www.iFourWinns.com

My old boat is for sale and had a good offer and the guy even put $2000.00 down until he went and looked at it and backed out because he said the interior was to dirty? The vinyl could use a good scrubbing, but the salesman even showed him it would come clean with a little elbow grease, but he said he was not interested in that. He liked the boat in every other way. Would this stop you from getting a nice boat for a good price? I mean I spent 6 hours cleaning mine after I bought it and mine was only a year old. He is a link with pictures.
http://wisconsin.skipperbuds.com/search ... %7C17+feet

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1998 Baja Boss 252 7.4L MPI Bravo 1 (SOLD)
2007 FW H200SS 5.0GXI (Sold)
2004 Chevy Silverado 2500 Crew 6.0L (tow vehicle)
1991 FW 170 Freedom 4.3L (SOLD)

Just a quick question...

If the interior is/was/might be dirty - and the salesman demo'd how easy it is to clean up -- then why don't you clean it up as good as you can? Then, there isn't a demonstration of how easy it is to clean?

Now - that being said... if you clean it up as best as possible, and there's some dirt from it just sitting in the lot - that's another story?

People want perfection for a penny. That's the nature of buying anything major... cars, boats, houses.

the exterior of that boat looks stunning.

Would it be worth a couple hours of a shop kid's time to detail out and scrub the interior? Spend a couple hundred bucks and possibly get a couple thousand extra?

Just pushing ideas... I think the price is right though... You do have a gem of a boat there!

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2008 318 Vista -SOLD, but I am still around!
All Night Long, Seattle WA

Sadly, yes. At least at that price point.

I picked up my 180 Horizon for $2500. The seller was asking $4000. It was extremely dirty, I am not sure if the boat was ever vacuumed. I looked at it and decided it was way to dirty for what I really was looking for. Looked at a few others and decided to look at it again, and ended up offering him $2000. We reached the deal on $2500, and here she is.



Sure it is not as nice as the one your showing, but a little bit of cleaning will go along way. Think about it, if you were buying a older boat for that price, and it was dirty, what would you think its past care was like, and what should you expect to have to do?

I think when you sell anything it should be as clean as you can get it, it saves that questioning in the buyers mind. You have an amazingly clean boat!

No to be rude, but it is pretty simple, spend a few hours cleaning it, and you would of had the cash! Are you brokering the boat, if not why doesn't the salesman have the boat cleaned?

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Rob

Present: 1999 Formula 280SS
Past: 1989 180 Horizon

http://www.robcamerondesign.com

The truth is, everybody reacts differently. Some will know a good deal when they see it and be able to look past easily remedied cosmetic issues. But boating is an expensive pleasure sport and different things are important to different people. And given the nature of today's market, I believe a boat will be most marketable if all easily addressable issues have been taken care of. There is a (reasonable) perception in boating that if a boat is dirty it may not have been well taken care of. You don't want to give a potential buyer any reason to get turned off or not get excited about buying your boat no matter how good the deal. When I sold my Sundeck it was gleaming from stem to stern. I always kept it clean, but before the buyer showed up I poured a few extra hours into making it look as good as I would want a boat I was buying to look. Most of us here have such tremendous pride in our vessels and to a knowledgeable buyer, I think conveying that goes a long way to feeling good about their purchase.

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Previously:
2008 V358/Volvo 5.7 GXi Inboards

The dealer selling it did offer to have the boat cleaned at my expense. I am going to stop in and spend a few more hours cleaning it myself. It never looked bad before I took it there. I did clean it really good before takeing it there, but under the bright flourecent lights in the builing it show things I never saw outside or in my garage or I would have cleaned it better myself. Just think its odd that a person looking at an older boat is going to be so picky. My saleman made it sound like this guy wants a boat at that price, but in brand new condition. After all it is a used boat and considering it is 18 years old I think its in pretty damn good shape.

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1998 Baja Boss 252 7.4L MPI Bravo 1 (SOLD)
2007 FW H200SS 5.0GXI (Sold)
2004 Chevy Silverado 2500 Crew 6.0L (tow vehicle)
1991 FW 170 Freedom 4.3L (SOLD)

Sounds like 2 issues.

1) Unreasonable buyer with expectations that will never be met. There's nothing you can do about that.

2) Your boat could be cleaned up a bit better... And you should always present your best when selling. You'll only end up better in the long run.

Just spend some extra time scrubbing and get it as clean as humanly possible. There are definitely buyers out there for that price point!!!!

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2008 318 Vista -SOLD, but I am still around!
All Night Long, Seattle WA

Thanks for the advice guys. I am going to go down there on a Saturday and spend some more time cleaning it. I also need to clean up a few other things that seem to have gotten very dirty since it has been there. By the way if anyone knows of someone looking for a boat like this pass on the info please!

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1998 Baja Boss 252 7.4L MPI Bravo 1 (SOLD)
2007 FW H200SS 5.0GXI (Sold)
2004 Chevy Silverado 2500 Crew 6.0L (tow vehicle)
1991 FW 170 Freedom 4.3L (SOLD)

If it was clean when you dropped it off and it is indoors. How did it get so dirty? Or did you not clean it as well as you should have? If it was clean...I would ask Skipper Buds how and why it is so dirty.

