Why won't the French sell me a boat??

[soupdragon1]

Sent a number of emails to brokers via boats.com and nil replies. I'm in NI, and plan to bring the boat back into Cork (Ireland) then drive it home

Is there an issue where its more hastle than its worth for them? (Eg, paperwork, ownership issues)

I just want to pay list price and take the boat home. How hard can it be?

Anyone bought from France that can give me any tips? I'm a bit bemused. There is like 10 identical model boats for sale on one website alone, so it's not like they are selling like hotcakes and a local buyer will snap it up tomorrow.

[pequod]

May be related to you having to import it and pay duty (20%VAT) although if you're willing to pay their asking price, which will include French/EU taxes, and pay again once the boat is permanently imported into British waters, then I don't see why they wouldn't respond to your enquiry?

Are you buying new or used?

If new, then it should be possible to purchase the boat duty free for export but that may incur some effort by the broker or they will probably pass you to the manufacturer to deal with a duty free export boat directly. Have you contacted the boat builder or their agent in NI?

If used, then you will be buying an EU VAT paid boat but will need to pay UK VAT on import based on the price paid.

CE certification is still accepted here in the UK but is due to change to the new British certification although NI rules are different I see....

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/placing-manufactured-g...

This matters when you come to sell as the paper trail is important as is a valid original VAT certificate!

HTH

[soupdragon1]

Yes, thats helps, thank you

It's It's used boat for personal use, and from what I understand, VAT is only paid if I move to GB. So to bring it to Ireland or N Ireland, there is no additional VAT

The boats I'm looking at are a fair bit cheaper to buy, as well as plentiful availability compared to Ireland and UK, where prices seem to be higher

Maybe the complication of the NI protocol is putting the brokers off? I'm wondering that during the buying process, do the French have to jump through a few hoops if the boat is being exported?

Maybe I'm better looking at the French equivalent of gumtree type places, although I don't know of any, other than ebay.fr

[Petrus1983]

Are you enquiring in English or French? When I lived in France not much happened if someone spoke English to order something.

[loskie]

maybe they think it's a scam the same as vendors of cars in the UK receiving enquiries from people claiming to work offshore who will send a courier etc etc

[jbswagger]

Have you tried Le Bon Coin

https://www.leboncoin.fr

[pequod]

soupdragon1 said:

Yes, thats helps, thank you

It's It's used boat for personal use, and from what I understand, VAT is only paid if I move to GB. So to bring it to Ireland or N Ireland, there is no additional VAT

The boats I'm looking at are a fair bit cheaper to buy, as well as plentiful availability compared to Ireland and UK, where prices seem to be higher

Maybe the complication of the NI protocol is putting the brokers off? I'm wondering that during the buying process, do the French have to jump through a few hoops if the boat is being exported?

Maybe I'm better looking at the French equivalent of gumtree type places, although I don't know of any, other than ebay.fr

In theory the boat will stay within the EU customs territory (NIP) I believe, but there appears to be some confusion/complication with the rules post Brexit and how it impacts buyers and sellers in NI.

Can't you buy/collect in France and arrange the transport independent of the sale? It's down to you to check the import regulations into Ireland/NI and any VAT payable on a used boat upon import, and if you are intending to bring it to Cork before moving it up to NI then, to begin with, the boat stays within the EU anyway and you can leave it there for up to 18 months` before needing to leave EU waters.

As others have said, it may be the broker is unwilling/unable to complete the transaction in English and all the paperwork will need to be translated at some stage anyway, but you can engage a local notaire to assist with that.

I would respectfully suggest you have clear reassurance from NI Customs regarding the VAT payment/non payment as that may come back to bite you when the time comes to sell.

[soupdragon1]

Thanks all. Yes, my messages were all in French, using Google translate

Good point around them thinking I'm a scammer.

Some good boats on leboncoin but alas, they need a French phone number to sign into the site, with no option for a +44 country code, so I'm unable to contact sellers on there

Maybe I should just jump on a plane and see how far my GCSE in French will take me lol

[soupdragon1]

pequod said:

In theory the boat will stay within the EU customs territory (NIP) I believe, but there appears to be some confusion/complication with the rules post Brexit and how it impacts buyers and sellers in NI.

