Warning!! Surveyor Ed Cozzi (Performance Marine Surveyors, Inc.)
 

Warning!! Surveyor Ed Cozzi (Performance Marine Surveyors, Inc.)

I’m disappointed that I have to write this but sharing my experience with Ed Cozzi will hopefully help someone else.

I’m in the process of purchasing a performance boat and wanted to find the very best surveyor to do a thorough pre-purchase inspection. The boat is located in a somewhat rural area and I wasn’t impressed with any of the local surveyors, so I looked on this forum and read the recommendations.

I found several posts recommending Ed Cozzi. While Ed didn’t live in the same state as where the boat was located, I was willing to fly him to the location if I felt he was the best for the job.

I found Ed’s e-mail address on his website so on Saturday, July 8th, I sent him an e-mail explaining what I was looking for. I certainly didn’t expect to hear back from him because it was a weekend…and that was fine. I figured he would contact me on Monday.

Since I didn’t hear from him, I decided to call him on Monday, July 10th at 3:30pm and we had a wonderful 5 minute conversation. I was thrilled…he seemed to be the nicest guy. He said he does travel to do surveys and I informed him that I would book him a flight, have a rental car waiting for him, and pay his travel rate (he gave me the rate which I thought was expensive but fair considering he’s giving up other jobs for the day). I told him I have a transporter tentatively scheduled to pick up the boat in a week. We agreed and he said he would check his schedule to see if he could rearrange some things to get it done. He told me he would call me when he got home that evening.

That evening came and went without a call from Ed. I figured he was tired and I didn’t want to bother him and assumed he would call me the next day (Tuesday).

I did not hear from Ed in the morning so at 2:20pm, I texted him, “Hi Ed- Were you able to check your schedule to see when you had availability for the survey? Thanks! Ken”

No response but I figured he would call me later that day…but he didn’t call.

On Wednesday at 1:20pm, I called him and he answered his phone. He remembered our conversation and asked if he could call me right back. Again he was so nice and I said, “Sure!”.

After not hearing back from Ed, I called him 3+ hours later (4:40pm). He answered again and in that nice, friendly pleasant way, asked to call me back again. So again, I said, “Sure!”

Once again, he never called me back.

On Wednesday evening, I texted him saying, “Ed- Please, please please call me this evening to let me know about scheduling the survey. Since I have the transporters scheduled to pickup the boat on Monday, it seems like Friday (or Saturday) would be the only day left to do the survey. Thank you- Ken”

No response

It’s now Friday at 8pm. Ed Cozzi never called me once. He basically put me in the terrible position of making a choice whether to call off the transport company and find another surveyor…or purchase the boat without an inspection.

All he had to say is, “Ken I’m sorry…I’m just too busy and can’t get it done.” That would have been fine with me but instead, he jerked me around for almost a week…and never did what he said he would do. I was nothing but polite to him…never demanding…accepted his fees…but in the end, he screwed me.

I would NEVER recommend Ed Cozzi to perform a survey. His word is obviously worth nothing.

Nice first post

Sorry you had a bad experience with him. i on the other hand have used him twice and both times with great results.

Did great for me!

Same here.

I too . sorry you had a bad experience. Mine was 180 from yours and was wonderful. I was out of country and he made the process east for me and set me at ease so when I got back my boat was waiting and ready for me exactly as he outlined for me in his report.

I wish I had that same experience. Again I was polite, respectful and certainly not demanding. Perhaps if someone here knows him well enough to ask him why he's told me 4 or 5 times now that he would call me right back and never has? Hell I'll even invite him to post a response to this board explaining his actions. At least apologize and explain/own up to your actions and I'll be happy to delete this post. I can't even think of a reason why he keeps saying, "I'll call you tonight" or "I'll call you right back" and never does. Isn't it easier to just say, "I can't do it"? He's made things so much more difficult for me due to his actions (or lack of actions).

"It takes years to build a reputation and only minutes to ruin it"

Doesn't matter if its his first post, where's the boat, I may know a guy that can survey it.

Sorry to hear about your experience. Sounds like Ed is a better surveyor than a businessman.

getting transport before survey is kind of a$$ backwards.

You lined it all up. Walk away. Sorry for your troubles. There's always signs. Walk away.

Thanks F-2 Speedy. I spoke with the mechanic who currently has the boat and did all the maintenance on the boat for his client. He's very reputable (but then again, I thought Ed was reputable). He told me everything I needed to know about the condition of the hull/stringers, electronics, engines, paint/blistering, etc. I also spoke with the previous owner and reviewed a survey that was done awhile ago. Long story short, I'm doing something I would typically never do which is to purchase the boat unseen. Thanks for your offer of locating a surveyor however I'm going to go ahead and have it picked up Monday morning...I'm expecting to do certain work on the boat based on my discussions with the owner and mechanic...and willing to take the risk.

