Which is best...bigger used one or smaller new boat???

B

Blokatos

Member
Joined
20 Oct 2009
Messages
36
Visit site
As the title says,

I have set a budget and it seems that I am missing some cash to get me the one I want.

So, is it better to buy what I want as a used one or downsize my expectations and get a smaller but brand new boat?

What are the risks on buying used?
 
minimal risk if you purchase second hand wisely ensuring all the relevant checks are carried out on the boat to ensure it's mechanically, cosmetically and financially sound.

For me, I've always been loathe to buy any high value item brand spanking new as invariably that means a huge hit depreciation wise in the first couple of years of ownership, I've never looked in to that factor with boats but suspect that'll be the case.
 
Its difficult to know from the details given what size or quantum you are loooking at, budget, type of boat etc.

Buying new = Warranty and dealer support in general but it also means high depreciation in years 1 to 3.

New is good if you want the shiniest boat in the marina.

If you are relatively new to boating and unsure what you want buying secondhand makes sense as you can move it on in a few years with little depreciation.

For a second hand buy you will need to earmark a seperate sum of say 10 to 20% to get it right and to sort out the details to get it how you want it and allow the time and hassle to do this.

If you are spending any serious money get a survey.

If you are talking 5 years old you are talking minus 40 t0 50% off new so big saving or larger boat for the money.

If you expect to keep the boat for 10 years and you want less hassle buy new but few people keep boats that long.

If you expect to keep it a few years and move it on buy a mainstream popular boat not a little known import with unheard of engines ie generally its easier and quicker to sell a Ford Fiesta than a malayan equivalent .

If you live near to your boat and you like spending time on the boat sorting things out second hand is good if you live 300 miles from boat, have little time and want turnkey guaranteed boating new is better.
 
Blokatos said:
As the title says,

I have set a budget and it seems that I am missing some cash to get me the one I want.

So, is it better to buy what I want as a used one or downsize my expectations and get a smaller but brand new boat?

What are the risks on buying used?
Click to expand...

Buying a new boat is very exciting. However after 3 months you have a boat which is no longer new and you will be looking again! The only reason to buy a new boat is if you want to customise it to your own needs or if you are going to keep it a long time.

My advice would be to go larger but older...but not too old!

Paul
 
Blokatos said:
As the title says,

I have set a budget and it seems that I am missing some cash to get me the one I want.

So, is it better to buy what I want as a used one or downsize my expectations and get a smaller but brand new boat?

What are the risks on buying used?
Click to expand...
If you compromise by buying a smaller boat you will always regret it - especially when you see one of the ones you originally wanted sailing past.
A new boat is only new at the time you buy it - it will soon become an 'old' boat.
Just look for a good secondhand example of the boat you really want.
 
Used option much better i think. Actually, "just" used, so not ancient obsolete electronics and rusty wornout things- just old enough to solve the not quite enough cash problem.

Problems on new boats take a while first to find, and then to rectify. They aren't ordered with the new-boat problems, or not usually.

On used boat, the boat is physical, in front of you, with all the problems ready to be found. Or, they've already been found and rectified, somehow.

A good owner of a good boat should be able to lead you through what he's had done, either in terms of maintenance and/or (to a reasonable degree) problem-solving. Sometimes the "problems" are that (say) the stuffing boxes aren't easy to reach frinstance - no harm in a seller mentioning that - they'll all be the same - and of course it shows that maintenance is being done, whereas the seller who says everything is easy peasy and perfect, well, who looks after the not so easy stuffing boxes then?

If you decide on the model and see as many as you reasonably can, you'll begin to recognise good/not so good, early and later tweaks and features. So if one model has (say) a saloon table with iffy flaps/leaves, some will be hammered and others less so - but one or two might have been replaced with an altogether better saloon table. An owner of a new boat will have to nearly spill a few drinks before finding this, then sort out the table, or ignore it, or indeed say oh soddit, let's sell the boat. Whereas by doing research through many boats, you'll begin to be loking out for this sort of thing.

At higher sized boats (where there are fewer boats, but each one more things to go wrong...) you can even get to know individual models - this one got shipped back from the med, this one had loads of problems, that one originally built for france but the buyer pulled out hence french plugs etc etc.

Give us the model name and there's biund to be people who can give u a head start here. Or indeed, muck things up by saying ah well, what about this other type of boat...
 
