ALMOST SOLD THE BOAT!!!!!!!!
 

i put an add on boattrader online with no pic of my 84/97 outlaw (NOT BAJA) 28 custom offshore with twin 500s for 30k. a guy from virginia calls me 10xs and loves the boat, i send him digital pics everything. he says he will fly to palmbeach the next day to test.....the boat ran flawlessly and he was impressed, almost white in the face after we flew over a 5 foot monster wake....got back to the dock, he said the boat is awsome, it was exactly what i said it was, but he would have to get back to me....WTF?? i take a day off work spent 100 bucks in gas, the whole day cost me about 400 bucks, i picked him up at the airport, dropped him off, bought him soda, gave an excellent presentation and he says i have to think about it???? dont waste my time a@#H(*&!! i felt like saying to him....he hasnt called or emailed. what was this a freeday off to come to my house and f(*& with my head??? i hate tire kickers, if you are not interested do not be a skirt, tell me......the boats not for me. just blowin off some steam, guy totally disrespected all boaters by this b.s attempt of being interested in something he knew absolutely nothing about!!!!!! i think i will have a beer to calm down.....thanks for listening!!!

No deposit......no free ride...... :D ;)

yeah, i guess you are right....my mistake, but damn, come all the way down from virginia to florida to say i need to think about it?? how much of a deposit do you usually take on a test ride?? cash? check? what if he backs out, do you give the money back??

When I bought my first boat, I gave them a $200 deposit for a wet test. I figured I was buying the boat, if something was wrong, it's worth $200 to fin dout first, so it didn't bother me as the buyer. If I was NOT serious, no way would my wife let me blow $200. LOL! That was, oh 1996 I think, so with inflation, maybe ask for a little more.

I agree......don't make it unrealistic....$500.00 would probably weed out the tire kickers...non-refundable.....

Welcome to sales...

:D

If you are purchasing a boat from someone that knows the right way of doing sales, then purchasing a boat sucks. I wasn't able to test drive my old boat until I showed him I had all the money and I was ready to sign the title after the ride. But it's just a way that the seller can eliminate a lot of hassles.

I cannot count on both hands how many people have called on my ad and stated that I should BUY thier plane ticket to come and personally see the boat with a test run
One guy last month actually wanted me to haul the boat to Atlanta with out any deposit. He thought it would be better then flying and then have to find a way to deliver it. He talked a good talk. But he had no upfront money. I asked him to fax a copy of the papers he first said he had from his bank on an approval for a 90grand purchase. He would not. He then came back saying he was paying cash. I told him to fax me a copy of hte bank draft. Said he would only do cash. Told him to send me faxes of all the bills then. Talk abouta BULL****TER.
Like someone already said. Welcome to SALES :(

On the flip side of this. There was a boat listed on a web site (not OSO) and I emailed the seller. He sent me pictures and a discription of the boat. We had a few phone conversations and some emails. I got a cashiers check and gave the insurance company a deposit so the boat would be covered for the transport home. I called the owner and set up a time to meet and sea trial the boat. All indications that he gave to me was that the boat was ready to go. I drove from N.E. Ohio to Green Bay Wisconsin.
When I got there the boat didn't even have the batteries in it. It's a long story but he pretty much jacked me around for the better part of the day. The boat was on a lot that sold boats (which he was calling a marina but it was no where near the water). He was stalling until they closed so he could take the boat off the lot which I later found out that he had it brokered with them. The lies were endless. I used 3 days vacation and spent money on two nights lodging + the gas ect. The least the guy could have done was have the boat ready to go like he said it was. I walked away and I'm glad I did because with all the bs that guy was giving me that boat was probably nothing but trouble.
It sounds like you "The Bull" had everything in order when it came to showing and the sea trial. The guy must have had some interest in the boat to fly from Virgina to Florida.
Why don't you give him a call or email him to find out what is going on? Maybe he is trying to secure the financing or at the least you can find out why he didn't put a deposit on the boat. Ask him what he didn't like about it so you'll know and not drive yourself crazy. I'm going through the same stuff as you with trying to sell my Condo. All people have to do is say that I'm not interested, not string you along.
Cordell

Bull, you gotta admit that if a guy is willing to take his day off, buy an airplane ticket and fly down to see you and the boat, he aint no tire kicker. I am sure he was interested and he probably had three other boats on his mind along with yours. If it were me buying, I would test ALL of them and then make a decision.

