Nightmare of a first time boat buying experience. Comments and advice appreciated!

[FishingDiva]

I purchased a 2004 chaparral 190ssi with a 4.3 v6 Volvo Penta from a guy who said it was serviced and 100% lake ready.

After asking him questions, he is a car mechanic/used car dealership lot owner who did his own maintenance on the boat. The boat servicing included: impeller pump replacement, spark plugs, new bellows and battery and tune up.

When I asked why he was selling the boat, he said it was because he purchased a bigger one. I went to his car lot, saw the boat but didn’t take it on a test run because he said he had taken it out on a test run for hours at a time and everything was functional. I had the impression it was 100% lake ready, so I purchased it.

So this is where it gets messy:
I turn on the blower and at first, we have a difficult time starting the engine. When it finally started we drove off for about 5 minutes and then we see smoke coming from all the ports. Then we hear a loud DING and then boat dies down. The boat is smoking A LOT more, from the cup holders, ski storage, anchor storage, steering wheel, EVERYWHERE.
(Loud DING ended up being the shift cable)

We swim the boat over to a dock and get it towed back to the marina. I file an insurance claim and take it to the shop.

The initial finding is that the paint of the right side of the exhaust hose is completely melted off.



Boat gets taken apart and the riser is completely clogged with rust. The shop said that they couldn’t even blow air through it.






Photo of black exhaust oil



I confronted the seller of the boat and asked how he would make things right. He said that he was not responsible for what happened and that the boat has been out on the water after he serviced it for a few hours and the night before I purchased it. He‘s been defensive and unwilling to make anything right or even contribute anything towards the repair of the boat.

From the shop, I am invoiced for exhaust manifold and tube.
This is the first boat I purchased and has been such an inconvenience dealing with it. The boat towing company invoiced Geico for $4,000 for the tow and I have a $3,000 limit. Is it just me or does my tow amount sound ridiculous??

How likely is it that him taking the boat out this season is true? What would cause that amount of RUST inside the exhaust riser? If the shop could not blow air through the pipe, how could it possibly cool the engine…

The seller has said multiple times that he did all of the maintenance himself. With his background in mechanical work, wouldn’t he know this was going to happen/know this was a faulty boat?

Any advice or comments will be super helpful, thanks!

 

[Scott Danforth]

Geico is in the business of making money. Yes the towing seems excessive

Boat towing insurance from boat us, or tow biat is ony $150 per year and will tow up to 25 miles. However without it, towing 25 miles would only be $1200 down here in FL

You did buy the boat without a seatrial. Best you could do is small claims

 

[Chris1956]

Tows are expensive. How long was the tow in time? $4K for a tow should last several hours.

That riser looks to have been in salt water, and as bad as it looks is likely original. Risers last 8-10 years in saltwater, and still work pretty well, but the passages are clogging at that time. Risers last 20+ years in freshwater. Manifolds are likely bad as well, unless the boat has a freshwater cooling system for them.

I think that motor would have overheated on the PO, if he truly took it out.

I would be worried that the motor overheated severely, and likely on the PO as well as you. You will need a compression test to see how good the motor is. Does the motor have a temp gauge? Did it show a high reading or was it disconnected?

I suspect most of what he told you is false.

 

[76SeaRay]

Sounds like there is no way that the guy could have driven the boat and not known the problems. Does your sale paperwork say "as is"? Also, some states have laws about "full disclosure" on sales so you might want to check that. How is the rest of the boat, particularly the floor and transom?

 

[FishingDiva]

Sounds like there is no way that the guy could have driven the boat and not known the problems. Does your sale paperwork say "as is"? Also, some states have laws about "full disclosure" on sales so you might want to check that. How is the rest of the boat, particularly the floor and transom?

The only paperwork we have is a bill of sale. He was quick to answer all the questions I had. When I asked if he knew why the anchor port wasn’t draining, he said he had no clue. Ski storage wasn’t draining either and he disregarded that question. Transom was dry when I looked at it, but when I was cleaning the interior of the boat, the bilage pump kept going off

 

[JASinIL2006]

The key phrase in all this is “he is a car mechanic/used car dealership lot owner”. It wouldn’t surprise me if he hadn’t owned the boat that long (got it in a trade?) and actually didn’t know very much about it. In any case, it sounds like he certainly didn’t disclose the boat’s actual condition.

You can try taking him to court, but the reality is you didn’t really exercise due diligence in checking out the boat, so it’s hard to pin all the blame on the seller. Might be time to just take your lumps and focus on getting the boat seaworthy.

Sorry about the lousy start to your boat ownership. I know the disappointment of finding out you bought someone else’s problem.

 

[hugh g]

The only paperwork we have is a bill of sale. He was quick to answer all the questions I had. When I asked if he knew why the anchor port wasn’t draining, he said he had no clue. Ski storage wasn’t draining either and he disregarded that question. Transom was dry when I looked at it, but when I was cleaning the interior of the boat, the bilage pump kept going off

You should have taken it out for a sea trial, lesson learned. But, just because you didn't that doesn't give the seller the right to screw you or misrepresent the condition of the boat. He told ypu the boat was fine, he's obviously a liar & do you have a witness to his statements? What does the invoice say? If it says "as is" you may be out of luck. You can always take him to small claims court & I think you have a case because the first time you took the boat out it quit. If the guy claims ignorance on the boats condition, that's his problem. Ignorance is no excuse. What's your insurance company saying? Me? i'd sue him if your insurance denies the claim & let him explain his actions to a judge. It sounds to me like he knew what was going on, that's why he didn't want you to take it out for a run.

 

[hugh g]

Topic should be moved?