- Oct 3, 2006
- 4,404
- Boat Info
- 280 Sundancer, Westerbeke MPV generator
- Engines
- twin 5.0's w/BIII drives
This has been a very informative thread to read. I am presently considering my first Sea Ray purchase. This customer's reported purchase experience does nothing to encourage me to buy a new Sea Ray boat. Thank you very much for the public warning!
I find the comments that purchasing a boat is not the same as purchasing a new car interesting. Actually, thus far, I've found it very similar to buying a new car. I telephoned my local dealer to request a demo ride on the boat I am interested in buying-- a 21 foot Sport. I was told the dealership wasn't stocking this model this year. And if they were selling the boat, one would have to sign a purchase agreement before the dealer would give a test ride. WTF is up with that??? As the boat was not available locally, I visited the closest dealer 5 hours away who does have the boat, was unable to obtain a test drive due to scheduling issues on his part, and then received phone calls for two days asking me to put a down payment on the boat while I tried to find a rental boat locally to test drive. Sorry, no thanks Buddy. Actually, the poster who said buying a boat is not like buying a car is correct-- the reality is, it's way worse!
Like the original poster, I've bought new cars without having to inspect. My older car, a Toyota is 10 years old and except for oil changes and brake pads has needed zero work. I would expect a new boat to be similarly flawless. From the posted responses, this assumption is apparently incorrect and thus I'll take a pass on any new Sea Ray product.
Thanks again for the public service announcement. Caveat emptor!
You may want to edit out “Sea Ray” and insert “All boats”
Best wishes to you.