A co-worker sent me a link to a nice looking 21' Chris Craft Concept bowrider located about an hour away. Had Volvo Penta V8 EFI power and looked well cared for. I talked to the owner via text and it sounds like the boat was well taken care of. When I got there I had to park 1/4 mile away as the thing was stored in a barn and the road down there was muddy. Son mentioned the boat was "pretty much mint."
So I walk down there, and immediately see a huge 1 foot gash in the side of the hull. It's an old boat, and stuff happens. I notice the drain plug is in after being stored all winter. Not good.
So I get aboard (the owner makes me take my shoes off) and open a ski locker. Get an immediate whiff of gasoline. Looking further down, I notice the locker drain is plugged up and there's an oil slick in the drain. "That's just condensation." Yeah, OK guy.
Engine hatch is opened, bilge is filthy and has much more water than a simple condensation accumulation. Why this guy stored a boat with the plug in I'll never know. I noticed a few oil drips as well. Moving forward in the boat, I noticed the fiberglass floor liner separating from the bulkheads, which were cracked. The rest of the interior was pretty clean, but that's par for the course for most boats I've seen where the owner claims it's been "well maintained."
At this point I was pretty annoyed, but it was almost to be expected from a seller like this ("my son posted the ad on Facebook for me. Selling for health issues, blahblahblah.") The final straw was when he said he wouldn't take a certified bank check, "cash only." He also made up some excuse about not being able to start the engine because he couldn't get water down to the barn. I left shortly after that.
I feel bad for whoever buys that boat. He said he had two other people coming with "cash in hand."
Anyone here have a similar story about looking at a used private sale car/truck/boat/suv?
So I walk down there, and immediately see a huge 1 foot gash in the side of the hull. It's an old boat, and stuff happens. I notice the drain plug is in after being stored all winter. Not good.
So I get aboard (the owner makes me take my shoes off) and open a ski locker. Get an immediate whiff of gasoline. Looking further down, I notice the locker drain is plugged up and there's an oil slick in the drain. "That's just condensation." Yeah, OK guy.
Engine hatch is opened, bilge is filthy and has much more water than a simple condensation accumulation. Why this guy stored a boat with the plug in I'll never know. I noticed a few oil drips as well. Moving forward in the boat, I noticed the fiberglass floor liner separating from the bulkheads, which were cracked. The rest of the interior was pretty clean, but that's par for the course for most boats I've seen where the owner claims it's been "well maintained."
At this point I was pretty annoyed, but it was almost to be expected from a seller like this ("my son posted the ad on Facebook for me. Selling for health issues, blahblahblah.") The final straw was when he said he wouldn't take a certified bank check, "cash only." He also made up some excuse about not being able to start the engine because he couldn't get water down to the barn. I left shortly after that.
I feel bad for whoever buys that boat. He said he had two other people coming with "cash in hand."
Anyone here have a similar story about looking at a used private sale car/truck/boat/suv?