Assumed used engine and outdrive checks and inspections prio

Arizona240DA

Banned
Jun 20, 2007
413
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Boat Info
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I apologize in advance for the length of this post, but am looking forward to your response. We recently purchased a 2001 240DA on consignment from our local boat store. This is the second consignment purchase that we have made from the same store within the last year and a half (two-foot itis’ is indeed a debilitating condition). At any rate, the particular boat in question, the 240DA, was actually on consignment at another store out of state. We felt strongly about the boat and made arrangements to view it. Upon viewing, we made an offer through our local store, they drew up the agreement and our offer was accepted. The out of state store let us know that a compression check would be completed and the outdrive would be removed and inspected; as we were told, this is standard practice for any consigned boat that goes out of their front door. I must mention that we have had nothing but positive experiences with both the sales and service departments at our local boat store to date. Upon delivery of the boat, after the paperwork was signed, we discovered that the engine and outdrive checks and inspections were not completed (perhaps shame on us for not verifying this prior to signing). Throughout the transaction, it was assumed by us that these checks and inspections had been completed and we were going to be in receipt of a sound engine and outdrive (this could very well still be the case). Our local store was definitely under the impression that the out of state store performed these inspections prior to shipping and that any issues would have been brought to light; again, standard practice to our knowledge. If something were to have been found, we would have simply requested that the issues be remedied prior to the transaction being completed, or we would have tried to negotiate a more appropriate price due to the issues. Or, we would have declined to the purchase altogether and moved on. Upon discovering that the checks and inspections were never performed (we brought this discovery to light vs. our local store). They did agree this morning to pick up the boat and perform the agreed upon checks and inspections themselves. They agreed that this was/is a major error on their part and it should have never left their hands unless the checks and inspections could be unequivocally verified. This is where it becomes speculative; in the event that something is found during the inspections, such as a cylinder with abnormal compression, bad seals, shafts, bearings, etc. within the outdrive assembly, where do we go then? Again, this is speculative, but in my mind legitimate to an extent given the age of the boat, number of hours, etc. We absolutely realize that we purchased a used boat vs. a new boat and did not opt for a survey due to it coming from a highly reputable store who we have done business with in the past. The question is, if there is something found during the checks and inspections, who is responsible for the repairs? Us, because we purchased a used boat, or the store, in part, due to the checks and inspections not being completed as agreed? We aren’t the type that expects free lunch, ever, but we were under the impression that we purchased a boat that had passed their checks and inspections process.
 
Legally, you have nothing to stand on unless the contract had a warranty clause (extremely unlikely). You agreed to purchase a boat as-is, if they are using the industry-standard contracts.

The shops are not qualified to do a survey, on top of being biased. Even if the shop claimed to do the checks and lied, you'd have little recourse. The only solution is your own inspection and/or survey. The two checks you describe are so minor as to have little value without a full survey, because there are so many other more-common failures.

All you can hope for now is that it doesn't have any problems.
 
If the baot has major issues, do you have any recourse through a state or local lemon law? If you assume the worst and the boat has significant problems, this may be one way out.

Hindsight is always perfect, but regardless of the dealer or previous experience/comfort level with this dealer, you absolutely must protect yourself with an independent survey on any used boat. Due diligence prior to purchase ought to also include a complete mechanical survey as well by a trained Mercruiser technician.

At this point I would recommend you at least obtain analysis of the engine oil; this is not very expensive and can tip you off to problems before they become catastrophes. You can also call 1-800 SR Boats with the hull ID number and get the complete warranty history of the boat you have purchased; I'd expect you can do the same thing with Mercruiser if you have the Engine and Outdrive serial numbers handy.

regards
Skip
 
If this a reputable dealer with multiple locations you probably have nothing to worry about even if problems show up. I would wait until the engine and outdrive are checked and then decide what to do.
 