Can't you buy/collect in France and arrange the transport independent of the sale? It's down to you to check the import regulations into Ireland/NI and any VAT payable on a used boat upon import, and if you are intending to bring it to Cork before moving it up to NI then, to begin with, the boat stays within the EU anyway and you can leave it there for up to 18 months` before needing to leave EU waters.

As others have said, it may be the broker is unwilling/unable to complete the transaction in English and all the paperwork will need to be translated at some stage anyway, but you can engage a local notaire to assist with that.

I would respectfully suggest you have clear reassurance from NI Customs regarding the VAT payment/non payment as that may come back to bite you when the time comes to sell.

Yes, I think this is what I'll need to do

[sunbeam alpine]

soupdragon1 said:

Some good boats on leboncoin but alas, they need a French phone number to sign into the site, with no option for a +44 country code, so I'm unable to contact sellers on there...

You can create a login for leboncoin using your e-mail address. You don't need a French telephone number.

There was a thread last year about someone trying to buy a boat out of France, but they were also frustrated by paperwork. I think they gave up in the end.

[Audis5b9]

Not wanting to tar all French brokers with the same brush, but from my experience in the industry, the European brokers need a phone call rather than enquiries through the sales websites which go ignored as per your experience as well!

They will very likely speak fairly good English, but a few sentences pre-translated ready to say to them will help.

You can then take it to email conversation and they will take you more seriously.

[soupdragon1]

Thanks again. Sounds like a good idea, pick up the phone with some pre planned phrases

Merci beacoup mon ami's

[Simpo Two]

soupdragon1 said:

Thanks again. Sounds like a good idea, pick up the phone with some pre planned phrases

Merci beacoup mon ami's

I am reminded of this classic advert with Rowan Atkinson... https://youtu.be/g-oCckHaGdM?t=7

(but you say 'How Much Is The Boat?' otherwise you'll come away with a rug)

Edited by Simpo Two on Sunday 22 May 11:16

[Jeanboi]

Maybe the French internal market is, pardon the pun, buoyant enough not to have to consider interest from abroad which may involve 5% more work for them to process?
I hope you find something nice though!

[soupdragon1]

So a boat came up for sale a few hrs away from me in central Ireland and I took a trip to see it last week and bought it on the spot.

Beneteau flyer 701. Its a 2003 with a brand new Volvo Penta 4.3 petrol engine last year, brand new canopy from NV, and the bottom half has a a 6 coat respray with 2 coats of lacquer to finish just done this year. A very presentable boat it must be said and owner seemed to have taken excellent care of her.

Saved me a trip to France.

I know the BMW X6 isn't a forum favourite by any stretch but my god, what an engine. We have the 40D version and its rated for 3500kg towing. The trailer is braked of course and at 55mph, car was doing 1.4k RPM on the flat. On a very steep incline, it was doing it at 2k RPM and felt it had plenty of headroom for an even bigger challenge. Got a few funny looks though - boat makes the X6 look like a Tonka toy!

Hoping to get her in the water this week

Thanks for all the advise. I didn't go to France in the end but I might have done, had this lovely boat not popped up for sale.

[soupdragon1]

[Pot Bellied Fool]

I bet you got some looks with that! Even more if you'd had a bikini-clad lovely on the back sipping champagne as everyone overtook!

I'm curious, just how much does a boat like that weigh? I'm guessing not as much as you'd think given the car towed so well.

[Simpo Two]

Pot Bellied Fool said:

I bet you got some looks with that! Even more if you'd had a bikini-clad lovely on the back sipping champagne as everyone overtook!

I'm curious, just how much does a boat like that weigh? I'm guessing not as much as you'd think given the car towed so well.

Boats are big up close out of the water aren't they! I still can't really believe that my boat is longer than my house...

My 27' cruiser is about 2.2 tons but that's with an inboard, so the above - wild guess - two tons?


ETA Is that an outdrive I see or some funky outboard?

Edited by Simpo Two on Monday 20th June 21:02

[loskie]

will you use this for your drug dealing business?

[Jimbo.]

I tried to buy a boat in France once. It was the sixth boat to wear that name. I asked the seller about the boat that came before it,

“Cinq”