First time boat buying questions

Thank you all for all the great advice! Sorry I am a bit of a noob when it comes to this stuff... Just nervous and whatnot.

I am also looking strictly looking for Sea ray sundeck 240 between the years of 03 - 08 with low hours ATM. I have looked every where around here so there isn't any in IL that is posted online that is worth me looking at... I am also only looking for the 350 mag bravo 3 and the non star trek seats.
 
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I wouldn't get too hung up on low hours. I bought my boat @ 7 years old and 102 hours. There were very few (some) service records and I made quite a bit of the expected service part of the sale. This way I knew exactly when the bellows, impeller, antifreeze, spark plugs, Yada , Yada were done and had a baseline. I'm now at 500 hours and have a very well documented service history.
 
Boat sold Saturday that is why he didn't return my calls or emails about the boat. Oh well!
 
Seems like Craiglist is the place to go now! I sold two boats on Craiglist within weeks of listing. Also, I agree with the hours comment in that low hours arent' always great unless you have service records. I would rather have a boat with some more hours and a well documented history of service. I purchased a boat with less than 100 hours that was ten years old and had many problems with the boat just because of bad fuel issues and no service. Took years and thousands of dollars of repairs to get the boat right. Be patient and ask a lot of questions and don't fall in love with any particular boat. Be ready to walk away if need be! Definitely make the purchase contingent on a survey that is satisfactory to you. my 2 cents!
Rob
MrHappy said:
There's thousands of boats for sale in Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan,Indiana. Probably a stupid question, have looked on Craigslist(any large Great Lake city) or Boattrader.com?

It it took me a year to find my third boat. Of course I had a boat to use when I was looking. It shoudn't be hard to find an anal boat owner with a beautiful boat just for your family.

https://indianapolis.craigslist.org/boa/6007262372.html

http://www.boattrader.com/listing/2006
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The 240 sun deck is one of the best bow riders Sea Ray ever made...or anyone else for that matter. I have had four of them starting with the 2003 and up to 2007. The boat you were looking at definitely had a problem with that flat spot... It also had a problem with that much corrosion on the out drive. The 350 MAG is the perfect engine for that boat...don't go any smaller. The price was about right... Just take your time and find the right boat for you... Make sure you get an engine survey... Good luck !
 

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I just checked a website I frequent and ludingtonyachtsales.com has (2) 240 Sundecks with low hours. Good luck.

-Tom
 
SolidSnake said:
Okay going down to look at this one on Saturday. Made an offer lets see what the seller says...

http://www.boats.com/power-boats/2004-sea-ray-240-sundeck-6152504/
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Good looking 240. Couple thoughts. One, I did not know the 6.2 was an option on the 240 SD. Should get up and go quickly. Second, it is difficult to find a used boat that size owned by Marine Max at LOTO. You may want to verify it is not brokered. MM will have no ability to negotiate price if it is brokered.
 
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Yeah it is a consignment or brokered. I made an offer they just came back with a counter offer... What I am wondering is the sea trial guy on lake ozark said its not a big boat and he charges $495 for just basically looking at the boat but does not do a compression test or anything and MM will do all that. Since I have never bought a boat before Just wondering if $495 is high for a basic sea trial IMO. He said Mechanical is done by MM side. Which is more money...

I do know a sea trial is worth it, I get that, but he basically said its not a big boat so there is much to do on it. Cutting edge is the place for any of you in the ozark area.

Yeah the 240 did have the slight option to get the 6.2 which is nice and what I was also looking for... MM said the boat was garage kept and well maintained but no service records at all..

If there is anyone you may recommend in that area please let me know..
 
Another good source for used boats is a reputable broker, or even better a Marine Max salesperson since they are so big and deal with so many Sea Rays. Let them know what you're looking for and ask them to call you if they come across something. That's how I got my 410 a few months ago.
They talk to boat shoppers all the time and many of them have boats they have to get out of before they get in to something else.
I had a Marine Max guy from New Jersey keeping an eye out for me for things that might be coming in. He was looking on their internal computer system for several months and would call me up with things he thought I might be interested in looking at. He eventually came up with this 410 that was coming in to another Marine Max store Connecticut on a trade. The owner was buying a 480 from that other store that was located in Massachusetts. It worked out well for everyone involved. My experience with them has been fantastic so far. Although I own the boat, they are storing it for the winter as part of the deal and I'm taking delivery in April. I've been back and forth to the boat a few times over the winter and they've been great.
I have a friend that bought a used boat from them last year at this time and his experience was as good as mine. They really do go out of their way to make you happy.
 
