Why buy new?

Deleted User said:
I'm not in any way criticising people who buy new boats. In fact I applaud them for doing so and keeping the industry going and many thousands of people in work and, of course, providing a steady supply of used boats for people like me;)
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I guess the other thing is, if you actually had the money, what else would you do with it?

It's a matter of prioritisation: I'm not in the market for a new 67ft boat, but if I was, the funds would also be "at risk" from house extension & refurbishment projects, hot tub projects, garden landscaping projects etc. Tying up the money in a boat is one way of having those funds sidelined.
 
TQ1 said:
Mike

I ended up buying a boat which was a couple of years old. You do seem to get a lot more value for money on boats say, over 6-7 years old. How do you find the reliability / maintenance costs of your boat, as a relative newcomer to boating that's what put me off getting an "older" boat that may cost more in repairs etc.
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And that is the route I will probably go down again. In the past I have tried to buy at around 5yrs old and sell before 10yrs old because IMHO that is the sweet spot in boat ownership. The first owner has taken the big depreciation hit but the boat is still new enough such that you shouldnt get any mega repair bills although of course all boats consume money like its going out of fashion
 
I have to agree about the smell of new boats - it's addictive! Back in the 90's we bought two new boats, an F33 (too tippy for my wife) and 12 months later an S37 (in my opinion, one of the best boats the original Sealine company ever made). Both were well finished, and reliable. Of course then, things were much simpler - none of your flybywire stuff, no IPS, no EDC, so perhaps the main reason for reliability. In terms of cost cutting, narrower beams, smaller engines etc, have you seen the size of Wagon Wheels lately - scandalous!
 
Nigelpickin said:
But that’s missing a pretty important point - isn’t it? I’m happy spending 500k on a new boat, or second hand for that matter but I cant afford to run an 80’ boat and those who can afford to run an 80’ boat probably don’t want last years model. So your supply/demand chart is going to vary dramatically depending on the cost to run. :rolleyes:
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I don't think I was missing any point, since my comparison was between two similar size boats, whose running costs would be in the same league - leaving aside the Benetti 40m, which I only mentioned to emphasize the reasoning, of course.

Mind, I accept that the older boat is likely to need some refitting and/or more extraordinary maintenance, but there's a helluva lot of room for that, with an almost tenfold price difference...!
In fact, you could probably customize the "old" boat even more than the new one.

All that aside, it's easy to see how an old SL82 withstood the time test: it's sufficient to have a look at one built some 20 years ago.
And if you never did, trust me, you'd be impressed.
Otoh, how well a brand new SL78 will withstand the next 20 years, that's anyone's guess, of course.
But assuming that both boats are properly looked after, I wouldn't be surprised at all if the 82, which would be 40yo by then, would be in a comparable shape (if not even better!), compared to the by then 20yo 78...
 
We have always bought new in the past, though admittedly always a deal, such as buying unsold stock in 2009.
This time we went used because there was nothing new that ticked all our boxes.
We paid roughly 1/3 of similar new boats which in my opinion were inferior, spent a good few bob specking seakeaper amongst many nice to haves, & fully refurbish inc engines & drives as well as cosmetic inside & out. Took her out for sea trial a few weeks ago & much to my surprise she didn't miss a beat, it all works, you don't usually get this new. What you do get is under powered & Ikea joinery to mention two of my bugbears.
 
Deleted User said:
I have a 12yr old 63 footer which is very good condition and which we like very much. I could sell that and pay 3-4 times as much for a new 67 footer from the same manufacturer which is narrower in the beam and has V8 engines instead of the V12 engines in my existing boat, albeit the same power output and which lacks certain features fitted to my 63 footer. And then in a few years when I sell the new 67 footer, I can kiss goodbye to several hundred thousand quid. Why would I do that?
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Apropos, did you notice that the 670 is also 3T lighter and 2 kts slower than your boat? Which beggars belief, imho.
I suppose that if you should ask to a dealer why a 630 is faster, he would put that down to the larger size of the 670.
Which would be reasonable, if it weren't simply not true in all respects but the model name! :rolleyes:
There's no denying her beautiful lines, though. Possibly the best since the earlier Zuccon models of the 90s.
 
