To buy or not to buy... Repo sales

L

Lvvtec

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Feb 19, 2013
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Anyone know about buying from a repo place? They won't let me put the boat in the water but man the deals are good. They offered to run the engine but will that help if not in the water? They have a boat like new, 2006 with 15 hours!!! Also they have no history on the boats
 
Augoose

Augoose

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Re: To buy or not to buy... Repo sales

Will they let you examine the engine and lower unit? Did they winterize the boats or at least drain the water before winter?
I'd review some of the "going to check out a new boat + what to look for threads" and read the lists of items people suggest inspecting. I'm the type who's always looking for a bargain so I wouldn't say "no" to a repo just because its a repo but I'd sure check it out well.

Suggestions:
1) Pull the dipstick and look for signs of water intrusion
2) Run a compression check on the cylinders- If they'll let you
3) Run it on muffs at the very least- shift the lower unit in / out of gear and listen for odd sounds
4) examine the condition of the bellows
5) drain a little lower unit gear oil and look for milky oil, metal flakes, no oil......
6) stomp and tap around for soft spots in the deck

I'm sure others will add suggestions
 
L

Lvvtec

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Feb 19, 2013
Messages
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Re: To buy or not to buy... Repo sales

It has been winterized. Thanks for the info!!
 
Frank Acampora

Frank Acampora

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Re: To buy or not to buy... Repo sales

You need to be careful. Obviously in a repo, the owner did not have the means or did not wish to make payments. Chances are better than average that the owner did not keep up with maintenance either
 
Thalasso

Thalasso

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Re: To buy or not to buy... Repo sales

Frank Acampora said:
You need to be careful. Obviously in a repo, the owner did not have od did not wish to make payments. Chances are better than average that the owner did not keep up with maintenance either
Click to expand...

X2 or ran the heck out of it
 
SigSaurP229

SigSaurP229

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Re: To buy or not to buy... Repo sales

if compression checks out on the engine, and the lower unit shifts fine and there are no obvious signs of rot and you are willing to roll up your sleeves for a little work I would do it if the deal was right.
 
tazrig

tazrig

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Re: To buy or not to buy... Repo sales

Lvvtec said:
Anyone know about buying from a repo place? They won't let me put the boat in the water but man the deals are good. They offered to run the engine but will that help if not in the water? They have a boat like new, 2006 with 15 hours!!! Also they have no history on the boats
Click to expand...

If the boat only has 15 hours on it and it was repo'd that means the owner just got it and made no payments. Chances are good they got into a fight with the bank because there was a major problem with it and refused to pay or bought it knowing they couldn't pay for it and just wanted something to beat on. Even taking all the precautions listed above, and they're good ones, I wouldn't risk it. If the repo company won't let you drive it I STRONGLY suspect there is a reason for that. On the other hand if the boat comes with some type of a warranty, factory or other wise that might be a different story, but again I think you are looking at a problem boat one way or the other.
 
U

UncleWillie

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Re: To buy or not to buy... Repo sales

A 2006 with 15 hour is a boat that has been sitting around for a long time.
Most likely outside through more than one Virginia winter.

An engine that will run on muffs is certainly much better than one that won't start!
Be sure to make sure the bilge stays bone dry the whole time.
The insides of boats are NOT supposed to have ANY water in them!

Exactly what model are you considering, and what do you consider a really good price.
You may very well be overpaying and not know it.
A 7 year old boat has already lost most of its value.
 
H

Home Cookin'

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May 26, 2009
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Re: To buy or not to buy... Repo sales

why do you all assume it's a i/o? maybe it's an outboard that doesn't need winterizing. Maybe it's an outdoor boat that can handle being outside. Maybe self bailing and not likely to have any issues in the bilge. And just because it has low hours doesn't mean it had problems--the owner did! It if it's an outboard, there is no running the "heck" problem.
And of course you don't get a sea trial--it's a repo!

it's all about risk/reward. And the higher reward comes to those who take informed risks. A guy who knows boats can scoop up a deal. A guy who doesn't, or who likes fragile boats that don't age well, won't do so well.

There's a world of difference betweena whaler and a bayliner. Either one could be on the block.
 
jayhanig

jayhanig

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Re: To buy or not to buy... Repo sales

I will offer a bit of advice as a one time repo man (cars/trucks; not boats). If they can't afford to make their payments, they probably didn't pay for maintenance either. Proceed at your own risk.
 
tazrig

tazrig

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Re: To buy or not to buy... Repo sales

Home Cookin' said:
it's all about risk/reward. And the higher reward comes to those who take informed risks. A guy who knows boats can scoop up a deal. A guy who doesn't, or who likes fragile boats that don't age well, won't do so well.
Click to expand...

