Is there a written process to new boat buying that someone may have on thier
website?

I have narrowed my new boat choice to 3 or 4 brands.
I've checked out some of them at a boat show and will be attending another
before I'll be going to the Dealer's locations.

How much time will I want to spend at each dealer before I decide on the
boat?
Once I decide on a boat, do I get a test drive in a demo?
It the boat is not on location and it needs to be ordered, how much of a
deposit to expect?
How long are factory lead times typically on a 21-23' cuddy?
Do I need a surveyer for a new boat?

Serious replys only please

Thanks in advance!

David

You're gonna get some piecemeal answers. Here's my part:

Make SURE you have an understanding that "teething problems" will be dealt
with like they are an emergency. I've seen many a new boat sit languishing
at the dealers to get silly little outfitting and rigging problems reworked.
Even when I did all the re-rigging of my new hull. I still had teething
problems and the resulting punch list - mostly left over from when it was
new. Except that I introduced a new one also.

I didn't tighten the nut far enough (by about 1.5 turns) in the shift cable
retainer in the motor. About 2 days into use - I put it in reverse and the
cable managed to jump out because the retainer had turned a bit. No big deal
for *me*, but that would be a trip to the shop (and tow to ramp) for an
"end-user". A five minute fix like that of a silly rigging error should be
done for a new boat owner on the spot - not via a long wait.

My new tachometer didn't work properly and I had to get it exchanged for a
new one. My battery had discharged too far (listening to the radio while
rigging the hull) and I popped the rectifier going to WOT right away while
the battery was presenting a dead load to the system. My glovebox cooler
was improperly mounted at the factory and "fell in". The snap in rugs didn't
have stainless screws holding the snaps into the floor. I had to remount the
ski-tower because no adhesive was used. A missing snap on the bimini. Etc
Etc.

Bottom line: My boat would have spent a LOT of time at the shop to get
silly stuff fixed, if I wasn't "the shop" LOL. It had quite a "punch
list" and would have had a LOT of downtime.

I took note of this so I could impress people like *you* of the fact that
you need make SURE the dealer understands *your* punch list is an EMERGENCY.
If not you'll lose weeks of water time, I've seen some people lose MONTHS.

-W


"David Ditch" wrote in message
...
Is there a written process to new boat buying that someone may have on
thier
website?

I have narrowed my new boat choice to 3 or 4 brands.
I've checked out some of them at a boat show and will be attending another
before I'll be going to the Dealer's locations.

How much time will I want to spend at each dealer before I decide on the
boat?
Once I decide on a boat, do I get a test drive in a demo?
It the boat is not on location and it needs to be ordered, how much of a
deposit to expect?
How long are factory lead times typically on a 21-23' cuddy?
Do I need a surveyer for a new boat?

Serious replys only please

Thanks in advance!

David

I guess thats a good reason to buy early in the season
Are factories still making these kinds of mistakes?

David
"Clams Canino" wrote in message
news:C7ogb.694936$Ho3.150368@sccrnsc03...
You're gonna get some piecemeal answers. Here's my part:

Make SURE you have an understanding that "teething problems" will be dealt
with like they are an emergency. I've seen many a new boat sit
languishing
at the dealers to get silly little outfitting and rigging problems
reworked.
Even when I did all the re-rigging of my new hull. I still had teething
problems and the resulting punch list - mostly left over from when it was
new. Except that I introduced a new one also.

I didn't tighten the nut far enough (by about 1.5 turns) in the shift
cable
retainer in the motor. About 2 days into use - I put it in reverse and the
cable managed to jump out because the retainer had turned a bit. No big
deal
for *me*, but that would be a trip to the shop (and tow to ramp) for an
"end-user". A five minute fix like that of a silly rigging error should
be
done for a new boat owner on the spot - not via a long wait.

My new tachometer didn't work properly and I had to get it exchanged for a
new one. My battery had discharged too far (listening to the radio while
rigging the hull) and I popped the rectifier going to WOT right away while
the battery was presenting a dead load to the system. My glovebox cooler
was improperly mounted at the factory and "fell in". The snap in rugs
didn't
have stainless screws holding the snaps into the floor. I had to remount
the
ski-tower because no adhesive was used. A missing snap on the bimini. Etc
Etc.

Bottom line: My boat would have spent a LOT of time at the shop to get
silly stuff fixed, if I wasn't "the shop" LOL. It had quite a "punch
list" and would have had a LOT of downtime.

I took note of this so I could impress people like *you* of the fact that
you need make SURE the dealer understands *your* punch list is an
EMERGENCY.
If not you'll lose weeks of water time, I've seen some people lose MONTHS.

-W


"David Ditch" wrote in message
...
Is there a written process to new boat buying that someone may have on
thier
website?

I have narrowed my new boat choice to 3 or 4 brands.
I've checked out some of them at a boat show and will be attending
another
before I'll be going to the Dealer's locations.

