Doing some trading to get a bass boat -- Need advice on not getting ripped off!!!

I will be meeting a guy this weekend who wants to trade my 1997 Polaris watercraft 1100cc jet ski for his 16' 1990 Quantum bass boat. The boat has a 50 hp Force motor installed. The boat has no power trim, has matching trailer, new seats and carpet, trolling motor and on-board fish finder.

So here's the story: The guy says that he is getting rid of his full size truck to buy a Dodge Dakota, and he is worried about the new truck being able to tow the boat. That is the reason he is selling, supposedly. I told him I would meet him halfway to Lake of the Ozarks and we could run the boats together to ensure that they both work. He tells me, "this is not a fast boat -- only 18-20 mph top speed." I am going to try and bring my Mercruiser certified mechanic with me, but there is no guarantee that he will agree to do it.

So, what should I be looking for? I guess I should bring a gauge to test compression, but I don't even know the procedure for that. Is there an easy way to tell if the transom is rotton/bad? What else should I be checking?

Also, I have never had an outboard before. Do they all spit water out so you know the fuel pump is working?

Any info would be appreciated.

Re: Doing some trading to get a bass boat -- Need advice on not getting ripped off!!!

Do both motors run well? Are both seaworthy? Why can't you both sell them locally? I think I would just sell the PWC and buy a used boat locally that you can check more carefully, if your Polaris is worth gobs of money.

Re: Doing some trading to get a bass boat -- Need advice on not getting ripped off!!!

My Polaris runs fine, no issues. I have had it for sale for 2 months now but no takers. I figure it is just a bad time to sell PWCs, and think a boat would be easier. In excellent condition the boat books for more than the Polaris, so I would make some money on the deal, then dump it for a little more than I was asking for the Polaris.

Re: Doing some trading to get a bass boat -- Need advice on not getting ripped off!!!

I'm no expert on Quantum boats, but 2 things jump out at me right away. It's a 16ft boat and only does 20mph with a 50 hp engine????? Doesn't sound right, something wrong here. Second thing, it's a 16ft boat, a 4 cylinder FWD car could pull it. The Dakota would have no problems pulling this bass boat. Things don't add up right with his story, I'd steer clear of this deal. Just my opinion on this, but something smells rotten about it. No personal experience with Force motors, but I've read quite a bit on this forum about them and I would stay away from them

Re: Doing some trading to get a bass boat -- Need advice on not getting ripped off!!!

No direct experience here, but my 16' 1985 Wahoo skiff with an 85HP outboard easily tops 50mph. So 20mph with a 50HP sounds way too low. Like he's apologizing in advance.

Also, his being worried that his new little truck can't tow this rig sounds wrong too. Anything should be able to tow a rig this light.

Most folks here don't like Force motors. Force hasn't existed for well over a decade. Force motors were either clunkers that ran forever, or clunkers that died and couldn't be repaired cuz mechanics wouldn't touch them. But even in their day, they were simple heavy clunkers.

That being said, I have a 1980's 15HP clunker Force OB that runs just fine. Although it doesn't have a tell-tale pee stream. It (by design) just sort of spits and steams out of the exhaust. I would think that the 50HP SHOULD have a pee stream.

Also, to put it into reverse, you have to stop and flip a stupid switch. Stupid design, but it just won't die.

As for pressure checking. You can get a pressure checker with instructions at any basic car parts store. Costs $20-30. Each cylinder should be over about 100psi, but they all should be within 10 percent of each other. If you get 120. 125, 130. 85,,,, then you know there's a problem with that 85 cylinder. Test the cylinders one at a time, with the spark plug wire well away from you and the motor. Rev the motor about 7 cranks for each cylinder.

An outboard should NEVER be started not in the water, or without a hose attached to 'muffs' surrounding the water intake. Else you burn up/melt the h2o impeller. About 7 cranks dry SHOULD be ok, HOWEVER!!! If you start this test, and the owner shows no concern about you starting his motor dry and out of the water, then he's has just proven to you that he is an idiot and has treated his outboard as such, and you should pass.

