Fountain4402

Ok I am more of less giving a review/beware all readers can make their conclusions.

I bought a boat last spring while I was deployed oversees. I bought it from a broker lakeland boat sales out of Glen Ellen IL. (http://www.lakelandboatsales.com/default.asp) I was kind of hesitant to buy online but the boat seemed nice and was a descent price. Well I checked out the broker and everything seemed to check out. I paid the deposit and the money and the boat was shipped as agreed, mind you I am still in Afhghanistan at this time.
Boat arrived but haulers from Dotan transport decided they were doing to use a 2" ball instead of the bigger one, well the boat came off the truck midroute and broke the saftey chains and the front crank that had a wheel on it. Guys get to house and my dad had to back it in because they couldn't. I DO NOT HOLD THIS AGAINST LAKELAND!!!! But I do hold it against doatan they charged me 600 bucks to truck the thing three hours or so, and I really was expecting a full refund but got 100 bucks to make the repairs to the trailer my self.

OK so boat gets home I get home. I start looking through the boat and go to look underneath the bed. There is storage compartments under the bed after looking in them water had gotten down in there and rotted half of the structure underneath the bed. Now I did not pay for a full out survey which in hindsight big mistake. But I did pay for a guy mechanic to look over the boat for overall mechanical condition, shape of the boat and make sure there were no obvious leaks. Which in this case was a obvious leak and all it took was to look under the bed, and the broker was there supervising.

Lastly I went to go change the titles and registration of the boat and trailer into my name. Boat transferred fine, get to the trailer NY ask me wheres the title, well IDK i never had one. Well I go back to broker who I had asked multiple times are you sure it doesnt need a title in IL, he said no. Well come to find out old owners of ten years never titled or registered the trailer. Well after about a month of back and forth I finally said look you get me a title for the trailer or you send me a check to go buy one, needless to say I finally received a title.

I am trying to give a fair representation here of the situation and in conclusion this is what I would like to say. First off the broker Lee from lakeland was a nice guy and did do some nice things he videod the boat and inspection for me and was quite with it over the internet. But as for the leak, they claimed that the boat was checked and had to leak when it left into my possesion, which as soon as it arrived my dad put the boat cover on and covered that with a plastic tarp. Boat was delivered in June and I noticed the problem in early OCT. There is just no way with two covers on the boat and in 4.5 months the amount of rot actually happened. So basically I got a go F off on that. And it really T'd me off to the fact that the broker did not have all the paperwork ready for the boat, he should know that all boat trailers in IL require a title and should ensure he sees that before he list the boat. But with that said the boat was shipped on time and as agreed upon.

Velocity Vector

Never buy a boat unseen and a sea trial even if you have it surveyed. Once they get your money you are done.

Indy

Buyer beware...sorry. I wouldn't trust a dealer/broker one bit. Independent survey period, and since you're not present a sea trial as part of the survey.

As far as the haulers go...idiots. Take 'em to small claims court. Their $100 restitution won't get you in the door at a reputable repair joint.

4bus

+1

Unless they are in the survey business, never expect the seller to have same expectations as you. "Clean, Mint, Good condition" all opinions, and they may vary.

I defend them for denial of the water in the cabin claim 5 months later. Yes the rot may show a previous water problem, however that does not mean there was water in the boat when it left. Checking under the bed is prob not on their "checklist" for delivery of a boat, nor was it on your dad's accpetance list when he received the boat. I have seen wrapped boats end up with a cabin full of water, sometimes the cover or wrap channels the water to a place it can get it.

CrownHawg

When I was deployed in Iraq, I looked at LOTS of boats online, and seriously considered several. However, when the seller said via email "you need to act NOW on this" (as in put down a deposit), I would walk away. No way I would have ever actually bought (put money on) a boat that neither myself or at least a VERY good friend had surveyed first. That said, I did buy a boat from a local dealer that was in "fair" shape after reading about it online as in "Immaculate" shape. I was able to clean up the fair to immaculate, but it took several weeks of hard labor, that apparently the dealer wasn't willing to do. Good deals are out there, but there are also sellers trying to pull off some sneaky deals as well. Caveat Emptor!

Sorry to hear of your bad luck anyway.

Fountain4402

Yeah I totally agree I am part to blame on this situation buying a boat unseen was totally idiotic. I cant totally blame the broker and after talking to them and the owner I don't think they truely knew about the situation and were honest. But the thing with the trailer title was uncalled for in the least. And all I wanted to do was paint my experience for others that may want to use this agency.

birdog

I imagine that really sucked to come home to.You guys serving overseas deserve better from us at home.

Thank you for what you are doing for your country !

Haley'sComet

+1 For Sure!!!!

Fountain4402

thanks guys. Yeah I mean I am not, not at fault with this situation. Still a nice boat overall engines are brand new and boat is in good shape. But like I said to come home and have to do the paperwork drill for a title was outrageous. And I didn't pay for a full out survey, but if it were me and I was paid to check out a boat I think I would make sure the engines work, all buttons and switches work and I would have checked every cubby hole locker, etc. I mean the damage was nothing that would need a scientist to discover

Fountain4402

kind of funny I actually checked you tube yesterday for videos of my boat, it actually had the guy in the cabin saying yeah no leaks or anything. Odd they kind of disappered. Could be chance i dont know.