Boats for sale
Here are a few tips for buying a used boat:
Note: These tips were supplied from readers and they are just that...tips from readers.
I would go with a one owner boat. Minnesota would be a good place to buy as the summers are so short. I would make sure to test drive it and then take it out of the water to make sure it does not leak and you can evaluate the trailer at the same time. Check the tires and wiring on the trailer. Check the paint and look down the side of the boat to see how banged up it is. If they live on a lake the boat will of been in the water more which could be good or bad.. Make sure all the accessories ? stay with the boat. Good luck finding the right boat.
Well I have just bought another new boat again this year. That's the 5th boat since 1995. Most of my info applies to bigger boats, but I saved 2 great tips for any buyer/owner at the end.
The only thing I know for certain is that a GOOD Marine Surveyor is worth their weight in gold. Its surprises me how someone who is NAMS or SAMS certified to inspect a boat and has that much experience around boats sometimes know less that the average boater. Just because these guys are certified, doesn't mean they know the boat your looking at purchasing. It simply means they have been to some certification process and have done a certain number of surveys. In my experience when buying a few of the boats I was purchasing, I was the one who had to point some major defects not even noticed by some surveyors. Here is my experience what to look for in a surveyor. A knowledgeable surveyor will do and have all these things.
They should:
1) Inspect the hull with a moisture meter, and tap test the entire hull with a special hammer. (Fiberglass) This is checking for internal rotting and blisters in the hull. The boat should also be out of the water for a minimum of 24 hours before inspection and it can not be raining the day of survey.
2) Know and have access to the value of boats sold nationwide for comparables.
3) Go through the entire boat, pulling every hatch cover and accessing any area they can fit into checking for wet rot, dry rot, blistering, soft spots, etc... in the hull and stringers. They should make a very real attempt to get at some of those hard areas to access.
4) They should know all codes that pertain to boats, such as alarms, nav. lights, horns, bilge pumps, extinguishers, etc...and check they're working condition.
5) They should put power on the boat making sure that all equipment works. Things such as dead batteries, bilge pumps, lights, and onboard chargers are items that all cost money to replace and if they are not working, there is no way of knowing without power available.
6) A good surveyor will go for a sea trial with you and show you how everything works. Also they should have one of those electronic heat guns that tell the actual temp of the engine, not what the gauge shows. They will also do a compression test of the engine(s).
7) Other things to consider are things like what maintenance has been done by a previous owner and who did the work. Such things as changing impellers, and oil in the engines and lower units are critical. Those can be some real high ticket items to replace.
Final thoughts- The winterization of the boat and engines. Cracked heads, blocks, and manifolds are constantly being replaced every spring because of poor winterization techniques, and are not covered by insurance companies. Never buy a boat until you've taken it around the lake for a trip. Did you know you can test an I/O boat with a garden hose and it will run fine if the manifolds are cracked, but if you put it in the water it will overheat. The garden hose forces water through the engine under pressure, but when the engine is forced to draw water from the lake, the back pressure from a cracked manifold can cause enough heat to over temp the engine by preheating incoming water or causing steam.
Spark plugs and wires- They can be the culprit to a lot of things. Poor starting, idling, and power. Engine miss, and overheating. Radio and electronics interference. They can even lead you to think the engines are out of time, and that you have fuel related issues etc... Some plugs will work fine laying out against a ground while cranking an engine, but the minute you put them under compression, they can fail. Don't be fooled!
You ask for tips? I got one that I can think of...
When I shopped for a 14 footer last year I drove away from quite a few by
using a simple test; I asked the seller if they'd mind filling the hull with
water. Most folks just want to see the motor run, which I did also, but if
the hull leaks from the inside-out, it will definitely leak from the
outside-in...Most of the time these boat purchases aren't like buying a car,
where you can jump in and take 'er out for a spin right away. So for the
smaller boat it's easy to fill with water and see if the hull is sound...If
the owner refuses, you don't want that boat anyway.
Yes, there are a lot of scams going around. These guys will try to buy
any high dollar item. Having bought and sold over the internet for several
years now, and having seen lots of scams come and go, I have learned many
things.
