Buying 1981 31 Vanguard Express "Family Tradition" on Copart. Need Help

[SunriseINC]

Hello Everyone ,

I am new to the whole boat owners community and looking to join.
Recently i was offered 1981 31 Vanguard Express "Family Tradition" , that was purchased on Copart Houston.
People bought it to be transported to Ukraine , but transportation cost was miscalculated (based on what i was told) and instead of $2500 for 40` container , they were quoted $8000.
Boat itself was purchased for little under $1000 and remains on the parking lot of copart since 11/2020 and accumulates parking fees.
This seems to be good offer to me(for me as someone , that has no experience nor knowledge about boats) and at the same time trying to help out these guys to solve their issue with not being able to recover their money from this deal, but at the same time i do not want to get myself into problems as well.

https://www.copart.com/lot/43133580

I myself in Mexico and was thinking of bringing this boat to here , to get familiar with the process of importation and to gamble with little money on buying my first boat.

As of right now this boat belongs to people who won it on auction , im in the process of collecting all the info about potential cost of transportation and import fees. Need to calculate all the expenses of bringing this boat to me to Mexico so i could evaluate if its worth it.

If you have any information about the history of this boat, maybe previous owner of this boat is here and would like to share some info about damages and other details , that i will need to know before buying it - would be great and i will appreciate a lot.

- There is no information about damages on Copart page (it says All Over)
- No engine information at all as well
- No information about weight of this boat (Import agents asked me to find out for calculation of transportation cost)

Pretty much pictures is all i have

Please share with anything you may know about this particular boat or one like this .

Basically i am at the point where i know nothing about owning a boat and would like to start somewhere.

Import agents told me , that it will be much easier if i register this boat on my name in US and then just get a permit for 10 years to legally stay in Mexico (i do have a few legal names , that i can use for it and a few companies as well , whatever works best)

Thank you for any advise or information about this boat , i appreciate it.

All The Best Wishes
Thank you

 

[Stee6043]

She's from Spring Lake, MI...very interesting.

I wouldn't pay $12k for this boat without knowing it runs like a top. It also sounds like the transaction will be a big pain in the rear. Auction winner/owner in the Ukraine? Boat in Houston? Last time registered in Michigan (it still has MC #'s on it)? My first reaction after reading your post and seeing that the boat is/was a Michigan boat - I'd wonder if it's stolen.

 

[Pirate Lady]

Pass on this boat, sounds like a nightmare. Lots of boats, don’t need this headache.

 

[Timeflys]

The pictures from the auction look like the boat was on stands...the thumbnails look like it was just dumped in the parking lot and not blocked properly, what previous treatment has it seen??....so who knows what condition the hull, props, shafts, rudders are in.
PASS !

 

[SunriseINC]

She's from Spring Lake, MI...very interesting.

I wouldn't pay $12k for this boat without knowing it runs like a top. It also sounds like the transaction will be a big pain in the rear. Auction winner/owner in the Ukraine? Boat in Houston? Last time registered in Michigan (it still has MC #'s on it)? My first reaction after reading your post and seeing that the boat is/was a Michigan boat - I'd wonder if it's stolen.

Thank you for your reply. I appreciate it.
Boat was purchased on Copart in Houston and was planned to be shipped to Ukraine. It did not fit in 40 feet container and thats why shipping cost increased significantly.
I assume if we reach agreement on this boat, i will just register it on my name in US and then attempt to transport it to Mexico.
To be honest i have zero information on history of this boat, company , that purchased it claims to have a title and supposed to send it to me on monday or so.
I will appreciate if you could give me some tips on how to check history of this boat with police or DMV.
Thank you

 

[SunriseINC]

Pass on this boat, sounds like a nightmare. Lots of boats, don’t need this headache.

Thank you for your reply , i appreciate it.
I believe the biggest nightmare so far for me is learning the coast of transportation of boat to mexico and figure out cost of importation process.

 

[SunriseINC]

The pictures from the auction look like the boat was on stands...the thumbnails look like it was just dumped in the parking lot and not blocked properly, what previous treatment has it seen??....so who knows what condition the hull, props, shafts, rudders are in.
PASS !

Thank you for your reply, i appreciate it .
Yes, to what i know, this boat does not have a trailer to go with.
It is laid on wood and some blocks , which could be bad for body.
There is really no information about condition of anything besides what can be seen from pictures.
Its tricky , but it appears to me to be good entrance ticket to learn about importation process and owning a boat.
I think it will be interesting youtube project (which i am thinking of starting)
Finding out as much info about this boat as possible or maybe even speaking to previous owner - would be just amazing.