Who knows, maybe he will call you and buy the boat, on the other hand maybe he bought another. As someone said, that's sales !

thanks guys for all the insight.....i have been in sales for 11 years and should know all of this....its just different when its YOUR boat!! maybe he will call, maybe he will buy, i am not going to rack my brains over it....i need closure!!!! gotta go to work to make up for my lost day!!!! thanks again OSO !! ;)

It seems when anybody on OSO asks whether they should buy boat x, y, or z. the advise given is to ride in all of them and then decide. How else could you make your own comparison?

I would agree that they guy should of at least reimbursed you for your boat related expenses.

Dave M.

On the other side of it,When I was looking for a different boat I talked with a guy down in Stuart (sp) Fl. and he had the bull sh*# down.Made the boat sound like it was new. So I hopped on a plane to give it a look. What a piece of crap. Total waste of my time. Blew a day off work for nothing.
I gave up on looking any further away than what I could drive in a day. Ended up buying a boat from the Detroit area. Really love the boat. Was everything the guy said it was.

Bill

Alot of the time "I'll have to think about it" means, "Hey the boat is nice and I like you. You've been a great host and I feel bad about spending your time; so I just don't have the heart to say that, I don't want your boat".

The potential buyer probably never had a ride in a fast boat before.

maybe he was already going to florida anyway and was looking to do a little boating while he was down there,he probably had several test rides set up and spent his whole vacation boating.....hmmmm that gives me an idea

;)

traviss...bat, please

Here's the answer to your ? Bull

The secret's finally out!!! The formula for WHY all those OTHER folks at
> work are so good at what they do!!
>
> :O)
>>
> We've all been to those meetings where someone wants more than 100%!
> How about achieving 103%?
> Here's a little math that might prove helpful in the future!
>
> What makes life 100%?
> If,
> A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
> can be represented as numeric values, i.e.,
> 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
>
> Then,
> H A R D W O R K
> 8 1 18 4 23 15 18 11 = only 98 %
>
> K N O W L E D G E
> 11 14 15 23 12 5 4 7 5 = only 96 %
>
> But,
> A T T I T U D E
> 1 20 20 9 20 21 4 5 = 100 %
>
> Moreover,

> B U L L S H I T
> 2 21 12 12 19 8 9 20 = 103%
>
> So, it stands to reason that hard work and knowledge will get you close,
> but attitude and bull**** will put you over the top! :cool:

hmmm...maybe he an "accident" as you sailed that 5' wake -- and is too embarassed to call back. Did he leave any puddles on board?

I would never drive the boat without intent to buy. Although I have never sea trialed a boat before I bought it(I know I know). I did have someone go for a ride in my last boat then never even call back. I guess he liked his little crownline he bought better than a Scarab. I suspect he just wanted a ride. What a waste.

I also would never request a test drive without being seriously interested in the boat. But I also know that I would walk away at the first mention of a deposit; especially non refundable.

Unfortunately, when selling anything, you need to weed out those who are actually serious from those who are the tire kickers. But it does sound like this guy was not a tirekicker if he was willing to fly down.

Hopefully you will have better luck with the next prospective buyer.

[ 01-31-2002: Message edited by: Lake Front ]

i got an email from the guy and this is what he said........I liked the look of the 28' Cigarette. After watching what has been available the past few months in the under $30k price range yours popped up. After seeing the pictures and description yours looked like the best one out there for the money. So I jumped on a plane and came down to see it. Your Boat was everything you said it was, with no surprises. Everything you did to it was done first rate. My only problem was I felt it was more boat then I need for the Lake I'm on........blah blah blah.....guys!!! watch out for this guy...he will be hitting the 22-28 foot range next week... more boat than you needed?? 1000hp on a 28ft?? ****, i was looking to put blowers on the thing next year.......1500hp....who the hell would buy the boat then????? :rolleyes: :eek: :mad:

Bull that is quitea bot of boat for a lil lake. A frien dof mine used to spend hi summer with his family on a lake in CT. And there wa s guy witah 100hp jet boat. He coudl only run full out for at most 30 seconds. Any longer than taht and he woudln;t have enough time to slow down. He would go back and forth from one end to eth other for like 30-45 minutes 30 seconds at a time at like a 100mph. Kind of silly if you ask me.

