unbelivable question asked when selling a boat!

[BoiseBoater]

Re: unbelivable question asked when selling a boat!

So that's my question for you guys... How do you handle the test run when buying or selling a boat? When I bought my boat, i went on a test run and then bought it the next day. However, when I sell my current boat, I don't think I'll want to go through the trouble of taking some clown on a test run, having it run perfectly, then have him tell me he'll "think about it" or something and then never purchase.

Is it common to ask for a down payment before test run? Is there some legal document you would write up and sign?

 

[Sparkinator]

Re: unbelivable question asked when selling a boat!

I couldn't find a really good selection of boats on CL locally, so I started looking at the Dallas area (3-3.5 hours away), and they were loaded with boats in my price range. I made a list of boats that I was interested in and started calling and finding out if the owner would be available to show the boat the next day. I also told them that I was driving over from a considerable distance (to let them know I was serious) and that they were on my list of boats I wanted to look at (showing that they had a little competition.)

I had called a couple of owners when I checked CL again and the boat I bought showed up at $6500. I called the guy and he said I was the first caller and he was amazed the ad had shown up so quickly because he just posted it. I told him the same spiel about being from out of town, etc.

He dropped the price $2000 within the first 5 minutes on the phone if I could pick it up the next day. I hadn't even brought up the price yet! He was in a bind to get rid of it due to getting married and moving and just didn't have a place to keep it. The boat was at his inlaws house and they were leaving for a 2 week vacation in 2 days, so the boat had to go.

I told him I would buy it if it was all he said it was, just to hang on to it until I could get there the next morning. My son and I headed out before daylight and brought it home that day. I might could have gotten it cheaper if I had been closer, but I was pretty happy with the price.

Like someone stated earlier, the first one to bring up price, usually loses!

 

[45Auto]

Re: unbelivable question asked when selling a boat!

Some of you guys really need to watch this instruction video on haggling, it will improve your technique immensely .....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3n3LL338aGA

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: unbelivable question asked when selling a boat!

There is an art to haggling.......I have never paid asking price on any vehicle or boat i have bought.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: unbelivable question asked when selling a boat!

So that's my question for you guys... How do you handle the test run when buying or selling a boat? When I bought my boat, i went on a test run and then bought it the next day. However, when I sell my current boat, I don't think I'll want to go through the trouble of taking some clown on a test run, having it run perfectly, then have him tell me he'll "think about it" or something and then never purchase.

Is it common to ask for a down payment before test run? Is there some legal document you would write up and sign?

The way I worded it when I sold my last boat was "I would be happy to make a successful test drive a condition of sale". That way everything is pretty much settled assuming a successful test drive. Eliminates the tire kickers.

 

[slag]

Re: unbelivable question asked when selling a boat!

I agree, but I still get the question from people an hour after posting the ad. If more than few days has passed, the question makes sense.




I don't get this. If I have something listed at $1000, but my perception of value is meaningless, then why are you asking me how much I'll sell it for? Wouldn't it make more sense for the buyer to make an offer so additional information is shared? We already know what the seller thinks it is worth. Why ask him again?

I guess it annoys me because it strikes me as a lazy-man's negotiation technique, especially when it is asked via email when the person hasn't even seen the item. I don't mind hagglers, but don't expect me to offer a deal for everyone who invests all of 15 seconds in an email.

I bought a non functional Ipod touch off craigslist from a guy a month ago. He was asking 50 bucks and I emailed him about 10 minutes after he listed it. He replied he wanted $50.00 for it but would take $5.00 off. I ended up getting it for $35.00 and getting it working a few hours later.

Never hurts to ask.

 

[Pierutrus]

Re: unbelivable question asked when selling a boat!

So that's my question for you guys... How do you handle the test run when buying or selling a boat? When I bought my boat, i went on a test run and then bought it the next day. However, when I sell my current boat, I don't think I'll want to go through the trouble of taking some clown on a test run, having it run perfectly, then have him tell me he'll "think about it" or something and then never purchase.

Is it common to ask for a down payment before test run? Is there some legal document you would write up and sign?

