Purchase in Australia or New Zealand

[Kelly Slacker]

Hi

From trawling the on-line ad's of yachts for sale in Aus and NZ (around £40K GBP / $80K AUD / $100 NZD). Taking in to consideration the exchange rates, it seems there is much better value to be had in New Zealand.

Let me explain. I am a UK & Aus citizen, live in Aus most of the time although currently working in UK.

I am planning on returning to Aus late '08 early '09.

We were going to buy a mid-sized cruiser in Aus but looking at the prices am now thinking of going to NZ, purchase a vessle there and cruise for a while before heading on to Aus.

I know there are import duties in Australia ( importing a yacht ), but what the heck.

Is the second hand yacht market in New Zealand better value than Australia????

Cheers
Kelly

[Talbot]

I dont know about NZ, but last year there was a tax exemption on the import of new yachts from US. I seem to remember something similar about NZ, so it is worth checking on this requirement.

[Alan Wheeler]

We have a major down turn here in NZ just now. I am seeing daily, boats put on the market for not much more than a song. There are some incredible bargains to be had as ones are diving out of the market left right and center. The reasons are varied and a yet also linked. People are finding it tuff at the mo as expenses rise. The other part is that we are now seeing many of the 2-5 yr old production boats, Like Bavaria and Jeanneau and the likes, re-enter on the second hand market. They were cheap for the market they entered into when they first arrived. But has equated to being cheap for the end of the second hand market they are now entering. The result is that other boats are having to drop their prices dramatically to remain competitive, which ends in the entire market being pulled down.
Check out some prices here. TradeMe - New Zealand Online Auctions and Classifieds
Some are still very high, but then you suddenly come across someone that has an absolute steal. The steals used to be few and far between. But now they are a regular find.

[chris_gee]

Some of the prices on Trademe are starting prices not necessarily reserve prices, indeed they rarely actually sell at auction. One example is listed by a dealer at 120K and by the owner variously with a starting price of 50k or 60K.
The difficulty is this. If the boat was in true cruise condition it might be worth say $100K. However all those I have looked at required spending generally 60K to get there without counting points I did not find nor allowing for a new motor etc. I don't see these older boats selling at a price that makes spending large sums economic nor owners adjusting their prices to realistic levels.
True one has dropped by a third to a reasonable ball park price but on my calculations requires that third on upgrading which makes it still 50% overpriced.
One sold recently at a seemingly good price however what the ad didn't mention was that it had been damaged and required a repaint plus pulpit pushpit etc etc. Electronics sound good but are 20 years old, sails and rigging older teak decks need replacing.
There may be bargains sometimes and in the future if someone is forced to get cash but it seems to me most are well overpriced and reliant on a naive buyer hence they sit for a long time while the few good well priced boats sell reasonably quickly.
True the NZ $ is about 10% undervalued against the AUD but I suggest both markets are expensive but the choice in NZ for a cruising boat is limited. You would have to check on duty etc but I don't think a gst refund applies on export and imprt duty and tax do apply so that makes it more expensive.
What you buy depends partly on how much money you have, and secondly the real use to which you intend to put the boat. The standard for a boat which you intend to take offshore is higher and can be expensive to reach. Four thousand here and ten thousand there and pretty soon you are talking real money at least to me. However if you intend only coastal cruising you don't need the same standard of gear.
There is a british boat for sale in Fiji. The price is within negotiating range of the price in Europe which however includes VAT. Add about 20% and it isn't such a bargain.
You might find it better to get a boat from somewhere where there is little or no tax however the costs of getting there unless you have the time to upgrade and see sailing it to Australia as vacation are high.
My impression is that there are few cheap boats when the final cost is added up and you can only gauge the cost by taking a hard look in person. However as more owners become squeezed in various countries some more realistic prices may emerge.

[Weyalan]

I think that

Yacht Hub
Boats for Sale - Yachts for Sale - Used & New Boats @ The Yacht Hub

and

Boat Point
Used Boats - New Boats - Search New & Used Boats For Sale - BoatPoint Australia

are the best sites for browsing boat sales. I don't believe that the NZ market offers substantially better value. Certainly, I think that the difference certainly wouldn't equate to the total cost of buying a boat in NZ, sailing it to Aus, paying duties and taxes, etc.

[donradcliffe]

With the weak US dollar, the best buys in the boating market are in the US. We know of more than one Australian who has recently bought in the US and sailed their boat home (through the best cruising grounds in the world). We have also seen US boats being loaded on ships here in Newport for sale in Europe, which is currently the most expensive place to buy a boat.

[Sails777]

We bought an older repo and got a great deal on cruiser. But it needed a replacement generator/engine and a number of other items. We loved it. Put a lot of work into it too. Ended up getting a great deal on a diesel engine from a company online at Diesel Generators. Irvin and the guys there really took care of us and we ended up saving a lot of money. But, you get what you pay for. After all of our renovations, we sure spent a lot of dough!

[Steve Pope]

It is a buyers market in NZ, the top end seems stable but the 30' to 50' length mum dad type cruisers are definitely dropping in price, the asking price is just that. If you are planning on travelling the world a yacht that has had cat 1 recently or still has it will be worth more than one that has been used for coastal cruising. That being said if it already has a large cruising history many components may be at the end of their useful life. A lot of missinformation can be given in an advertisment you would need someone on the spot to do a survey for you.

[seafox]

Bavaria 38 Yacht for sale - TradeMe.co.nz - New Zealand
Been on for ages. I would of thought it was good value.

Ganley Shadow 34'. Steel, fin keel cruising cutter for sale - TradeMe.co.nz - New Zealand
This guy was next to me at Mana. He did EVERYTHING to the boat for an offshore trip to the islands. New motor, new everything. Got to be a good CAt1 deal for under $100k

** BAVARIA 36ft - Dec 2002 ( 3 Cabin ) ** for sale - TradeMe.co.nz - New Zealand
another good buy.

Iam sticking to my lotus 10.6 and it aint for sale