Boat Shopping SUCKS

[onewhippedpuppy]

Just a little rant here, but I've been shopping for a bigger boat since last fall and it SUCKS. I thought car sellers were flaky, but OH MY GOD was I wrong. Today's adventure was replying to a FSBO Craigslist ad for a nice looking Monterey, I sent the owner a text as it was requested in the ad and asked him if he could email me pictures, including my email address. He then replied that I was a scammer, that the seven pictures in his Craigslist ad should be sufficient for me to come see it in Arkansas. Exact quote, "drive if you want, I'm not out anything lol". WTF?

I've been to dealerships that have their boats (that look great on the internet) sitting outside with no covers, full of leaves and water. I've talked to a lot of owners that seem to think January and 10" of snow on the ground = summer retail price. I've emailed on Craigslist ads and gotten a reply........two months later. I've driven 5+ hours and stayed in a hotel to see a "like new" boat (supported by multiple phone calls and emails), only to find that it was a neglected POS. Finally, I've seen a lot of CRAP. People in general just don't take care of boats.

My original goal was upgrading to a 22'-24', but I'm really close to just saying screw it and buying a super mint 20' Crownline that I've looked at locally. Crownline isn't my first choice but the boat is very well equipped, much larger than my 18' Tahoe, and most importantly it is immaculate.

/ End rant.

 

[Starcraft5834]

Re: Boat Shopping SUCKS

Patience is key......CL can be rough.........I think there are as many scammers as there are people selling their crap boats..... hoping to unload it...

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Boat Shopping SUCKS

Selling them sucks too Dozens of emails from scammers and people who cannot form a complete English sentence. Once you get an inquiry from an actual person and go back and forth with dozens of questions, they throw out an offer of 1/2 of NADA and declare - its all I can afford.

Idiots on both sides, just have to deal with it

 

[moosehead]

Re: Boat Shopping SUCKS

+1 to patience, it can yield a find.

That said, I think you'd be surprised at how much larger a 20' Crownline can feel and function than its indicated length, especially with the added beam, storage, and swim platform.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Boat Shopping SUCKS

+1 to patience, it can yield a find.

+1........I spent 3years looking for my current boat.
Craig's list is free....what do you expect......lol

 

[agallant80]

Re: Boat Shopping SUCKS

CL is pretty worthless. People don't take down their adds, don't need to sell and just stick to a "make it worth it for me" price etc. I have never been impressed with CL. Also people seam to think that the torn seats, lack of a cover and trailer that has never been services are not a big deal. As for dealers the ones down here are pretty good. The boats are clean and the sales staff are nice.

I found with boat shopping its more about getting as close to what you want rather than exactly what you want.

Do I want the bayliner in my signiture? No its not my preferance but between price, trading in my old boat, finding something that was not 1/2 across the country it was the best I could do.

 

[Slip Away]

Re: Boat Shopping SUCKS

Patience is the key. When you already have a boat, there should be no rush to get it's replacement. Just relax and keep looking, the right boat for the right price always comes along. Boat shopping is one of the most fun things there is to do, especially when you don't have to get another boat right this minute. The CL comments above are spot on. I have been on both sides as a seller and a buyer. I looked at a few boats on CL, but never really planned on buying one from there. I used it for comparison shopping of boats I might consider. Ended up buying all our boats from dealers, either trading in our old one for the newer one, or selling ours outright after we found the boat we wanted.

 

[Slip Away]

Re: Boat Shopping SUCKS

Have you looked at these in your area yet ?

2008 Regal 2000 Bowrider | Boat for Sale | Mid Kansas Marine

2005 Crownline 216 | Boat for Sale | Mid Kansas Marine

 

[inthedirtagain]

Re: Boat Shopping SUCKS

Ive had good luck with CL, but timing is everything. Bought and sold plenty, but you have to know the market and be flexible. Found my Larson through CL 300mi away. The owner was still under a foot of snow, but was very patient with my schedule. I was willing to give hime the full asking price only if the boat was exactly as described and pictured. Luckily for me, it was. He ended up knocking $100 off to help pay for the fuel to get out there. It was a great transaction.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Boat Shopping SUCKS

I ended up driving to Lake Havasu from Los Angeles to buy the pontoon boat I just purchased. The boat was listed on Craigslist, all negotiation was done over the phone, boat was in exact condition as described and they even took me out for a test ride before we sealed the deal.

