Value of a second hand boat.

[Sneaky Pete]

I am looking to buy a motor cruiser of about 34 feet. There seems to be a good selection on the market with a choice of engine sizes and permutations, accommodation layout and of course price.
On any advertised price what would be on average the reduction in offer price to a seller. Is 10% 15% 20% or what acceptable. Sailing yacht tend to be about the 10% reduction on advertised price. Certainly make, model and condition have an influence on this.

 

[jrudge]

Been asked many times.

There is no answer. The seller and buyer need to find a price they can both live with.

If you look about there is typically a huge price range. Some overpriced some "cheap". If it is the cheapest you will get less off than off the most expensive but even then it is up to the seller.

Try it and see.

Remember you want the best value not the cheapest. If the cheap one needs loads spending on it it may no longer be cheap !

 

[[2068]]

I am looking to buy a motor cruiser of about 34 feet. There seems to be a good selection on the market with a choice of engine sizes and permutations, accommodation layout and of course price.
On any advertised price what would be on average the reduction in offer price to a seller. Is 10% 15% 20% or what acceptable. Sailing yacht tend to be about the 10% reduction on advertised price. Certainly make, model and condition have an influence on this.

Condition will have a big impact on this.

If the boat is sensibly priced in the first place, has an excellent spec, and is in great condition, then a lowball offer is probably not going to work unless the seller is desperate to sell for some reason. If you choose a boat based on "lowest price", you might need a refurbishment budget available as well. It might be that a more expensive example requires almost no refurbishment...

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Agree with jrudge. There is no right answer to this and it will depend not only on whether the boat you are looking at is priced low or high in the range of prices for that boat but also whether its a popular model or not, where its located, what condition its in and most importantly, how keen the seller is to sell

One good piece of advice is that you will never find out how low the seller is willing to go if your starting bid is too high. So, if you are really interested in a particular boat, inform the broker that you are serious buyer with cash waiting (presumably?) in order to establish your credibility and then make a low offer but tell him you'll walk if it isnt accepted. A few years ago, after the financial crash, I would have said start at asking price -40% but those days seem to have gone and the market for used boats is much more buoyant so I would say start at asking price -25% and then, presuming the seller rejects this offer, move up in 5% increments but always reluctantly until you find the lowest price at which the seller bites. Of course this does run the risk that you lose the boat to another buyer during this haggling process so if you find a boat and you really set your heart on it, the only way to make sure you'll get it, of course, is to offer the full asking price

 

[[2068]]

I tried something similar, and it triggered to seller to come back with what he would accept in one hit.
The eventual price was very close to that.

 

[No Regrets]

Yup, no hard and fast rules.

The essential thing is to try and buy the 'correct' boat for your needs.

Then try and find the one that looks like it's really been cared for, because every hidden pound the previous owner has saved will cost you a tenner.

Of course you can save a few quid on the purchase price by opting for a Petrol engined boat with crusty old sterndrives, but you're not saving anything over four or five years. diesel and shaft are good words as far as running costs go. Usually...

Then there's luck....thats hard to find with Boats, which are cruel mistresses :ambivalence:

 

[Dorset Dan]

Having sold and purchased within the last 6 months I can only re-iterate the above.

When I sold mine, I had her freshly serviced, anti-fouled and she was as good as she could be for the new owner for the season ahead. I priced it keenly to get her sold and received 97% of the asking price with the agreement to get a sun pad re-upholstered, get her polished and agree a deal for the tender and outboard.

When I purchased though, the boat was originally listed last October at a price that was realistic for the make / model / year. I had to sell my boat first but immediately got the brokers nod after an initial viewing that a 10% reduction on asking price would get her bought. In the end, I didn't list mine for sale until the Spring and the boat I wished to purchase was sat on a river mooring over the winter months and hadn't sold in this time (and actually broker had de-listed). By the time I had concluded my sale in April, she was still there on the river looking in need of some tlc - not been serviced for 18 months, needed anti-fouf, a good clean and polish, etc. I then went back to owner via broker got agreement to purchase with a 20% discount on the basis that I was buying 'as is' and would take on all of this work myself.

So you could look at the above as good examples - a 3% reduction on a boat that was well priced and ready to go for the season and wanting for nothing in terms of maintenance and a 20% reduction on a boat that needed ££'s spending on her and the taking on the hassle of having to organise all of this mid-season.

 

[Sneaky Pete]

Roughly what I was thinking. There seems to be a belief that power boats drop more that sailing on offer price. There appears to be agreement from the replies that a well presented boat in good serviceable condition will achieve top dollar, and the opposite for one less well looked after.
Thanks for the replies.

 

[superheat6k]

IMHO the notion any boat will sell for X% below AP is complete nonsense.

