I'm curious to hear stories about how folks knocked down the
price on
their new boat, particularly anything creative or innovative

I wrote up a list of the things I wanted in a boat, and put a
dollar value beside each item. The first thing was an inside
shower, the second a solid hull, a windlass and so on. I made
copies, and checked off every item for each boat I looked at.
Then I could compare the boats on the basis of the bottom
line. I fell in love with almost every boat I looked at, and
those sheets saved me from getting caught by some awful
clunkers. I looked for my boat for 14 months. If you're
going to buy a $35,000 boat, you've got to be prepared to
trundle down to Trinidad and the BVI and England to look. And
go to Carnival...

This is my experience, I will never again go to a (spit!)
broker for anything. For a boat, I would look on the net and
keep my eyes open.

After six months of looking, you can get a feel of what to
offer. The asking price has nothing to do with anything for
you, perhaps because you've been looking hard at dozens of
boats and the seller has only the experience of setting the
price on one. If you're interested, you carefully nicely
offer what the boat's worth to you, and remember that you too
have things to offer like the money in the bank and a fast
close with a bank draft. Don't look at it being half or 90% of
the selling price, that has nothing to do with anything. The
seller should reply nicely with a counter offer. Then you can
decide what you want to do. The very worst the seller can do
is say 'No!!!' to you, with 3 exclamation marks, and only a
lightweight would do that and you've learned what he's all
about for free.
--
Joe

Joe Kovacs
SV Sea Breeze