Boat was being sold by a dealer but I purchased for same prices that I would have gotten from a private party.

I was looking for many months.

When I purchased my 24' cuddy(BoatTrader), I was not even interested in that model boat and layout but decided to look at it anyway. The seller ended up being so motivated to sell it, he dropped the price $8k while I was walking away. I really wasn't interested in the boat that much but figured at the price he was selling it for, I could sell it in a couple months for more than I bought it for. I ended up liking the boat a lot and ended up keeping it.

My brother drove from Los Angeles to Texas for his 26' Formula. He found it on BoatTrader as well.

Seems to me the boats on BoatTrader a few years ago were better described and generally in better shape. I think that CL is way better now than it used to be.

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Boat Shopping SUCKS

CL is pretty worthless. People don't take down their adds, don't need to sell and just stick to a "make it worth it for me" price etc. I have never been impressed with CL.

FWIW, I bought my Malibu off of craigslist The lady was great to deal with and replied immediately, so it all depends on the person on each keyboard. It does help that it turned out she lived about 2 miles away.

 

[onewhippedpuppy]

Re: Boat Shopping SUCKS

Thanks guys. Good to have a sympathetic group to **** and moan to. One factor that I have to consider is sales tax, in KS we don't have to pay sales tax on private party boat sales. So buying a $20k boat costs me almost $1500 more from a dealer. CL is definitely a crap shoot, but I found my current Tahoe on there. I also have good luck with cars on CL, I've gotten some great deals on Porsches there over the years.

Have you looked at these in your area yet ?

2008 Regal 2000 Bowrider | Boat for Sale | Mid Kansas Marine

2005 Crownline 216 | Boat for Sale | Mid Kansas Marine

Yes, the 216 that you linked to is the Crownline in question. Very clean, 5.7GXi with DP drive, about 240 hours with good compression numbers, but also more than I want to pay for a 20'. In all honesty I know that if I buy a 20', I'll be boat shopping again within two years. If I buy a 23' I may keep it longer. I trailer my boat, so I can't practically go much bigger than 23' anyway.

 

[Slip Away]

Re: Boat Shopping SUCKS

I suspect you have already checked on this one. No price, few pics, and minimal info. But thought I would make one last attempt for you.

Chaparral 2003 230 SSi

 

[briangcc]

Re: Boat Shopping SUCKS

I know I've been there but the key is to not give up!

Spring of '99 I sent off to all the major manufacturers as I was in the market for my first boat and I was buying new darnit! Warranties are a good thing in my household. So I went to the Boat show at the Niagara Falls Convention Center with my dad. We walked around to all the major manufacturers. I stopped at the Bayliner display and spoke with someone, heck the ONLY person willing to speak with me and mentioned I had just gotten there and wanted to look around but took their info. No one else spoke to me that day so I signed on the line for my Bayliner.

A day later I got a call from Sea Ray asking if I had made a decision. I relayed my experience at the boat show and said I had purchased my Bayliner.

The following year, my dad and I went to the boat show again. Dressed pretty much the same as the last time we went to the show. This time, I had the attention of EVERY dealer.

Fast forward to fall of '04. I talk with the marina that normally services my boat and they give me a price on a Glastron 20' Fish and Ski. Since its winter time I hold off and wait until the '05 boat show. First dealer I talk to about a Glastron 20' Fish and Ski with the same options I had back in fall of '04 was 20k more. When I pointed that out, the dealer looked at me and said point blank...go buy that boat then. And he ended the conversation. I went to the Four Winns dealer and struck a deal on my current boat - ordered as I didn't like the color or options on the one he had in stock.

We've looked at replacements for my '05 but we'll be holding on to it for a while yet as the prices are just nuts on a 2' bigger boat.

