Advantages of buying from a broker?
 

I fully un stand the benefits of using a broker to sell. No need to always be showing the boat, top notch advertising. I'm sure we all know how most conversations go when you call a broker to sell your boat "how much do you need after I take my cut" so obviously when you buy from a broker your paying a marked up price. I had always thought, buy from a well known dealer and you can sleep a bit better. I had always assumed that they had there guys look at the boat.... Make sure everything is in "as stated condition" glancing over the classifieds I have noticed that some major dealers have put disclaimers on there adds... And if I'm reading it correctly. They are basically saying that what they state in there adds may not be true.... On used and NEW boats!! Have any of theses dealers considered having a survey done before the list a boat.... Then maybe they make buyers feel confident about what they are looking at?

Your not always paying a "marked up price". I can tell you the price on my boat via broker is the same as the price I would sell it for. I pay him his cut for his work and time in finding me a buyer, showing the boat, doing the paperwork and all that goes into a deal. Time that I just don't have to do myself. So if you called me to skirt around him, I am just going to tell you the same price. Heck you prob found my boat if you called me about via his advertising for it.

About the Survey, if the boat is on consignment that survey is on the possible buyer, not the broker. Now if the broker bought the boat outright then I would agree a good going through should have been done.

Also a broker and usually get a possible buyer financing from many other places than the possible buyer could usually. Not every is a well read, street smart purchaser.

Have you considered getting a current survey on your boat? Do you feel that might help a buyer make his mind up? I don't evan know the cost of a survey theses days.

I have one from when I bought it 1.5 yrs ago Ed Cozzi. If that is not good enough for the buyer than too bad.

It should not be on the seller to pay for a survey for the new buyer. A good Survey can be close to and even over $1k

A survey is the responsibility of the buyer.
I would not completely trust a survey that was not performed by someone I was hiring.

Is it possible to get an insurence backed survey?

IMO there is not much advantage BUYING from a broker, the 2 main ones are amount of posting inventory to look at in one spot / online and the other is possible help is with setting up financing thru them of the boat of your choice.

A lot of what I have notice in many of the brokers posts / ads, is wrong HP listings of the engines, wrong model listed of the boat of itself, wrong specs of the boat ie: length, weight, beam, fuel cap and so on. Also a lot of marketing words used to pull you in,

Brokers really do not know 1 st hand about the boat nor any history of it nor really any mechanical aspects of it, never even worked on any boat there whole life to know any difference, they can not haggle any better for you than talking to owner in person,

A lot of brokers will not allow the info out to talk to the real owner about the boat ( I can not blame them for that one) anyways just my opinion. Brokers are salesmen if that is good or bad for you , then whatever works for you great. Just saying as for me no real advantage to buy from a boat broker

Customers are sketched out by the survey done by the owner. Most, that want a survey, will have it done them self. The buyer is usually scared it was a bias survey where they were helping out the seller.

Also selling your boat through a broker, in benefit to the buyer, they do not need to deal with DMV work (if buying in state), they can be set up with a finance company, the possibility of a trade (if you have a brokerage that accept and have a legal contract agreement.

As for brokers not really knowing 1st hand about the boat, choose the broker wisely, choose one who you think would be most knowledgeable about your boat. it does not have to be necessarily in your area. 90% of sales are through the internet so it would benefit you to have more of a knowledgeable salesman than a local one. When it is a boat someone is serious about they will travel to see it. There are disadvantages of a broker that people have stated however if you choose the right one it can be highly beneficial.

Ethically a broker has to offer several names for a qualified insured surveyor.

There you go bringing ethics into used boat dealers.....

The disclaimer I read makes it seem like its the same case with new boats too!

My biggest reason for using a broker was they had the boat I really wanted and it was the best one for me on the market at the time. The second advantage was the ability to trade in my old boat. Also, I was able to save on sales tax on my purchase because they deduct your trade value from the new purchase and you only pay tax on the difference.

I`m with the Tutton master. GSC was great to deal with. They made it too easy to buy this money pit.. Dammit!!

i used jerry at gsc in morris,il when i sold my cat and also for selling a buddy,s jet boat.both sales went smooth and whenever i buy or sell a boat he will be the person i call.

Gave a broker a check for ten percent of asking price as good faith to present with an offer. Owner wouldn't move. Took 4 weeks and escalating threats to get it back. Offer was made while in SoFlo while visiting. All comes back to buyer beware.

Unrelated: hey Icy dead people, are your avatars occurring at your house?

Got my current boat through Jerry at Grand Sport Center. The process was smooth. Went the broker way because they had multiple boats to look at and had the model I was interested in. It also helped that the last owner of my boat worked there and was able to go over the whole boat with me along with all if its meticulous records. I sold my last boat through a local broker here. I had listed it myself and through them. They had a buyer come from Cincinnati who worked the deal. They handled all the paperwork and I got a check. There are pros and cons. Bottom line is as the buyer, you still need to do your homework and know what you are buying. And get your own survey. I would not trust the survey by a dealer/broker.

had to derail, avatar is best one yet. like the homegrown aspect. carry on

Of course they are. On his computer screen and in his dreams:lolhit:

HA! If you only knew :eating:

Another plus for using a broker to sell, it can be seen by so many potential buyers you might not immediately consider.

