At several points in your yachting life—from when you begin the hobby to when you’ve had some experience in it—you’ll be pressed to make some important choices. One of them is whether you should buy a brand-new yacht from a dealer or enlist the services of a broker and choose among their many pre-owned yachts for sale. Is it worth it to spend on a new boat, or will a secondhand boat be enough for your purposes?
The right choice really depends on what your needs are and what kind of experiences you want on your yacht. After all, no two yachting lifestyles are really the same. Nevertheless, if you need extra help narrowing down your choices, here are seven factors that you can consider when getting a yacht in the Philippines:
Budget
There’s no denying that your budget is one of the key factors to consider when buying a new boat. If you’re on a more conservative budget, then getting a pre-owned yacht may be the way to go. You will definitely be able to save a considerable amount, as brand-new yachts typically depreciate by 10% in the first year and an additional 6% to 8% every year thereafter. But if cost isn’t an issue, and being the first owner of a boat appeals to you more, then you can choose to buy a brand-new yacht.
Wait Time
Another factor to consider is the wait time before you get your boat. In most cases, acquisition and turnover will be much faster for a secondhand yacht. That’s because the yacht is already complete and will likely already be in the country, and it’s just a matter of transferring ownership to you. In contrast, if you order a brand-new yacht from an international brand, you will likely have to wait several months for the boat to arrive in the Philippines. Many yacht owners don’t mind the wait, as it heightens both their anticipation and their enjoyment of the experience. If you fall under the latter category, you can buy a new yacht and excitedly count the days until you step aboard.
Range of Choices
The pre-owned market for luxury items like yachts is very lively, and you may be surprised with the number of choices you already have available. However, the fact remains that if you’re buying secondhand, you’re limited to the pool of items that’s in the secondhand market. One of the significant advantages of buying a brand-new yacht is that you have more brands, models, and style variations to choose from. If you want to choose from a broader range of options and you don’t mind waiting, then perhaps you should gear up to buy a new yacht.
Customization Options
Sometimes you can get extremely lucky with a pre-owned yacht and inherit a vessel that has some useful upgrades on it. But more often than not, if you’re buying secondhand, it will take you more effort and cost you more money to get the full range of customization you want. If you buy a new yacht, however, you have a freer rein for what upgrades and finishes you’d like it to have. By the time your yacht comes to you, it will already be customized to your liking.
Risks
One important consideration to make about pre-owned purchases is that all of them come with a measure of risk. Issues like structural damage and electrical problems on the boat may be invisible to the eye, especially if the buyer isn’t an experienced yachtsman. To assess the yacht’s condition and rule out any possible risk—especially of sinking, fire hazards, or power failure—a secondhand buyer will need to pay for the services of a marine surveyor. Even if it’s the more expensive option, buying a new brand-new yacht is also often the less risky one.
Learning Curve
Yet another point to consider is at what stage you are in your yachting life when you’re buying the boat. If you consider yourself a rookie and are still testing the waters in your life as a sailing yacht or motor yacht owner, it’s probably best to get a secondhand vessel. You will still have sufficient resources to learn about boating, but you won’t have to worry about breaking the boat in and proving its seaworthiness. In addition, knowing that you’re not responsible for the boat’s first nick or scratch may relieve you of a great psychological burden. On the opposite end, if you are already a seasoned yachtsman and you have a pretty good sense of your preferences, it may be more satisfying for you to buy a brand-new boat. A new yacht may be the answer to the challenge and growth that you currently seek for yourself.
Usability
The last consideration you should make pertains to the yacht’s usability, or how well it disposes itself to the experiences you want for it. In truth, both a secondhand yacht and a brand-new yacht could be equally pleasant for you to use. In this regard, it may depend more on the boat’s exact model and what applications are best for it—for example, fishing trips, sailing regattas, or long liveaboard cruises. But both the secondhand and the brand-new market will have viable contenders for your dream yacht.
Final Words: Choose According to Your Circumstance
Pre-owned or brand-new, the best yacht for you is the one that matches your circumstances and your specific ambitions for your own yachting life. That said, you’re bound to enjoy looking around for secondhand or brand-new boats among the world’s top brands—as fellow yachtsmen will be able to tell you, a lot of the fun is in the choosing!