used boats at dealer surveyed?

[boatman37]

so when a dealer takes a trade in do they survey the boat or just have their guys take a look? i would still recommend your own survey even if they do. but the reason i ask is that my local SR dealer sells used boats that are marked up about 30-40% over what you find from private owners. do they go through all systems and replace anything questionable? an example is a 1999 24' wellcraft martinique for ~$23,000. i have seen this same boat advertised for about $14-15k. same with a 1999 210 signature BR. they are asking about $17k. i have seen a few advertised at about $11k. is this typical of dealers? what are the benefits from buying used from a dealer at such a high price?

 

[Gofirstclass]

boatman it probably varies from dealer to dealer but my guess is they do not do a full blown survey. They likely take a look at the mechanicals on the boat so they know what it's going to be worth and if it's worth selling.

I look at huge dealer markups as just more room for them to come down when we start negotiating.

There are ZERO real benefits from buying used a boat through a dealer. Keep in mind they need some of that markup to keep the doors open and the lights on and to pay their staff. I just don't want them getting rich off my purchase.

 

[dpmulvey]

Kind of like the TV commercial, "Show Me the CARFAX". Tell the dealer to show you the survey. They can't. Due diligence applies here. That said, low ball a 50% offer on a boat you REALLY want subject to survey, trial and acceptance.

Then start negotiations.

MM started as the CarMax for boaters. I don't know if that situations still exists. The stock price would say no.

 

[mwph]

I'm going to say that while may not have the boat professionally surveyed, they do take a good hard look at it.

They probably detail it, spend a few hundred dollars on it. Add in storage, paperwork, the next victim (buyer) low balling them on the price, an of course the need to make a profit.

Next thing you know......40%.

 

[sbw1]

We sold our Sea Ray to a dealer when we bought our new Tiara. The dealer spent several hours going over it. They did a one hour sea trial. Pulled the boat out of the water and sounded the hull and did a visual inspection from stem to stern. Once the boat was back in the water, they spent two hours pulling inspection panels and cushions inside the salon and sounded stringers and all structures they could reach. Then they spent time in the bilge looking for leaks, sounding stringers and checking all fluids. They did not call it a survey but it was more thorough then any survey I've paid for. Before doing this inspection, they asked me if they could "look it over." So...if you sell to a dealer, be prepared for someone having a look at it.

 

[dpmulvey]

Going over, regardless of how extensive, is not a survey.

 

[boatman37]

no plans to sell or trade mine to a dealer. although its very nice for its age i doubt i would get enough to be worthwhile. i was just curious. all the boats i looked at over a year ago at that dealership are still there. i don't think they sell many used boats there and just wondered why the huge markup

 

[sbw1]

Going over, regardless of how extensive, is not a survey.

Sure it is. The difference is the dealer is the customer. The dealer is the buyer and pays his surveyor, often a employee, to check things out before buying the used boat. When he re-sells it, the next customer has to do his own survey if he wants to know the condition.

One of our local marinas buys used boats to flip and has them surveyed to get a picture of the costs of getting them into shape for sale. The marina uses the info to negotiate the wholesale purchase number. When the boat sells contingent on fixing issues uncovered by the next buyer, the marina often gets the work order to fix things, making a profit with the retail sale price plus a profit for the service department.

 

[JVM225]

The only benefit to buying a used boat from a dealer is if he gives you some sort of warranty on it. I think around here they typically give you 30 days. I know it's a State law for NY dealers to give it with used cars, and I think it's the same with used boat dealers since they are regulated by the DMV.
The local Sea Ray dealer around here has very few, if any, boats for sale that they themselves are actually selling. The majority of the boats they advertise are brokerage boats, and those have no warranty. Since they aren't actually selling you the boat they can skirt the warranty requirement.
If you do buy a boat from a dealer with a warranty, there is a certain amount of peace of mind knowing that if something big happens in the first 30 days it will be covered, but you need to decide how much of a premium that peace of mind is worth to you.
I'd still get a pre-purchase survey, including engine survey though. Warranty or no warranty, if you are spending a pile of money on a boat you probably don't want the headaches.
On the other hand if the boat is relatively inexpensive and you are pretty knowledgeable I wouldn't bother.
I picked up a 2005 Maxum 18' bowrider with a trailer for my kids this summer and didn't get any kind of survey on it. The boat was cheap enough, and I know enough about boats that I felt confident in my ability to assess it. But I would never buy a bigger boat without a survey.

 

[fwebster]

It depends upon the dealer, the value of the trade and if they know the history of the boat.

The dealer here uses the same surveyor most everyone else who wants a quality survey when they survey a boat. They use their own mechanics for the mechanicals. I don't know the age or value cut off, but they don't survey boats still under warranty or boats with lower values.

 

[Havana Shamrock]

We traded our 320 in to a sea ray dealer for our 36DB the dealer never even looked at the 320 they paid someone to remove the arch and sent a tractor to pick her up. I would and had gotten my own survey on all the boats that we bought used from dealers. I would want my own 3 rd party opinion.

 

[JimT]

When I traded in my 280DA the dealer bought it sight unseen based on my word that it was pristine. They sent a transporter to drop off my new 330DA and pick up the 280DA. The transporter was also a "surveyor". The survey of the 280DA consisted of a 5 minute run at WOT and a quick look in the engine room. Never started the genny. I spent a week getting the 280DA ready for what I thought was going to be a full blown hull tapping, system inventory, engine temperature taking survey. The surveyor splashed the 330DA and had the 280DA loaded and was on his way in 45 minutes. The dealer put the 280DA for sale on their website stating that it came with a "written survey." Whoever bought the boat got lucky as it was in great condition. However, it hadn't been surveyed. Caveat Emptor.

 

[TommyB80]

What does a good, thorough survey cost? I've got the local marina who are friends of mine but am not sure about how thorough of an inspection they will do on a boat I bring them (they'd rather sell me a pontoon boat!).

 

[Bob & Sue]

I've been talking with our local Sea Ray dealer they are probably going to broker it for us at the end of summer. They have most of the service records since it was purchased new from them in 99 I'm the 3rd owner. Before they'll put it on the lot I need to provide the records from last year that the drive was pulled engine aligned, new gimbal bearing, u-joints and a recent compression check with oil analysis done buy my marina. The dealer and my marina have an agreement to do initial acceptance work. If not they would do the work before accepting any consignment charging me if it failed the inspection.

In this state used boats are sold as-is no warranty unless there's a transferable warranty. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another used boat from LUSR knowing how they dealt with us from day one.