Re: Buying boat from old guy... Question.
I've been on both sides of this. As a seller, I price things fairly, represent them honestly, and more or less stick to my guns with respect to price. I always sell as-is, where-is. I don't know what will happen the moment the item leaves my control, and to be honest, some people are just ignorant and can ruin an otherwise good piece of equipment within minutes. When I've been asked about giving some kind of warranty, I politely point out that the price I'm asking is a "no warranty" price. If they were to purchase from a dealer, anything the dealer would be willing to warranty would be priced much higher than what I ask. I've shown outboards running (in a barrel) when I've sold them, but for the asking prices (a few hundred bucks), it's not worth my time to do a "sea trial". If I were to sell a boat worth 10K or something, I might be willing to do a water trial, assuming we have a deal pending and with the understanding that once the water trial doesn't expose any problems, the deal would be closed. I wouldn't do it as a "test drive' for them to see if it was what they actually want. They'd have to decide that first.
I bought an I/O basically sight unseen (on Craigslist, out of state). After talking to the guy I told him I'd pay him his asking price if he was willing to hold it until I could come pick it up (a couple weeks). He reluctantly agreed after I pointed out that 1) I wouldn't be a no-show and 2) trust works both ways... I was trusting that the pict's and his description were accurate, and that he wouldn't sell it out from me. I drove to his cottage with cash, he had the boat tied to the dock and wanted to show me how it ran. When he asked what I thought, I said condition seemed good (as how he described it), engine ran well, but he outdrive sounded dry and I expected the U-joints and probably gimbal bearing needed servicing, if not replacement. He offered to let me back out, and said no, his descriptions of what he had done (and not done) mechanically meant I was expecting to pull the drive anyway, so I was happy with the deal. I paid him (in full).. he was happy, and provided me with all maintenance records and whatever other documentation he had. After catching up on maintenance (new gimbal bearging, greasing U-joints) the boat has been great. Most people can't believe the deal on it, even with paying him full asking price.
The upshot is I'm willing to gamble on how well I can assess condition when buying an item (I'll take a chance there), but I'm not willing to gamble that when someone buys something from me, that they won't either get cold feet or damage the item through operator error and want to bring it back for a refund, if I leave that door open even a little (so I don't). Whatever you decide, make sure that it is clear, in writing what the intent is. If it's sold "as is" "where is", the bill of sale should say that.
Also, age of the seller has nothing to do with it. I've known old buggers who are less scrupulous than any young person I know. There are "players" of all ages. You've got to be able to form an opinion if they're above board or just telling you what you want to hear. If you gave the guy an offer, and said, "I know you don't want to waste your time, I'll buy it for $$$, but we'll close the deal at the lake when we go out together and you can show me how to work it, and I can see it's in good working order." Maybe he'd do that.