You might have this in your brokerage contract. But when I brokered my cruiser I wrote into the contract, absolutely no shoes when showing the boat. Once it is clean I want it to stay that way so no matter how many people go through and view it, she always looks the same to each person.

It was clean and in good showing order when dropped off. When I stopped in the other day the jump seats were just laying on the floor, the covers were just thrown about, some of the stuff I was leaving with the boat, such as vests, paper work and things where all just laying about, plus even though it is inside it looks to be very dusty.

_________________
1998 Baja Boss 252 7.4L MPI Bravo 1 (SOLD)
2007 FW H200SS 5.0GXI (Sold)
2004 Chevy Silverado 2500 Crew 6.0L (tow vehicle)
1991 FW 170 Freedom 4.3L (SOLD)

Well...if it were me. I would be having major questions as to how my boat is being cared for. Why is all of that stuff out of place? Even if it was taken out or off to show a potential it should have been replaced as it was. Like I said...if the boat is not in the condition it was in when dropped off. They need to clean it and at no cost to you. If the boat is in their care and under their roof, why should you be responsible for cleaning it? They should be caring for it as if it was part of their inventory...sounds like that is not happening.

The first problem you have is dealing with Skipper Buds. I had an AWEFUL experience in dealing with them when I bought my first Four Winns. If I wasn't getting such a good deal on the boat, I would have told them to shove it up their you know whats. I would drive 500 miles out of my way as to not deal with Skipper Buds.

The second problem is refer back to problem number 1!!!! As a purchaser of a product, I had never been treated as poorly by anyone as I had by Skipper Buds.

Why don't you try selling your boat on your own? It's really simple. I have sold two different watercraft and made money on both of them by selling it myself. Maybe because I bought them right or maybe because I didn't have to pay someone else to sell it.

If it were me, I would sell it on my own. In fact, I would sell it for you for a mere 5% commission.

With regards to expectations of a used boat, I probably would have bailed on the deal too. When you are presenting something to me for purchase, especially with a boat, I form an opinion of the quality of care of the previous owner based of the presentation of the product to me. If a boat is dirty, I would therefor assume that this is how you treated your boat from day one and would move on to the next one. That may or may not be your fault which is why I would sell the boat on my own to maintain control of the quality of the presentation.

How would you feel if you went to purchase a car and the interior was dirty? Why was it dirty? What kind of service can I expect from the seller after the sale if they can't even wipe down the seats? Do they really want my business? (this is what I ran into with my Skipper Dud's experience). It becomes a trust thing on the part of the consumer/buyer. If you want some pointers on selling your boat on your own, I would be happy to assist you. Drop me a private message and I would be happy to help. Boat brokers by enlarge, are crooks. I have only found one that I would trust. His name is Adam Beck, Sales Manager, at North Shore Marine on Spring Lake in Grand Haven, Michigan. (which by the way is where this lovely beauty came from)

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"Where Da Go"
2002 248 Vista
Lafayette, IN
http://blueoceanlife.worldventures.biz

Woggy said what I wanted to but could not bring myself to do so. I can't stand Skipper Buds and have had a few bad experiences with them and will never give them the opportunity again. The problems you are having is just what I have heard from many others that have dealings with SB.

North Shore Marina is a very nice place. There is another one over here in Michigan that I trust a lot. Let me know if you are interested in his name.

Well I didn't want to bash them either, but seen as it has already been brought up. I havn't had the best expeience with them so far either. It all started when I was looking for a new boat and stopped in there. They kept trying to sell me a boat the I made clear was out of our price range. Then after I found the boat I wanted for a good price I tried to get a few parts from SB and it took them almost two months to get them and I had to harass them the whole time. Now I take them my old boat to sell and I feel like they are not doing all they could do to sell make it presentable to a buyer. Did I mention they lost all 4 keys for it that I gave them. I even asked if they would keep the battery charged up over winter so it didn't go bad before it was sold. Now the other day he tells me he thinks the battery is bad? Of course they never gave it any sort of charge. Trust me I have learned my lesson and will probably never go back there for anything. Kinda sucks as they are less than 1 mile from my house. I have been dealing with Ryan at Winnisquam Marine for some other parts I bought and will continue to do so.

_________________
1998 Baja Boss 252 7.4L MPI Bravo 1 (SOLD)
2007 FW H200SS 5.0GXI (Sold)
2004 Chevy Silverado 2500 Crew 6.0L (tow vehicle)
1991 FW 170 Freedom 4.3L (SOLD)

I wouldnt want to buy a boat that is nasty either. In most cases people show and shine something before they sell it. Just think what the buyer was thinking, if its this dirty now how well did he keep up this boat.

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It was not dirty as you might think. It was very clean so I thought. The vinyl is 18 years old with no tears or anything, but as I found out can be cleaner than it is. I would have never thought of using some of the things the dealer uses to clean vinyl. I was suprised how much cleaner it looks after using a Magic Eraser.

_________________
1998 Baja Boss 252 7.4L MPI Bravo 1 (SOLD)
2007 FW H200SS 5.0GXI (Sold)
2004 Chevy Silverado 2500 Crew 6.0L (tow vehicle)
1991 FW 170 Freedom 4.3L (SOLD)