Just ask for a deposit on what you think you'll use for fuel......ie...
Getting it to the water, flying around on the water and getting it back home.
Then if he buy's you take it off the price, if not, that's what it cost him to charter your boat.

 

[starcraftkid]

Re: unbelivable question asked when selling a boat!

I had an outboard listed on CL that came on a boat I just bought. A 1972 Evinrude 65hp electric shift. The kid that showed up to see it asked me "Since it's a three cylinder, Does that mean it don't need oil?"
The controls in the boat were junk, I told him so, his reply was that he could make a set out of wood or something.
I made it very clear that once he bought it, he could do anything he pleased. I make no guarantees on a 40 year old motor.
One of his comments was that his boat has a steering wheel but "It faces the wrong way"???? I didn't care to hear that explanation.

He paid my $500 asking price so I was happy, but my guess is that he'll turn the thing to scrap real soon. I'm all for trying to help but I quickly got the impression that no amount of explaining would help in this case.

I gave up after he asked me "How many spark plugs does it have" I said three, one for each cylinder, his next comment was "Where did the hide the fourth one?" "Do you need a special wrench or something for that."

Also keep in mind that this motor looked really clean, a perfect cover, no fading, good paint and all. I unbolted it from the boat, him and his buddy picked it up, dropped it on the rusty tailgate of his pickup, which was full of bolts, sand, scrap metal etc. and just shoved it into the bed on it's side. I had offered him some cardboard or an old tire to set it on but he declined.
My guess is that the cover won't even make it home in one piece. I made a comment about never running one without having it either on the muffs or in water and he said that's an old wives tale, he runs his other motor all the time with no water.

 

[road kill]

Re: unbelivable question asked when selling a boat!

This only sort of fits here but I was at one of the many boat/fishing retailers today looking for a new trolling motor. I was after a transom mount motor that can handle saltwater. I had the Minn Kota Riptide RT55S or similar in mind.
I get to the store, take a look and see only one saltwater model on display, a 70lb thrust model a bit larger than I needed.
The sales guy walks over with a know it all attitude and asks what I'm looking for. I told him that it has to be a transom mount motor, the height don't matter to me, so any shaft length would work, and that I was after something in the 45 to 55 lb thrust range. He asked why I wanted the Riptide model and I said because I run in saltwater on occasion. He started on about how I needed to know exactly how tall my transom was, and that there was no reason to buy a saltwater motor since all had the same warranty. He then went on to say how he owns several of that same motor, but they all leak and fill up with water. He then went on to say that in order to keep out water you need to take a tube of silicone sealer and coat the entire motor.

He than asked me what I fished for, when I mentioned that I do fish in fresh and saltwater and that I do some bass fishing, he got this surprised look on his face and went on about how I couldn't use a Saltwater motor to fish for bass, nor a transom motor. He kept on about how if I wanted to fish for bass I needed to have a bow mount motor not a transom mount motor. When I mentioned that it's an open V hull boat, he again went on how the boat was just no good for bass fishing and that you can only fish for bass in a flat bottom bass boat. At that point I was just trying to get away from the idiot.

I bought the motor online.

I guess they don't screen salespeople for intelligence these days. The guy was annoying, pushy, clueless, and had no idea how to deal with the public.
I wonder how MinnKota would react to the idea that you have to coat the motor with silicone sealer to make it water proof as a sales pitch?
I guess I better go dump my V hull and buy a high dollar 'Bass' boat to use when I catch bass too.

When I walked out I made the comment to the salesgirl at the front desk that they might want to train that guy a bit better in how to deal with customers.

(It was the same store that a week earlier told me that back to back seats were illegal in boats now, and yes, it was the same sales guy).

 

[ground_pounder]

Re: unbelivable question asked when selling a boat!

I always have to ask "does this make me look cool" B) that and I don't need any help looking fat either.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: unbelivable question asked when selling a boat!

This is what *I* do when selling what ever I have listed FS in the drive way.

I "Create Chaos"... I call my next door neighbor. Ask him what is doing at say... 3 on Saturday (Propective Buyer comming to look at the Trans Am)...............Customer 1. Asks... Is that someone else looking? ..................Worked like a charm...

