Why not a used Azimut?

If:
-It fits your needs well and you like it
-Boat and engines survey well, including electrical
-You sea trial it, including rough conditions, and like it.

Then no reason not to buy it.

Put it through it's paces, but don't fall so in love before that if the surveyor finds problems or if you take a sea trial and don't like how it handles rough water, you continue anyway. That's not just aimed at Azimut, but any boat.

And I emphasize rough conditions, even if you have to make your own. Nearly every boat rides great on smooth water.

Because you cannot fix their engineering headaches and tend to have the same issues/systems fail over and over again because the systems were poorly installed and/or poorly engineered. Getting to parts to replace them, can take a lot of headache as well. I can list pages of examples, but........Parts can also be hard to come by for them. Also their interior fabrics are not the type of fabric that's in it for the long haul.

You've read the threads, so you know the issues. I'd be more inclined to buy used than new in the same hopes you have that the issues would have been addressed. How many hours on the boat? Ideally you'd like to see 1200 to 2400 (100 to 200 per year. Less and she was a dock queen and the issues may not have been addressed. Also check the ownership records. Was she sold every 2 or 3 years or did one owner have her for most of that time? These also can be indicators of how she was treated. The parts situation is am issue, an that only gets worse with age. l

I'm going to say this in fairness. While I would not buy an Azimut, there are happy owners of them. A worse record than other brands but still. You'll need to make your own decision on the particular boat you're considering.

Alternatives-dozens from Hatteras to Sunseeker to Princess to Viking. Then toss in Trawler brands and semi-displacement trawler like boats, so Kadey Krogen, Grand Banks, etc.

What are your requirements in the boat? How do you intend to use it and where? How many typically aboard? What is your experience?

Exhaust compensators that go about 500 hours and split and start leaking exhaust into the engine room. Can only be ordered from Azimut in Italy with the clamps usually.

You need a marine electrician on speed dial.

One boat I worked on, had about 50' of holding tank hose from the tank to the Y through a stateroom (in the bilge) up the aft wall in a big loop then back to the macerator and through a check valve and out of the seacock. All of the equipment was located in a 10' area and could've been done with 17' of hose, but you couldn't access the part running under the stateroom and up the bulkhead to remove it. So needless to say changing macerator pumps was a regular occurance.

Just search on the rest as there's lots of it.

Boats are all about compromise. Since there are always compromises someone is always going to have a problem with any set of compromises, and other people will be fine with them. What you really don't want to compromise is any of the running capacity of the yacht (because that is unsafe, and it prevents you from using your boat). A drain that doesn't drain properly is more of a lifestyle impingement, it's unpleasant, but you can make due. If you don't want to risk any compromises, prepare to pay a lot for a boat from a highly reputable builder whose main focus is function, but even there you might be compromising on time (for a custom) or styling (if they don't make what you prefer). One of the most commonly issues with yachts like these are the finishes, people report losing surface treatments (like foam) or surfaces that are improperly prepared and permanently ugly, or uncleanable. Those are also major lifestyle compromises, but you can schedule repairs at your convenience, which is nice.

I would look at Sunseeker, Princess/Viking Sport Cruiser or Sea Ray. The first two being a bit better in quality. We bought a 1 owner 10 year old 50 ft Viking SC flybridge with 750 hours on her. She was very well maintained by a meticulous owner. In our 6.5 seasons we have put over 1000 hours on the boat including 3 ½ round trips from the Chesapeake to the Bahamas (on our way right now). The Sunseeker/Vikings are a very good compromise between sea worthiness, style/usability, and build quality. No coring from the rub rail down in a Viking SC. We looked at Azimut and you can get a lot of boat for the money, but parts and service are much more difficult then the Viking. There were also quality issues where the British built boats are superior in hardware, interior goods, electrical layout, and overall serviceability.

The main compromise with these style boats are less interior room than say a Hatteras or trawler style, but you get a nice cockpit and built in swim platform with a big flybridge, so if you are island hopping and like water sports then these style flybridges are really well suited. Docking is also less stressful with good walkaround access and a big cockpit. If you like to run on plane for some distances, then a cruise speed of 20 plus knots with relatively reasonable fuel mileage is a major benefit relative to the trawlers or heavy Hatteras.

Everything else being equal I'd choose the Neptunus. The problem is everything else is seldom equal. I know someone right now desperately searching for a boat in South Florida as he just sold his, and that boat he wants just isn't out there. It's available in large numbers in Europe.

Neptunus builds a good boat with good factory support, utilizes all North American parts in the build etc.. Searay is a good choice and you can probably find your price on a mid to late 2000's 52' sedan bridge, Sunseeker is a good choice, Tiara. I'm not a viking/princess fan after running a few they run ok, I feel the build quality is half a step below the others mentioned, but have run them many miles (over 5000 NM's). The fact that they're still using the self destructing, fly away canvas convertible top in their hard tops after all these years boggles my mind.

That was only during a brief period in the 90's. Before and after that the boats are solid and age very well. I managed 2 different 50' sundancers a 1991 and a 1994 up until 2 or 3 years ago. Both boats had aged very well and were solid. I run a newer one from time to time a 2007 and it took has aged well and the gelcoat looks new and interior has no woodwork issues.

Currently I'm looking at several yachts in the 65'-82' range for an owner. The boats are all 2005-2008. You can immediately tell the quality differences between the brands. You get on a 2006 Hatteras and the interior woodwork is perfect, the paint still looks as new, the teak still has plenty of life left. You get on another brand and multiple issues with the interior wood work, cracks, milky, etc., the teak needs replacing because they didn't put that thick of teak when the vessel is new, the gelcoat has multiple cracks everywhere, and basically needs painting......You're talking about yachts that are 6-9 years old. You get on a moderately to well cared for 1980's Hatteras and the woodwork inside is still nice.....etc.....