Looked at a 2001 Four Winns today (Update: or did I?)

[jt224]

I've posted recently about looking for my first boat. Here's the boat I looked at today.

2001 Four Winns Horizon 200
5.0 Gi with Volvo Cobra Outdrive
approx. 200 hrs
Bimini top, life jackets, tube, wakeboards etc come with it
Asking $11,500

With the exception of needing a little work on the upholstery the boat appears to be in pretty good condition. The trailer looks good although the guy did say he doesn't think the surge brakes are working.

I'm hoping we can agree on a price pending a good test run on the lake and a mechanic inspection.

So here's my questions:
1. I don't mind paying a fair price for a good boat that suits my needs, but also, I don't want to overpay a bunch either. Any thoughts on pricing or negotiating a price?
2. Assuming we can agree on a price, is there anything specific I should look at on the lake?
3. Anything else I should be on the lookout for with this specific boat? Common issues, etc.?

Thanks

 

[RotaryRacer]

Re: Looked at a 2001 Four Winns today

Re: Looked at a 2001 Four Winns today

That boat is not a 2001.

It may be a 2000 at the newest. Four Winns went to a new hull design in 2001. The boat in your pictures is a the previous hull design. There are few other clues that make me think it is actually older than 2000.


The last two numbers in the HIN number on the right rear of the boat will indicate what year the boat is.

Spend some time on the archives at the Four Winns website if you want to try to figure out what year it is.

http://www.fourwinns.com/past_product/catalogs

 

[jt224]

Re: Looked at a 2001 Four Winns today

Re: Looked at a 2001 Four Winns today

That boat is not a 2001.

It may be a 2000 at the newest. Four Winns went to a new hull design in 2001. The boat in your pictures is a the previous hull design. There are few other clues that make me think it is actually older than 2000.


The last two numbers in the HIN number on the right rear of the boat will indicate what year the boat is.

Spend some time on the archives at the Four Winns website if you want to try to figure out what year it is.

http://www.fourwinns.com/past_product/catalogs

Wow, thanks! You are right, it definitely does not look like a 2001. It looks exactly like the one in the 2000 brochure. There is not much detail in the 1999 and 1998 brochures. It does not look like the one in the 1997 brochure so I'm guessing 2000 buy maybe as old as 98. I'll have to get the HIN # and check it out.

Thanks for the link btw, I was looking for something like that earlier and couldn't find anything.

 

[jt224]

Re: Looked at a 2001 Four Winns today

Re: Looked at a 2001 Four Winns today

That boat is not a 2001.

It may be a 2000 at the newest. Four Winns went to a new hull design in 2001. The boat in your pictures is a the previous hull design. There are few other clues that make me think it is actually older than 2000.


The last two numbers in the HIN number on the right rear of the boat will indicate what year the boat is.

Spend some time on the archives at the Four Winns website if you want to try to figure out what year it is.

http://www.fourwinns.com/past_product/catalogs

Good call Rotaryracer. I got the HIN. It's a 98. Makes me wonder if this guy is scamming me or the guy that sold it to him (he's the second owner) scammed him and he just never figured it out.

 

[RotaryRacer]

Re: Looked at a 2001 Four Winns today

Re: Looked at a 2001 Four Winns today

Good call Rotaryracer. I got the HIN. It's a 98. Makes me wonder if this guy is scamming me or the guy that sold it to him (he's the second owner) scammed him and he just never figured it out.

Thats what I was thinking.

It is still a nice boat....however, it isn't work $11k. With the condition issues and the age I wouldn't think it would bring more than $8k or less.

It's hard to say if there is a scam going on or not. It amazes me how many people don't know the year of the boat they are trying to sell.

 

[jt224]

Re: Looked at a 2001 Four Winns today

Re: Looked at a 2001 Four Winns today

Thats what I was thinking.

It is still a nice boat....however, it isn't work $11k. With the condition issues and the age I wouldn't think it would bring more than $8k or less.

It's hard to say if there is a scam going on or not. It amazes me how many people don't know the year of the boat they are trying to sell.

Yeah, I guess I'll call the guy and feel it out tomorrow. I agree it's still a nice boat and with a successful test drive and mechanic inspection I would still feel good about the boat.

If the guy is intentionally being dishonest, it would make me wonder what else he was being dishonest about though.

