Narrowboat purchase specification incorrect

[hawkers]

I've had my offer of £24000 accepted subject to survey against an asking price of £29950 for a 45ft 1998 narrowboat and was happy with the boat and the deal. The deposit was paid and full survey is in a weeks time.

I just happen to have come across "Dating the Plate" in the back of The Inland Boat Owners Book and find that the plate of this boat gives a date of 1993 not 1998.

I felt I had bought well but 5 years makes the boat nearly 40% older than stated in the particulars of sale.

What would you do?

[mrsmelly]

I've had my offer of £24000 accepted subject to survey against an asking price of £29950 for a 45ft 1998 narrowboat and was happy with the boat and the deal. The deposit was paid and full survey is in a weeks time.

I just happen to have come across "Dating the Plate" in the back of The Inland Boat Owners Book and find that the plate of this boat gives a date of 1993 not 1998.

I felt I had bought well but 5 years makes the boat nearly 40% older than stated in the particulars of sale.

What would you do?

 

Personaly I wouldnt give two hoots. Narrowboats are not like cars were you haves glasses guide to tell you what it is supposedly worth. If the survey comes out ok, if the shell is in good order then it is in good order wether its 1998, 1993 or 1902. You could buy a boat built only say five years old that may or may not be in as good order. By all means ask the question from the seller but if you like the boat and it suits your purpose what does it realy matter.

Edited July 10, 2011 by mrsmelly

[Laurie Booth]

I would ask the seller about the year and suggest a discount.

[alan_fincher]

If it is genuinely 1993 and 1998, I think they have been more than a bit "economical with the truth", and I wouldn't feel that happy about entering in to such a deal without understanding why it's being sold with an optimistic description.

 

Presumably they must know ?

 

How long do they claimed to have owned it ?

 

I agree that there is no guarantee that a 13 year old boat will be any better than an 18 year old boat, but given that they do slowly dissolve away, its certainly not impossible.

 

I'm no expert, but isn't 20 years about the point when some insurers get iffy about covering them without full hull surveys ? In that case you could find you face increased costs, (either having to pay for a survey, or having to use a more expensive insurer), in just 2 years time.

 

If you like the boat, (as you must!), question it, and try and get them to take less.

Edited July 10, 2011 by alan_fincher

[dor]

Five years is a big difference , although it may well be that the price of £24K is reasonable for a 1993 boat. I would be asking for more information though as it looks as though the age of the boat has been misrepresented. Having said that, I understand that BW's use of numbers did get a bit mixed up at times, so it could be 1998.

[carlt]

Is it not the surveyor's responsibility to confirm the accuracy of all the claims, made by the vendor, including the age of the boat?

[Robin2]

I've had my offer of £24000 accepted subject to survey against an asking price of £29950 for a 45ft 1998 narrowboat and was happy with the boat and the deal. The deposit was paid and full survey is in a weeks time.

I just happen to have come across "Dating the Plate" in the back of The Inland Boat Owners Book and find that the plate of this boat gives a date of 1993 not 1998.

I felt I had bought well but 5 years makes the boat nearly 40% older than stated in the particulars of sale.

What would you do?

 

Years ago I analysed how car prices vary with age and it was clearly THE most important factor. There was also a very solid relationship between age and price.

 

More recently when I was thinking of buying a narrowboat I did a similar (though less extensive) analysis and came to the conclusion that age is also a very important factor in narrowboat prices - other things being equal as equipment and decoration levels can vary in a way that they don't with cars.

 

On the other hand I don't think it matters much what age a boat is as long as you are satisfied with its condition and the price is right.

 

The one thing that makes a noticeable difference in older boat prices is the age of the engine. If the engine of a boat I was looking at was 5 years older than I thought I would certainly expect an adjustment in price.

 

There is, of course, another issue. I would not buy anything from someone if I thought they were trying to trick me. No apology or discount would be sufficient. Do they even have good title to the object?

[David Schweizer]

As mrsmelly suggests, the age of a boat is of less importance than how well maintained it is, and who built the shell, but it may be worth doing some comparisons to see if a boat by the same builder but five years older would still achieve the price that you have had accepted.

 

Assuming that the information in the book you quote is correct, it may well be worth raising the age discrepancy with the surveyor, and ask him to try and identify more accurately when the boat was built. Some boat builders have developed their style or build quality over the years and a good surveyor should be able to recognise the variations. The surveyor should also know whether the builder was actually building boats in either of the two years that you have quoted. Alternatively, there will amost certainly be people on the forum who will know.

 

It is very easy to mistake a 3 for an 8 but that does not make any difference to the vendor being required to describe the boat accurately. If you are unhappy with the outcome of your enquiries, you should be offered your deposit back, but the survey cost will be down to experience.

 

Edited to add:- Carl and Robin beat me to it with some of my observations.

Edited July 10, 2011 by David Schweizer

[matty40s]

There is also the possibility that the boat wasn't on bw waters for the first few years of its life(on the river wey,the broads or elsewhere.) The owner may unknowingly be going by the registered with bw date and not the boat build date.

Edited July 10, 2011 by matty40s

[Gibbo]

Could it be something as simple as the date of the hull build as opposed to the date fit out was finished? Looking at how long some poeple take to fit out boats, 5 years doesn't seem that long.

[LoneWolf]

Could it be something as simple as the date of the hull build as opposed to the date fit out was finished? Looking at how long some poeple take to fit out boats, 5 years doesn't seem that long.

 

Thats what i was thinking.

 

Would whether the boat has an RCD be relevant here (does it get an RCD number?) Didn't it come in between 1993 & 1998?

[hawkers]

It is with much relief that I can report that I had made a mistake regarding the plate number and she is still a 1998 boat.

Thank you all for your comments.

[carlt]

It is with much relief that I can report that I had made a mistake regarding the plate number and she is still a 1998 boat.

Thank you all for your comments.

Telling us after just 12 posts is so unfair...

 

We could have strung out this thread for several pages.

[David Schweizer]

It is with much relief that I can report that I had made a mistake regarding the plate number and she is still a 1998 boat.

Thank you all for your comments.

Well it excercised our minds if nothing else. Good luck with the purchase.

[mrsmelly]

Telling us after just 12 posts is so unfair...

 

We could have strung out this thread for several pages.

 

Yeah, lets get a mod to delete the 5pm post and carry on........