Again, thanks for your offer.

ICDEDPPL- It would typically be a$$ backwards however if you knew I was going to buy the boat unless major issues were discovered (which I didn't expect), then you probably wouldn't have passed on that judgement and understood why I scheduled the transport.

IMO, this is post is completely ridiculous as were your expectations.
I can't believe you expected a premier boat surveyor with a stellar reputation to be able to fly out of state and complete a full survey with only 3 days notice.
The only thing Ed did was not call you back because he was too busy, most likely completing other surveys. You had a couple phone calls with him and one 5 minute discussion. You didn't have a contract or a deposit. To come here and bash somebody who is long time respected OSO member because you didn't plan ahead and put the cart before the horse with your transporter is YOUR fault.

Its fine for you to not recommend him, but to say "his word is obviously worth nothing" is borderline slanderous.

For what it is worth - getting a survey done in season is usually a week or two proposition. If the seller can not provide a recent survey you should get one, even post purchase. Most likely your insurance company will require one. Good luck with your new boat!

Ed is pretty legendary around here, he's helped me a few times even though it was not a paying situation. That being said, a return call would have been nice.

I must disagree. The internet is a great tool for getting the word out when one has a bad business experience. Respected or not, if the OP's story is accurate then Ed blew it. He should have just said he can't do it. JMO

Wait a minute, you made plans to have it surveyed on the sellers side, lined it all up, scheduled it, set up transport, had the boat ready to show, and THEN decided to line up a surveyor, without him (Ed) committing to it prior and you're pissed?

That seems a little backwards. You should have had a second surveyor lined up in case the first one fell through if you were that pressed for time. That's not fair to slander his name as you have here.

I would say it's just poor planning on your part. Lesson learned.

"Failure to plan on your part, doesn't make it a priority for me."

No that is not what he is saying,,he is pissed because he never got a phone back after he was told we would like 3 times..not hard to follow I dont think

Then the guy was busy and he should have moved on, how long was he willing to wait? Sounded like he only had a few days. I Understand the situation, but to bash someone so hard over a few non-returned calls is a little harsh.

I had the same situation this week, guy didn't call me back, AFTER I spoke with him, filled out a work order with his office and texted/called him, guess what, no returned calls to me, I moved on to someone I knew would get the job done, very responsive. I have no hard feelings against the guy that didn't call me back, he was booked out weeks, so I moved on to my next best option, and it probably worked out better in the end.

I hear you,I would have moved on myself,,plenty of good surveyors out there,
but some people view things differently ,but lets not make them out to be the problem

And herein lies why I hate giving recommendations any more. And believe me, I'm asked all the time . Everything from who's the best person to give my hamster a colonoscopy to what 3rd world airlines should I avoid flying on and everything in between , especially boat sh*t.

I've recommended people who gave consistently solid gold services and goods to me to others who were not happy at all. And I've unknowingly used people who were good to others but were total fkups in my case .

That's why now I always finish up a reluctantly given recommendation with 'Your own experiences may vary ! '

The fact that I setup the transport prior to scheduling the survey is irrelevant. My issue is Ed jerked me around...led me on that everything was fine and he could get it done...for a week. All he had to say is, "I just don't have the time" and that would have been perfectly fine.

I reiterate he seemed like the nicest guy in the world. Each time he would answer his phone, he wasn't acting like I was a pain in the ass. He was totally friendly...almost like he was happy to hear from me...and then would ask to call me right back.

No point in continuing the debate. If Ed (who has still yet to call me) wants to explain his actions, I'll be happy to delete this post. But until he does, my experience with him is important to share with anyone considering working with him.

My expectation was ridiculous? It's ridiculous to expect someone to follow through with what they say they are going to do? You still don't get it. It doesn't matter if someone is a "premier boat surveyor" or not, it's reasonable to expect someone to follow through with their word. I can understand someone forgetting once or twice and chalk that up to a mistake. But to continue telling me something 4 or 5 times and not doing it...yes I do believe his words mean nothing.

Did Ed ever say yes and set a date and then not follow through?

After telling him what I needed (fly to location, etc.), he quoted me the price. I told him I accepted the price. The only question was whether he could "rearrange" some of his existing appointments to get it done before Monday or if I would have to reschedule the transporter. Even if he called me the next day and said, "Sorry, I thought I could do it but I just don't have the time", that would have been fine. I'm very reasonable.

Everyone can keep trying to find fault with something I did but you're not going to find fault and there was no misunderstanding. He jerked me around for a week and put me in a difficult position.

P.S.- It's now Sunday morning (1am) on the east coast...still no call from Ed.

I do agree that Ed should have called you back or at least texted that he would not be able get it done in the timeframe you desired. Not debating that at all.
My issue is with the last line of your post which bashes a man's entire integrity based on him not returning your calls.

