survey "recommendation"- where do i draw the line?

C

cacioa

New Member
Nov 16, 2010
55
Huntington, NY
Boat Info
2002 340 SUNDANCER, RAYMARINE C120
Engines
8.1s
I received my survey report on a short sale 2000 340 sundancer. I like the boat, and the price is ok. -not a steal.
I want to be fair and not a stickler, but not sure what items I should give into, or which to hold firm on. As much as I like the boat, I don't want to be taken advantage of and will walk away if I have to.

My recommended items from the survey are as follows,
Both starboard batteries need replacing. - (totally dead)
Port tach off by 100 rpm - only at idle.
Starboard tach not showing hour lcd display
(engines were plugged into a laptop, both motors have same hours.)
Lawrence 3500 depthfinder lcd has partial display
No flares
No first aid kit
Anchor light non operational
Both Alternators not performing
Steering system to be bled
All zinc need replacement
Oil change and coolant change recommended.

Personal notes.
I noticed the sunpad was missing. It was on there a week ago. Contract states boat sold as listed. It was listed with a sun pad, and still is in the pictures.
Broker said he can't find it. I don't think I should be liable for this.

Any advice would greatly be appreciated.
 
If it were myself buying the boat, I would make them either fix these following items or adjust the price accordingly. Honestly the list is not that bad, at least its not noting any moisture or delamination.

-Replace Batteries
-Fix Anchor Light
-Replace or Fix Alternators
-Bleed Steering System
-Replace Zincs

Everything else is as follows in MY opinion:
-I have never seen a Sea Ray Tach that has been perfect, almost all of the factory ones are off a little and 100 rpm at idle is nothing. As long as the computer shows the correct hours on both engines I would rip out the original tachs and go with some Aetna digitals yourself after purchase.
-Lawrence 3500 Depth Sounder, these are cheap enough to replace or go a whole other route with different electronics. Check out ebay and see how cheap they are.
-Get your own Flares and First Aid Kit, then you know where you start for yourself instead of somebody just throwing in an old set.
-Change the oil and filters after you take delivery, this is probably the only way you know for sure its been done and you know where you are to start.

-The sunpad wouldn't be a deal breaker for me. I would just put it in my attic until I sold the boat. However if it is listed on the boat listing they should be able to produce it or reduce the price a few hundred dollars.
 
Surveyor "recommendations" where do I draw the line???


I received my survey report on a short sale 2000 340 sundancer. I like the boat, and the price is ok. -not a steal.
I want to be fair and not a stickler, but not sure what items I should give into, or which to hold firm on. As much as I like the boat, I don't want to be taken advantage of and will walk away if I have to.

My recommended items from the survey are as follows,
Both starboard batteries need replacing. - (totally dead)
Port tach off by 100 rpm - only at idle.
Starboard tach not showing hour lcd display
(engines were plugged into a laptop, both motors have same hours.)
Lawrence 3500 depthfinder lcd has partial display
No flares
No first aid kit
Anchor light non operational
Both Alternators not performing
Steering system to be bled
All zinc need replacement
Oil change and coolant change recommended.

Personal notes.
I noticed the sunpad was missing. It was on there a week ago. Contract states boat sold as listed. It was listed with a sun pad, and still is in the pictures.
Broker said he can't find it. I don't think I should be liable for this.

Any advice would greatly be appreciated.

I have this post under the Broker Forum, but only received one response. Im hoping I get more responses here. --Thank you
​
 
Re: Surveyor "recommendations" where do I draw the line???

IMHO if you like the boat, whether it's a steal or not, get it. Those things all look pretty inexpensive to fix except for the zincs and alternators.

The boat is a 2000. It's going to have some things that need to be done or changed. Electronics, for example. You mentioned the depth finder. That should not be a tough (or expensive) thing to replace. Any other electronics are already 11 years old so you're probably going to update them anyways.

I would be a stickler for the sun pad. If they tell you to take a hike, you can always get one made for a hundred bucks or so. Again, if you like the boat the items you listed would not keep me from buying it.

My advice though is this...the wrong boat at the best price in the world is still the wrong boat. If you'll never be happy with this boat because of the things you listed, walk away from it.

GFC
 
Re: Surveyor "recommendations" where do I draw the line???

I looked at several boats before I purchased the present one. In all I got 3 surveys done on other boats. They were detail as yours seems. All had negative comments. My thoughts were if the owner did not keep up the small stuff what else did he not do. The survey on the present boat was all positive and the boat has worked well for 1000 hours.
 
Re: Surveyor "recommendations" where do I draw the line???

Couple Comments, It looks as if the surveyor used inspected both the boat the running gear which is a good thing. To me the items below seem minor, the more critical items would include the amount of moisture in the Stringers, moisture around the hatches, and hardware around the windshield and bow rail. If the boat is solid structurally it sounds like a win.
Both starboard batteries need replacing. - (totally dead)
Common – Batteries do not last forever

Port tach off by 100 rpm - only at idle.
There may be an adjustment on the back side to dial it in, worth checking out

Starboard tach not showing hour lcd display
Something I could live with

(engines were plugged into a laptop, both motors have same hours.)

Lawrence 3500 depthfinder lcd has partial display
This issue has mertin bit not a show stoper. Can the broker provide a discount on a replacement?

No flares
No first aid kit
Flares expire every other year, would probably have to replace anyway (Check Wallmart $20)
Anchor light non operational
Easy Fix (most likely a $3 Bulb at West Marine. Buy extra, these are always good to have!)