I've had 12 boats, all of them used. I normally try to buy a boat 3-5yrs old when, if it has been looked after, it will still look fairly new but when the depreciation in it's value has started to level off and then run the boat for 2-3 yrs with the idea of selling it again before any really big repairs are necessary. I've never lost big money on a used boat and I've even made money on a couple and I've never had a major repair cost
Personally I don't understand why people buy new unless they plan to keep a boat a long time but I'm glad that they do because it provides a ready supply of good used boats at sensible prices for people like me
 
OK, I am starting to understand a bit.

So, to give some more detailed info...

First of all, I live in the Med (Greece), in Thessaloniki, which is near Chalkidiki peninsula, a perfect place for boating. My house is 6-7 miles away from a very nice marina. Actually, I have within a 20-mile radius 5-6 marinas.

Ideally, I would love a hardtop Monte Carlo 32 with two Volvo Penta D4 225 and a few options.

Weather its warm around here and the summer is kind off extended in Greece but I would prefer a Hard Top as I intend to use it all year, even in the winter, when near coastal conditions allow.

I like in the MC32, the clever interior layout with the mid cabin and the spacious sallon/part double berth.

I also look for Sessa 26 and 32, its nice but no hard top option which is essential.

II would like something around 30 feet LOA, no more than 33, no less than 26, with 4 adults sleeping capabilities, galley and heads for overnighting 3-4 days anchored at a beautyful beach.
When and if I get more experienced I maybe take it to the south, to lovely Peloponissos peninsula.

I hope that is enough input to help you give me some direction.

Thanks for all the replies,
Nikos, a newbie who loves the sea and boats.
 
The boat builders get one shot at selling to you, so the glamour can be a big selling point. Of course once you own it, you'll find out whether you ve bought the right boat or not ! So, think long and hard about where you will spend your time on the boat. Great to have a brilliant interior, but if you only use it 10pct of the time, maybe the cockpit is more important.Covers or hardtop? Cooking facilities?Easy to move about? I'd suggest there is a big difference in practical needs between a boat you will nearly always use for dayboating/weekend boating, and one where you will commonly be spending many days at a time.Storage,fridges, and so on.
People change their boat bcz maybe they got their wants a bit wrong first time;maybe they need more space,or maybe they feel, done that,whats next? Its a lucky man who gets it all right first time, which is why I d suggest nearly new,and dont rush in.
 
Blokatos, I think there is a quite a choice of hardtop boats around this size range. I think you should visit a big boat show to look at whats available. There are the London and Dusseldorf boat shows coming in January. Dusseldorf would be best as it's much bigger than London and there you will see every manufacturer represented. Here are a few who offer hardtop boats in the 25-33ft range. Many of these are very different to the MC32 but they're worth looking at

http://aquador.fi/
http://www.backcoveyachts.com/
http://www.targa.fi/
http://www.cranchi.com/caratteristiche.aspx?id=908
http://www.finnmaster.fi/en/cabin-boats/76-ca
http://www.jeanneau.fr/2007/?r=yacht&p=boat&n=502&nl=2
http://www.karnicboats.com/index.php?pageid=66
http://www.menorquin.com/en/empresa.php
http://www.minor.fi/offshore25.html
http://www.nordstar.no/
http://www.nimbus.se/startpage2006.aspx?p=eabb2bff-40f8-46ba-84ea-717df4b0e002
http://www.northseamaritime.com/Page/RHEAmain.htm
http://www.sagaboats.no/index.php?lang=en
http://www.sealine.com/Range/SSeriesYachts/SC29/SC29.aspx
 
Blokatos said:
What are the risks on buying used?
Click to expand...

That you are buying someone else's problems :p

For an inexperianced person (not meant as an insult :)) I can see that new has a big attraction by the boat coming with warranties and guarantees (albeit as per the recent Jeaunneau thread - the value of these can vary in practice between Vendors) and / or simply that some folk like "new".

But a genuinely good s/h boat will provide a lot more value £££ apart from someone else having paid the deprectioan hit they will usually have fully equipped her for use - from a boat hook to fenders to a chunk of the extra's list. It all adds up.

In your shoes I would be looking at s/h boats around 3 years old with plenty of documented maintanence history of the boat and the engines. As the engines are such a large part of the boat's value (and as some people can f#ck them up very quickly :rolleyes:) in addition to a Boat survey I would both have the engines inspected by a marine engineer and chat with him to understand what he can tell you and what he can't (he don't have xray specs and won't be dissassembling the engine). On a boat that is only around 3 years old their is no excuse for the engines and engine bay to not be immaculate. that's eat your dinner off immaculate. Your benchmark is a new boat. It's very hard to get that back once lost - and in IMO is the best easy indicator of both how the engine and the boat have been maintained by the owner - some people's attitude to maintanence is fix when goes wrong and in the meantime fingers crossed, either through ignorance, lack of cash or wishful thinking.
 
