fourplaydave69

Having bought a 35' lightning, I now have my 27' fever for sale. I've gotten several calls.How do you separate the hull kickers from the serious buyer? Hate giving sea trials to ones that just want to ride. David

HPFountain

Ask them what they have now as a boat ... and make them give you a deposit first. If they are willing to give you money to go for a ride. They are ready to buy the boat or give good reasnoning for not and asking for there money back.

- Vinnie

h2owarrior

Money Talks. Need a deposit for a ride with the understanding of what would allow them to get their money back. When I sold my boat, the buyer wired money into my account. When he was willing to do that, I knew he was serious and we had zero problems with the sea trial.

pullmytrigger

Its very hard....Talk to them on the phone for a couple of minutes then ask them straight out if they are ready to buy......they'll go "whatdoya mean?" then ask "do you have to sell your boat/car first???"...........Ive had all kinds of that........... If someone drives 200mi to look at your boat he's probably pretty serious, ask them where their from......and if he shows up when he says he's going to thats another good clue, and tell them to call you when they are leaving their house........watch for guys that slam on the brakes of their pick up while driving by and knock on your door.....In the case of myself however I looked at probably 8 or 10 boats, all different makes before buying the 29.......wasted some guys time but I was very serious.......in the end as stated above money talks....I would reccomend stating the asking price in your add.....Ive found boat prices can be all over the map.........I found it very frustrating as a buyer to play phone tag with some guy then find out he wants a kings ransom for his boat ........Ive actually called guys up and asked if the price is a typo......and with the price stated you may attact a buyer that was originally going to spend a little less.........In the end say ''Im asking XXXXX but MAKE AN OFFER, you never know what I might take".......doug

Marginmn

Tough one. Taking them for a ride in the boat would be the last part of the negotiation process - I would sure qualify them as a serious buyer before I just took anybody out for a ride. But I think you will chase potential buyers away if you make them put down a deposit as a requirement for a ride.

berns29scarab

If you go look at a boat at any marina or at any broker negotiations are first 100% of the time if there is no deposit left then there is no sea trial and the deal is written subject to sea trial and usually survey

Marginmn

Ok, here's my tire kicking story.

I had a 27 checkmate but had always admired the way the Fountains looked so stable tearing down the lake that I figured a Fountain might be my next boat. When a 35 single step with beautiful graphics that I had long admired went up for sale a few slips down from me I was very interested in the boat. At first, the guy was asking about 15K more for the boat than I was willing to pay so I didn't even bother with it. When I heard that he had dropped the price a bit I became very interested but I was still not sure that I wanted to buy that big of a boat.

I was really worried that after becoming used to darting around the lake in a 27 foot boat that the 35 might seem too sluggish, mosey, or feel like a barge, so I really wasn't sure I wanted to buy the boat, and I certainly wasn't going to put any money down on the boat until I knew what it felt like on the water. I needed a test drive.

At the same time there happened to be a 35 two step for sale that I also considered buying. As a buyer, I did the smart thing and decided to test drive both boats. If either seller had not let me test drive their boat with no strings attached I would have told them to pack sand. As it were, both were more than willing to give me a test ride.

I just loved the way the 35 single step handled and bought the boat the next day. Basically, the boat sold itself when I rode in it. I tried to talk the guy down some after the ride but he wouldn't budge. I loved the way it rode so much I bought it anyways.

Fast forward two years, I became interested in a 38. I drove all the way from KY to North Carolina to look at the boat and this ass hole is like, "No deal before we put the boat in the water, No ride!" This is after I had driven 12 freaking hours to look at the damn boat. Now we were a bit off on the price but who knows; had he let me test drive the boat then I may have fallen in love with it just like I did with the 35. As it were, he drew a hard line in the sand regarding a test ride so I walked. Here it is 7 months later and last I checked he still hadn't sold his boat.

Bottom line. Do all you can to screen your buyers before you give them a test ride but the reality is that there just aren't that many buyers out there so you had better not chase any off to save yourself a test ride. Heck, it's still a chance to get on the water you know.

errrrr p.s. If your boat rides like a PIG then disregard everything I said and GET THE MONEY FIRST!!!!

t500hps

I have bought and sold 8 boats in 11 years. After turning down the first few tire kickers, you'll take anybody out that is a potential buyer. Consider their ability to actually buy the thing (do they have a current boat, have they talked to the bank yet, need to wrap up that bankruptcy thing first???) I typically advertise very close to my bottom dollar and state that in the initial conversations. I also have typically paid 75%-80% of asking prices on the boats I've bought.
Good Luck

BAJA WILL

If they are willing to meet you during work, their serious.

If they are willing to drive over two hours to look at it, their serious.

Ask how they are going to pay, if they have cash or financing already cleared, their serious. a test drive doesn't need to be long, I would say 15-20min is plenty,

These are the rules I follow, if someone has all this I will let them test drive, b


WILL

cgarrett

David,
You are practically in my back yard. Where do you boat out of?

I personally would not require a deposit to take someone out for a test ride.
Do you require a deposit when selling a car or truck and someone wants a test drive?

Car dealers have never asked me for a deposit to take cars out for a drive before I buy.

I just sold my boat last November. I had several emails and phone calls. I like when people are straight up with me and say they are just looking and want more information which I had no problem sending them what ever they wanted. You never know who might be the one.

Most weekends in the summer I was going to the lake anyway.
If it were me I would just set it up to have the potential buyer meet me at the ramp/dock and take them out for a short ride then drop them off and continue with the day. I would stipulate with them how many people you are comfortable with them bringing and I would keep the kids on the land.
People make this harder then it is. If your boat runs and you have nothing to hide I would think you would be more than happy to be on the water.

As an example I emailed a guy on here that was selling a boat that caught my interest and explained that I was not ready to buy at this very moment. I requested more information and pictures but I guess he did not want to bother with me. If he had answered my request I may have persuade this further but instead I went down to the harley shop and spent the money on a new bike.


Cordell