Hi, we recently considered the choice between a used 440 or a new 450. In the end, we decided to buy the new
lagoon 450. The reasons for our choice were:
* at the time we were looking, there were more 4
cabin, ex
charter than 3
cabin, privately owned on the market and we were keen for a 3 cabin, never chartered which at the time were scarce. (not sure of the market today).
* I liked the idea of the newer model as if you buy early and they are popular, they hold their value better than
buying towards the end of model life.
* intended to
live aboard for a good 10 years and thought a newer
boat would last longer and might even not need to replace
sails and major items (cross fingers)
* New
helm steps down were preferred and figured that the other improvements from the 440 were good.
* Good fx rate from
Australia made the
price differential smaller than normal.
* a bit of fear of
buying second hand, can we trust the
surveyor in a foreign country? We heard some horror stories That did scare us.
* as there weren't any used 440s in
Australia, we would have to buy overseas. That adds to cost of
import duty, gst, crew to help bring it back, etc.
We absolutely love our 450 and are glad of our choice , now that we have owned her for a few months.