Buying new in France or buying used in the Caribbean?

[Octopus]

Originally Posted by ObiWanSand

Thank you, Rabbi

Anyone else have anything to share as far as annual insurance fees are concerned.

Much appreciated if you do!

Brgds

Our Lagoon 420 costs about 1500 euros to insure each year. In 2007, when the boat was new, it cost about half as much again, partly because the boat was new, but also because our cruising waters included two Atlantic ocean crossings and sailing South of Gibraltar (both pushed up the prices). There may also be other restrictions, such as crossing the Bay of Biscay before the end of September.

New versus Old is a difficult decision, but I can promise you that nothing (and I mean nothing) will compare with the sense of achievement from sailing across the Atlantic in your own brand new boat. I speak from experience.

Remember, if you intend to return to the EU, having reclaimed VAT on leaving, to choose your port of return with care. We reclaimed VAT at UK rates (then 17.5%) on the new purchase price (including all options) and re-imported the boat in the Azores at the then rate of 15% applied to the deemed resale value of the basic boat (not including options) - a substantial reduction on purchase price. This saved us a lot of money.

We were only able to reclaim the VAT after arriving at a port outside the EU VAT community. There may be a time limit from the date of purchase to the date of arrival at the non-VAT port (eight weeks in our case), which may put pressure on your timetable. Also, you may need the cooperation of the port authorities in your arrival port to provide evidence for completion of the VAT reclaim paperwork, something you cannot assume. We chose Gibraltar as our non-VAT port of arrival and everything went smoothly, but it could easily have gone wrong.

Chris

[SteveSadler]

I ended up buying my boat in Croatia after a year of hunting the internet for a a good deal on a 50' monohull. The Med simply has 50x more boats for sale than the Caribbean, thereby offering more choices, and better prices. Most will be ex charter boats that need electronics updates, additions, and asthetic upgrades. Good luck in your Hunt.
Steve

[Rickthesailor]

HI,

I agree with Steve.... We just spent two years looking for a used cat, and the Med has better deals than the Caribbean... We have just bought a used 2016 Lagoon 450 in Malta at a huge reduction over new...

However an L42 would need to be a new purchase...

[boatman61]

I'd suggest if your buying new run your Yanmars in as per the Manual between Le Sables and Lisbon. (50hrs on each if memory serves)
We did that on a new L380.. Le Sables-Viviero-Bayona-Lisbon.. motor sailing alternate engines just enough mileage and the first major service by the 'Dealers' out of the way before your crossing.. from Lisbon to Gran Canaria the engines were only used to leave and then enter the marina the other end.
Check the AP seating for backup padding/seating as we found some unwanted flexing there.. owner reinforced this himself.. last heard he was in Thailand with no further problems.