The advantages of a new boat are the full warranty, which means you just ring the dealer rather than having to try and find engineers yourself, you get to spec the boat exactly how you want it (but if you're new to boating you won't know what you want yet), everything is brand new (for five minutes), and you get the very latest technology, but technology doesn't move that fast in boating circles anyway.

The big downsides are the depreciation in the first 2-3 yrs, sorting out the teething problems, (which can be extensive and annoying), and you can't see exactly what you're getting at the time you commit to buy it.

Of course, boats suffer wear and tear and sooner or later things start to go wrong and they become less relibale, so it's not surprising that many of us buy 2-3 year old boats and sell them after 3-5 yrs.
 
Deleted User said:
Blokatos, I think there is a quite a choice of hardtop boats around this size range. I think you should visit a big boat show to look at whats available. There are the London and Dusseldorf boat shows coming in January. Dusseldorf would be best as it's much bigger than London and there you will see every manufacturer represented. Here are a few who offer hardtop boats in the 25-33ft range. Many of these are very different to the MC32 but they're worth looking at

http://aquador.fi/
http://www.backcoveyachts.com/
http://www.targa.fi/
http://www.cranchi.com/caratteristiche.aspx?id=908
http://www.finnmaster.fi/en/cabin-boats/76-ca
http://www.jeanneau.fr/2007/?r=yacht&p=boat&n=502&nl=2
http://www.karnicboats.com/index.php?pageid=66
http://www.menorquin.com/en/empresa.php
http://www.minor.fi/offshore25.html
http://www.nordstar.no/
http://www.nimbus.se/startpage2006.aspx?p=eabb2bff-40f8-46ba-84ea-717df4b0e002
http://www.northseamaritime.com/Page/RHEAmain.htm
http://www.sagaboats.no/index.php?lang=en
http://www.sealine.com/Range/SSeriesYachts/SC29/SC29.aspx
Click to expand...

Mike thank you very much, very useful post. Some of them I have already seen them on the web like the Aquador, Cranchi, Finnmaster, Jeanneau, Karnicboats and Nimbus. I like the Finnmaster 31OC but they don't make it anymore and some used I found online seemed overpriced. Also, Aquador seem good boat but I have second thoughts about interior layout in general.

Searching myself I found Bavaria. The 30 Hard top model looks nice. Any thoughts on that one?
 
Blokatos said:
Mike thank you very much, very useful post. Some of them I have already seen them on the web like the Aquador, Cranchi, Finnmaster, Jeanneau, Karnicboats and Nimbus. I like the Finnmaster 31OC but they don't make it anymore and some used I found online seemed overpriced. Also, Aquador seem good boat but I have second thoughts about interior layout in general.

Searching myself I found Bavaria. The 30 Hard top model looks nice. Any thoughts on that one?
Click to expand...

Blokatos, I have no direct experience of Bavaria boats. Bavaria is a high volume production manufacturer and I believe that build quality will be similar to the likes of Beneteau or Jeanneau. To my eyes the MC32 is a better looking boat but thats just my opinion. Yes, the Scandinavian boats generally cost more from new and hold their value better on the secondhand market but this is because the build quality is usually very good.
One other factor to consider is whether a local dealer exists for the boat you want to buy, particularly if it is new. Obviously, you want to do business with an active dealer who is going to deal with your warranty problems efficiently
 
Blokatos said:
I like the Finnmaster 31OC but they don't make it anymore
Click to expand...

I think they do, unless they've stopped very recently, but it was rebranded as "Grandezza", and has a seperate web site.

http://www.grandezza.fi/fse.html

For me, it's the prettiest of the small hardtops, and build quality should be good as it's still owned by Finnmaster. They are a bit pricey though, as with most Scandi boats.
 
Might be worth checking out "Dreadful after sales service" on the PBO forum to see one of the potential problems buying new. On the otherhand my boat which is a Beneteau has had superb service from the local dealer and the manufacturer. They fixed a warranty problem that I reckon cost Beneteau about £3k without any hassle. Even more to their credit, which must have cost them even more, they sent two people from France to the UK for a week to do a varnish repair.... and I never even asked them. They volunteered!

Ironically, I believe Jeaneau and Beneteau are basically the same company!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Other threads that may be of interest

Frogmogman
My next boat.
2 3
Replies
40
Views
1K
fredrussell
F
B
Halberg Rassey 31
2 3 4
Replies
71
Views
2K
ashtead
ashtead

Share this page

Top