My wife and I looked at last year's boat show and talked with a number of marinas. Much better experience but Sea Ray couldn't get it through their thick heads that you don't put my wife's fishing gear in the ski locker. She walked away after he tried telling her that a couple times. He really was thick!! Larson thought they had her pegged with a Cuddy. She set him right.

A couple weeks ago I went to an Outdoor show with a friend of mine. We oogled and ogled over a 20' Larson bass boat for a couple minutes. I was opening and closing compartments, showing features to my friend, and never EVER once had a sales person on me. Not sure why as there weren't many people there at 2 in the afternoon (show closed at 5).

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Boat Shopping SUCKS

So I went to the Boat show at the Niagara Falls Convention Center with my dad. We walked around to all the major manufacturers. I stopped at the Bayliner display and spoke with someone, heck the ONLY person willing to speak with me and mentioned I had just gotten there and wanted to look around but took their info. No one else spoke to me that day so I signed on the line for my Bayliner.

Funny, I would never go to a boat show, look at a number of brands/models and buy one there. If you just decided at a boat show what brand and model you want, how could you possibly know that is a good price on that brand/model?

The 24' boat in my sig came with a 5 year extended warranty so there were over 2 years of warranty left when I bought it. Of course buying a 2 1/2 year old boat for half the cost of what it was new would have paid for a few items that could have been bad.

New boat buying is super easy compared to buying a used boat. You just have to do a little homework on what a good price for it is since you don't need to worry about condition. Hardly need a salesman at all until the last minute. When I go to a boat show, the last person I want to talk to is a salesman.

I wonder how many boats are actually sold at boat shows. My bet is not many. The so called "Boat Show Price" is a bunch of BS.

 

[captain zac]

Re: Boat Shopping SUCKS

What is the budget and what size boat are you looking for

Harry

 

[onewhippedpuppy]

Re: Boat Shopping SUCKS

I suspect you have already checked on this one. No price, few pics, and minimal info. But thought I would make one last attempt for you.

Chaparral 2003 230 SSi

Nope, thanks. That's a new addition to their website, it's a consignment boat that they don't even have priced yet. They are going to call me back after they get with the owner. Looks filthy, but I'm only out 15 minutes if I go look at it.

What is the budget and what size boat are you looking for

Harry

In a perfect world: 1995+, 22'-25', mid to high line brand, strong preference for snap in carpet and walk through transom, very clean and well maintained, low $20k range.

 

[Maclin]

Re: Boat Shopping SUCKS

OWP, I did find a really good boat for me in Mid January after a long on and off 2 year search. It is not in the size or price range of your search but the longer the search the more likely you are to find and obtain the "one".

I found mine in -- wait for it... Wichita

 

[bajaunderground]

Re: Boat Shopping SUCKS

OWP,

I posted your rant on our local CL...maybe others can do the same...while I know it would make a difference, maybe it just makes me feel better?

Attention Boat sellers...he us help you!!!

 

[briangcc]

Re: Boat Shopping SUCKS

Funny, I would never go to a boat show, look at a number of brands/models and buy one there. If you just decided at a boat show what brand and model you want, how could you possibly know that is a good price on that brand/model?

The 24' boat in my sig came with a 5 year extended warranty so there were over 2 years of warranty left when I bought it. Of course buying a 2 1/2 year old boat for half the cost of what it was new would have paid for a few items that could have been bad.

New boat buying is super easy compared to buying a used boat. You just have to do a little homework on what a good price for it is since you don't need to worry about condition. Hardly need a salesman at all until the last minute. When I go to a boat show, the last person I want to talk to is a salesman.

I wonder how many boats are actually sold at boat shows. My bet is not many. The so called "Boat Show Price" is a bunch of BS.

I actually ordered my Bayliner as they tried selling me a I/O and I wanted an outboard which they didn't have in stock. $50 down and they ordered one for me with the limited options I wanted/could afford. Ended up buying it and then repowering it as that FORCE engine was a major POS.