One final worry was when we arranged to go to Whilton on 17th August to make payment and have a look at what would now be our very own boat. We had a phone call from them just as we were about to leave Somerset to say not to come up as there was some problem with finance. It turned out the previous owners had not paid off the balance of finance and as our offer was less than outstanding finance the finance company couldn't release the boat until it was all sorted out but not to worry it should all go through and they would phone us back in an hour. Eventually after a very tense 3-4 hours they phoned back to confirm we could complete the transaction! Needless to say we were up there straight away to complete before any further problems and Diesel and Dust was finally ours once the money cleared. We became well known in the office at the time due to getting the boat for less than half the original asking price

Now would be a good time to say how pleased we were with our experience as a buyer from Whilton. We particularly like that they will let you have the keys and spend as much time as you like having a good look at the boats you are interested in and as many times as you like! We did visit to look round lots of times before finding our ideal boat. Had we just been given a quick guided tour as at some other brokers we almost certainly wouldn't have bought it. They allowed us to come when moving the boat, and even arranged it for a Saturday so we could fit it in around work. They were also very helpful with guiding us through the buying process and explaining how it all worked.

Our other observation which worked very much in our favour with the negotiations on price was there sales info was not very accurate. In our case it they had several details wrong - engine was listed as Lister SR3 when it was HA3 (quite a difference!); they said it had integral water tank when it had stainless steel; polystyrene insulation and it had rock wool; and failed to mention built in LPG generator in front locker. All things that we picked up straight away on our first viewing. Also they were very honest with us about the fact the owners needed to sell because of outstanding finance and that we were the only ones to express serious interest.

Definately not a Lister SR3!

Stainless steel water tank

LPG Honda generator