That goes without saying for some of us but we're dealing with a newbie here without much apparent experience. I think we're just trying to keep him safe and from making a potentially costly mistake.
 
WIMUSKY

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Re: To buy or not to buy... Repo sales

SigSaurP229 said:
if compression checks out on the engine, and the lower unit shifts fine and there are no obvious signs of rot and you are willing to roll up your sleeves for a little work I would do it if the deal was right.
Click to expand...

I agree.

Judging by the pix, that boat hasn't been sitting outside in the weather. If it was, it was well covered and ventilated. Dang nice looking boat. Run it on the muffs for a while and check the temp gauge, put it in and out of gear including reverse. Have it inspected. Looks really clean tho. I didn't crunch the numbers to see how good of a deal it is, but, if it is, I would go for it.

My brother bought a repo, Wellcraft I believe, it came with a new Mercruiser. He had many years of trouble free cruising....
 
RogersJetboat454

RogersJetboat454

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Re: To buy or not to buy... Repo sales

Lvvtec said:
Exactly!! I am a newbie (first boat) and therefore leaning towards staying away. Their policy is they dont let anybody ride the boats. Here is a link to the boat. Commonwealth Boat Brokers Information Gallery
Click to expand...


A pretty clean looking boat. One thing I do notice however is the steering wheel looks like it's seen it's share of sun exposure (at least by the picture posted). Makes me think it isn't under cover much.

The ideal conditions is this boat was a several year old left-over (not everybody likes yellow) that someone bought, then lost their job.

Wost case, someone bought it in 2006 with little means of support, bashed it, spilled wine on the back seat, never put it under cover, and when the bank said pay-up, he said pound sand. Repo place has had it since..

Shop wisely I guess.
 
J

JOz99

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Jun 30, 2011
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Re: To buy or not to buy... Repo sales

It looks like they're asking about full market value, based on similar models for sale:
New And Used Boats For Sale On BoatTrader.com - BoatTrader.com
(Google for more results).

For a repo'd boat with unknown issues that led to the repo, no maintenance records, and that you can't sea trial ... I'd pass unless you can get it SIGNIFICANTLY lower than the asking price. The main draw of buying a repo boat is the low, low price, that makes it worth taking a chance on. That's not the case here.
 
skyking897

skyking897

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Re: To buy or not to buy... Repo sales

Although, not a boat, we bought an RV from a Repo company in Michigan a couple of years ago. If you go into the deal with your eyes open and not your emotions you can score an incredible deal. We bought a one year old RV for less than half the going rate. Good people have their goods repo'd everyday for any number of reasons, the biggest one being job loss. My advice, get someone who knows boats to inspect it with you or for you. And do some research, use the registration to find out what you can.
 
tazrig

tazrig

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Re: To buy or not to buy... Repo sales

Lvvtec said:
Exactly!! I am a newbie (first boat) and therefore leaning towards staying away. Their policy is they dont let anybody ride the boats. Here is a link to the boat. Commonwealth Boat Brokers Information Gallery
Click to expand...


Lvvtec, just looked at the pics. I found a huge red flag. You DO NOT want this boat. Look at the bottom of the outdrive. The skeg (bottom fin) is 1/2 broken off and the rest of the bottom of the outdrive is badly damaged from hitting something very hard and very fast. (rocks) There is most likely damage to the internal gears of that drive. THAT is why they won't let you sea trial it. Running it on muffs wouldn't necessarily reveal the damage to the gearing or the motor but running it under load (out on the water would) You could easily be looking at 1-3 thousand to repair or replace just the drive. If the owner had a stainless prop as pictured the damage could have spread up into the motor as well from that kind of a hit as stainless props don't give when they hit something and the shock travels from the prop to the drive shaft into the gears and up into the motor. Do yourself a favor don't even consider it. Too bad though. Nice looking boat, nice upgrades etc. Now we know why they are offering it at such a great price. Keep looking and posting what you find. Lots of good deals out there. This just isn't one of them.
 
greenbush future

greenbush future

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Re: To buy or not to buy... Repo sales

You risk nothing by offering a much lower # than asking price. I'd start at about half just to see how bad they want to move it. Nice looking boat BTW.
 
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