Make an offer before a test drive??
Submitted by Redchoppa on Mon, 2014-03-31 20:29
A mate is looking at several tubs, some private, some in yards. One yard asked him to make an offer before he could take it on a sea trial. Anyone heard of this before? Seems a good way to scare off customers.
Vinesh87
Posts: 2751
Date Joined: 02/04/11
Some boat yards make you pay
Some boat yards make you pay a fair bit for a boat trial.
I wouldn't put a offer in on a boat before I trialled it!
Dhuvinile
Posts: 228
Date Joined: 13/05/12
I had to make an offer before
I had to make an offer before testing the boat i brought late last year. Just put a stupid off on it. the offer is subject to sea trail too so if your not happy with it you dont have to take the boat
nightfish
Posts: 327
Date Joined: 18/10/10
Gives you the indication they are a shit salesperson
If they knew what they were doing they should be able to spot a tyre kicker. I get the feeling they just want to weed out the low ballers first.
Tell your mate to offer like this (if he's serious).
depending upon the sea trial my offer will be somewhere between x and y. Give them a range that still leaves you room to negotiate at the end. This gives them an idea you will be in the ball park in terms of negotiations at the end.
Paul
Redchoppa
Posts: 102
Date Joined: 15/07/12
Pretty close what happened...
Mate made an offer less 10% of the asking price, subject to satisfactory sea trial, and the salesman fella said he wouldn't hook it up to the car for that price. Was stunned. Then curious, then a smartarse.
petermac
Posts: 2946
Date Joined: 03/03/10
didn trail my latest boat
as my latest boat was brand new ( my first ever brand new boat ) I didn't t even bother with I sea trial just did some internet research on it eg trailer boat mag review
meglodon
Posts: 5981
Date Joined: 17/06/10
Look at another boat yard
There is one sure way to avoid forking out dollars and may be having trouble getting them back if things aren't what they appear to be. Shop some where else. However also be realistic, if you are looking at a decent size boat and not a tinnie it is going to cost money for fuel. If you are real keen make an offer to cover half the anticipated fuel costs.
Swompa
Posts: 3902
Date Joined: 14/10/12
What sort of value are these
What sort of value are these tubs? New or Second hand?
Only suckers pay the marked price so play the game. "I will consider paying $x amount if I am personally happy with the performance of the boat"
Redchoppa
Posts: 102
Date Joined: 15/07/12
Second hand
$30k range.
Best be avoiding this yard I think. The hassle isn't worth it, bit risky, poor salesman.
Swompa
Posts: 3902
Date Joined: 14/10/12
No risk. If you say you are
No risk. If you say you are not happy, walk away. Dont sign anything and you are free to come and go.
I would have thought that for a second hand boat, costing ~30k, the dealer would be happy to show you the in's and outs...unless there was something wrong with it....
Rob H
Posts: 5807
Date Joined: 18/01/12
I can see why its an issue,
I can see why its an issue, due to the time involved in hooking up launching then washing and detailing.
The bigger yards maybe instead should organise regular demo days for used boats?
There are plenty of tire kickers around, i imagine a very high proportion compared to cashed up buyers
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
quadfisher
Posts: 1146
Date Joined: 28/09/10
Yard smard
I have prob had maybe 10 vehicles in my life , all bought from private , with a couple from govt auctions , just dont
like putting a few extra grand in a yards pocket for absolutely no benefit ,( that I can see) so why deal with boats yards if you can avoid it,
I see the same boats in yards for sale privately , cheaper and usually more willing to haggle. You can always get a mobile outboard mech
to test motor, ( the critical bit) and most private guys with nothing to hide , are more than willing for a test if your a serious buyer. Also lets face it warranties etc
from either car yards or boat yards ( from posts we have read here) are more trouble than there worth.
.If you have even half a clue on mech things its pretty hard to buy a real dunger , just be fussy , take your time , research, and dont let the dough
burn a hole in your pocket, buyers regret lasts a lifetime.
quadfisher
Rob H
Posts: 5807
Date Joined: 18/01/12
+1
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
scottnofish
Posts: 1621
Date Joined: 28/08/07
bought our boat from hayway marine
and they did the same thing ,had to make an offer subject to sea trial ,also they would only let us seatrial in the river as the ocean was to far away lol,the boat was in the yard for $55,000 made 5 offers starting at $50,000 and they would not even contact the owner until we came up to the $55,000 couldnt even knock $10.00 off the listed price ,wasnt happy with there service at all ,ps dont care if they are a site sponsor or not but i wont be going back ther in a hurry ,they were quite rude throughout the whole purchase ,it was only the fact that they had the only one 4 sale in WA that we went through with the purchase
strike_zone
Posts: 403
Date Joined: 09/09/10
New owner
Hayway marines old owners closed the yard down over 2 years ago and the workshop part was reopened by a new owner so maybe you need to do some research of your own scottnofish before you go and bag a site sponsor something the old owners never did by the way
DTrain
Posts: 486
Date Joined: 10/02/12
I put an offer in on a boat
I put an offer in on a boat at a yard pending a sea trial. They made me pay a $100 deposit. 3 weeks later they still hadn't got the boat ready to put on the water to test.
In the mean time I saw a nicer looking boat that worked out cheaper so I bought that boat instead.
