Deposit or not?
 

Just curious. I'm selling a boat, had/have a few perspective buyers. Curious on the facets, do's and don'ts of selling. My belief, whether right or wrong, was 1.) Agree on a price 2.) Put down a deposit 3.) Go for water test 4.) Pay up if survey is passed. Is this correct? Had a gentleman tell me "asking for a deposit for a ride is something you do when you buy a new sea ray! And sounds very weird/not right for a purchase of this nature." That comment sounded sounded wrong to me, but honestly, the gentleman could be right. Or not. Let me know guys. I just told the gentleman to put in an offer, ill think it over and if we can agree on a price put a deposit down and we'll go for a ride.

Thanks guys,
Jay

thats how i always bought and or sold my boats

I don't think there are any "rules". Myself if I had someone serious I would offer to take them for a ride. making an disagreement out of a deposit for a ride sounds like more of a "control" issue.

When I bought my current boat. I actually did a water test before we even negotiated a price. I also never put down anything money. I left that day after the water test telling the owner I would get back to him after the survey was done. I think its kind of hard to give a # when you havent taken it out or had a survey done on it first. After I got all the information and I looked at it a few more times. I made him a offer. Then I wrote the check. Not sure if this is common. But thats how it went for me.

What is the boat worth? If it's $50k take them for a free ride. A $50k boat is like a Hyundai.

If it is $500k you are in a different league. Then qualify them first.

That's how a lot of people on here seem to do it but I would never put down a deposit before doing a sea trial. What if the boat runs like crap, now I'm stuck trying to get the seller to refund my money.

You can structure the deal any way you want, but there are ways to protect yourself. I like the idea of a deposit because it helps separate a bonafide purchaser from the tire kicker/prospects. You can have the deposit refundable or nonrefundable, it is up to the seller and buyer to have a meeting of the minds (agreement). I prefer signed documents, agreements, but I am a lawyer that explains my take on this matter.

see id give the deposit and make the seller right up something saying that i had first right or refusal. because what happens if you pay to get the survey done today, and tomorrow someone comes and buys the boat ? you just pissed away the $350-$700 depending on what kind of survey you had done. I've always gotten close to a bottomline line figure prior to even looking at a boat unless it was very close, if that price is reasonable then i will go look at it, then will leave a deposit "subject to sea trial and satisfactory survey". If i like how it rides, and it passes the survey its a done deal ...just my $.02

I sold a Donzi,told them the price , then took him and his girlfriend for a ride with no deposit. The ride was what sealed the deal. They were ecstatic. Came back an hour later with a check for exactly my asking price,no bartering !

All valid points. I didn't think of that jmeng-- a very good point as well. It is a $50k purchase-- but no hyundai. The engine is brand new by a very well known builder and not even installed in the boat yet, so that wasn't necessarily the issue. It wasn't a control thing.

ding ding ding...

ok berns, get a docment, lay down a deposit and come pick it up:evilb::lolhit:

dont really see the price being an issue. regardless of the price, the purchase has the same meaning to both buyers. $50k to a $50k range buyer has the same asthetic value as $500k to a $500k price range buyer. i've dealt with buyers of both types and more so then not, they buyer of the lower end product was much more pleasurable to deal with...and i've been in retail for 20 years

nice touch :party-smiley-004::party-smiley-004:

Funny story on this subject....

My buddy sold his 07 TG through a broker friend. Broker was bringing everyone and their mother over to see the boat. They went for 4-5 boat rides without a single offer, so my buddy tells the broker $500 non refundable deposit for any rides. Boat was lift kept and 5 minutes from full throttle water so it wasn't a huge inconvenience but it became annoying with the free loaders. A couple guys balked at the $500 but he had a young guy from NY that was trying to be a player......he put the $500 down (which was fully applicable to the purchase just not refundable). John put the $500 in the tank with the guy onboard. He tried his best to trade everything under the sun (Z06 Vette, small cat, motorcycles) but wanted full retail on his "trades" yet only wanted to pay rough book on the TG. Boat sells to an out of state buyer who had it surveyed and paid for by wire transfer before ever entering the state! Meanwhile the NY guy is still making stupid offers (at this point the boat is sold/delivered). The NY guy rode on it twice, never offering more than 125K for the boat and was trying to get his $500 back.....a month after the boat was gone!

Good luck.......

I would/have always given a test ride before a deposit.

trust me buddy...i've been on both sides of the fence and dealt with both private buyers and sellers as well as brokers and marinas lol. between 04-08 bought and sold 4 boats. bought 3 in state and 1 out of state, sold 3 out of state and 1 out of the country so i dealt with all kinds. And i have a document saved on my desk top that i just change the product description and hull id# on, change the names and hit print lol

I've always heard about the "tire kickers" and "free loaders" looking for a free boat ride. I don't know if it's because we're on the West Coast but I've never had a TRUE problem with this (people BSing on the phone is always a problem, but showing up for a free ride has never happened).