 

[redone4x4]

Re: Looked at a 2001 Four Winns today

Re: Looked at a 2001 Four Winns today

if hes lying about the year on purpose, stay away from it. theres plenty of good deals to be had right now for a buyer. otherwise, get a survey and pay close attention to everything else.

 

[Bearfan]

Re: Looked at a 2001 Four Winns today (Update: or did I?)

The Nada price on it is under $7k.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Looked at a 2001 Four Winns today (Update: or did I?)

It's an OMC.......PASS.

 

[Tig]

Re: Looked at a 2001 Four Winns today

Re: Looked at a 2001 Four Winns today

Good call Rotaryracer. I got the HIN. It's a 98. Makes me wonder if this guy is scamming me or the guy that sold it to him (he's the second owner) scammed him and he just never figured it out.

The title should have the year of the boat correctly identified. If not, then the owner may have legal recourse. I went through the same thing last year after we agreed on a price. My bottom line was that the agreed price was for a newer boat. Owner swore he got taken when he bought it. I explained that I could not do anything about that. I asked the dealer what they do in a situation like that. He adjusted the price.
If you like the boat and the price is close use this to negotiate a fair price.

 

[RotaryRacer]

Re: Looked at a 2001 Four Winns today (Update: or did I?)

It's an OMC.......PASS.

No it isn't...

It is a Volvo Penta. The last OMC labeled sterndrives were produced in 1996 I believe and those were actually the ones produced with VP during their joint venture.

This 1998 would deffinately be a Volvo SX style drive.

For a period of time they labeled them SX Cobra...which could be the case here.

This boat has one of the best outdrives available at that time. It would be silly to pass on the boat due to the outdrive.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Looked at a 2001 Four Winns today (Update: or did I?)

For a period of time they labeled them SX Cobra...which could be the case here.

Ah good to know. I was thinking it was another one of those cases like where a Force owner calls it a Mercury

 

[jt224]

Re: Looked at a 2001 Four Winns today (Update: or did I?)

Seller claims that the year was a mistake and he has looked over all his paperwork and it is indeed a 98. It seems like he didn't know what he had. He seems like a genuine guy but I guess you never really know with people. I did notice he immediately corrected his online ads with the correct year (although he didn't lower his asking price).

He says he is flexible on price now, but will be taking the boat to a broker in a couple months if i doesn't sell and he knows he can get $12,500 in March/April but if I am still interested to make an offer. I'm back and forth on whether to even make an offer but I can't imagine I could give more than $7000 (maybe $7500) for it, which is right about or slightly above book value.

It does appear that it is a quality boat and it would suit my needs and hopefully a test drive and professional inspection would bring up any major hidden issues.

Decisions decisions....

 

[sickwilly]

Re: Looked at a 2001 Four Winns today (Update: or did I?)

He is not going to get a lot of higher offers come March. Our local (Nashville) craigslist had had more than a few Atlanta area boats listed on it. They have to be hurting if they are running adds this far away.

 

[superpop]

Re: Looked at a 2001 Four Winns today (Update: or did I?)

This guy is in denial if he thinks that boat is worth 11.5K. I would bet it eventually sells for 6-7K. If you really want it, tell him that NADA is 7K and that is what a broker is going to suggest as a starting point, then he is going to have to pay the broker 10-15 percent just to sell it so he is going to end up getting 5-6K for it by the time someone haggles the broker down. With the condition of the seating in the back, I would be thrilled to sell that boat for 7K.

 

[Chiliando]

Re: Looked at a 2001 Four Winns today (Update: or did I?)

If you like the boat , definetly make an offer contingent on sea-trial/survey. Offer what you are comfortable paying. If he passes leave him your contact info and tell him to call you if he changes his mind.

What do you have to lose?

 

[jt224]

Re: Looked at a 2001 Four Winns today (Update: or did I?)

This guy is in denial if he thinks that boat is worth 11.5K. I would bet it eventually sells for 6-7K. If you really want it, tell him that NADA is 7K and that is what a broker is going to suggest as a starting point, then he is going to have to pay the broker 10-15 percent just to sell it so he is going to end up getting 5-6K for it by the time someone haggles the broker down. With the condition of the seating in the back, I would be thrilled to sell that boat for 7K.

Thanks superpop. This confirms my thoughts about the pricing. He is having the upholstery repaired and we had already discussed that if we agreed on a price it would be dependant on the upholstery being repaired satisfactorily.