The boat yard returned the $100 deposit on the original boat back. I did feel a bit bad for the boat yard, but it was their fault for stuffing around for so long.
jdavies_99
Posts: 114
Date Joined: 24/07/11
Fair
I think it is fair to not do a test drive unless an offer is on the table.
There is a big expense involved in testing a boat. Not only expense but time as well.
In a perfect world you wouldn't need to have an offer but the reality is that 9/10 are either tyre kickers or have seen the same boat on the east coast (or in the US) going cheap and want to drive it before they buy it elsewhere.
Each time a tyre kicker does a test drive it costs money and that money is simply put onto the price of the boat. Then we all sit and complain why a dealer is charging so much.
I also think those offering the advice of "oh just put an offer on and then pull out for some other reason" are un etical. Just because the dealers rules don't suit you doesn't mean you get to bypass them. If you are not genuine about your offer, don't test drive.
If you are genuinely interested in the boat, you are serious about your offer then putting it on paper subject to a satisfactory test drive is very reasonable.
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Vinesh87
Posts: 2751
Date Joined: 02/04/11
I would be happy to pay a
I would be happy to pay a fair amount for a sea trial. But I wont make an offer untill I have tried all I want too.
Which is what I am doing soon!
I agree theris a lot of time wasters.
Iceman
Posts: 747
Date Joined: 17/03/09
River v Sea Trial
I was happy to put an offer on a boat a few years ago subject to trial. They requested it be on the river. I said no I want to take it out to sea during the pm so would be stiff seabreeze to test out in those conditions. They refused so withdrew my offer.
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Karlos1969
Posts: 10
Date Joined: 23/02/10
Offers on boats in Yards
I,m an owner of a yard in Perth and i can quite simply state that an offer needs to be presented for more than one reason..Quite simply the offer in My Yard is always pending a satisfactory seatrial and independant mech chech..It's your right..You wouldnt ordiarily buy a car without a trial would you..
Secondly,the offer in many cases has to be accepted by the vendor,,,there's no point me seatrialling a boat when we dont know if the offer after a trial would be accepted in the 1st place..Waste of your time and mine...Or your purchase needs to be financed..On average getting a boat ready for a successful trial..i.e fuel,batteries charged,yard rearranged to get the boat and then seatrial out etc etc would be over 4 hrs
Plus in a vary rare event,Something might happen on the trial or in transit..We need to have in place some form of paperwork that gives us an explanation as to why we are using their boat from the yard..You may have a traffic accident,or someone at the ramp may hit the boat whilst launch retrieving etc..
The deposit is also there for your protection,for example..If the boat in stock is a very sort after item...i.e quinny 5+m with a nice 4 stroke on the back..I.d ordinarilly get bowled over in the rush..So with a holding deposit pending,inspection,trial,trade in,finance and the like,it secures the boat and stops other buyers from outbidding or purchasing the boat from underneath you whilst we work towards your buying acceptance and approval..
Purchasers are quite savvy these days,A boat is worth what your prepared to pay either private or in a yard,Yes we have overheads,Yes we have a fee for selling,but if the boat is what your after and its the best choice out there both in the paper and online,then why wouldnt you buy from a yard..We have to compeat with any private seller,even private bacyard dealers who dont pay GST which we are obliged for the privelage of selling the boat
We are obliged to sell our boats fit for there intended purpose,I,m on the seatrial also to pick any fault the boat may have and i,ll voice my concerns to the owner/vendor to have rectified prior to sale..I cant look into the magic mirror and guarantee a lifetime of trouble free boating,however after 20 yrs selling boats,I can reduce the angst of an incorrect purchase and might even qualify you into a boat more suitable than what you were initially thinkin..
And after all of this,you dont like the boat with a genuine reason,Simple dont buy it,get your deposit back and move on,I,ll even try to find something more suitable..
I dont think I can be any fairer than than..
Regards Karl
Fishing...Just Do It..
Rob H
Posts: 5807
Date Joined: 18/01/12
that seems like a pretty
that seems like a pretty reasonable explanation to me and much as I wrote above.
Heck I have a nice boat already and still like to go for a look around and kick the propellors.
What avid boaty doesnt?
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
pacman
Posts: 4
Date Joined: 30/08/13
I just purchased a new boat
I just purchased a new boat from Midway Marine(Revival 580 Sports) that I saw at the Hillarys boat show. They where more than happy to give me a sea trail and no mention of deposit as well as no pressure to purchase, they priced up my trade while I was sea trailing and gave me a good price for the trade.
I would recommend them. They did all the running around and phoned me when it was ready to pick up, also spent a lot of time showing me all the workings of the boat
Pitty
Posts: 161
Date Joined: 08/12/12
I also purchased a northbank
I also purchased a northbank 600c from midway marine, found the same thing, very happy to do a sea trial before any final offer was made, fair trade in and the after sales service has been exemplary. I dealt with Warwick and would recommend them to anyone.
UBIQUE
thesupervisor
Posts: 1136
Date Joined: 10/06/09
my mate bought a barcrusher
my mate bought a barcrusher from a well known nor dealer 69k in cash
they wouldnt give him a sea trial just saying oh mate youll love it they have a good reputation
felt sorry for him as it was his first ever boat
i think a set fee for a sea trial is fair no such thing as a free lunch as they say
getting the bottom line final answer from a bunch of blokes that use false names and put smiley faces at the end of paragraphs is not the best place in the world to get the information you seek.