The last two boats I sold, I talked to the buyers on the phone at length, answered all the questions I could, tried to be as helpful as possible and when it came time for a see trial I said, "Kick down a few hundred for gas and we'll roll". Sh!t, the OSO member that bought our Cig came out for the day from Fl. and we spent most of the day running the boat and hanging out. Actually have become good friends over the deal. Going to visit him and run our old boat the Wed. before Key West:drink:

I figure if someone wants to come out for a ride, fill up the boat and lets do this. I don't turn down free gas money to run my boat:drink::drink:

You can say what you would do. All I said is how I bought mine. I didnt have to worry about losing any $ because the seller paid for the survey. I no that doesnt happen to often. So I wasnt out anything if the boat sold. Now... If I were paying for the survey I would have done things differently. :grinser010:

I won't consider buying a car w/o a test drive.
Why would I buy a boat w/o one?
It is fairly easy to screen buyers. Just don't go giving rides to just anyone.
When i sold my boat, i gave one test ride. No sale. Not even a bid.
Real buyer called from over 700 miles away. Talked to him half a dozen times. Bought sight unseen. Plenty of pictures and live audio of the engine running sold it.

Jay, any local guy may be looking to go for a ride.
Just get a good feel for them.

I never rode in a Kryptonite. I may not like it.
Wouldn't want to lose a deposit over that.
Hence the term "pending sea trial".

Just remember once you take a deposit you are obligated to him as well . What I do is take him for a ride , let him pay for the survey that tells me he is truly interested and bring the bank draft when they pickup the boat. Just seen the deposit thing go sideway's to many times . Just my .02 :drink:

I agree, in principle. If you have a high-end boat with high Hp motors that are expensive to service, I think it makes sense to request a deposit before allowing someone to drive the boat.

That said, when I purchased my boat the guy took me for a ride when I first got there. I don't know if he was telling the truth or not, but he said that I was the first guy that he offered a ride to out of the prior 3-4 people that looked at it. I guess he just had a good feeling that I was serious about purchasing the boat. The ride sealed the deal for me. We talked price when we got back to the marina, and wrapped up the deal after that.

I never asked for a deposit for any boat I sold. Most buyers come from a good distance away which makes them serious to begin with. You've probably had a few phone conversations with them too and can get a good feel. There aren't many buyers for boats like these in good times let alone in this economy, no sense in busting chops. Last, I'd never put down a deposit myself to get a ride on a boat I'm considering buying. I figure if the seller can't tell I'm serious enough to drive 100s of miles (or fly in one case), have multiple conversations on the phone and probably some emails with them then I probably don't want to deal with them anyway.

A $50k boat is like a $500k boat to a person that can only afford that much and is just as important to that owner as a $500k boat is to its owner...same league.

Bought a boat before labor day. Drove 6 hrs to look at boat. After looking at was undecided if I was really interested. Boat was in storage mile from water. I told him I did not know if I was really interested but would like to go for ride to see if that was the boat I was really wanting. We never talked money. Next day we went out for 15 minute ride. I told him I would get back to him in a day or two after talking to wife. After the ride I decided I liked the boat. Called day later and made offer. He counter offered and then bought boat. If he had wanted deposit before ride, I would not have bought the boat.

In this case it was a local buyer who had come to look at the boat four seperate times. He was actually a really nice, cool, knowledgable guy. But, currently I am away at college, and therefore have the boat at a friends shop for him to do some work on the boat. The perspective buyer was asking him and my mechanic what numbers I would take and there were all substantially lower numbers than the asking price. I figured rather than wasting four hours of driving home, 2 hours taking this guy out, and the gas money all for a low ball offer-- I wanted to know there was an agreed price and some kind of commitment. Someone said something about the perspective buyer paying for a survey to be done, then going on a ride, at an agreed upon price. I think that is an excellent idea. For those who say they would never put a deposit down for a ride unless they rode on a boat. I understand, and agree. I don't think the deposit is the way to go. Thanks for all the input!:cool-smiley-027:

If i was looking at a boat, in depth phone calls, asking about local seveyors, taking time from my busy schedule and checking on insurance rates and etc etc. and you asked me for a deosit. i would tell you to get lost. i mean really serious buyer is doing alot of homework and research. and it should be very evident.

I have not had good luck with deposits. I had one guy take almost 2 months to pay for after the deposit. I had the chance to sell it once and he was I will have the money to you by Friday to bad it was the Friday he choose. As for rides if I'm out in it I'll take someone out and not think anything about it. I did one time dewinterize to take a guy out in off season he shows up with some buddies we go out ran flawless then decides the cockpit was to small. That one pissed me off and cost some coin for there joy ride. I'd say if someone comes from out of town they probably pretty serious buyer.