If I had an item worth a couple grand I'd do that. When I sold my wife's old car, it just kind of worked out that way. I had 3 people show up right around the same time and they were all drooling over the car. First person paid the asking price and the other 2 left pizzed off that they didn't get to buy it. Probably should have been asking more...

I don't take offense to people asking my bottom line, I mark it up a bit expecting to drop it. But,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, once I tell them my bottom dollar that's it, I'm not going any lower.

Here's a good 2nd hand story of my friend selling (lets call it) a widget for $1000.
- Buyer, could do any better on the price?
- Friend, sure, that will be $1100.
- Buyer, no you don't understand I was asking if you could lower the price.
- Friend, no
- Buyer, OK I'll take it for $1000
- Friend, no,,, the price is $1100
- Buyer,,,, Oh....
it was sold for $1100

 

[kellmike626]

Re: unbelivable question asked when selling a boat!

Just ask for a deposit first to cover the cost of gas. If the person that is interested buys it, then just deduct that deposit from the asking price. If he doesn't buy it, there you go, you got gas money. Haven't had any issues with that procedure so far.

 

[Divecaptchris]

Re: unbelivable question asked when selling a boat!

it just keeps gettin better!

so a guy comes to look at her, tells me he had a 30' chris craft, he looks it over sounds like hes sold, so i take him for a short cruise, untie her, idol out my canal put her on plane run about 1/2 mile, bring her down. I put her in neutral and ask him "do you have any questions about her?" he replies "she runs great, but what are the black and red levers u keep moving?"


OMG u gota be kiddin me!

 

[steddy]

Re: unbelivable question asked when selling a boat!

I will ALWAYS lowball you with the cash I have in my pocket. If I REALLY want it, you'll get up to your asking price. You will still get a lower offer first, though. I'm always prepared for the same when I'm the seller. If I want to sell it bad enough, I'll take the offer. It's business... not personal.

When I bought my first boat, it was more about the seller. The guy I bought it from had a house with a driveway you could eat off from. The 1993 S-10 that he bought to pull the boat didn't have a scratch on it, and only about 15,000 miles on it (15 years old!!!)... on blocks next to the boat in the garage. He was extremely well-to-do and polite, so I extended the same politeness in return. He wanted $4,000 for it, which was probably a bit high (the condition of the boat would have made it worth every penny). I asked what his bottom dollar was, he said $3500. I told him I had $3000 in mind, and asked if he would meet me half way at $3250. He took it, but with a bit of hesitation. I didn't even care to hear it run or take it for a sea trial. Looking around the place, I knew everything would be perfect with the boat. I gave him my best word & my business card that I would be back at 6:00 the next day to pick it up, that was that. This guy even told me he'd hold my check for 30 days, and he'd take a return if I wasn't 100% happy. I called him that weekend from the boat in the middle of the lake, practically crying because I was so elated with the whole deal. I told him to go ahead and cash the check. He even let me borrow the trailer plate from another trailer to get it home, which I promptly returned. Most flawless transaction EVER!!! There ARE still good people in this world.

 

[robcarync]

Re: unbelivable question asked when selling a boat!

My dad just emailed a guy about a craigslist boat...a 2005 sea ray for $3000. Very low but we had to email just to get the story behind it...we asked simple questions:

1) Do you have the title for the boat and trailer?
2) Where are you located, the city you listed is right next to ours, we want to come see it
3) Can we take it for a lake trial

If it runs as well as you say it does on the lake trial, we wil provide cash to drive off with boat and title today.

Got an email back talking about how he's working on an oil rig in the gulf and the boat is in a shipping container so we can't see it but if we click buy it now on ebay and wire him 3 grand he will ship it for free to NC...



RIIIIIIIGGGGGGHT...DELETE

My question is...I knew this guy would not be legit when I saw the photos and the price...and even more so when I read his email. How do people actually fall for this garbage?

 

[BigB9000]

Re: unbelivable question asked when selling a boat!

