Must have's in a contract?

Turtlesboat

Turtlesboat

Minister of Media
TECHNICAL Contributor
Feb 4, 2007
7,251
New York City
Boat Info
1996 450DA, TNT, Caribe dink w/15hp OB.
Engines
3126 427HP TD transmissions
Ok, here's the situation. I did a deal on a 2005 260DA, only put down $2,000 to get the ball rolling on my Visa. I initiated a wire transfer for a huge part of the deal but fortunately the dealer gave me wrong bank information and the transfer came back. The dealer (during this transfer time) was kind of making things up as the days went along and I being a retard didn't have everything spelled out in the contract and was going on the verbal agreements me and the salesrep had. Good news is the dealer screwed up the price on the contract and I now have an opportunity to renegotiate the contract. (have pity on me, it's my first boat). I know it's confusing, but this is how it went down in short form.

I want the boat, but I want to learn from my obvious mistakes and protect myself as I now know the dealer isn't exactly looking out for my interests. What are the must have's, would like to have's, and the not so important have's.


thanks in advance.
 
Anything you agreed to verbally should be on there.

On my last purchase (next to last), we talked about getting a new sunpad for the bow, because the one that was on there was a little greened up and slimy. That was a verbal that never got done.

It was a small thing, to be sure, but it irritated my wife for the next 2 years.
 
A delivery date .....( have it written into the contract )

My boat sat at the dealer for 2 months.... Really hacked me off...

Rob
 
great advise so far....

I closed on my boat in January and have a set delivery date, in writing, of March 30th. Also in writing, is that the dealer will have a full punch list of items completed at the time of delivery.

Now, that is all well and good, and you can bet your sweet bippy that I'm not going to refuse delivery for some minor item.....after all, I already closed and own the boat. However, to me, the one single most important item that makes me not worry about my delivery, is that I held back $$$$ at closing. The ENTIRE amount of $$$$ will not be released to the dealer until EVERY item is complete, regardless of how small any item may be. As advised by another member here, whenever the dealer invoices me for the remaining funds, unless ALL items are complteted to my satisification, I will simply mail them back the punch list.....

good luck with the deal...and have fun....
 
All great responses, I'm writing them all down. Keep them coming. It's great to hear from others that have been burned in big and small ways by promises not kept and how you resolved or protected yourself to have them resolved in a way that works. thanks
 
Dom,
nicely done..... almost a year after delivery there still on my punch list...
I give u credit for being able to hold back money.... I closed prior to delivery... dont ask... but its common... too common....

Rob
 
Robski97 said:
Dom,
nicely done..... almost a year after delivery there still on my punch list...
I give u credit for being able to hold back money.... I closed prior to delivery... dont ask... but its common... too common....

Rob
Click to expand...

a year??? man I think i'd loose it.

I just about did the same thing, the only thing that saved me was their messup. You guys don't know how useful this info is.
 
I closed prior to delivery as well.

There were a couple of punch list items not yet completed, but I closed anyways, and they are being worked on now.

All of these items, however, were in the survey, and included on the predelivery checklist, which was appended to the contract.

- salon a/c needing replacement, and is on order. From the time they ordered it, about a week before closing, it's supposed to take 3 weeks to come in. I know they have ordered it, and they will put it in as quickly as it gets here.
- radar antenna, though new, was inoperable. I closed Friday, and they were on the boat Monday getting that fixed.
- port sunscreen shade was missing, and has to be fabricated. This item was actually not in the survey, but was added by the delivery captain.

In my case, I trust that they will get it done as quickly as possible, and I thought it would be nice to have the boat to use now, as opposed to pushing the closing back another couple of weeks.

However, this is my 4th boat from them, so by now, I get some priority there.
 
Don't get me wrong...I have a great relationship with the salesman, the store manager, the sevice manager and the dealership in general. In fact, this final negotiatiing point was almost a deal breaker that I was not willing to relinquish. Because of our relationship, we agreed on a nominal amount of $$$$ that was agreeable to both parties. From my standpont, peace of mind that made me willing to close on boat that I wasn't taking delivery on for a few months, and from the dealerships point that it wasn't going to break thier backs either. In any case, there is now a very high level of confidence in my mind that they will complete the list and enough of an incentive for the dealershipe to get r' done.

I hope to continue my good relationship with the dealership and will hopefully buy my next boat from them in the future.

I'll let you know in just 29 more LONG days how it worked out.....
 
turtletone,

Can you be more specific? Is the dealer now not going to honor the price you agreed to or is it the details of the deal that are changing?
 
a little of both actually.

I'm starting to get the "Oh boat registration is $250 and we have to do it" just little things like this that's getting me..... well angry.

Also the terms of the deal have been changing every few days. At one point they wanted full payment before I even had the boat inspected by a surveyor or even taken it for a water test which was not what we agreed to. We can't drop it in the water until it warms a bit more so we agreed that I would hold the money until the water test, then of coarse all of that changed. Then they would take a credit card, then they wouldn't take a credit card. Basically every single thing that was not written in the contract is changing. These are things that I just never thought I would have to have written down.

Thankfully boat lust wore off enough to say wait one second. Lots of stuff was verbal and then I was passed on to the money person. The money person of coarse has a different take on things.

So now I have the opportunity to correct the contract. I just want to make sure I don't leave something stupid out that I wouldn't think of. basically like things that people have posted so far. And also things that keeps the dealer on top of it like holding a little money back to make sure the punch list is taken care of are great tips.

