Where to advertise boats for sale

A house purchase is a closer analogy.
The broker doesn’t warranty the boat, but they are responsible for advertising, sifting out propellor kickers, attending viewings, and sorting out paperwork.
 
ontheplane said:
And given a car dealers “mark up” is around £600 -£1000 in the current climate - good luck finding a broker whose “cut” is less than a car dealers margin!
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What % is that mark up relative to the car...

I agree car dealers and brokers are not the same but I suspect the % markup is similar, if not slightly in the car dealers favour.

My most recent car purchase, the dealer openly told me he had approx 10% mark up after his costs to prepare and warranty the car. Most UK brokers are working at average 6% these days.

For ontheplane - comparing against estate agents, again similar but not the same service. EA's don't do any conveyancing, or generally money handling.
 
ontheplane said:
Brokers are more akin to Estate Agents who also don’t own what they sell, merely act as a middle man.
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I know all that - and your "explanation" of the role of car dealers. The point I was making is that private sellers of cars generally get lower prices than forecourt prices because of the difference in "value" of what is offered. The same principle applies to boats and houses - the intermediary provides a service to both buyers and sellers that has a value and this added value is reflected in the price.

If the role of broker did not have an economic value then brokers would not exist and they clearly do - and indeed dominate the market. There is no compulsion to use them, but people do. I have sold 2 boats recently, one privately (because of its low value) and one (high value) through a broker. The first was far more hassle than the second and the broker earned every penny of his cut for finding a buyer at a price significantly higher than i was expecting and handling all the paperwork and money smoothly. All 3 parties very happy.
 
j24jam said:
What % is that mark up relative to the car...

I agree car dealers and brokers are not the same but I suspect the % markup is similar, if not slightly in the car dealers favour.

My most recent car purchase, the dealer openly told me he had approx 10% mark up after his costs to prepare and warranty the car. Most UK brokers are working at average 6% these days.

For ontheplane - comparing against estate agents, again similar but not the same service. EA's don't do any conveyancing, or generally money handling.
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Doubt if the mark up is in the Dealers favour...

What is a typical % brokers fee?

I just sold a £40,000 used car, with a Gross margin of £800, but after servicing, warranty, valet and other prep made £300 net margin - or 0.75% if you will.....

I doubt many brokers work for that.

The motor trade has one of the lowest ROI's and definitely one of the lowest Return on Turnover of any industry I know.....

If I had £1m to invest, a car business wouldn't be where I'd put it!
 
ontheplane said:
Doubt if the mark up is in the Dealers favour...

What is a typical % brokers fee?

I just sold a £40,000 used car, with a Gross margin of £800, but after servicing, warranty, valet and other prep made £300 net margin - or 0.75% if you will.....

I doubt many brokers work for that.

The motor trade has one of the lowest ROI's and definitely one of the lowest Return on Turnover of any industry I know.....

If I had £1m to invest, a car business wouldn't be where I'd put it!
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I was only going off my (very limited) experience about car dealer margin.

I guess you sell 100's of cars a year at small margin, and brokers sell 10's of boats a year at a higher margin.
 
Yes very true - about 1000 a year here on this site and 30,000 over all the sites....

But yes, most dealers work on tiny margins compared to the value of the cars we sell
 
ontheplane said:
Yes very true - about 1000 a year here on this site and 30,000 over all the sites....

But yes, most dealers work on tiny margins compared to the value of the cars we sell
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My friend who has been dealing in cars for years has made a substantial living from a garage and workshop in a small country town. I never thought he needed sympathy for his low margin.
 
As a % I think single one man bands can sometimes make a decent margin.

I bet he makes more from the workshop than the sales unless he has one ramp and a 50 car lot
 
Used we buy any a few times when changing vans ended up getting over 1k more from them than part ex and had no issue with them. I think using a broker brings a lot to the table when selling boats, dealing with a broker probably worth the cost. If you can deal with the hassle then selling privately may result in a similar sold price.
 
iantomlinson said:
Did I see somebody say they have to give 6months warranty or more??? What world is that in??
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Used boats sold as part of a business selling such are covered by consumer protection laws that provide recourse for six months following the sale. Some Brokers buy in ‘stock’ boats and sell them on after a bit of refurbishment and they are covered by this. It is common to see a three month warranty offered in such cases. Privately owned boats sold by a Broker on behalf of the owner are not covered so have no warranty.
 
Greg2 said:
Used boats sold as part of a business selling such are covered by consumer protection laws that provide recourse for six months following the sale. Some Brokers buy in ‘stock’ boats and sell them on after a bit of refurbishment and they are covered by this. It is common to see a three month warranty offered in such cases. Privately owned boats sold by a Broker on behalf of the owner are not covered so have no warranty.
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So as the op seemed to want to sell his boat privately himself, the 6 or 3 month warranty will never apply. Hence buyer beware. No warranty privately advertised or through broker? Sorry I'm old school dealing with the joe-public prices of boats. Suss out the owner, proper independant survey and common sense.
 
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