Visit our Popular Forums

SydneyTim · 11-09-2006, 21:45

Just doing some research for coming to the USA and buying a boat there.

Would be interested to hear in forum members experience what the "normal" discount to the brokers asking price boats get sold for in the US. In Australia it's about 10-20% depending how long the boats been on the market, etc etc.

Weyalan · 11-09-2006, 22:29

I ended up buying my boat for about 12.5 % off the broker's price (which had already been reduced). Nevertheless, this is of minimal relevance because I bought my boat in Australia.

If you are considering buying a boat from overseas, be aware of the various duties and taxes that may be whacked on when you bring the boat in. I'm not sure whether things have changed, but isn't it something like
Import duty = 5% of the value of the boat (usually taken as the sale price)
GST = 10% of the value of the boat, including the duty and the shipping costs.

I might have got the figures slightly wrong, but it is a nasty amount anyway.

I'm taking my data from the Australian Customs Service website
http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=4365 specifically:

Yachts are subject to a general rate of duty of 5% based on the customs value (basically the price paid) and 10% GST calculated on the customs value plus international transport and insurance plus the duty.

So, for example, on a $200,000 dollar boat, which might cost $20,000 to ship from the SA and $5,000 to insure for the delivery, you would pay 5% of $200,000 in duty = $10,000
10% GST on 200,000+20,000+5,000+10,000 = $23,500

So if you bought a $200,000 boat and shipped it in, insured, (assuming the above costs for shipping and insurance), your total expenditure would be $258,500

Obviously, those figures are plucked out of the air, but you should get the general idea.

**Alan Wheeler** · 12-09-2006, 00:18

Tim, why on earth would you want to buy a boat in the US when you have a far greater range at a far cheaper price in your own backyard??

SydneyTim · 12-09-2006, 04:24

Unless the world has changed in the last 24 hours, my own backyard is more expensive than the USA simple as that

If you mean NZ rather than Oz, certainly haven't ruled it out, but on current FX rates US still looks cheaper.

Talbot · 12-09-2006, 05:18

There was a thread on a similar subject a little while back that suggested that there was a special agreement with US at the moment allowing boat purchase without that 15% imposition.

What really peeves me is that I will still have to pay that rate when I emmigrate.

alanperry · 12-09-2006, 07:10

Tim, as of 9/12 one Australian dollar only buys a little over .75 US cents. You would be losing .25 cents on the dollar. While this exchange rate is better than in the past and if making large purchases banks will negotiate the rate but I doubt that it would move by 25%.

Of course I have no idea what your used boat market is like there but here you MIGHT be able to make it at least EVEN exchange depending on your discount. Even at that with travel and duties and taxes it seems like a losing proposition.

Now I am thinking that that extra .25 cents might help with some of the stuff I need for my boat

But then again that all depends on the prices there in OZ.

But when I bought this boat I made offers ranging from a discount of
$10,000 to 15,000 off the top on the boats I made offers on. This depended on what kind of boat it was and its condition and especially time on the market. It never hurts to throw out a low price and see what happens. You never know what is going on financially in someones life.

markpj23 · 12-09-2006, 08:01

Ours was a 21% discount from asking price, but that asking price had been reduced 20% from original listing already.

Market reality is a tough pill to swallow for some sellers....

Catamount · 12-09-2006, 08:41

Not to gloat, but I paid 67% of the advertised asking price (33% off), and my surveyor thought the sellers should have started with an asking price 1.5 to 2X of what they did! (Of course, I've already spent over double what I paid for the boat on repairs and upgrades...)

jzk · 12-09-2006, 10:20

Are you talking about a used boat? The discount can be tremendous.

Look at this Outremer listed for $428k:

http://www.yachtworld.com/core/listi...g_id=74703&url=

The same one is now listed for $290:

http://www.yachtworld.com/core/listi...ick&searchtype=

I also know someone that looked at a Uniesse 48 Fly at the Palm Beach boat show last year. They were asking 699k. Now it is down to 465k.

Latitude9.5 · 12-09-2006, 11:52

we made an offer at 25% below the current price, which was accepted, overall the was almost 50% the original asking price. So it depends a lot on how long it's been on the market, how motivated the seller is and in some cases how far over market the asking price is in the first place.

btrayfors · 12-09-2006, 12:27

It's very much a buyer's market at the moment, and for the forseeable future.

It's hard to say there's a rule-of-thumb about how much is discounted from the asking price. Some used boats go for somewhere near their asking price, others go for much less. Sometimes much, much less. I know of one classic fiberglass sloop in fair condition which recently went for 1/5 of the asking price! That's right, only 20% of the asking price.

Thousands of boats on the market. Hundreds of eager brokers. Thousands of anxious sellers. And a beautiful country with over 10,000 miles of shoreline dotted with marinas and great bars! Why wouldn't ANYONE want to come here to look for a boat?

Bill
S/V Born Free

S/V Elusive · 12-09-2006, 13:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by btrayfors

And a beautiful country with over 10,000 miles of shoreline dotted with marinas and great bars! Why wouldn't ANYONE want to come here to look for a boat?

Bill
S/V Born Free

ahhh Bill? WHERE is "HERE"?