Re: Doing some trading to get a bass boat -- Need advice on not getting ripped off!!!

I thought about the Dodge truck thing. Yeah, it would pull it no problem. But I have read that most of these boat of the same model and engine are only running 26-28 top speed. But I don't know. I am pretty skeptical, since he wants to get rid of it so bad...

Re: Doing some trading to get a bass boat -- Need advice on not getting ripped off!!!

If he is afraid of towing that lil glass boat, I'd worry about a lot of extra weight due to water intrusion.
Could also explain a 50 hp (even a Farce) doing 20mph

Re: Doing some trading to get a bass boat -- Need advice on not getting ripped off!!!

jdlough said:

No direct experience here, but my 16' 1985 Wahoo skiff with an 85HP outboard easily tops 50mph. So 20mph with a 50HP sounds way too low. Like he's apologizing in advance.

Click to expand...

Yeah it sounds too slow. I will clock it with a GPS, just to see if he is guessing. I am also going to run it for over 20 minutes to see if it overheats.

Re: Doing some trading to get a bass boat -- Need advice on not getting ripped off!!!

Im leery of any "stories" or unusual reasons why someone needs to sell anything, especially in a hurry. But not when I'm meeting them far from home to make the deal, then I know its always legit.......... Just like an old shrimpboat, something smells fishy Is this someone you know and/or trust? If not I would not waste the gas along w possibly getting ripped off.

Re: Doing some trading to get a bass boat -- Need advice on not getting ripped off!!!

bring my Mercruiser certified mechanic with me, but there is no guarantee that he will agree to do it.

Click to expand...

Aside of everything else that was said this would be the deal breaker for me. if there is nothing to hide why would he object to a mechanic looking at it? The way you describe the boat your Polaris sounds much more appealing, anything with a Force motor will be hard to sell for a decent price down the road.

Re: Doing some trading to get a bass boat -- Need advice on not getting ripped off!!!

Did not read any more than a couple of the initial posts. I had 2 Chryslers and have had Mercs for most of my boating experience. I know Brunswick bought out Chrysler and renamed it Force and over the years added some Merc derivative parts, but IF YOU DROVE YOUR BOAT INTO MY DRIVEWAY WITH A FORCE ENGINE ON IT, I WOULD POLITELY, OR NOT SO POLITELY ASK YOU TO LEAVE!!!!

The rest of your post is nebulous. BTDT

Mark

Re: Doing some trading to get a bass boat -- Need advice on not getting ripped off!!!

Maybe the waterlogged foam is too heavy for his Dakota to pull it?

Re: Doing some trading to get a bass boat -- Need advice on not getting ripped off!!!

The Dakota will tow that boat just fine.

My 17' Tracker deep V does 32.9 mph with a 50 hp. Merc.

Sounds like the boat is waterlogged, has engine or prop troubles, or all of the above.

I'd pass on even looking at it. I'd bet that the new deck and carpet is just slapped down over top of rotten decking and stringers, and very saturated foam.

Re: Doing some trading to get a bass boat -- Need advice on not getting ripped off!!!

Question: Why would the boat be waterlogged, cuz of a hole in the hull?

Re: Doing some trading to get a bass boat -- Need advice on not getting ripped off!!!

John_S said:

Maybe the waterlogged foam is too heavy for his Dakota to pull it?

Click to expand...

If it were that bad I could see flat tires, roller punctures in the hull, a bowed hull....on and on. Dakotas came with the Dodge 4.7 litre V8...a bad arse engine and could easily pull a 20+ footer it need be...so it's not the truck's fault....but I am not currently a Dodge fan, havingt traded a 4.7 '05 and a 5.7 Hemi '07 in for a '11 Silverado in April....after the Fed got GM off their duff and produced a remarkable product rather than their usual status quo PO_.