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MapisM said:
All that aside, it's easy to see how an old SL82 withstood the time test: it's sufficient to have a look at one built some 20 years ago.
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Yes the older San Lorenzos were indeed built like battleships. Now all I have to do is persuade SWMBO that she really does like the SL72;)
 
I'd gladly help you to prepare a refitting program, if that helps.
By using less than half of the savings vs. the purchase of a new similar boat, you could even think of relocating the galley wherever she likes!
Not to mention hi/low platform (which would suit the old SL stern beautifully), hard top, star fin stabs... The full monty! :encouragement:
 
MapisM said:
Apropos, did you notice that the 670 is also 3T lighter and 2 kts slower than your boat? Which beggars belief, imho.
I suppose that if you should ask to a dealer why a 630 is faster, he would put that down to the larger size of the 670.
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Actually the 670 is only about 1ft longer than the true length of my 630 and a few inches narrower so in volume terms its a similar boat although of course they have shoehorned a 4th cabin into the 670. Not only that instead of the hull going back all the way to the aft end of the bathing platform there is now the de rigeur hi/lo platform. I dont know for sure but I bet the waterline length of the 670 is shorter than the 630 because of that. I reserve judgement on the looks until I see one in the flesh but yes she looks good in pictures. With regard to my comments on the build and finish, I'm taking my opinions from seeing the latest 700 and 720 models. A lot of the wood which characterised the older boats has gone and so has much of the storage (and I bet they dont have a multipurpose pump either!)
 
MapisM said:
I'd gladly help you to prepare a refitting program, if that helps.
By using less than half of the savings vs. the purchase of a new similar boat, you could even think of relocating the galley wherever she likes!
Not to mention hi/low platform (which would suit the old SL stern beautifully), hard top, star fin stabs... The full monty! :encouragement:
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Just out of interest who would do that kind of work in the Med? I dont think I'd need to relocate the galley so much as to open it up to the saloon. Star fins would be a definite but actually I think I'd give a hard top and hi/lo platform a miss or at least not do it straightaway. I like the idea of keeping the tender up top out of the way and I'm not sure a hard top would suit the SL72 design
 
Because you can’t get what you want second hand.

We are starting to look, very very few of what we are after on the used market. Looked at one option (perhaps the most built) and it’s not suitable. Perhaps one model looks good but no more than 3 on the global used market.

New might be the only option
 
Clearly finances are the overriding factor.

But if doable the buying new experience is just incomparable. For me buying a boat should be a tremendously exciting time. I have bought new 3 times from shows and everything from all the pre homework, looking forward to seeing it in the flesh, checking everything out, going through options and schemes is just a real thrill. I have also had only minor snagging issues to fix post delivery, often down to sloppiness from the dealer rather than factory issues.

I have tried to buy 2nd hand twice. Both times the searches were painful, there just wasn't much out there that I liked. The first occassion I offered full asking price on a 2 year old boat subject to viewing, based SoF - on the morning of our flight got a call saying seller had decided to keep it - he did at least have the decency to refund flights. The second occasion I travelled to the Solent, the boat needed some upgrades so i offered but was declined. One week later I made a higher offer by email, no response from broker, 2 calls nothing. Out of interest I called a month later to be told it had sold - for less than my revised offer !!

I'm sure I'll attempt a second hand purchase again someday but I'm already not looking forward to it.
 
I had problems with two boats, first one had wrong legs & props, fridge door fell of, leaking portholes, failing domestic pumps, air con self destructed. She came from EBY now BCU who sorted issues but I lost confidence & got rid. Second had lifting teak on the swim platform after 1st season, but the manufacturer refused insisting it was down to lack of maintenance no matter what we or the broker said, so some warranty that was.
 
I am tempted (very) at boat shows especially new Princess boats
however the new Princess 43 (my perfect boat really) is so beautiful and exquisitely made I wouldn't want to take it outside let alone do anything as nasty with it as leave it in seawater. I keep looking at boat shows but I dare not touch anything. One misplaced fender coming alongside and I think the shock/disapointment/anger would probably kill me if I put a divet in the gelcoat.

Even the nearly new Princess 42s are still too lovely. So I shall wait until a nicely scuffed up example comes along then I won't feel bad about getting a few oily marks on the carpet, dog hair on the sofas and not feeling at all guilty about not polishing it very often (well at all really :-) ).
 
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