Haggling isn't the issue, that's part of any sale negotiation.

It's the trying to lowball sight unseen that comes off as pretty disingenuous.

Ya know, before I started collecting ouboards I might have agreed with you.

I looked at a craigslist ad, it said:

"7.5hp mercury, stuck flywheel, needs work $300"

I sent the guy an email

Subject read "Seized outboard"
and the mail read "Ill give you $75 for it"

the reply was:

Bring cash.
123 My road
wherever CA 90210

I lol'd at that and went and picked it up.
I figured my 'seized outboard' heading told him I knew what I was talking about.

 

[donzi gt230]

Re: unbelivable question asked when selling a boat!

I was selling an 18' 455 powered jet boat. Guy shows up with his son and falls in love, ready to buy. Then I hear them talking about ocean fishing, that's all they wanted a boat for. It has all of about 4" of freeboard so I told them to keep shopping and gave them a few examples of what they should be looking for. Took another 3 weeks to find a buyer, but hopefully those guys bought a less dangerous boat for their use.

 

[kellmike626]

Re: unbelivable question asked when selling a boat!

My dad just emailed a guy about a craigslist boat...a 2005 sea ray for $3000. Very low but we had to email just to get the story behind it...we asked simple questions:

1) Do you have the title for the boat and trailer?
2) Where are you located, the city you listed is right next to ours, we want to come see it
3) Can we take it for a lake trial

If it runs as well as you say it does on the lake trial, we wil provide cash to drive off with boat and title today.

Got an email back talking about how he's working on an oil rig in the gulf and the boat is in a shipping container so we can't see it but if we click buy it now on ebay and wire him 3 grand he will ship it for free to NC...



RIIIIIIIGGGGGGHT...DELETE

My question is...I knew this guy would not be legit when I saw the photos and the price...and even more so when I read his email. How do people actually fall for this garbage?

That's what buyers should be aware of. Some might be stupid enough to actually send the money. If the "seller" is posting it over and over, must be working, right? Otherwise he would have given up years ago on his scam business, or try a new method, or story.

I've run into so many of those boats. The way to tell is if it's a scam is the sob story they give you, they have to ship it to you, or if they give you some long *** story about anything and go into great detail.

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

 

[RobbyA]

Re: unbelivable question asked when selling a boat!

I will ALWAYS lowball you with the cash I have in my pocket. If I REALLY want it, you'll get up to your asking price. You will still get a lower offer first, though. I'm always prepared for the same when I'm the seller. If I want to sell it bad enough, I'll take the offer. It's business... not personal.

I agree 110%

I expect some one to low ball me when I sell something. I don't have to take the offer, but I can't blame someone for trying.

 

[starcraftkid]

Re: unbelivable question asked when selling a boat!

I agree 110%

I expect some one to low ball me when I sell something. I don't have to take the offer, but I can't blame someone for trying.

Yeah but the really irritating one's are those that offer $50 on an item that's listed for $2000, and maybe the cheapest competition even for a junk one is $1500.

I listed a super clean older John Deere riding mower, a 1971. It had new tires, rims, engine, paint, seat, blades, and a plow. I listed it for $1850. I had some guy keep coming back offering $50, he got mad when I told him not to bother me with any such offer. He then came back wanting to trade me for a seized up 5hp outboard. That went on for almost a year. He kept coming back even after the thing sold.

About two months after I sold it, I stopped at a yard sale, it was that same guy. He had a mint clean aluminum boat with a running outboard and clean trailer marked for sale, $300. To return the favor, I offered him $50. He took $75. Go figure. Some of them don't live in the same reality the rest of us do.

The boat was mint, the motor perfect, and the trailer only a few years old. I sold the whole package the following spring for $3200 on CL. About a week after I sold the thing, just about the time that fishing season got rolling, he stops by wanting to buy it back. I guess he thought I was a pawn shop or something. He's had yard sales since, I've gotten many, many such deals there. I bought a super nice 50hp Johnson outboard from him with controls for $12, he said he bought it but couldn't get it started. I'm not sure what he was doing, but the thing fired up on three cranks for me.