I appreciate each of your responses. I knew that I didn’t really have a leg to stand on, but thought I would post some speculative questions just in case things didn‘t turn out ok. As piece of mind we had the boat checked out by an independent mechanic after the fact; they went through the major components for us and gave it a thumbs up much like our dealer did. The oil was not analyzed, but perhaps is still something to consider; thank you for the link. We didn’t opt for a survey. I think mainly due to us being relatively new to boating, coupled by MY thinking that surveys were/are for “big boatsâ€. I’ve now picked up another valuable nugget from the board and will have a survey done as we continue to move up. The bottom line is I think we got lucky, this time anyway. Thanks again.
 
The oil analysis is a great thing to do on a regular basis, not just when new. I do it on every oil change in the boat and the truck. It can pre-warn you of quite a few problems. In the boat you will often know about water intrusion or other issues before they are destructive.

I hadn't noticed before that you're in Phoenix also. Which lake do you frequent? Dealer?
 
As piece of mind I’ll definitely have the oil analyzed. We’re in dry storage at Lake Pleasant; home of the $60.00 dollar lunch. We enjoy it very much, the facilities, etc. but have been considering a wet slip at Canyon Lake once the draw-down is complete in February. The rumor is that they may be doing some upgrades…..have also thought about Saguaro as well. How about yourself? We use MarineMax in Tempe, as I stated in my initial post, they have been good to us. A few hiccups with our last transaction, but all is well now.
 
Memories.
15 years ago I was a young Army Captain going to school at Ft. Huachuca. I owned a 19' Supra skiboat. Every weekend I'd shanghai a few of the other single (and some married) guys and gals and we would head to Tortilla Flats to camp and ski all weekend on canyon lake I towed with a 1991 F250 supercab longbed, and some of the twists and turns getting into Tortilla Flats made for some exciting driving/towing. We would be some tired pups in class on Monday morning but it was worth it. Great times. The early morning ski runs on Canyon Lake were outstanding.

regards
Skip
 
So. . how did this turn out?

You have a very weak leg to stand on: The boat was represented as "checks complete" and you found "checks incomplete". All the stuff about surveys is correct. . . but the compression checks can be very important data points.
 
Don't fret about the survey. I have been very surprised at how poorly most surveys in AZ are done. It has actually made me think about becoming a surveyor on the side.

Also, there are slips available at Saguaro Lake.
 
We're in dry storage also. Right now I'm posting from aboard our new boat (not a Sea Ray, didn't find any that were not trashed). If you make one trip to Saguaro you'll never want to go again. What a zoo. They probably have as many people there but the lake is literally about a tenth the size of Pleasant. It's packed with the stupidest boaters and PWC riders in the area, all competing to out-stupid each other. The water is constantly turbulent because of the heavy boat traffic.

The only other decent lake around here, IMO, is Roosevelt. Their prices are lower, but they're a little farther unless you're in the far East valley. We spent last night there, and while level is down a bit, it's still great. They don't have a restaurant at all though. Otherwise it's a very nice facility.

The shop we use is Scottsdale Marine. They've been really good to us, beyond just plain helpful. They are great people.
 
Skip said:
Memories.
15 years ago I was a young Army Captain going to school at Ft. Huachuca. I owned a 19' Supra skiboat. Every weekend I'd shanghai a few of the other single (and some married) guys and gals and we would head to Tortilla Flats to camp and ski all weekend on canyon lake I towed with a 1991 F250 supercab longbed, and some of the twists and turns getting into Tortilla Flats made for some exciting driving/towing. We would be some tired pups in class on Monday morning but it was worth it. Great times. The early morning ski runs on Canyon Lake were outstanding.

regards
Skip

A small world. It is pretty country indeed. I've often wondered how some of the houseboats and other large vessels that are slipped out there made it through the twists and turns, 1 lane bridges, etc. would be interesting to see a transport in action.
 
comsnark said:
So. . how did this turn out?

You have a very weak leg to stand on: The boat was represented as "checks complete" and you found "checks incomplete". All the stuff about surveys is correct. . . but the compression checks can be very important data points.

