How much to bid

bugs

bugs

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Is there a typical % of cost to remove from the asking price for a second hand boat? I was thinking of offering 10-15% less than the asking price? Should i shoot lower or is even 10% expecting too much? (Boat is for sale through a broker.)
thoughts appreciated.
bugs
 
I'd start even lower if it's a mass market boat. Everything I've heard lately implies that secondhand boats are sticking unless they are from the upmarket brands.

If you're not desperate, it might be worth waiting until the winter when the economy could be quite unpleasant and the vendors don't have a summer of sailing to look forward to, and then go in with ridiculous offers.

However, if the boat you're after is a rare example, is absolutely what you MUST have, and there's no chance of finding another like it, then start 'attractively low' and be prepared to move up if you have to.
 
It depends on the seller I've been offered 15% off my asking price and turned it down. I have a budget for trading up and I know what my boat is worth to me. If it does not sell I still have what I consider to be a nice vessel. If however, I was giving up boating, that would be a different matter.
 
I reckon it depends a lot of things:
- How badly you want that particular boat.
-What sort of boat it is - a common boat will have lots of others to compare with, so it's easier to know what others are asking (which isn't the same as what they're getting!)
- What you can afford. I called up about a boat that was up for £X and said that the absolute maximum I could afford was £X-10%. Is there any point in coming to look? The seller said yes and I eventually bought the boat for £x - 15%

A DIY pre-offer survey is always a good idea. You can base your offer on the asking cost less any necessary repairs and upgrades that aren't mentioned in the sellers spiel. Your final offer's always going to be subject to survey anyway, unless the boats's too cheap to warrant the cost of the survey, in which case take a mate who knows his stuff along to help you.

You can always leave a silly offer on the table if you aren't in a hurry. I reckon any seller in the present economical climate is going to be nervous and if yours is the only offer, you might get lucky
 
I offered 50% on my last boat. Settled on 58%. I was going to walk away at any higher than that because of the state it was in (mostly but not all cosmetic, none of it very expensive in terms of materials but definitely time consuming.
I've just looked at a 26' Hunter with someone else, and it was in a terrible state. Said to be in 'excellent condition', all the interior joinery was badly finished, leaking windows and damp upholstery, engine looked like a scrap yard. At boatyard prices it would have cost a fortune to sort it out, so the 18k asking price should have been 12k in my view.
It's your cheque book - offer what you think it's worth, be prepared to justify that offer, and be prepared to walk away.
 
Lot of sense in what ken says - things can only get worse, and the trouble with looking at boats is that most people find it difficult to hold themselves back once they start looking. "I will not buy the first boat I see" you say to yourself - and then promptly do so.

We brits seem to find it difficult to offer really low prices through a broker - even worse direct to the owner. But if you are prepared to wait and it is a standard AWB, then I might be tempted to offer 60%. All you need is to find a buy to let landlord who is getting desperate for cash (and there will soon be plenty about)! But be prepared for some rude responses.

The seller of a home built boat / a non standard boat/ a concrete boat etc will be even more desperate but be careful here - what is offered at low prices to buy can be very difficult to sell particularly in the bad market we are heading for.

Quality boats with an international following (eg HR) - maybe 15% off.
 
[ QUOTE ]
You can always leave a silly offer on the table if you aren't in a hurry. I reckon any seller in the present economical climate is going to be nervous and if yours is the only offer, you might get lucky

[/ QUOTE ]
I did that 18 months ago. It was refused. I said I would remain interested at that price. 3 months later I discovered it had just been sold at that offer price . I was not impressed. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
 
As a seller, is it better to receive offers you decide to turn down, or no offers at all?
Ask a broker for an off the record chat about what's changed hands lately for how much.
I took quite a large discount when I sold, because I wanted to save this years running costs and devote more time to other things.
I suppose the discount relative to the asking price isn't the point, as many asking prices are often unreal to start with. From commiserating with other sellers I reckon prices are down an average of 15-20% on last year, but buyers have more choice, so anything that needs work is hit harder.
At least I didn't have finance on the ***** thing.
To return to your question, if you sense that someone is keen to sell, offering about 33% off of last years asking price if that makes any sense, might be a starting point. Get some old Yot mags and check past prices. Ask around the class association. Give yourself a choice if possible, as a seller, it's not ideal to get a tentative offers, but the only way to learn the market is dialogue.
The main thing though is to end up with a good boat, not a boat you got cheap. You might need to keep it for a few years!
 
Just looked at a sailing boat advertised for £12000 engine was original 30 years plus, and knackered,the rest of the boat was sound,a replacement engine is 5 grand plus, so made an offer taking this into account,the vendor will accept 8 grand at the absolute limit,so i will walk away and keep looking.
 
It all depence on the value of the boat, however, there are a lot of boats out there that are not used and the owners need to sell them. Offer 50% less the asking price whether via brokerage or owner. If via brokerage, insist that you talk to the owner; owners will accept a much lower price
 
few years ago when I bought my second boat, I knew exactly what I wanted. so I went through the previous 4 years of YMs, made a list of the boats advertised privately for sale, and rang them all up to see if they had sold.

most interesting exercise. only around half had finally sold and that half were the ones who had advertised at an attractive price. the market wasnt bad at that time but even then most sellers had accepted a discount of 10%.

the boat in question was a Prout cat - maybe not mainstream, but certainly well thought of.

so I guess what I'm saying is that the starting point for a discount isnt broker prices but the lower half of the private ads.

one muppet with a snowgoose on a drying mooring up the helford had been advertising his cat for sale for 4 years. in that time, all he had done was to raise the price. when I went to look at it, every inside surface was wet, and the rooflingin was hanging down in folds. he wanted (from memory) something like 60k. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
Depends on lots of things, condition and any evidence of tlc. If its been well cared for, its likely the current owner won't want to consider a big chip. For something in good condition, well maintained and ready to sail away, you might not get better than 10% off asking price, perhaps 5 - 10%. Just sold mine in this range, after dealer told the purchaser not to bother with silly offers. Wait around for a distressed vendor and you will do better, but you might have to turn down some boats you really like in the process.
 
Having said that, new (continental) boat prices have gone up approaching 20% in past 9 months, due to weakening pound. It will be interesting to see what this does to sales of new boats and the second hand market. I suspect the former will crash and the latter might be surprisingly strong as a result. Certainly anyone in northern europe will find our south coast second hand market looking good value.
 
We have just sold & bought; both boats went for about 75% of original brokers original asking price, both of which I though on the high side. Offers received/made of around 60% of ask were swiftly turned down!!.

Both boats sl less common Bene's, both in good condition both thro' brokers in UK.
 
I offered 20% less than the asking price for my boat in 2004 and it was reluctantly accepted but the boat had been on the market for a year.
 
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