How much time will I want to spend at each dealer before I decide on the
boat?
Once I decide on a boat, do I get a test drive in a demo?
It the boat is not on location and it needs to be ordered, how much of a
deposit to expect?
How long are factory lead times typically on a 21-23' cuddy?
Do I need a surveyer for a new boat?

Serious replys only please

Thanks in advance!

David

Factories are making as many mistakes as there are human beings to err. LOL
There will always be mistakes that slip past the QC guys. Such is life.

Buying early in the season helps, what helps more is doing what I told you
to do and bind the dealer to promise to fix any "teething problems" like
lives depended on it.

-W

"David Ditch" wrote in message
...
I guess thats a good reason to buy early in the season
Are factories still making these kinds of mistakes?

David

How much time will I want to spend at each dealer before I decide on the
boat?

Strictly up to you. But spend enough time to evaluate the *boat* rather than
the glossy brochures, the bought-and-paid-for
customer satisfaction surveys, etc. Forget the "my boat is better than their
boat" hype and see for yourself.

Once I decide on a boat, do I get a test drive in a demo?

You should *insist* if such a ride isn't voluntarily offered. You may be asked
to put up a deposit and make a deal "subject to" a satisfactory test
run....it's just a way to prevent the a long line of folks with fishing rods
and picnic baskets showing up every Saturday morning to "test drive" a boat.
:-)

Make sure you either get a demo in a boat powered the way you are ordering your
new boat, or have a "satisfactory redemo" clause in the contract if that isn't
possible.
If you buy a boat with 100 fewer horses than the boat you tested- you may or
may not be happy with it but one thing is certain- it will behave and perform a
lot differently.

It the boat is not on location and it needs to be ordered, how much of a
deposit to expect?

Are you going to be financing the boat? If so, it wouldn't be ridiculous for
the dealer to ask for enough of a deposit to make the
minimum down payment needed to finance the boat. Don't expect many dealers to
order a boat for you based on a handshake, or a $100 bill. There's a lot of
expense to the dealer in ordering a boat- particularly one that might be
slightly different from their ordinary stock if that's what requires it to be
ordered in the first place. The more oddball you order the boat, the bigger the
deposit you may be asked to make. The dealer will want something to fall back
on if he calls you up when the boat arrives and you say, "Oh, sorry! Meant to
call you! We changed our minds and bought a motorhome instead."

How long are factory lead times typically on a 21-23' cuddy?

Will vary from almost none to several months. A high production company like
Brunswick or Genmar should be able to get a boat to you relatively quickly.
Some limited production, semi custom builder may have a long waiting list.


Do I need a surveyer for a new boat?

For a new 21-23 cuddy? Most likely you can rely on the factory
warranty....BUT...
a surveyor can spot errors in setup, etc, that you might overlook. A survey on
a new boat is like putting on a belt to
back up your suspenders. (Exceptions are very complex boats or custom
construction)........not a bad idea, but not as essential as with used. Don't
expect the dealer or the builder to modify the basic design of the boat due to
surveyor critcique, just stuff that might have been done in manner that doesn't
meet normal standards for that brand.

A couple of years ago, we had a story here about some people who bought a new
boat down in SF. The live well had been misplumbed, but nobody knew. The new
owners didn't do any sort of shake down cruise, but headed for serious water
right away. The boat all but sank, and bad advice from the seller made the
situation even worse. There's a possiblity that a surveyor *might* have spotted
the misplumbed pump.

On 07 Oct 2003 01:26:21 GMT, (Gould 0738) wrote:

A couple of years ago, we had a story here about some people who bought a new
boat down in SF. The live well had been misplumbed, but nobody knew. The new
owners didn't do any sort of shake down cruise, but headed for serious water
right away. The boat all but sank, and bad advice from the seller made the
situation even worse.

============================

That's a terrible story Chuck. What knid of boat was it?

Bayliner Trophy. That one really added to "the legend"........... LOL

-W

"Wayne.B" wrote in message

That's a terrible story Chuck. What knid of boat was it?

Clams Canino wrote:
Bayliner Trophy. That one really added to "the legend"........... LOL

-W

"Wayne.B" wrote in message

That's a terrible story Chuck. What knid of boat was it?





Shhhhhh. Bob will burst a blood vessel...

On Tue, 07 Oct 2003 01:58:34 GMT, "Clams Canino"
wrote:

Bayliner Trophy. That one really added to "the legend"........... LOL

-W

============================

Well, that's how reputations are made and lost.

http://tinyurl.com/pyt0

Hey.... What kind of disinfomercial is this? :^)


In article e5pgb.509482$Oz4.363162@rwcrnsc54, "Clams Canino"
wrote:

Bayliner Trophy. That one really added to "the legend"........... LOL

-W

"Wayne.B" wrote in message

That's a terrible story Chuck. What knid of boat was it?