Why are boats so much cheaper in Europe?

[epiic]

When comparing at the EXACT same make/model, boats are always significantly cheaper and more to choose from when compared to North America.

Any ideas why?

Also, how difficult would it be to convert the 220v power to 110v so that it can be brought over to North America?

My plan would be to buy boats in Europe, sail them across the Atlantic and sell them in North America for a profit. Rinse and repeat until I am tired of doing it...

[sailorboy1]

hope you have a lot of cash and are willing to lose it

Good Luck!

[epiic]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

hope you have a lot of cash and are willing to lose it

Good Luck!

Could you elaborate on that?

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by epiic

Could you elaborate on that?

sure, spend some time researching buying costs as in lost fees, transportation costs including repairs and upgrades to get across the ocean, storage and selling costs, true selling cost fees, sales prices compared to listed prices

then see if you can truly say you have some new business model money making idea

[hsi88]

I'm certainly no authority on this, but perhaps this only applies to "newer" boats. I see cheap boats all the time in the US. Let's face it, you can't get much cheaper than "free". And although these boats might not be in their prime, they are watertight, have running engines and serviceable sails and rigging. But then again, my standards are probably much lower than most. And the amount of money I'm willing to spend is probably much less too.

[Kenomac]

Simple. The US dollar is currently strong against the euro. There are more ex-charter boats here on the market.

Before you get too excited, most prospective buyers don't want a boat set up for charter.

The dollar to euro exchange rate can change at any time and there are other transaction fees involved when you try to buy European stuff using dollars. Expect to loose up to and around 5% to bankers, exchange rates and wire fees, unless you plan to board the plane with a suitcase full of dollars.... Which can also be problematic... when it gets confiscated.

It's really only cheaper, if you plan to buy a Euro boat and then use it over here.

I just noticed you're from Canada.... Bring twice as many dollars.

[TurninTurtle]

IMPORT/LUXURY TAXES

Guess what? As a dealer you'll need to pay em.

[exMaggieDrum]

Changing wiring and systems to go from 220v to 110v will be expensive. You best look in to that before going forward. You didn't mention whether you were looking at new or used boats. New French boats over there may be cheaper because (a) no import duties to get in to the US and (b) no shipping/delivery costs.

[epiic]

Originally Posted by exMaggieDrum

You didn't mention whether you were looking at new or used boats. New French boats over there may be cheaper because (a) no import duties to get in to the US and (b) no shipping/delivery costs.

Looking at 2013 or newer Jeanneau's in the 37-41ft range

[wcrosby]

I've got a 2013 jeanneau 409 in Rhode Island that I would sell you at a very good price!

[woodyapex]

Originally Posted by exMaggieDrum

Changing wiring and systems to go from 220v to 110v will be expensive. You best look in to that before going forward. You didn't mention whether you were looking at new or used boats. New French boats over there may be cheaper because (a) no import duties to get in to the US and (b) no shipping/delivery costs.

I'm in the uk we as you say use 220v but I'm also a joiner and on site we have to use 110 v so with a simple transformer you could have all the sockets at 110 v very easily .
But I think I'm in agreement with the most . Funnily enough I thought about sailing US boats over to the uk and selling them as you boats are cheaper then ours lol .
Oh and one more thing . England is about to have a referendum whether or not to stay in the eu . No one really knows the effect this is going to have on the euro either way but it could be dramatic !
Good luck

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by woodyapex

I'm in the uk we as you say use 220v but I'm also a joiner and on site we have to use 110 v so with a simple transformer you could have all the sockets at 110 v very easily .
But I think I'm in agreement with the most . Funnily enough I thought about sailing US boats over to the uk and selling them as you boats are cheaper then ours lol .
Oh and one more thing . England is about to have a referendum whether or not to stay in the eu . No one really knows the effect this is going to have on the euro either way but it could be dramatic !
Good luck

Sure you can change the voltage easy but what about the Hz?
Also, are the wires sized to accept the amps that go with 110v?
Does the fuse panel and such all need to be changed out?
Are there any onboard electrical devices that need 220v?

All of these issue can be addressed in various ways but we are talking about a boat that is presumably going to be permanently in 110V-60hz land. No one is going to want something cobbled together that kind of works.

If you are cruising for a year or so in a land of different voltage, a transformer can be a reasonable option if used with care but if I was buying a boat to be in the states permanently, I would discount the price based on the worst case scenario of having to replace the entire electrical system.

[Lepke]

Importing a used boat for personal use into the US is relatively cheap for a US resident. Especially to a non-sales tax state. Importing for resale is completely different.
My current boat was US built but Canadian registered. It cost about $12 to import because my residence is Oregon (no sales tax). In California (a socialists wonderland) it would have been about 10% sales tax.
Foreign built to be US documented may need an admeasure. Because Canada had the registration on this boat all screwed up (wrong builder, year) I had to have a $3000 admeasure by ABS. Even though I got the Canadians to admit their mistake and had documents from previous Canadian owners and could document US owners back to the original owner.
It's never simple dealing with any government.

[first wind]

Originally Posted by Lepke

It's never simple dealing with any government.

kind of makes you wonder why, when given an opportunity, people always choose to form one.

[Lantau]

It really depends on the boat you are looking at. Many boats have much higher asking prices in Europe, in part due to the high taxes there. We are selling our 2004 Pacific Seacraft 37 and the exact same boat (same model, same year, but that one is not as well equipped as ours) has an asking price almost $90K more than ours (but I don't know if that boat is tax paid in Europe; probably it is not).