A word of caution about repo boats

kpetry

kpetry

Member
Jul 19, 2008
362
Live in Ellettsville, IN - close to Bloomington
Boat Info
2002 Sea Ray 340DA
Engines
Twin 8.1 Horizons, inboard
I've seen lots of questions on here the past few months about repo boats. Our experience in this arena was not good, and I'm relating it here for your consideration.

I had a VERY bad experience with National Liquidator's Cleveland office this fall. The boat wasn't just misrepresented, I was over the top LIED TO REPEATEDLY by their rep. His exact words were "if we say it's in good condition, it's in better condition than good". I made the mistake of ordering the survey for the same day we were to see the boat for the first time - to conserve on the amount of driving we had to do, and based on his statement of condition.

Once we had driven 7 hours one way, and met the surveyor, he immediately pointed out that the boat had not been registered since 2003 - 5 YEARS of disuse! The condition of the boat - let's see, where do I begin? The hatch had been left open, and the cabin was filled with leaves. Mold abounded on all interior surfaces. The advertised camper canvas was in shreds in a pile on the stained cabin carpet. There was 1 foot of water in the storage compartment UNDER the mattress in the aft cabin due to a hull joint leak! Neither engine would start. One drive would not move up or down. The other drive was locked up. The genny wouldn't start.........

Do you get the picture? The yard was FULL of boats in the same or worse condition. My impression was that these boats are hauled in there - this one came from N. Carolina - and dropped. I GUARANTEE you after seeing how this operation worked, that none of these boats are winterized prior to those infamous Cleveland winters.

I was so upset that I stopped the survey rather than waste the guy's time, paid him, and left without speaking again to the agent. 7 more hours to get home. I guarantee you I had heated words with the agent the next day!

I realize all agents are not this dishonest, and I'm sure others may have had good repo boat experiences, but at least consider my experience before committing to spend survey dollars on a long distance boat! Kurt
 
Thanks - makes you realize that not all repo boats are all that great. While, I know some have snagged some great deals. There are some bad ones out there.
 
Kurt,

Sorry to hear about your experiance, but I must say that you forgot (at least this is my impression) to follow basic steps of boat buying process and made simple things a bit difficult. Before spending a single $ on a boat I first have to like it in any respect. After I say to myself "yes, this is the boat I'd like to own based on it's overall condition" only then I say lets get technical and invest in servey and/or mechanical inspection. You took a word of someone you never met and you took a big chance on liking the boat. In case of REPO boats I'd be much more conservative and do extra steps before I even say I like the boat. Perform your own inspection to the best of your knowledge and only then start paying professionals in case if you like the boat.

REPO is usually equals saving money, but in big items like boats sometimes it pays to pay extra to avoid troubles. Yes, there're tons of success stories with REPOs, but this is something you need to approach slowly and make sure all is in order.

Good luck,
Alex.
 
That is interesting, I often check National Liquidators inventory just out of curiosity.
 
Kurt,
Sorry you had a bad experience. I too have a horror story (not a repo but at a Sea Ray store), but that is for another day. Perhaps I can add value to this thread for any future readers that are considering a long distance purchase (repo or otherwise).

1. Pictures. More than 3-4 & most of them interior. If he dosent have the time to take & send them, move on & keep looking. The picture is worth a thousand words thing would have worked here!
2. Plan on looking at & boarding more than 1 boat. If you are driving 14 hours, stay overnight & go to 2-3 different places if you have too. Hell, thats a long freakin drive in my book.
3. Check with the BBB before making a trip of that length. If this Jack A$$ treated you this way they might already have a bad reputation. Hell post the name of the place here!
4. The total net money anyone may save buying a repo boat just dropped by about $600. Sure it was your mistake ordering a survey on a boat site unseen, but his misrepresentation cost you a wasted day, travel expenses & Im sure a few gray hairs.

On a lighter note.. Im looking forward to the pics of your 290 along side of SeaHarley's 310 & Techmitch's 270. All 99 DA with simular canvas & graphics.

Anyway, congrats on your purchase.
 
I can't say that I had the same experience, however I can relate to some of your comments.

I bought my 2006 320 from Lab Marine in Rock Hall Maryland. The bank that held the note was Bank of America. The boat was repo'd in Mass and trucked to this "dealer" in Maryland. It was only in the yard for about 1 week before I found it on the internet. The boat was only 1 year old and was in very good condition. I was able to negotiate a price and take delivery within 3 weeks of my initial inspection.

I thought about stringing them along over the winter to try to get a lower price, but I was concerned that the boat would be left to sit outside uncovered all winter and I would have a bigger problem in the spring. I decided it was best to close on the boat and rescue it from this grave yard. I can only imagine what it would have looked like in the spring. My boat and most of the other boats in the marina were stored without the canvas installed. I doubt very much that they were going to winterize all of the boats and I am sure they would remain uncovered.