Mark

Re: Doing some trading to get a bass boat -- Need advice on not getting ripped off!!!

zagger said:

Aside of everything else that was said this would be the deal breaker for me. if there is nothing to hide why would he object to a mechanic looking at it? The way you describe the boat your Polaris sounds much more appealing, anything with a Force motor will be hard to sell for a decent price down the road.

Click to expand...

I meant there was no guarantee that my boat mechanic would be able to do it. The guy wanted to meet me halfway, so I told him I lived about an hour further than reality. I set up the meeting place only 4-5 min away from the mechanic shop. I needed to go over there to get my boat out of the shop anyway.

Regardless, I am leaning more to leave this boat alone. I guess I might have to winterize the jet ski and try to sell it in the spring when the demand is higher.

Re: Doing some trading to get a bass boat -- Need advice on not getting ripped off!!!

You lied and said you live further away? WHY? Do you suspect this person is not honest either? so make him drive further?. I think you should do the deal. It sounds like you two should meet in person and have a battle of wits.= sarcastic. If you cannot be upfront about a sell or trade do you expect the same from the other party?. I'm not trying to be an @$%, but you are asking for trouble w this situation IMO.

Re: Doing some trading to get a bass boat -- Need advice on not getting ripped off!!!

I wouldn't blow this deal off just yet....

I wasted an entire summer waiting for the perfect boat. Then I found some piece of crap boat for $4500, then lowered to $3800. But for $2300 I thought it was a thing of beauty. So, I offered a one-time deal $2300 cash. It's that 16' Wahoo I mentioned earlier.

It's easy to lose perspective in a trade. Your ski may be worth 2500. His boat might be worth 1500. His is biggger, so it looks like more. You made arrangements, so it's a pain to walk away. But most likely, it's a bigger pain for HIM to walk away.

Either way, your ski is worth something; his boat is worth something. The odd but obvious psychological thing is that you DON't want what you have and DO want what the other guy has. Same with this guy. But the odds are in your favor: there's a lot of cheap boats out there, but not a lot of jet skis.

He has already shown his weakness by stating that the boat only goes 20mph. Can you get this guy to bring cash along with his boat? (Even if it's a good deal even-steven, it puts the idea in his head that yours is worth more)

"The guy wanted to meet me halfway, so I told him I lived about an hour further than reality"

That cracks me up. It's brilliant, and the right idea.


It's just like fishing. Luring him in..........

Re: Doing some trading to get a bass boat -- Need advice on not getting ripped off!!!

jdlough said:

"The guy wanted to meet me halfway, so I told him I lived about an hour further than reality"

That cracks me up. It's brilliant, and the right idea.

Click to expand...

That is the idea here. Buy low and sell high. I do it flipping cars all the time. A coat of wax and a can of stop-leak go a long way. I thought about coercing him to give me some cash with the deal also. I've done that before. The river jon in my garage I traded a cheapo Wal-Mart rifle for it, boat motor and trailer included WITH titles. That motor gets back from the shop this weekend, too. and the boat will go up for 1500. I don't normally flip boats. It just seems like there is too much risk involved; too much could be wrong.

The bottom line here is CASH. His books for like a grand more than mine, with both being in good condition. The ski I can store in the garage for the winter if I have to. But I DO NOT want to be sitting on 3 boats all winter!!! The for sale lot here on Fort Leonard Wood has had like 5 bass boats come and go in a month's time. I just figured this would be easier to sell than the ski...

Re: Doing some trading to get a bass boat -- Need advice on not getting ripped off!!!

mommicked said:

You lied and said you live further away? WHY? Do you suspect this person is not honest either? so make him drive further?. I think you should do the deal. It sounds like you two should meet in person and have a battle of wits.= sarcastic. If you cannot be upfront about a sell or trade do you expect the same from the other party?. I'm not trying to be an @$%, but you are asking for trouble w this situation IMO.

Click to expand...

I'm trying to make some money here. If I already am leery about the deal, why would I spend MORE of MY cash to drive to meet him? I am trying to set this up in MY best interest. Who's looking out for me, the guy with the other boat???