 

[SunriseINC]

She's from Spring Lake, MI...very interesting.

I wouldn't pay $12k for this boat without knowing it runs like a top.

Oh its actually not 12000 , its just 1780 USD at the moment.
Originally they bought it for Under $1000
But since they were not able to get it out of the lot from November of 2020 , it accumulated some parking fees which was estimated at another $800
I assume it is negotiable price , but will get to it later once i figure out cost of import and transportation to Mexico.
So its just $1780 as of today to pay for it to get this boat.

 

[Pirate Lady]

sounds like you have convinced yourself you are buying this boat. Get back to us in August when the Federalize have impounded it and you are arraigned for illegal importation. good luck.

 

[Timeflys]

Another point to consider....was the boat subject to the recent cold weather snap in TX??? If it was, and the engines, generator, and fresh water system were not winterized, the engines and generator [if installed] may have cracked blocks... and you may have issues with the fresh water system on with cracked lines.

 

[SunriseINC]

sounds like you have convinced yourself you are buying this boat. Get back to us in August when the Federalize have impounded it and you are arraigned for illegal importation. good luck.

Thank you for your reply. i appreciate it.
I am not sure i understood everything you said in this message, i will try to answer step by step.
I did not convince myself , that i want to buy it , but i definitely want to explore this option.
As a part of this exploration i am trying to get more information about pros and cons of getting boat in condition like the one i was offered.
Importation part i did not understand exactly what you were trying to say.
I am not familiar with importation process at all , this is the reason why im contacted customs brokers for them to get it done right.
If you wanted to warn me about some new Federal regulations, that most likely i am not aware of , i will appreciate it a lot.
Thank you

 

[SunriseINC]

Another point to consider....was the boat subject to the recent cold weather snap in TX??? If it was, and the engines, generator, and fresh water system were not winterized, the engines and generator [if installed] may have cracked blocks... and you may have issues with the fresh water system on with cracked lines.

Thank you for your reply, i appreciate it.

Yes, thats true , i completely forgot about recent freezing in TX in this context. Thank you ! I will have to ask someone to give this boat and motors detailed inspection and generator as well (if they even installed and were filled with water)
Thank you very much for this advise.
Boat is on copart yard since november of 2020 , so i dont know under what circumstances this vessel was brought on auction. Will definitely look into condition with more attention.
Thank you

 

[Pirate Lady]

Thank you for your reply. i appreciate it.
I am not sure i understood everything you said in this message, i will try to answer step by step.
I did not convince myself , that i want to buy it , but i definitely want to explore this option.
As a part of this exploration i am trying to get more information about pros and cons of getting boat in condition like the one i was offered.
Importation part i did not understand exactly what you were trying to say.
I am not familiar with importation process at all , this is the reason why im contacted customs brokers for them to get it done right.
If you wanted to warn me about some new Federal regulations, that most likely i am not aware of , i will appreciate it a lot.
Thank you

It just seems like a lot of trouble togo thru. You can’t find a good deal closer to home?

 

[hughespat57]

Copart only deals in wholesale insurance sales. From the copart link this was sold for Progressive an insurance company.
The site indicates $5 per day storage after sale so yes around $650+ now.

It's in Houston TX yard so the Michigan home port doesn't make a lot of sense. This boat is 31 ft long and a 12 ft beam so no one stole it from Michigan on a trailer and brought it to Texas, to wide. And Progressive would not pay to professionally haul a boat to Texas just to sell it at insurance auction.

I downloaded all the photos so I could zoom in. The outside looks pretty good, so it doesn't appear to be hurricane/wind damaged. But look at the interior pictures and I see considerable staining on the carpet and port couch, surprisingly I don't see any on the starboard side dinette area. There are no views if the engines at all.

If you lived in Texas and could look at this up close and check it that would be one thing. But you need to be able to have someone trustworthy check it. Otherwise you must assume the engines a completely bad. And the boat may have sunk and I would also assume salt water. So even if it was raised quickly that means all the wiring and soft items are now four months older than these photos and have been wet that whole time.

Plus transport costs to Mexico?
p.s.
31ft (figure 33 with the bow pulpit)
12ft beam
10,000 lbs dry