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A 50m Feadship delivered in 2020 carried a build cost of roughly $48,000,000. A clean example in 2026 with one careful owner and a 2024 refit asks $34,000,000 to $38,000,000. That is a 25 to 30 percent discount from notional replacement. The discount is real on paper. Whether it survives the refit budget, the operating cost differential, and the resale window over your ownership is what this page is about.
We have logged 40+ comparable transactions across Feadship, Lurssen, Heesen, Benetti, and Sanlorenzo from 2022 to 2026 to source the depreciation curves below. The numbers move year to year. The pattern does not.
The depreciation curve, by size band
For yachts above 40m built by top-tier European yards:
Year 1: 5 to 10 percent depreciation. Most of this is the documentation and "first owner" premium dropping off.
Years 2 to 5: 3 to 5 percent per year, compounding. A 5-year-old yacht is at 70 to 80 percent of new-build cost depending on care and refit.
Years 6 to 10: 3 to 4 percent per year, with the curve sometimes leveling for the 8 to 10 year window if a major refit has happened.
Years 11 to 20: 2 to 3 percent per year, flattening. The yacht is now valued mostly on condition and recent refit work, not on age.
Year 20+: stable or slight appreciation in some cases, particularly for Feadship and Lurssen yachts that have completed full strip-and-rebuild refits. The "vintage Feadship" market is small but real.
For yachts under 40m, the curve is steeper in years 1 to 5 (8 to 12 percent in year 1, 5 to 7 percent in years 2 to 5) and flatter in later years. Production-build yachts depreciate faster than custom builds. The Sanlorenzo SL series, for example, depreciates more quickly than a comparable-LOA Heesen custom.
The takeaway: the largest depreciation hit is in year 1. The buyer who avoids that hit by purchasing a 2 to 3 year old yacht in pristine condition captures most of the new-build experience at 80 percent of the new-build cost. This is the structurally best buy point if you can find the right yacht in that age band.
The refit reality
The pre-owned discount is real until you cost the refit. A 7 to 12 year old yacht typically needs $1,500,000 to $4,000,000 in refit work to bring it to charter-grade or owner-pride condition. The categories:
Interior refresh. Carpet, soft furnishings, paint, possibly cabinetry. $400,000 to $1,200,000 on a 50m.
Mechanical refresh. Engine service or replacement (a Caterpillar 3512 engine swap is $300,000 to $600,000 per engine), generator service or replacement, gearbox checks, shaft alignment, propeller refurbishment. $300,000 to $900,000 if you avoid major engine work.
Electronics refresh. Navigation, communication, entertainment systems are 5 to 10 year cycles on yacht-grade equipment. $200,000 to $600,000.
Coatings and exterior. Awlgrip or comparable paint job every 7 to 12 years. $400,000 to $1,200,000 on a 50m.
Tender and toy refresh. Tenders, jet skis, seabobs, dive gear all depreciate hard and are typically replaced in any major refit. $150,000 to $400,000.
Stabilizer overhaul or upgrade. Older systems (the Naiad and Quantum predecessors of current technology) sometimes need full overhaul or replacement to modern at-anchor systems. $300,000 to $900,000.
Total refit budget on a 7 to 12 year old yacht: $1.8M to $4.5M typical, sometimes higher. The yachts that do not require this either have already received a 2024 or 2025 refit and are priced accordingly, or are about to need one and are priced as if they are not.
The mistake we see most often is buyers who model the pre-owned purchase against the asking price, the survey cost, and a notional "minor refresh." The yacht then needs $2.5M of work in year 2. The discount they thought they captured was the refit liability being passed to them.
The new-build path
The new-build path has different mechanics.
Lead time. Top European yards are running 36 to 60 month builds from contract to delivery. Slot availability is sometimes the harder constraint. We have logged buyers who could pay the deposit immediately and were told the next available slot at Feadship was 2030. Heesen, Oceanco, Lurssen all have similar slot scarcity. The Asian yards (Sunseeker, some Italian yards under volume builds) have shorter lead times but the brand premium is lower.
Specification. New build means you specify the yacht. Interior layout, finishes, propulsion (diesel, diesel-electric hybrid, methanol-ready), tender configuration, helipad, swim platform geometry, beach club arrangement. Pre-owned means the previous owner has specified it for their preferences, which may or may not match yours.
Warranty. New build yachts come with builder warranty (typically 24 months for major systems) and engine-maker warranty (Caterpillar, MTU, MAN typically 3 years). Pre-owned has no warranty. This is a $500,000 to $1,500,000 value over 3 years of ownership on a 50m yacht.
Resale exposure. The first owner of a new build absorbs the year 1 depreciation hit, which is 5 to 10 percent of build cost. If the new build costs $48M, the year 1 hit is $2.4M to $4.8M. This is the cost of being the first owner.