I have older stuff and fairly mechanically inclined so have never used a surveyor personally but I have heard Ed's name around this board for a long time. All I have heard has been positive but that being said not returning a call after the discussion and verbal agreement to jump thru the hoops required is BS. Dealing with vendors and customer it seems like communication always goes a long way.

Just asking anyone want to post their survey results up here since I see some replied having great results. Can anyone give details why they are / where so great ? - Just asking in those surveys what was done on the mechanical side - engines, drives, transom assemblies, EFI scan results and discussed indepth about what all the scan results were ? Pulled drives and full inspection especially with a proper alignment tool. I keep hearing all the great survey results but when I ever I look at them, they are basically worthless. I am asking not accusing of anything nor accusing anyone here but I would love to see the mechanical survey results and why they were so great.

Was any oil analysis results in the mix ?
fuel pressure testing thru out all rpms ?
Propshaft run out checked ?
water tested - checked for leaks while in the water and proper WOT running rpms ?
gimbal ring play and bell housing play with hydro steering rams unhooked and tie bar unhooked ?
Bellows inspected with drives pulled ?
And the list goes on for pages if I was wanting an indepth survey done and paying for it. not having just a clip board survey performed.

If Ed took this guy's money then I would say this is a valid thread but for a not getting a returned phone call this seems like a BS thread. Maybe Ed simply didn't like the OP......:D

He should have contacted the OP but even the best can screw up occasionally. Sounds to me like the good stories outnumber the bad stories by a huge margin.

Valid point has been made, time to let it go.

RR

part of a man's integrity is his word, I'll call you back ( multiple times according to the OP ) never did.

Great! you do all that for $500-$700 bucks, I'll call you next time I'm buying.

You know all the surveyors have a tool box full of micrometers and dial indicators.....lmao

I do not know the current situation, but his wife was battling cancer a few years ago. He was going through a tough time and considering retirement. Hasnt posted since 2013 as far as I can see.

for one is, I never mentioned a price - and 2 if you think even a clip board survey is 500 to 700 bucks, that is wrong. 3 is the op said he was paying for flights and for car and prob place to stay and prob meals and the price of the survey also - so all of that sounds like a 3500 bill to me if not more.

Next if one is buying a 40 k and above used boat and thinks a 500 to 700 dollar survey is going to be your ticket for a great survey and with any depth LMFAO and good luck with that one.

Since the reply of most do not carry mics and so forth - what does OSO members consider a survey to be ? What like this - carpet is dirty, seat base loose on pass seat, bow lite does not work, engine looks to be clean and I see no oil leaks in the bilge. Motor oil looks clean and full. Hull has scratch on port side. WOW what a great way to buy a used boat. So lets see the survey reports and the price since I am way off base here. .

I want to ask can you even scan an MPI engine ? maybe you better call me if not

[QUOTE=Wobble;4569867]I do not know the current situation, but his wife was battling cancer a few years ago. He was going through a tough time and considering retirement. Hasnt posted since 2013 as far as I can see.[/QUOE]

As far as I know he was retired for a while now. And I am not directing any of my comments to him or at him. I am lost over this as people talk about a survey but really not much of the mechanical testing is done. 90 percent of these reports I see really has nothing on it for any depth of the mechanical end - So my question is how does one go off a report with the lack of that end when buying a used boat ? I am lost with this.

are you asking me if I can scan a engine. Or surveyors. My opinion of getting a survey done on the boat, is because I am not there to put eyes on it. I'm relying on him to tell me what he sees and what his opinions are of the boat. I don't care how much money I'm spending, I'm not laying out 3-5 grand for someone to tell me what they think about the boat and measure everything. If I'm that concerned I will fly to wherever the boat is and check it myself. My survey was mainly done for insurance purposes. That's what I think surveys are for. If someone's relying to find out the mechanical issues I would fly a mechanic in ,not a surveyor

You are 1000 percent correct and all I can do is LMFAO for the ones who buy a used boat with out having this done and not having any testing tools put on the used boat. . Kind of like a no eyes as is sale take it up the azz for the buyer beware without any main stream mechanical tests performed. . Would You buy boats this way ? Especially an MPI app. Good luck with that

Asking why would one pay for a survey without a scan and the report and no compression testing and water testing being many miles away AND not being able to put hands or eyes or ears on the used boat your going to buy. That's what I am getting at - I guess no one see what I am saying here.

Basically here is what I see from buyers whom purchase used boats with out a PRE PURCAHSE INSPECTION as this is what I call them not a survey. I see lack of proper winterization or no winterization and the new buyer of the used boat markets gets that end of bad news after he bought the boat. Winter has crack what ever and you have water in the oil or what ever from a lack of winterizing the boat. I See this over and over and over again not once but 100 of times. Really prob 50 times per year. NO BS

It also depends on who you are buying from also.