Both Alternators not performing
This Issue has merit as well, Can the broker provide a discount for replacement parts. (If you are mechanically inclined this is a pretty easy fix)

Steering system to be bled
Easy fix, probably take longer cleaning up the Mess then bleeding the system

All zinc need replacement
Typical Boat Replacement type stuff, If they are not that bad you may be able to grind the surface and get another season out of them (I did this but I boat in Fresh Water)

Oil change and coolant change recommended.
I would have done this anyway, typical boat maintenance type stuff.

That is my .02

Good luck with the purchase, Very nice Boat, We have very good friends with the same boat and they cannot say enough good things about it.
 
Re: Surveyor "recommendations" where do I draw the line???

Most of that doesn't seem too bad, and could be considered normal maintenance. But I would be asking for batteries and alternators for sure. And I would be telling them to find that sunpad, or replace it.
 
Re: Surveyor "recommendations" where do I draw the line???

ch435 said:
Most of that doesn't seem too bad, and could be considered normal maintenance. But I would be asking for batteries and alternators for sure. And I would be telling them to find that sunpad, or replace it.
Click to expand...

I'd try to negotiate for the same three things. But none of them would be a deal breaker. But it's worth a try. The other items listed I'd consider normal wear on a boat. The safety items I wouldn't have even expected to be on board at time of delivery.
 
Re: Surveyor "recommendations" where do I draw the line???

I had done a whole item by item response to this but, the crapa$$ system would not let me post it!! It kept saying it was "too short" and I must add 3 characters. After a few attempts I gave up!!

Anyway, my thoughts pretty much mirrored Rumrunners above!!

The only thing that I added was the sunpad issue. This one disturbs me a little because it seems that once the boat was in play, someone grabbed it knowing it would soon be gone. This is a principle thing to me and I would be a little bit of a stickler on this!!
 
Last edited:
Re: Surveyor "recommendations" where do I draw the line???

It's a short sale and not a repossed boat. I would get price estimates and reduce the costs from the price. Batteries and safety equiptment go bad so bite the bullett and just replace them. If the sunpad was there I would really push the issue or again, get a price to replace and reduce the buying price. If the bank wants to get rid of the boat they may negotiate.
 
Re: Surveyor "recommendations" where do I draw the line???

Whoa up a minute here..........

You do not have a survey. You have a partial survey. THe surveyor didn't run the boat, so you have no idea about the condition of the transmissions or the engines. Most of your list is normal used boat stuff, however, the newer electronic engines that don't or have deal batteries run bother me. A lot of expensive stuff can happen to electronics, particularly when the boat os neglected. The hour meter may mean a bad ECM, or just a bad tach, but either way you are buying a pig in a poke until you get her powered back up and the engines started.

Under these conditions, it would take give away money for me to stay in this deal.
 
Re: Surveyor "recommendations" where do I draw the line???

First of all, thank you all for the great advice.

Fwebster; I did have a full sea trial, the motors started with the "emergency"start switch on the dash. And I had a short haul.
We went out for a good 30 minutes at all RPMs... All electronics worked fine. The only thing that caught my eye on electronics was the Raytheon GPS said "no fix" when we were coming back to dock. When we were running it, GPS and Radar worked fine.
 
Won't bad batteries play havoc with electronics?




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Re: Surveyor "recommendations" where do I draw the line???

If the GPS is an RN300 you'll just be tossing it in the garbage. It will cost about $400 to replace the little dome antenna with a Raystar 125 and patch it into the seatalk network. Lots of issues with the RN300 that boats of that era had as standard equipment - I know mine did, and that's just the symptom that started the issue.
 
Re: Surveyor "recommendations" where do I draw the line???

cacioa said:
First of all, thank you all for the great advice.

Fwebster; I did have a full sea trial, the motors started with the "emergency"start switch on the dash. And I had a short haul.
We went out for a good 30 minutes at all RPMs... All electronics worked fine. The only thing that caught my eye on electronics was the Raytheon GPS said "no fix" when we were coming back to dock. When we were running it, GPS and Radar worked fine.
Click to expand...

This is just a test question to confirm you had a full survey.
What were the cylinder by cylinder results of the engine compression test?
If you can answer that question the you had a full survey.
 
Re: Surveyor "recommendations" where do I draw the line???

full compression test was done 143 - 151 psi across all 16 cylinders.

Thanks again for all the great advice.
 
Simple, get a quote for each and every item that is found defective then negotiate with the seller to credit that amount so you can have all of these items completed prior to taking her home.
 
Re: Surveyor "recommendations" where do I draw the line???

cacioa said:
I have this post under the Broker Forum, but only received one response. Im hoping I get more responses here. --Thank you
Click to expand...

FYI: You got a response from a broker in less than 20 minutes and you felt the need to double post? All the responses here would be in the original thread if you just waited a little. Most users use the "New Threads" link, we will see it.

Good luck in your purchase, MM
 
It all depends what the price is in NJ the prices are around $60,000 with 350 hours . Sun pad just takes up space in aft cabin half of your items are maintance go after big stuff. If you dont ask you wont get.
 
Re: Surveyor "recommendations" where do I draw the line???

MM,
Im fairly new to the forum and wasnt sure of the proper etiquette. Thats why I stated that I had the post in another forum also. --Apologies if I did something wrong in the Forum.
 
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