My previous boat and my current boat were both purchased through the same broker in Florida. I'm in Thailand and purchased both boats unseen. I relied on my broker for so much, not just to select the best boat to fit my needs but I also needed someone to prepare mountains of paperwork and documents for exporting. Coastguard documents, bank clearances, title declarations, inland freight, overseas shipping, insurance cover and of course, a survey.

I know most transactions are more simple than mine but if I can move my current Fountain, I'll be straight back on the phone to my friendly broker for help on my next boat. (I'm after a go fast boat this time!!)

I know The overseas market is minuscule for you sellers but without a broker, I would not have purchased my last two boats in the U.S. A broker can help with other related work to help make the process easier.

Two happy vendors and a happy purchaser.

RR

I would never get a surveyor again without being there not everything you pay for is done or done wright some things are overlooked.

When I started this thread I had hopes that a broker/dealer would pop in and say a few words. Some thing along the lines of what they offered to buyers. Maybe that they do look over what they sell and write the description to the best of there knowlage. That if you do buy a boat from them they will be there to help you with issues. If you look at there inventory you can feel just a bit safer than if your buying from Joe Bob down the road. That if you buy a NEW boat from them they will not leave you out to dry(and I don't think they will). I guess I feel at some point as buyers you have demand that what's in the description is true? Right? Or alreasy put " to the best of our knowlage new motors". Not " new motors". I recall last year a broker sold a 100k + boat to a guy that had a blown motor in it!! It was described as perfect running condition! I know it was not the brokers boat.... But **** how's that happen. I understand that there will always be private sellers trying to unload their crap and you always have to be aware of that. But I want to know... What makes the Pros the Pros.... I think the financing thing is great... But when I was at the boat show this year.... The company that was offering the financing was there... And they made it clear that I worked with them I could buy what I want.... Dealer or not. I guess unless your spending 300k-1 mil on a brand new boat from a manufacture... The warm fuzzy feeling is a pipe dream.

Just a guess, but using a broker for buying a boat may take out some of the research, browsing, calling, etc on different boats. You could tell the broker I am looking for this boat with these engines at this price range and they could do all the leg work to find the boats that fit your needs.

BTW...isn't BRAZZERS a porn site? Not that I would know anything about that.

Personally I would rather buy from a private seller. I feel like I can get a better read on the person selling than from a broker or salesman. Usually you can tell face to face if someone is full of chit or not. Also it's nice to be able to talk to the owner of the boat and get the answers directly from them versus having to wait a couple days. The same homework should be done, compression and leak down either way if it's a broker or private seller. Everybody is different and brokers have their place for many but I would rather do the leg work myself. However if a broker had the exact boat I wanted ,I would buy it from them.

What's porn?

Many years ago before internet I had a broker search for a boat model i was interested in buying. One day he calls me telling me he had a list of boats fitting my description. He suggested I go through the list and if there were any I like he said "WE" could fly out to see it. I asked him "Fly out on my money ?" That was the last of my association with him.

My father is a broker. he sells larger sport fishing. like i said earlier. find a broker that the type of boat you are looking for is their forte. you can also use a broker that you trust to go through another broker. they use co-brokerage all the time. this does not cost you more they just have to split the commission. The only way to find out what is true is to hire a surveyor or go look your self. half the people say beware of owner the other half beware of broker. Look into it yourself. the only way to it right is to have it done yourself. if you are worried about a purchasing a boat with a blown motor, take a sea trial. it takes a small deposit, which is always refundable. what makes the pro a pro is understanding the type of boat you are looking for. someone as educated as some of the people on here about the type of boat you are buying. like i said my father mainly does sport fishing boats, so people don't use him for a small bow rider they go to him for fishing boats. and his customers LOVE him. he is constantly going fishing with past customers, them calling him for to discuss their problems, find a new boat, sell their past boat. the warm fuzzy feeling isn't a pipe dream. Just find the right person.

hope i was a help

After a lot of the threads on here, it seems like buying from a broker is the way to get an endless warranty and another party to add to a lawsuit.

I don't think that's what people are looking for. I think people are looking for the descriptions to be accurate and something they can depend on.

Many large powerboat brokers know plenty and have a worth of knowledge. Sometimes more than the craigslist ad owner/seller of a boat.

Pier57, Suncoast powerboats,PCB, and many others I am leaving off are brokers/dealers with a world of knowledge.




From the sounds of it you want the equivalent of a "Certified pre-owned BMW" or like type car but in a boat.......that doesn't exist. Sorry to break that too you.

That would be nice... But we all know that's never going to happen...... But I'm sure they said that about used cars at one time too.

Went to Grand Sport Center in Lake of the Hills to look at several candidates. Although I would normally only deal with a private seller, there reputation and knowledge of the Sonic we purchased sealed the deal. Was very happy with the whole transaction. KS