JimH wrote:
"crystalguy" wrote in message
ups.com...
On Aug 25, 8:34 pm, "JimH" ask wrote:
Have you done so? If so, I would like your feedback.

It seems that there are some nice used boat deals on line, including on
Ebay
Motors and other internet listing sources. The problem in most cases is
that these boats are located several hundred miles from me.

Buying locally is easy as you can do an initial inspection of the boat to
see if it is worth pursuing. That is not practical when considering
boats
being sold several hundred miles from you.

The easy solution seems to be making the sale contingent upon a complete
structural and mechanical survey by a recommended "buyers surveyor", but
that can get to be expensive if prospective boats continue to fail the
surveys. As we all know sellers often overstate the condition of their
boats when putting them up for sale.

How did you handle your 'sight unseen' internet boat purchase? What did
you
do right? What did you do wrong? Would you do it again?
Never ever buy a boat sight unseen (unless you just have way too much
green in your pocket)
I have driven as far as 250 miles just to view and test drive a boat.
I wouldn't buy a car without test driving it, I sure as heck wouldn't
buy a boat without a test drive.
BTW what type of boat are we talking about? (runabout,cruiser)
A friend of mine bought a used bow rider after inspecting it, but
never test drove it.
He paid $4000 for the boat.
The 1st time he put it in the water it sank (rotted Transom)


I guess I was not clear enough. I would never buy the boat without
eventually seeing it. The sales offer would be contingent on a survey and
my inspection of the the boat. But running all over the country to view
boats can get old. So what do to make sure it is worth pursuing?



This seems so basic but here goes:

1. Tell the buyer that you are thinking of making an offer based upon a
satisfactory professional survey. Tell him you don't want to waste his
time if it will not meet your needs and pass the survey, so please take
detailed photos of the complete boat, including photos of all problem
areas. List all problems that a surveyor will highlight in his report.

I personally believe you can find similar boats close to your location
and could use the boats listed on Ebay and other web sites to negotiate
an excellent deal closer to home.

This seems so basic, I can not figure out what you are really looking for.