Build risk. New-build contracts include change-order language, payment milestones tied to construction stages, and arbitration clauses for delays. Builds that go badly (yard insolvency, design disputes, late delivery) are rare but expensive. We have seen one client lose 18 months on a yard that filed for protection during build.
The total-cost-over-7-years comparison
The honest comparison is total cost over a 7-year ownership window, not headline purchase price.
New build, 50m motor yacht, top European yard, 2026 delivery, build cost $48M:
Purchase: $48M (paid across build with deposits and milestones). Operating cost: $4.5M to $6M per year (crew, fuel, dockage, insurance, maintenance, refit reserve). 7-year operating: $31.5M to $42M. Expected resale at year 7: $24M to $30M (50 to 63 percent of build). Net cost over 7 years: $55M to $60M.
Pre-owned, 50m motor yacht, 2018 delivery purchased 2026 for $34M with a 2024 refit:
Purchase: $34M. Refit topup year 1: $1.5M. Operating cost: $4.5M to $6M per year, similar to new build. 7-year operating: $31.5M to $42M. Expected resale at year 14 (yacht now 14 years old): $14M to $20M. Net cost over 7 years: $51M to $57M.
The pre-owned advantage in net cost is meaningful but smaller than the headline 30 percent discount suggests. The advantage compresses further if the refit budget runs above $1.5M.
Where the pre-owned advantage is strongest
Three buying conditions where pre-owned is structurally the better answer:
The yacht has just completed a major refit (within 12 to 24 months) and the seller is repositioning to a different boat. You buy refurbished equipment at depreciated capital cost. This is the strongest pre-owned trade.
The yacht is from a builder whose later models you do not love. A late-2010s Feadship is in many ways the equal of a 2025 Feadship in core build quality. The decade-old design has been validated in operation.
The yacht has a charter income history that you can verify. A yacht that has chartered cleanly for 5 years has an operating record that a new build cannot match.
Where the new-build advantage is strongest
Three buying conditions where new build is structurally the better answer:
You want a specific design or configuration not available pre-owned. Hybrid propulsion under 50m is hard to find pre-owned in 2026 because the format is young. New build is the path.
You are buying for ownership rather than resale. The first-owner experience, the build relationship with the yard, the specification choices, the launch event, the entry of the yacht into your name from the keel up. Pre-owned does not deliver this.
The pre-owned market is short on what you want and the available options are compromised. Wait 60 months and build, rather than buy a compromised pre-owned now.
What to pass on
Three buying patterns we tell clients to avoid.
The recent-refit yacht where the refit work is not fully documented. A "2024 refit" with no surveyor report, no invoices, no photographs, no scope-of-work document is a marketing claim, not a refit. Demand the documentation. If it does not exist, the refit may have been cosmetic.
The new-build at a yard that has not delivered a yacht in your size band recently. Boutique yards that pivot upward (a 30m builder taking a 60m order) sometimes deliver excellent yachts and sometimes do not. Buy from yards with a track record in your size class.
The pre-owned bought without a charter-grade survey because the yacht "looks great" or "the broker we trust vouches for it." A full charter-grade survey costs $40,000 to $90,000 on a 50m. The cost is the insurance against a $2.5M refit liability you did not see. Pay for the survey.
One specific case
A buyer we tracked in 2024 considered two 52m motor yachts. New build at a top European yard, 48-month lead time, $52M build cost, mid-2028 delivery. Pre-owned 2017 build with a 2023 refit, $36M asking, immediately available.
Buyer chose pre-owned. Survey identified $2.1M of follow-on work (paint touchup, stabilizer overhaul, some interior refresh). Final negotiated price $34.2M. Refit completed in Q1 2025. All-in cost into the yacht at $36.3M. Yacht delivered to charter market summer 2025 at $310,000 per week. Charter revenue in 2025: $1.65M gross.
Compare to the new build path: $52M build cost, no delivery until 2028, two seasons of opportunity cost foregone. The pre-owned worked in this case. It would not have worked if the buyer had refused the survey and absorbed the $2.1M as a year-2 surprise.
FAQ
How much cheaper is a pre-owned yacht than a new build? A 5-year-old 50m motor yacht trades at 60 to 70 percent of new-build replacement cost.
What is the lead time on a new-build superyacht? 36 to 60 months at top European yards for 50 to 80m yachts.
Does a pre-owned yacht come with warranty? No. Pre-owned yachts are sold as-is after survey.
Are pre-owned yachts a good investment? Yachts are not investments. Pre-owned holds value better than new build over typical ownership windows.
Should I buy new or pre-owned for charter use? Pre-owned, in most cases. Charter market values recent refit and operating history.
How long does a charter-grade survey take? 3 to 5 days on a 50m motor yacht, including sea trial and hull inspection.