I'm the guy who took a day away from my business ( way more than the BULLs $300)and flew down to FL on a $1100 plane ride to "CHECK OUT" the Bulls boat. I'm sorry I never said I was going down to BUY it I said I was going to check it out. After a short ride, I flew home. It was a nice boat but after seeing it in person felt it was more boat than I needed for the lake I'm on. Living where I do I don't have the luxury to check out different types of boats locally. I'm stuck looking at them online and pictures. It's impossible to know how a boat feels by looking at pictures. I own two boats presently and if I had felt differently about the Bulls boat its safe to say that I would be a three boat owner. I'm a serious buyer and don't have time or need to fly around the country for FREE boat rides.
Quite frankly all the **** from this guy ( his post and email) because I didn't buy his boat is ridiculous and childish. If he needed some money for gas all he had to do was ask.
I don't see why my reason not to buy the boat is any less credible than someone else not buying it for whatever reason after seeing it.
As for " you guys should watch out for this guy" all I can say is you should, you just might sell that boat you have been trying to sell.
PS If I have broken some kind of offshore rule about checking out a boat and not buying it please let me know because I've never heard of such a thing.

That clears that up.

this is good chit man!

I can understand the feelings on both sides. Buying and selling can be a stressful experience. I once flew from Michigan to Atlanta and drove to a neighboring state to look at a boat that I had seen online. I had recieved emailed pictures that looked great. When I saw the boat in person it had stress cracks and checks all over it, the seller didn't even bother to clean it up prior to me seeing it. Needless to say I was pretty disapointed. Back in Atlanta I discovered another boat that I really liked (emotions of buying a boat must have been getting to me) and I made an offer contingent on a mechanic's inspection. A few days before I was going to drive down to Atlanta to pick it up we found out it had a rotten transom. I'm sure both sellers wern't real happy I didn't purchase their boats but I wasn't traveling the country looking for free rides either. And after all this, I end up purchasing a great boat 2 hours away from my house that I happen to see sitting in a parking lot from the road :rolleyes: Go figure And actually after we've had the boat a couple years we're thinking of selling it for something a little smaller that we can use on more lakes around here

I'm sure Bull's boat is great and that Doc will find what he's looking for, it just takes time.

hey Playn, ya know Russ York, lives in Howell, hangs at JJ's? Good budomine.
Guys, I've spent lots of money looking for and looking over boats. My last deal was a swap where neither party had seen the others boat and I trailered mine for 18 hours. The other party played me like a fish because of my vulnerability. He was out zero money to my time and 600. in towing fuel and tolls. There is no harm if both expend decent money and interest in pursuing the deal. A 42 Fountain in Michigan with the seat cushions reupholstered by the sellers mother(looked like ****) was still unsold 18 months later after he refused to come down $1500. I flew my own plane and burned 700. in avgas to see the boat in Mich. Price is $5000. less than my final offer and he still owns it. My last deal went through and 6 months after the exchange I still don't have proper ownership papers. Seems dealers were jumping titles to avoid paying sales tax. Another thing about owner/brokers, they spend very little on the most basic repairs. Just their nature.

[ 02-01-2002: Message edited by: DanL ]

DanL, Don't know Russ, but JJ's is about a mile from the house :D

no problem guys, my boat was first class, everything i said it was..........to come down 1000 miles in the middle of the week to look at a boat and drive it without a comment of i love your boat or i don't like your boat is fine by me. But when you have free tickets from frequent flyer miles like bacman with 7 posts not costing 1100 bucks like he said, verified on the phone and OSO, it is not too pleasant of an experience. Nuf said, good luck on a lake boat, son. You'll need it!! LOL :p :rolleyes: :eek: