The Allgemeine Deutsche Automobil-Club (ADAC) probably leaned a little too far out of the hatch or out of the window when it presented its new business idea, the ADAC Boat Check, during the boot trade fair in Düsseldorf in January 2012 (BOOTE 3/12, p. 16).
The decisive factor for the new service offered by the ADAC may have been the idea that many consumers literally do not know what they are doing when buying pleasure boats - just like when buying a car. Many hobby newcomers lack the insight and expertise to recognise defects in the objects of their desire and to correctly assess their "significance for the value or suitability for the usual use or the use assumed according to the contract", as it was so beautifully put in § 459 BGB before the reform of the law of obligations came into force on 1 January 2002.
It was precisely the reform of the law of obligations in 2002 that really got the used boat market moving. The trade complained quite loudly at the time that the legislator was destroying their business, particularly with the reversal of the burden of proof in favour of the consumer in the first six months after purchase (§ 476 BGB).
Only a few dealers saw or see in § 460 BGB (old version) and now in the new § 442 BGB their very real opportunity to escape the consequences of the reversal of the burden of proof by frankly disclosing, or even eliminating, the existing defects in a very simple way. In 2002, it would have been time to revitalise the used boat market with an "old" new service, namely the commercial disclosure of faults or defects in used boats.
However, boat and shipbuilding experts missed this opportunity at the time, as well as the chance to combine their own range of services with used boat warranty insurance. An insurance policy that covers those defects over a certain period of time that the professional defect finder, whether competent or not, did not find.
"If nobody else will do it, we'll do it!" is the ADAC's idea for the "boat check". The club primarily targeted the commercial boat trade and the insurance broker Yacht-Pool, but clumsily failed to get professional boat and marine experts on board at the same time. However, it is hard to believe that owners and employees of commercial boat dealerships or repair workshops support second-hand buyers and sellers in their private transactions without self-interest and for a dumping fee.
It was also certainly very far-fetched to offer the ADAC boat check as a favourable alternative to the expert opinions of boat and ship experts - disregarding the high level of competence of the IHK and court-sworn recreational craft and shipbuilding experts in particular.
Equating apples with pears was bound to incur the wrath of the expert associations and, quite predictably, led to Germany's largest automobile club having to abandon this type of advertising following a request from the Association of Sports Boat and Shipbuilding Experts (VBS) to issue a cease-and-desist declaration. The fact that the ADAC did not resort to a cease-and-desist action, but instead immediately conceded out of court, shows that the Munich-based club itself had probably realised that it had overshot the mark a little - or even a little more.
As if in mockery of the interest group issuing the warning, the ADAC now refers on its website to the co-operation agreement with Internationale Bootsexperten e.V. (an independent rival association of the VBS) and in its current advertising expressly recommends the "additional" obtaining of an expert opinion for high-quality yachts.
But what are the benefits of the new ADAC "Boat Check" product for used boat buyers and sellers? A water sports novice and technical layman may be impressed when an expert with an ADAC certificate of competence looks for defects that are significant in terms of value and function and summarises them in a report. The actual benefit here, as with the report of a "boat expert", depends not only on the supposed, but also the actual expertise and commitment of the person commissioned with the search for defects.
However, the author has also experienced a sworn boat expert, who is well known in the recreational boating scene, who repeatedly mixed up the names of American boat manufacturers with the names of model types in his expert opinion, as well as an expert who spent a conspicuously large amount of time and travelling in order to reach his expert opinion.
However, it would be dubious to criticise an entire group of service providers because of negative individual examples. Incompetence and money-grubbing worthy of criticism can be found in all areas, from tradespeople to freelancers, including lawyers and doctors. In individual cases, the flat-rate fee of €679 for an ADAC boat check for a 50-foot yacht may be just as high as an expert's fee of €450 for a brief expert opinion on a 20-foot boat.
Conclusion: The ADAC boat check is an interesting new service for new boat buyers and can certainly be a good decision-making aid when buying a boat. However, it is not a real alternative to the expert opinion of a sworn boat expert with many years of professional experience. The apple is not a pear! It remains to be seen whether the costs of the boat check will ultimately pay off for the used boat buyer or seller.
The decisive factor is whether the "ADAC" brand boat check seal of approval will live up to the trust that consumers have in the objectivity and expertise of "their" club in the long term. There is certainly a market for this product, especially in combination with used boat warranty insurance