I had a few problems, the biggest one was the generator. However it was under warranty and my out of pocket cost was just over $200. My advice is if you are looking for a repo, find one under warranty and plan on a doing your own inspection before committing to a survey.

A few pics of mine when I first inspected it.

Picture025.jpg


Picture031.jpg


Picture029-1.jpg
 
Alex F and mwph both make excellent points! It IS a good idea to get as good a look as possible, and conduct a personal visit if possible. There were several pictures, and none of these problems were evident in the pics (the pics were actually months old) but my big mistake was committing money in the form of the survey, before I got a good look at the boat. I was naive at that point, and was trying to avoid two trips to Cleveland. I wised up in a hurry!

The boat we ended up buying was even further away, but I felt I had a very good feel for the buyer based on several phone conversations and lots of photos. At that point we agreed on a price based on good survey results and personal inspection/seatrial. Only then I did commit to another survey without seeing this second boat, but it sounded very good, I thought I had a good feel for the owner and his honesty, and the survey would confirm what I needed to know before I made what I felt was the bigger investment, that of my time for the trip out to finalize the deal.

The purpose of my post was not to dog National Liquidators per se, (although they need it in this case!) but, 1) to make people aware that there are now many more repo boats out there than in the past, due to the economic conditions, and this strains the resources of these outfits to process and properly care for the units. 2) That these boats usually are not well taken care of for months or in this case years, as the repo process drags itself out, and 3) "Buyer beware" is always a good idea, but doubly so in the case of a repo.
 
That's a tough lesson, but I'm glad to hear that you found a good boat eventually.

In situations like long-distance boat buying, forums like this one are invaluable. It's not unusual for someone online to volunteer to be your local eyes. There's even a possibility that you'll find someone who knows the boat already.

When someone asks about a boat in this area, I jump at the chance to take a look at it. It's fun, and someday I might need the favor to be returned.
 
I know you can get great deals on Southwest flights for under $200 bucks just about anywhere coast to coast. This would come in handy during the boat purchase process.

Doug
 
Well,
I had a similar experience to the one in the first post. And I went to Lab Marine where the other fellow bought his 320. And I flew southwest, like the other guy suggested.
Between flights and hotel it was $1500.00 and a missed day at work. Then a one hour drive to the middle of nowhere in sub freezing weather to see a boat that looked nothing like the scarce pictured that I had based my offer on.
It was a complete waste of time and money. I was not happy and then almost could not get home due to snow storms, flight delays etc. And the sales guy didn't even meet me out there..... They sent one of their yard guys. (who did his best)
I made a similar trip to a diffferent repo yard (who I do business with regularly so I will not name them and had a similar experience there too. I drove 3.5 hrs to see a boat they would not send me additional pics of and the hear the engines run. When I got there and saw the boat i wanted to just turn right around and leave. And, on top of that, the batteries were dead and the boat was out of fuel. They knew I was coming and driving a long way.
Needless to say, I did not buy either boat so hiding the condition got them nowhere. Both boats are still for sale.....
Repo boats and project boats are not the good deals they appear to be.
Buy a well maintained boat and get lots of pics before you travel to see it.
 
mwph said:
......... Im looking forward to the pics of your 290 along side of SeaHarley's 310 & Techmitch's 270. All 99 DA with simular canvas & graphics.....
Click to expand...

LMAO....

Michael, Kurt needs to post some pictures of his new boat. Looks very nice I might add!! :grin:
I know he can email you one.
He and his wife have a big smile on their face!!! :thumbsup:

Lee
 
mwph said:
Rollercoastr............Great idea/post!
Click to expand...

+1 - Mod should make this a sticky ;-)

I'd love to check out boats for people here in the South Florida area - as long as they promised to take me along for the sea trial and/or a beer! :grin:
 
timinfla2 said:
+1 - Mod should make this a sticky ;-)

I'd love to check out boats for people here in the South Florida area - as long as they promised to take me along for the sea trial and/or a beer! :grin:
Click to expand...

How close are you to Englewood, FL?
 
Kurt,
I'm glad that things worked out for you in the end. Also thanks for the post and alerting others on how easy is for the process to go bad.

I've purchased my 320DA from FL and my drive was 22hrs. Before we had commitments we had 3 boats lined up just in case we didn't like the boat that we were interested the most based on the pictures. I didn't think it was a good idea to go to FL just to see only one boat. So, anytime you have a plan B and/or plan C it makes things a lot easier when dealing with long distance purchases.
 
National Liquidators - 2006 Sea Ray, 340 Sundancer


This boat is moored in my backyard and my salon key fits the lock on this boat too... Let's say I did a thorough inspection of this vessel and it is in great condition. I did not run the gen. or the twins but overall appearance looked like it was well taken care of... (I have a friend interested in it) The only bad thing I can say is the broker told my buddy that it would come in around $120k and then he listed it for $145k.

Caveat emptor
 
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