Here's a list of the most obvious things to watch for:
1. If you get an email from someone saying they want to buy your boat
immediately, and want to know your "last" price so they can make a quick
deal. It's a scam. These guys usually don't speak (or type) the best
English. But they want to buy your boat immediately without ever having seen
it. They will offer to pay with a certified check (which is counterfeit),
and will arrange for the shipping or transport themselves so you won't have
to do anything. They will very often be from the UK, and will almost always
have an email address with one of the big free email providers like hotmail
or yahoo. The best thing to do is ask them for all their personal
information (full name, address, telephone number, as well as the name,
address, and phone number of the bank they plan to use to issue your
certified check) and tell them you are going to follow up on everything and
fully check them out before dealing any further with them. You will usually
never hear from them again. If they say they can't provide all this info
then it's a scam. Just remember to run away from any buyer that seems too
anxious or in too big of a hurry to buy. Most legitimate buyers will be very
thorough.
2. If you are the buyer, ask the seller to take some additional digital
photos, close-ups of specific areas, and email them to you. Most scammers
don't even have the item they are trying to sell, and will balk at taking
more photos saying they don't have a digital camera, and don't know anybody
who does, or some lame excuse like that. I had one guy tell me he needed 1/2
payment first, THEN he would send me all the photos I wanted. Right...
3. Call the seller on his (or a borrowed) cell phone and have them start and
run the engine while you listen in.
4. Ask the seller to take some home video of the boat in operation, and then
send it to you (offer to pay for this service). Make sure they use your name
in the video while narrating it, and ask to have them be in the picture and
talk specifically to you. Ask them to do a full walk around of the boat, and
maybe even take it out on the water so you can see it float and run. Have
them video the instruments during a full throttle run, and at idle.
5. If you are the buyer, NEVER pay via Western Union money transfer, no
matter what the seller says. They will often ask you to pay half up front,
then they will deliver your item, then you pay the remaining half when you
receive it. Don't do it. They will just take your first half payment and
run. Insist on using a reputable escrow service to handle the money for your
transaction ( www.escrow.com for
example), and offer to pay the escrow fees yourself. You will usually never
hear from the scammer again.
6. An obvious one, be very suspicious about any deal that seems too good to
be true. Nobody gives away good merchandise for much less than it is really
worth.
There are some things you need to do if you plan on selling an item like a boat over any system. To over-simplify things, it’s rough out there! The Internet is full of pranksters waiting to scam you. I would like to offer my ideas on the subject. If you are trying to sell something on the forum, then let’s set some guidelines. First of all, do not trust ANY responses from others that you do not know. I would add that maybe even limiting sales to registered members would help, but would limit the number of people that your item could be sold to and we don’t want to do that. Then, if you get a response, at least contact should be made and meeting somewhere to show identifications to each other, if possible. I would then ask for a cashier’s check or cash as payment and not release the item until paid in full. Do not accept a standard check (unless you want to take the risk of non payment) or you can go to the bank together to cash it, as it would then be on camera to help in case of problems. That’s about all I can say about this topic for now. Maybe after more thought we could refine these suggestions and of course, add more ideas.
Never gotten the shaft but here's my tips in order.
1. Have the compression checked on the motor.
2. Run the boat and motor on a lake. If the seller refuses, don't buy it.
3. Fill the boat with water or get the boat in a dark garage and place a
spotlight under the floor to check for leaks. If you see light under the
boat or see water dripping, you have a leak. Also do a visual check for
popped rivets or cracked fiberglass. Never look at a used boat at night.
4. Make sure the registration matches the boat, motor and trailer.
5. Check the floor for weak spots and smell the seats. If you smell any
mildew, the boat probably was never covered.
6. Make sure the prop and lower unit isn't damaged and ask what brand gear
oil was used to change it and how often it was changed.
7.Check the grease on all zerks. If its yellow or crusty, good chance the
seller didn't take very good care of the boat or trailer.
8.Ask the seller why he's selling.
9. Never pay with cash, use certified funds payable to you and the seller.
And get a sales receipt.