Yes. I recommend Steve Parker owner of Parker Marine. Very honest, knowledgeable guy. Warning, he will talk your ear off . He can do the mechanical inspection and probably do a sea trial. I do not believe he does surveys. His shop is closed on Mondays but opened Tues- Sat.
 
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BleednBlue said:
Yes. I recommend Steve Parker owner of Parker Marine. Very honest, knowledgeable guy. Warning, he will talk your ear off . He can do the mechanical inspection and probably do a sea trial. I do not believe he does surveys. His shop is closed on Mondays but opened Tues- Sat.
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Do you know how much you have paid for in the past for him and what did you mean by he can probably do a sea trial?

I just wanna make sure I do everything right and what other people have said here so I don't get stuck in a money pit.
 
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SolidSnake said:
Do you know how much you have paid for in the past for him and what did you mean by he can probably do a sea trial?

I just wanna make sure I do everything right and what other people have said here so I don't get stuck in a money pit.
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Before buying my current boat, I brought it to him for compression test. I also had him pull the outdrive for inspection. After passing compression test, had him replace the spark plugs, oil change and gear lube change. Think he charged me $750 - I'll call him tomorrow and verify if you want. As far as sea trial...It's a small shop, he may not want to leave it for a couple hours. That said, it is the off season so he may have some time on his hands. Give him a call. He's a good guy. No question is stupid to him.
Edit: Just checked bill pay service. Paid him $510 (2 yrs ago) for service above. Oh and that included the stupid expensive Merc. sparks plugs.
 
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That doesn't sound like a bad idea at all... I may just have to give him a call tomorrow and see what he would charge. Thanks for your great advice good sir! I hope it all works out cuz im nervous but also really excited... Just dealing with the price with the seller.

Edit: What is his number cuz I am having a hard time finding it on google at this exact moment lol
 
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SolidSnake said:
That doesn't sound like a bad idea at all... I may just have to give him a call tomorrow and see what he would charge. Thanks for your great advice good sir! I hope it all works out cuz im nervous but also really excited... Just dealing with the price with the seller.

Edit: What is his number cuz I am having a hard time finding it on google at this exact moment lol
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Phone Number: 573-365-1700
 
Alright friends... I am now the proud owner of that boat with the 6.2 linked above. I will get pictures when I can but ATM the ones up there will do.

Couple things I found that were not in pictures since it was 6 hours away but they are not terrible for a 13 year old boat. Took it on the sea trial and it boated. LOL waters on the ozark were a little rough but it did fine with temps and whatnot. Marine max people there are nice but they really don't know there stuff. They just want the sale. Got it home last night, was fun towing it.

I am hoping we don't get worse cold weather cuz they de-winterized this one and suggest I should re-winterize it but so far the calendar does not show below 32 except for Saturday. I am thinking of hanging some light bulbs in the compartment so keep a little heat in there for the colder nights but I believe it may get warmer soon to where I should not have to worry.

Other than that the Seller filled the gas tank to Full so that added some weight for the sea trial plus towing it back but whatever free gas. I had MarineMax Mechanics do the mechanical inspection due to not being able to get a hold of anyone in time to do it.

BleednBlue, I tried calling parker but he never called back but its okay. They said the motor compression test came out great, they pulled the outdrive and everything was good. So they changed the sparkplugs for me but they wanted waaaaaay too much to change the oil and fuel filters. So I will end up doing it myself before the start of this season.

I want to thank all of you for helping me out and I can't wait to start using it.

FYI - the seller not only filled the boat, but left skis, ropes, knee board looks like, anchors, and a new magma grill. Also a bunch of life jackets. This thing is very clean and I am the second owner.
 
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Congrats but we require more pics! Just picking on you a bit. What are you towing it with?


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Nice truck for sure. Congrats again on the boat


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