I also can't commision the water system for about 3-4 weeks after I take delivery so I want to put in the contract that the warranty on the water system will start when it's commission. The surveyor said he can test most of it but not everything.
 
So dom,
be honest... when u ready to go to bed at nite... do u think of the boat as ur dozing off... how ur going to dock her... where ur going to take her... HOW huge she is....

LOL.... be honest ......


That how i spent all last winter..... was the longest winter for me ..

Rob
 
Without getting into the details of your conversations with the personnel at the dealer with whom you made a verbal commitment, which would be a waste of time because only you know what the original agreement was, here are some basics:

Typically, a sales contract is contingent upon a sea trial acceptable to the buyer, a hull survey by a surveyor the buyer selects and pays, an engine survey also by a surveyor the buyer selects and pays, the buyer's ability to bind insurance on his insurable interest, and the buyer obtaining suitable financing if that is the buyer's responsibility. Also, you should add any throw-ins or added service the dealer is to do in the contract verbiage.

In contract terms, "time is of the essence" as far as your part of the contingencies. That means you must do the surveys, get insurance bound and secure financing as soon as is reasonably possible, not when you get around to it, and that you must remove the contingencies as soon as possible after the surveys etc. are done.

Until you have proof that the dealer has some deposit money from you, you have no enforceable contract since there is no consideration on your side of the deal. Without an enforceable contract, everything becomes negotiable...until you put your foot down and say, "Enough, here's the deal..... or you can sell your boat to someone else." Since things seem to change when the F&I guy gets involved, go back to the salesman and his manager and say, "I'm having trouble getting this deal made firm with your F&I guy. Here's my deposit check, and here are the terms we agreed to, now sign the contract"

If you do it that way, the F&I guy can go fly his kite, he's not a part of the deal. Pay every penny you agree to on the sales agreement but no add-on's from the back office. Just politely say "Here's the contract and here's what I agreed to pay, if you think you should get $250 for registration and document prep, then your guys should have put it in the deal, but its too late now."

Boat sales are very slow and I'm seeing a lot of deals like yours where the buyer is being pressured to close before well before the boat is deliverable. It is all about cash flow...the dealer needs the money to make a payroll, pay for new boats, pay the light bill, etc. It is one of those area where dealers will strong-arm a buyer if he can, but when closing is scheduled is negotiable.

Expect to get some pressure, as you have already, to close. If your contract has the right contingencies and you are doing your due diligence in a timely manner, it is easy to handle the phone calls from the F&I guy asking can we close tomorrow........"no we cannot, I still lack 1,2 &4 in my contingencies and we are doing them in a timely manner. I'll let you know when we've done our due diligence and the contingencies are removed. Thanks for checking "

My advice at this point is to get your deal in writing and force them to accept a deposit, even if you have to pay it in cash so you have a legally enforceable contract....but do it soon or they can certainly change the deal on you.
 
Robski97 said:
So dom,
be honest... when u ready to go to bed at nite... do u think of the boat as ur dozing off... how ur going to dock her... where ur going to take her... HOW huge she is....

LOL.... be honest ......


That how i spent all last winter..... was the longest winter for me ..

Rob
Click to expand...

Rob....Like I'm a kid waiting for Christmas.... :grin:

I've bought plenty of boats, and even over the winter months before........but this one...I don't know what it is....I am the most anxious to take delivery on.....maybe it's the cost, the size, or those "solid white steel billets of Amercian made torque"....whatever it is I can't wait....9AM on March 30th or sooner....
 
Turtle:

Now there's some sound advise from the number one boat buyer's adisory committee chairman-of-the-board..... :thumbsup:
 
Frank, thanks a ton. We should make all of these tips into a sticky for all new boat buyers to refer to. These points not only help map it out, but they also give you the confidence that you are going in knowing the process better and what you should expect and go for.
 
Turtle, print Franks post and do it all. Dont be intimidated, its your money. You are the customer. Remember you are not there to make friends, just buy a boat. Set them straight. Do not let this continue in this fashion. Start with a fresh contract, otherwise this he said she said nonsense will continue.
 
All I have to say is WOW. It's really unbelievable how bad this Sea Ray dealer is. Well the deal is dead and I walked away after a long talk with the manager of the dealership. They didn't want to put a lot of contigencies in the contract (really they didn't want to put any in). right from the get go they were trying to strong arm me about putting any of our agreements in writing and literally raised their voice to me as to why they shouldn't have to or the need to. Then a whole speal about how buying a boat is very complex and that if there isn't 100% trust between both parties then the deal wouldn't go well. I then pointed out that we tried that route and it didn't work either. The topper is when they said "What exactly do you want on the contract?" I said "I want everything that we have talked about and agreed on in the contract". Then they said "I think it's best that we walk away from the deal then". I said sure thing. Can you believe that????? I really think that they know I caught them not doing the right thing and it was easier for them to back out rather than repair the damage.

So now i'm in the market for a 2005 260DA
 
It would appear that you bought a very good lesson in boat buying and got it free...............you should belooking at this as a positive and not a negative.

I just did a quick search on yachtworld.com for 2005-6 260DA's and there are 55 listed, many in your area and at least 2 of them are at a dealer whom I know is honest and very reputable...just too far away to make sense unless you are up for transporting a boat. I would think it would be pretty easy to find one of those 55 that works for you.
 
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