Who buys new?

[boatman61]

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?v...87aHIBmcfqjS2w
😂

[hpeer]

I have only briefly spoken to two new boat owners. These were 1-1/2 and 2-1/ years ago.

Last year it was a mid 50’s medical couple who sold their practice and bought a brand new 45’ cat and signed up for a “round the world” rally to “get their feet wet in sailing.” They were brand new to sailing. They had the boat about 15 months and it sounded like over half if that time it was laid up for some very serious warranty work. Apparently one alma had serious blisters which required being stripped back and reglassed, at leas one side. Neither of the couple seemed interested in the boat. He was a self styled “manager”, she was on the phone.

The other was a big (55 a 65??) Gunboat. Again a mid 50’s couple who had sold a business and bought this boat. Brand new sailors. There was a 5 man warranty team working on the boat, from China? The man seemed interested but in over his head. He said, in a quiet moment away from his Wife, that he was scared because he had recently realized that he would never make any more money, that what he had needed to last. She confided that they would only have the boat for 2 or 3 years then go do something else.

Both couples were surprised that the brand new boat had issues.

Are they typical?? Probably not in the size and cost, that's a lot of cash moving around. But maybe in the sense that they were used to buying new production cars and expected that same kind of experience with a boat.

“Hey, its brand new, what could go wrong!”

What they had in common was dissolution, that new boats had so many problems. I think it was the 45’er that commented the company had some production problems and this boat we pulled of the normal line and finished outside. True or not I have no idea. He thought it was true. Anyway, he was concerned about having everything done in time to join the rally.

So thats my guess, people buy new expecting to get a new car experience.

[sailjumanji]

Hmmm, we've bought used, used, used, used, new, new, used, new, new. Every new boat was because we couldn't find a used model of the boat we wanted, or the cost difference didn't justify the condition degragradation, or wanted to build a boat to our specs for our planned use.

And as Tellie pointed out, new boats are not exempt from problems. But a good builder does make it easier to work thru those in a warranty period. IMO

[hafa]

Never bought a new boat, but buy new cars every few years. Most any vehicle will rust out within 10 years here; you can count the number of old cars here on one hand, and there are a lot of cars here...

[Lexi22]

Used!

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by Shrew

All of my father's boats were new. He also never had to do anything to maintain his boats. His logic was if you added up the cost of maintenance (parts and labor) and the time, (and the downtime) it was only a little more to go new. The difference was the 'cost of convenience' in his mind.

I the alternative is a used boat brought up to perfect like new condition via paid high end professionals...maybe his math works.

But having known several people who bought new, they always had issues the first year. Example: one couple bought a new 40ft searay. On the first ride from launch to marina, the starter stuck in the on position, caused it to shred in the transmission bell housing. They were going to have to split the engine transmission so they could clean all the pieces out (at least this was the story they told us).

But great news!!!! It's covered under warranty!!!!....what the warranty work won't be completed until September? But we are in Michigan in June and that's when people start looking at hauling out for the winter?

Stories similar to this are very common.

That said, I love new boat/truck/RV buyers...they make it possible for me to buy used items at a fraction of the price.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by gonesail

the 0.5% wouldn't do it any other way.

Outside of sports and movie stars who often wind up broke within 5-10yrs of their career ending, most wealthy folks got there by being smart with money. They are far more likely to buy used...especially early in their wealth building.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by DanielI

Window shopping on the internet (not actually in the market, I bought my boat less than a year ago) and I’m curious who buys new? Looking at used listings online and looking at some of the manufacturer’s websites, I definitely see the attraction of a new boat. But considering price for what you get, I can’t imagine getting a new boat unless money is really no object.

So I’m curious: who is the market for new boats these days?

I bought a used boat -- 8 years old and very lightly used, in excellent condition.

And it was a mistake. Anyway the systems were timing out and I spent a ton of money the first five years of ownership, and lost a lot of sailing time.

I would buy new next time. Then you start fresh with everything at 0 hours. Plus you get the boat from the beginning exactly the way you want her, instead of spending years and $$$ doing it as you go. Maximize sailing time. Really worth the cost in my opinion.

Definitely would never buy an 8 year old boat at nearly the new price, again. That's the worst age because nothing major has been replaced yet, but everything is getting here.

The other good way to buy a boat in my opinion is to buy an older one, not 8 years old, but 15 or 20 years old, which has been totally refit by a fanatic owner who didn't count money when he was doing it. He will be selling at a big loss, and that loss is your gain. Even a medium fixed up older boat can be a good bargain. My father sold his boat a few years ago, and was pleased to get nearly what he had paid for it 20 years previously, but what he got only barely covered just the updates, improvements, and repairs of the previous 10 years, much less the original acquisition cost. My father kept that boat in really good condition. So the new owner got a bargain. Whoever buys my boat, if I ever sell her, will get a good deal -- I have spent a ton of money on her over the years.

Conversely, I would never ever buy an older boat in need of fixing up. Never! Very often even for free, a fixer upper boat is no bargain. Will be worth less than just the costs of all the repairs, after they are done, sometimes even if you provide the labor yourself.