buying from a sea ray dealer

Zoomie

Zoomie

Member
Feb 27, 2020
30
Niagara Falls Ontario Canada
Boat Info
2005 Sea Ray Select 220, 2018 GMC Sierra
Engines
Mercury 5.0 Bravo III
Hi all, I've got a deposit on a 2005 220 Sundeck which I have yet to see. Everything is coming out of storage late due to "the situation". should be available in a couple of weeks.

It's being traded in on another new sea ray at a sea ray dealership, and that's who I'm buying it from. They say it will be cleaned and mechanically checked and I get a lake test before I accept it.

In this situation do you think I need to get an independent survey, or is that even needed on a boat this small?

I've had a 16 bowrider, 18' bowrider, and 18' fish and ski. I've never had the inspection and had gook luck checking them out myself but this will be the biggest and most expensive boat for me to date.
 
Get at least a mechanical survey... at least know the compression is good

i have only had one survey out of the 6 boats i have bought over the years, it was my last purchase. its so worth the money....
 
For smaller deck boats I always did the boat survey and always got a mechanic to do a mechanical survey on Engine and outdrive
 
How much are you paying? A survey around here costs ~ $900. The NADA value for that boat is $20,460.00. Given that its a 15 year old boat with a sterndrive I would invest the money (pay for a survey) to make sure the transom is good. I had a survey done on a 2007 Sea Ray 260 Sundancer and the surveyor found that the transom had delaminated. You definitely want to know something like that before you buy the boat.
 
Most likely a trailer boat, so no transom issue. Personally I'd skip the survey, a lot of those guys know little, take it for a good test beat and call it a day.
 
That particular model series built in one of the Tennessee plants had a history of the outdrive transom cut out being cut too large, some, not all, Sundecks leaked water around the transom assembly which led to delimitation of the transom and in some cases, the hull itself.

This caused a major repair that Sea Ray has yet to take responsibility for, even though it was a clearly and manufacturing defect and even though the first boats discovered with the delimitation were reported to Sea Ray well within their original hull warranty expired.

This can be a very expensive repair......$12-$15,000 if you have a dealer do it. From what you say, the dealer has taken the boat on trade essentially sight unseen. It would be far better to force the dealer to "own" any problems there are with the boat..


If I were in your shoes, I would enter into a sales agreement contingent upon hull and a mechanical surveys and I would insist on the dealer running a charge thru on a credit card for the minimum deposit that the dealer will accept. This way you have a warranty you can use to force the dealer to honor the specific terms pot the contract.
 
I would also ask to see the service department’s records. The Sea Ray dealer will have the Service Dept. go through the boat. They may have worked on it, if it was a local boat.

I did this recently, and didn’t go through with the survey based upon the issues in the records and issues I saw with the vessel. I saved money and passed on it.
 
Last edited:
Wow some great advice here, and thanks for the interest. Here's a little more background for those that want to know.

It is site unseen right now, by the dealer or me. His deal happened at the toronto boat show in february so that deal is contingent on the dealer agreeing that the boat is in the condition he described at that time.

I was looking at a different boat listed at the dealer that had already sold, but the salesmen told me about this one which is similar. It's one owner, always been stored in a boat house on a lift in a fresh water lake. (big cottage with staff to take care of the grounds, that kind of place) 200 hours on 5.0 merc and Bravo III. We had to wait for ice out to get the boat then C-19 happened so another month delay. The new date they are supposed to receive the boat is June 22. So close.

The dealer wants to sell me the boat for $23000 canadian which is average and a little low for this area. Especially if its a well maintained gem as described.

I put a deposit using my credit card and my deal says it is contingent on a successful mechanical report from the dealer and successful lake test by me and my acceptance of both, so I can get out with all my cash if I want.

I'll try to keep you posted, thanks for all the great information so far.
 
The 5.0 hurts the 220 and ruins the 240. The price quoted is fair, but no steal. I have never gotten a survey, and after 16 boats, the money I have saved has paid for most of my current boat.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,204
Messages
1,428,511
Members
61,109
Latest member
Minnervos
Back
Top