Re: Considering our first Boat Purchase
This is all great info! keep it coming. This forum rocks.
Graunke, I'm in MN and I currently own 3 boats, so I've been around the boating block at least a little.
I'll give you some general advice as it looks mainly like you're going to buy from Craigslist:
1. Minnesota sellers in general overprice everything. All of the boats you posted so far have been anywhere from mildly overpriced to VASTLY overpriced. Negotiate HARD or you will overpay in Minnesota, but you have to have a thick skin because sellers in this state are so unrealistic.
2. Any boat that is reasonably priced is snapped up within minutes in MN. I'm not joking, literally within minutes. If a boat has been on CL in MN for more than a few days, it's because others with more experience than you know something that you don't. Usually, it's overpriced. Sometimes it's because there are known issues with that boat or motor.
3. Paperwork. Most sellers in Minnesota are almost mentally retarded when it comes to the REQUIRED paperwork that they MUST possess to legally sell a boat.
- Almost all power boats in MN longer than 14 feet MUST have a title.
Must, must, must! I have rejected over a dozen boats because the owners did not have the title even though they were trying to sell the boat.
You'll get all kinds of BS stories here about how it doesn't have one, only cars have one, etc. Bull!
This is a huge danger zone. If you buy a boat with no title, you could lose it because if a bank lent money to the original owner to buy it, the bank gets the boat, you get the shaft if you know what I mean. Don't assume just because it's an older boat, it's owned free and clear. Lots of stupid banks lent money on used boats over the past 10 years.
There are a few tiny exceptions, but bottom line is anyone who tells you there is no title for the boats you are looking for is full of crap.
Bottom line: In MN no title = no sale! Do not buy a boat without a clean title in hand. If you don't know what a clean title is, ask and I'll explain.
- The trailer has a separate registration document and might have a title depending on size and weight. Generally, what you need is for the current owner to give you the trailer registration card from the DMV. This is a really gray area, but bottom line is be sure you transfer the trailer registration. No, it doesn't matter if it has the "permanent" registration sticker because that sticker is NOT in your name until you transfer it.
4. Finally, don't buy from a dealer on CL unless you absolutely have to. If you buy from a dealer, you have to pay sales tax so make sure you negotiate them down even more.
5. Condition and good maintenance mean everything. In MN boats are really a 5 month use proposition, so it's more about how the boat was stored than how it was used. Check very carefully for rotted transoms, rotted floors, sun damage, and ask lots of questions about who and how the boat was winterized.
6. If you want to buy the boat, first negotiate the price to your satisfaction. Then say, "OK, we have a deal, but I need to water test it. If it's good in the water, it's a sale." I strongly advise against buying any boat without water testing it, but in fairness to the seller this should ONLY be done after you have agreed to the price.
Grouse
