers.

 

[duncan]

I couldn't agree more with your sentiment.

Th ethings that make a difference to our purchasing habits ar, in the boating world, unfortunately subject to restricted choice in many cases - examples would include harbourmasters (good ones lead to busy (but well organised)harbours, marina staff - good ones lead to full marinas.
Chandlers seem to be relying on a decreasing number of sources for their wares, and even the outlets themselves are decreasing in number as they merge etc

enjoy your 'new' boat - and get away from the hassle!

 

[byron]

I sold around June of this year and took a nonsense price for the boat. However I bought too at a 'fair' price.

©2001

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

I could'nt agree with you more. Broking is a sort of closed shop cottage industry designed mainly for the benefit of brokers not their customers. I am most definitely not an estate agent but a comparison is valid because some boats cost as much as a house.
For a 1.5 - 2.0% fee, an estate agent comes to your house, measures all the rooms, takes pictures, produces a leaflet (in many cases colour), advertises in the press, shows round prospective buyers, negotiates with the eventual buyer, chases up the 'professionals' and facilitates the deal.
For a 6 - 8% fee, a boat broker asks the vendor for the specifications, asks the vendor to supply photos, prepares a crappy A4 spec sheet riddled with errors, fails to advertise your boat as promised, lobs the keys at any prospective buyer, has nothing to do with the survey and keeps the buyers money in his account for as long as possible
Just about the only 'service' a broker supplies over and above an estate agent is supposedly to check title but, in my experience, I doubt very much whether this is properly carried out in most cases.
So, which one supplies better value? There are some brokers around who do a good job but they seem to be outnumbered by the wasters

 

[ChrisP]

We sold ours last month. On the market for a month and took what we were looking for. We expected a realistic number and got it. The only people who are waiting are the ones with the telephone number included in the price. Be realistic and stop expecting to get a massive profit over what you paid. Biggest loss is the brokers fee. 8% +VAT for little effort.

 

[Guest]

On the subject of brokers and photographs etc I just happened to pick up a used boat show catalogue to find a picture of MY boat in it, I walked away from them telling myself the boat was Definitely not for sale!.

 

[Guest]

Recently bought Princess 35. got 12% off asking price included £600 tender, colour TV , full service on engines and 3 months berthing in marina. Paid 64k