Fortunately everything turned out ok. The compression check, amongst other things, were done by the dealership and a re-verified by an independent source. I think we ended up with a solid rig; luckily.
 
keokie said:
Don't fret about the survey. I have been very surprised at how poorly most surveys in AZ are done. It has actually made me think about becoming a surveyor on the side.

Also, there are slips available at Saguaro Lake.

I would think the coastal areas would have a list a mile long of survey companies, but out here, you may be able to capture quite a bit of the market share!
 
SwampNut said:
We're in dry storage also. Right now I'm posting from aboard our new boat (not a Sea Ray, didn't find any that were not trashed). If you make one trip to Saguaro you'll never want to go again. What a zoo. They probably have as many people there but the lake is literally about a tenth the size of Pleasant. It's packed with the stupidest boaters and PWC riders in the area, all competing to out-stupid each other. The water is constantly turbulent because of the heavy boat traffic.

The only other decent lake around here, IMO, is Roosevelt. Their prices are lower, but they're a little farther unless you're in the far East valley. We spent last night there, and while level is down a bit, it's still great. They don't have a restaurant at all though. Otherwise it's a very nice facility.



The shop we use is Scottsdale Marine. They've been really good to us, beyond just plain helpful. They are great people.




SwampNut, is it possible that I was admiring your air conditioner on Saturday night?
 
Swampnut, you are right about Sauguaro being a madhouse on the weekends. The foolishness can be alarming. But during the week and off-season it is quite nice.

Actually, the stats on Pleasant are much worse. The fatality rate is way higher. In fact, just a couple years ago Lake Pleasant made the top ten in a list of the most dangerous bodies of water.
 
SwampNut, is it possible that I was admiring your air conditioner on Saturday night?
ROFL, yeah, that was us. After you left I had the thought that I should have asked if you were the guy here. Thanks for the use of the light! I had to manually reset the shower sump switch, it was full of hair. It's under the stairs and quite dark. Since we just bought the boat we didn't have our tools and stuff on board yet.

Why did you pull out so early on Sunday, the weather? It didn't clear up but it was actually nice to be out without the sun beating on us. The Seadoo temp gauge said it was 84 air temp and 87 water temp, probably a record low for August in Phoenix.

If you decide to tackle the AC project and have any questions, I'd be glad to help if I can.

Actually, the stats on Pleasant are much worse.
That's not surprising; this is the first trip this summer when I have not heard a distress call of some kind. However, the stories I've heard are mostly idiots killing themselves, not others, which is alright by me. Any time Darwin takes one out, that's good for the rest of us. On Pleasant there are more places to go and stay away from stupidity, Saguaro is just so packed I always feel threatened. There's that beach in the curve, but it's always packed on weekends.

Good point about weekdays, I've been there on Tuesday and had a great time.
 
SwampNut said:
SwampNut, is it possible that I was admiring your air conditioner on Saturday night?

ROFL, yeah, that was us. After you left I had the thought that I should have asked if you were the guy here. Thanks for the use of the light! I had to manually reset the shower sump switch, it was full of hair. It's under the stairs and quite dark. Since we just bought the boat we didn't have our tools and stuff on board yet.

Why did you pull out so early on Sunday, the weather? It didn't clear up but it was actually nice to be out without the sun beating on us. The Seadoo temp gauge said it was 84 air temp and 87 water temp, probably a record low for August in Phoenix.

If you decide to tackle the AC project and have any questions, I'd be glad to help if I can.

Too funny, a small world. I'm glad I could help. We were up pretty late after we took off on Saturday night, so we just came back up on Sunday morning to put her away......it did seem pretty muggy though. We are going to give it a whirl tomorrow, it's supposed to be warm, but perhaps less humid from what I hear anyway.

I really think I am going to try it after seeing yours. We would love to be able to overnight during the hot season. I appreciate the offer in advance. I wouldn;t mind taking a second look at your system, I keep going over it in my head. I'm wondering if the return could be piped as well so I could put the unit in my bilge instead of in my little wet bar area.

Hope to see you out there,

C-
 

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