Buy in Australia or Europe

Been day dreaming of buying a yacht - a 545 actually and cant quite work out the difference in list price between Australia and Europe.

The base model in Europe is 275,000 EUR
in Australia the base model is 659,000 AUD or at current 1.3 AUD per EUR about 495,000 EUR.

Optioned you are looking at Europe 425,000 EUR and
Australia 875,000 AUD which is about 675,000 EUR

Now I can see 15% tax added in Australia and can even see a significant amount for shipping

But does this really add  200k + to the price.

Or am I looking at an out of date AUD price from back when the AUD was low and the EUR was strong? (Sometime before the PIIGS sat on the Euro and China bought Australia)

Hi,

Reading through lots of Hanse posts there also seems to be the dealer issue. It seems that there are quality issues down the dealer chain with the saying "Your Hanse is only as good as your Hanse dealer" 

So far haven't read anything bad about Windcraft - but still not sure they are worth an additional $200k.

In terms of GST and VAT that one is swings and roundabouts.  You don't pay European VAT but you do get hit with Australian GST as well as import duty.

Possibly find a good UK dealer.  Buy in the UK and shake it down for a few months there before hitting the Altlantic and Pacific.  Not sure I would like to do that before all the bugs had been fixed.

Not sure buying in the UK and direct shipping over without a shake down would work. Getting the Windcraft to support a yacht they didnt sell may be asking a bit much.

To my mind the AUD going up and the EUR going down means that any prospective Hanse customer in Oz could be realistically thinking about the next boat up in the range and people who couldn't  afford one at all now can enter the market.

It is also making second hand yachts unattractive. You can get a new Hanse these days for the same AUD cost as a couple of year old second hand boat.

And then again it may be as simple as asking Windcraft in Australia to fix their website to reflect the change in exchange rate.

It must be in their benefit to drop their prices - will have to hassle them.

Hi Hanseowners and intending owners, there are so many arguments regarding the benefits and detractions of buying a boat in Europe and sailing it back to Australia.  As we bought our boat in Europe and did that journey I can only comment on the value of the journey from a sailing / family once in a lifetime experience point of view.  Since we returned to Australia I had to have some warranty work done on the boat and took the boat to the Australian dealer, Windcraft Australia, in Pittwater.  I have known Peter, Mary and the team there for some time during our searches to buy a Hanse but never having purchased a boat from them, I had no prior experience in their after sale service levels.  The quality of the service I received from Windcraft caused me to write a personal correspondence to Michael Schmidt as it was, to me, simply exceptional.  The level of attention to my boat and the quality of the workmanship carried out was second to none and I simply could not believe how well I was treated.  As I outlined to Mr Schmidt, it was the best service I had ever received in any form of commercial arrangement.  I guess this is one of the reasons why Windcraft have been designated as Dealer of the Year for so many years.  I know the various forums complain about some of the dealers but we can only speak from our experience, that being with Windcraft and also with Phil and Peter from Hanse UK who were also fantastic guys to deal with and did so much to help us when we were in the UK buying our boat through a second hand broker.  With regard to price differences between the two countries I think the best thing to do is to sit down and speak to the Australian dealer(s) and find out exactly what is being offered for sale as part of the boat package and get them to compare and comment on any price anomalies, especially now our dollar is so strong against the UK Pound and EU Euro.     The great thing about having a Hanse is the wonderful help and support the owners provide to each other and also those who are considering buying a Hanse.  The depth of knowledge and experience out there is invaluable and it appears that there are very few who are not prepared to help out.