Val Wyatt - Any experiences?

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Hi folks,
Writing from Ireland.

Val Wyatt have a boat i'm quite interested in on brokerage, a Jeanneau Leader 805.

Has anyone had any dealings with them, good or bad?

I plan on flying over in the coming weeks to view the boat (it's at their office, on the hard). I'd normally just drive over with the jeep and trailer and put a bid (providing the boat was in order) and hope for the best, but this time i'm going to fly over, if all is well i'll then haggle, agree a price and come over the following week with a jeep.

Anyhow i'm going off on a tangent, looking for any feedback about Val Wyatt! Cheers
 
I'll second that. I've sold two boats through them (and technically, also bought one, but its a long story) and was impressed by the service. That was all some time ago but nothing I've heard in recent years would change the good opinion I have of them. Good luck.
 
As with any broker ask them to be totally honest with you with regards to condition etc, even though they are working on behalf of the seller. Lost count, when we were searching last year, of the times boats described as well presented etc when patently not. Val Wyatt included. Arranged to view two boats to find they were still closed up when we arrived with poor access. They did not follow up our visit with a call and emailed us six months later to see if we were still looking - having bought elsewhere at twice our original budget. Pleasant enough but not outstanding.
 
O no surely its not that ....:)

mlines said:
I keep my boat at Val Wyatts.

If there are any extra photos/info you want on the boat thats for sale I will pop down and have a look later.

Martin
Click to expand...

Got to be worth taking up.
Oldgits inverse law of boat viewing states that ....

"The further you travel to view the boat,the greater the description of the boat will differ from the actual thing you see when you arrive !

As proof drove 900 miles in total one weekend to look at 3 piles of damp overpriced smelly end of life (s)c**p,all described as in good condition by brokers/owners and found actual boat bought on doorstep.
 
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This is an opinion only and,

off topic.

The common perception is that the Thames is an expensive place to buy a boat.

Brokers' operating costs are higher and they have a captive market as few buyers aer prepared to travel to look at boats.

IMHO any boat needs a good blast occasionally and there are "few " oportunities to do that on the non tidal bit anyway.


See what others think.
 
I couldn't agree less!

My experiences of Thames Boat sales has been exemplary throughout my last four purchases and three sales.

I was always given accurate advice, dealt with most professionally, and felt that information was shared fairly.

The ultimate prices in terms of buying were as fair as I could negotiate for, given that the boats were still owned by the previous keepers, and sale prices were in keeping with market trends, and again, negotiated.

Bear in mind Brokers are to a certain extent at the mercy of the buyers and vendors, who vary depending on their particular desperation levels!

Whilst the quality of vessels obviously varies from unkempt to lovely, one simply factors this in to the price asked/ bid, and a survey will assist.

It's a different situation when buying a car from a dealership, as the dealer owns the cars concerned, so the two cannot be compared!

While there are adequate levels of Boats for sale on the Upper Thames, there may be only two or three examples of your chosen make and model, which might be a factor, unlike cars, which, even in the case of comparative rarities, will always be at least ten to twenty to choose from!

Look for a Broom 10/70 for example, there may only be three for sale in the entire country during certain months...same goes for many popular vessels.

Your job is to find the thing you want most, the Broker simply acts as an intermediary, and will ensure all the paperwork and litigation is handled correctly, which can take a lot of skill in certain cases. This is handy to those not in possession of the correct knowledge.
 
Don't forget to take a trial run - could highlight some surprises which could give you some haggling power...
 
mlines - Thanks very much. Broker has gotten back to me with pics, if I need more I may call upon you! The broker is keeping an eye on this thread too - probably quicker than e-mailing him :p

Cash - yup, goes without saying really, thanks for the tip
 
In that case ..........

mlines - Thanks very much. Broker has gotten back to me with pics, if I need more I may call upon you! The broker is keeping an eye on this thread too - probably quicker than e-mailing him

Cash - yup, goes without saying really, thanks for the tip
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Guy Girling of Val Wyatt is a wonderful chap and ............................!!!
Seriously; I have always found all the staff at Val Wyatt excellent and good to deal with. I don't suppose they are perfect and probably wouldn't claim to be (???) well may be Guy would!!
We all have different standards but see no reason why you should be disappointed.
 
I found Guy Girling to be most helpful and obliging.

There was a lady present when I was last there in the Summer who seemed to lean rather heavily on the junior staff - scared the whatsits out of me as well !:)
 
Thanks a lot for the feedback folks, it's nice to see there's a good community of you lot over there!

If I go over to view a boat i'll pop round with the bottle of Whiskey after :D
 
Loggo said:
There was a lady present when I was last there in the Summer who seemed to lean rather heavily on the junior staff - scared the whatsits out of me as well !:)
Click to expand...
[removed] Cant imagine who you mean!
 
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