What to ask when looking/emailing

Is there a checklist of questions to ask when looking at a boat or emailing the seller? If not, lets start one

Thanks

Edit - ask and ye shall receive - here's a list!
Service records- who did maintenance
Wet slipped or trailered
What are the engine hours
What needs to be fixed/replaced before its ready for daily use
Is there a lien on the boat/trailer
Is is currently registered- why not?
Do you have the title for boat and trailer - why not?
When was it last used
Salt or fresh water use - if salt, how old are the manifolds
Is there any rot
Has it had a marine surveyor inspection
Why are you selling it

Question one should instead be to your state licensing/registration office requesting precise info on what it takes to register/license a boat, motor, and trailer in your state or area.
Then, question one to the seller should be "do you have X, Y, Z information/documents in-hand, in your name so I can register this boat?"

Re: What to ask when looking/emailing

Service records- who did maintenance
Wet slipped or trailered
What are the engine hours
What needs to be fixed/replaced before its ready for daily use
Is there a lein on the boat/trailer
Is is currently registered- why not?
Do you have the title for boat and trailer - why not?
When was it last used
Salt or fresh water use - if salt, how old are the manifolds
Is there any rot
Has it had a marine surveyor inspection
Why are you selling it


That'll get it started...

Re: What to ask when looking/emailing

Seen a number of threads recently on title problems so first question should be - do you have legal title?

Re: What to ask when looking/emailing

Question one should instead be to your state licensing/registration office requesting precise info on what it takes to register/license a boat, motor, and trailer in your state or area.
Then, question one to the seller should be "do you have X, Y, Z information/documents in-hand, in your name so I can register this boat?"

Sometimes a state requires almost nothing, and others, it's like buying a house. Otherwise, you don't even have the hole in the water in which to throw your money.

Chip

Re: What to ask when looking/emailing

Since I am currently looking for a 'new-to-me'. boat, I get to ask those questions fairly often. There is some variability to what you will need to ask, based on the information that is offered up front. However, much of the information provided will be slanted towards selling the boat. So, you have to prove it all to yourself upon inspection and trial of the boat.

I tend to ignore things like "runs great" "strong motor", because I will decide if it does those things. Having seen about 10 boats now, few have lived up to their billing in the advertisement. So, if the Ad write-up indicates that the boat may be an 8 or 9 on a '10 scale', expect it to be maybe a 7.

I recently viewed a boat that had "perfect vinyl". It was perfect, except for the several cuts in plain view.

Like the others have said, proof of ownership is the biggy, and I ask to see the title and get a photo copy of it. Lots of folks out there selling boats that they cannot prove they own.

In looking at a boat, if anything about the boat or selling situation does not make sense, then it needs to be investigated further. think about what the possibilities could be and check it out.

Re: What to ask when looking/emailing

Another retired guy said:

Seen a number of threads recently on title problems so first question should be - do you have legal title?

Click to expand...

I live in a state where boats are registered and titled through the Wildlife Commission and the boat trailer is registed and titled by the DMV. If the seller is missing either, there's no point in asking why nor is there any point with wasting any more of your time.

If the boat or trailer is "easily registered", then the owner would have done it already. Learn from my mistakes: you don't want to get involved in a paper chase involving a previous owner from 2-3 years before just because the current seller was too cheap to register it and just wanted to flip the property. It becomes a huge headache and it can go south on you in a heartbeat. Just walk away.

I would not buy a boat that I didn't get a decent demonstration ride in. Would you buy a car without driving it? Accept no excuses. There's another boat for sale, believe me. You don't have to get locked into any particular one just because it's "perfect" except for no demonstration or no registration.

Re: What to ask when looking/emailing

I am a firm believer the more money the boat........ the deeper the investigation should go.

Bottom line....... buyer's need to do their homework.

There used to be a saying in the car business - everyone is a liar! Word of mouth alone is never enough.

My favorite question regardless of of the boat........ "Will you warranty this in writing for 90 days?"

If a seller is willing to work on a warranty agreement - you are golden.

Re: What to ask when looking/emailing

Bob_VT said:

My favorite question regardless of of the boat........ "Will you warranty this in writing for 90 days?"
If a seller is willing to work on a warranty agreement - you are golden.

Click to expand...

Wow. When I was shopping for my boats 2+ years ago even big name dealers would not sell a used trailer boat with a "warranty".
Basically they all said since they can't be watching how you use it or what you do, there's no way they can "warranty" it.

A couple did say that if "I" found anything on the sea trial they would "fix" it.......of course the sea trial was actually the "take possession deliver" where I would have already paid them the money.

Most said it's up to me to get the boat surveyed and inspected at my cost to my satisfaction.

Maybe where you live asking for that actually gets a positive response.

Mark