Instead any boat needs careful assessment and knowledge of the marque to establish its value. My preferred method is "best ever price for the marque in AI presentation' - 'cost estimate to achieve that status' = ~ worth

I have seen quite a few where the ~ worth is a negative number and certainly too often some way short of the AP by more than any sensible %. However, well presented boats in good condition can sell close to or at AP if well priced and with an effective broker.

Obviously an effective broker is the one who finds you your buyer. This can be a subjective assessment !

Be aware the market is enjoying a blip presently because the artificially low £ GBP is making sales into Europe buoyant and is depriving the UK market of decent late second hand stock. This has a positive effect on everything near to late, but the effect tapers off with age. If the doom mongers are to be believed the sales of such boats could become even more attractive if we don't get a Brexit deal, although on the other hand all EU demand could instantly disappear if silly tariffs or other barriers are introduced.

 

[jac]

Asking price - x% is hugely flawed. It assumes that all boats are priced at a fairly consistent margin above their true value.

Whilst the true market value of a Ford or Vauxhall may be easy to establish due to the high volumes sold, it is rarely possible to establish the same for a boat. How many of a specific model and age will be sold in any 1 12m window. Of those, how many will be the same spec / same condition / same location. For example, i may be prepared to pay a couple of thousand more (£60k market) for a boat near me than one up in scotland or in France to avoid the cost / hassle of bringing her back to where i want her.

SO a £100k boat may be massively overpriced if it's only worth £80k and an offer of 80% of asking price might be generous. Equally a £100k boat that is actually worth £110k might be the bargain of the year and anything under asking is going to be refused.

The only real way is to look at your budget, establish what your must haves, your should haves and could haves are and understand the price of adding those to any particular boat. Then make an offer based on the boat you like and the cost it will take to get the boat to that standard so that you end up with something that meets your needs within budget. By all means offer below that price and come up till you hit your walk away value. Fingers crossed you will meet in the middle!

Personally my approach would be to look at the asking price in comparison to the asking price of similar boats and offer maybe 15% - 20% less than the average of those asking prices, expecting to pay about 5%- 10% less.

 

[MapisM]

Remember you want the best value not the cheapest.

Amen to that.
These days, everybody (sellers included!) seem to think that discount percentage is the USP for just about everything.
Oscar Wilde definition of a cynic springs to mind... :ambivalence:

 

[Greg2]

Personally my approach would be to look at the asking price in comparison to the asking price of similar boats and offer maybe 15% - 20% less than the average of those asking prices, expecting to pay about 5%- 10% less.

I agree that kooking at asking prices of similar boats is a helpful guide but it does assume that there is some legitimacy to those prices in the first place. It is common for sellers to look at asking prices when putting their boat on the market but many won’t also consider other factors such as the history of prices over recent years, how long they have been on the market or whether that particular marque is selling. After all, we want top dollar when we sell.

When we put our boat on the market this year we were cognisant of price reductions over recent years, what had happened to the same make/model as ours on the market over the last couple of years and whilst initially pricing a little optimistically on the advice of the Broker we had a realistic approach and subsequently redcuced a little and ultimately accepted an offer. We also spent money ensuring that the boat was well presented and in ‘turn key’ condition. Our boat is sold and another of the same make/model remains on the market, where it has been for some time. Did we get a good price? Well, I guess that is a subjective judgement but I think that both our buyer and us did okay.

I think my point is that there are many factors to take into account including the motivation of the seller and how much a prospective buyer wants a particular boat.

 

[mcanderson]

How much were you happy to have your asking price knocked down by? I had one buyer show up at our boat, walk about with his girlfriend and over me 60% of our asking price in cash and could transfer on the day. No survey no sea trial. I showed him how the passerelle worked so he could leave. We sold to a great Italian family two weeks later for just shy of our asking price again a cash buyer. I really liked the Italians and so have stayed in touched and been helping out with small issues that have shown up.

When buying we found the right boat, made a sensible offer that everyone was happy with and built a relationship with the sellers. The result is they paid for extra work that was required during the predelivery servicing that they could have bodged, but replaced with new as they thought it was the right thing to do for us.

Maybe karma has something in it...

 

[oldgit]

If funding your purchase is of minor interest then wandering into any brokers office will produce a boat of some description,then hand over more or less the asking price and off you go.
Job done.
If like most, money is an important factor, then you need patience,persistance and a fair bit of luck.
Hardest thing is not looking at the proffered moneypit in front of you with rose tinted glasses and dreaming of days to come.
It can be more difficult to walk away from pile of rubbish, than to find a decent boat at the right price for you.You also need to go and look and look again and again at everything on the market.This can ensure that when the right boat does finally appear in front of you on a pontoon somewhere, you do not walk away and lose it for the sake of a few quid.
Suspect many posters will have thanked their lucky stars that on a long drive home that they resisted the urge to buy there and then.
Good luck and remember as any fule kno....... NTNPNO*






*NoTentsNoPetrolsNoOutdrives..