Deposits may or may not be the way to go for some buyers and sellers. If there are multiple prospective purchasers who are bonafide (can afford the boat), then the deposit helps mitigate loss if buyer #1 changes his mind, and prospects #2, #2, #4 walk away from the sale because they thought the boat was sold and those prospects buy from someone else; so you (the seller) lose not only the sale but three other prospective buyers. In this market (poor economy), that does not seem likely that there will be three or four people competing for the same boat, but each sale is unique and if the boat is priced low enough it is possible.

Even though I am familiar with the law I would probably have the deposit refundable on the condition of the sea trial going poorly, or the vessel inspection reflecting a defect-problem which was not known and or disclosed.

Let's forget I a lawyer for the moment, here is what I do for being me being a seller. If you like the boat and we have an agreed upon purchase price, I will take you for a ride/sea trial, and not require a deposit. I buy the gas, I pay the ramp fee. If the boat runs as stated, buy it, don't jerk me around. Treat people the way you want to be treated and the process will go easier (hopefully).

Good luck in the sale of your boat.

The proper way, is to actually do your research and see if this is the right type/kind of boat for you first. If you need a ride to determine that, you have not done your homework. Go back to school and stop wasting the sellers time. After you find out what kind of boat you want, and find the one that you actually want, negotiate and agree on a price. Now its time to put your money where your mouth is and cough up some cash. Before handing over the deposit, have a written agreement subjecting the deal to a survey and/ or a seatrial by you. Then, schedule a survey to protect yourself and seatrial the boat with the surveyor aboard. The seatrial is the test drive. The seller knows you are serious, and the buyer has the final decision.

I think it depends on situation. If someone wants a ride in my boat I'm going to get the price negotiated first... not because I care about taking anyone for a ride or not, it is just a PITA because of location of the boat so it is an inconvenience for me. So, I'm not going to screw around if the guy isn't serious. If he doesn't like it after the test drive, all well, we part ways.

As for deposit.... if they want a survey, and it is going to take time, I'll get a deposit, otherwise if it is going to be a quick deal doesn't matter.

There are countless variations/situations. If the boat is already in the water and you want to take someone for a ride, that's great. But, if you are fielding calls from all over the country, you might want to do it differently. A friend of mine recently met a buyer at the airport, drove him to the lake, spent 5 hours with the potential customer including test drives, lunch, etc only to have the potential buyer low ball him several days later. And, my friend had informed the buyer what the bottom line price was over the phone before he met him. Its just not worth it. There are alot of time-wasters, dreamers and strokers out there amongst a small group of real buyers.

Jay, how are you going to do this being 4hrs away at school?
Sounds like a PITA.
And the buyer shouldn't be getting pricing from anyone but you, unless the boat is being brokered.

2004, I talked to owner, agreed on $, sent a deposit so he wouldn't sell it out from under me, 3 days later on a plane to Florida, took for test run, liked it enough to take it w/ me.
As i said, if the buyer is local, and is asking for a ride so quickly, and the boat (and you) are not easily accessible, think hard about taking him out... you may want to screen it more.

You should always specify what they're getting for the deposit. I think it is best to have a relatively small non-refundable deposit, and have it spelled out in writing that you will hold the boat for two weeks for that deposit.

And I'd have to disagree w/ PM on the homework / test ride.
I may be on these boards checking w/ as many people as possible about how these boats run. But the seat of the pants experience tells all.

Getting your facts about these boats... this is probably the best place for it. And the guys we are concerned on this thread are mostly, not the ones from here.

I agree completely trust me it was a lesson learned.:argue:lol!

I had a guy that was sent to me by a couple of brokers. Was assured he was a real buyer. Went out on a sea trial, go 110mph, nothing wrong, said he would wire the money on tuesday (three days later). Never did! He was just a BS buyer looking over the market and wanted a free ride. It was my fault for trusting everyone involved.


In the future I'll require a signed buyers agreement and money down, if they don't want to then they're not a real buyer.

I am the only one giving prices. The boat was just at a friends shop and therefore if the buyer wanted to see the boat he would have to go there. The college thing isn't difficult. Ill come home for $48,500:grinser010::drink:

You got water nearby school??? :D
Sure would be fun to have there!

I've bought two boats in my life:

The first one I drove about 5 hrs with cash in hand...had the guy fire up the boat on the trailer and ended up taking the boat home that day.

The second one I had already secured financing, agreed on the price of the boat, and confirmed that my offer was conditional upon a successful survey and a water test (for which I was flying in for). I had agreed to give the owner $$ for gas on the test run. After I was satisfied with the water test I put a deposit in with the seller.

I took a few boats for test runs before I bought my boat, and after seeing this thread I wonder how many of those guys thought I was just a tire kicker or some young guy looking for a free joyride...