am I being unreasonable?

So I'm trying to sell one of my boats, been getting quite a few calls and emails about it. I had a kid call me and he was saying he is "really REALLY interested" in buying my boat. We live about 5 hours away from each other so he asked if I could meet him closer because his Dad who will actually be buying the boat can't travel that far. So I agreed to meet him about roughly half way, maybe just a tad closer to my place.

I call him to make sure he is serious because that turns into a 7 hour day for me to drive down, let him test drive, drive back home. He then says his Dad can't travel that far so he wants me to travel further, about another hour. I told him I can't do it, so he then says he and a buddy could meet at our original location so they can take it for a set. Then I'd have to drive down again so that the Dad could check it out on another day. I just told him no way.

I know I'm trying to sell a boat here, but wouldn't you think if you're gonna travel that far you would expect to at least be meeting someone with cash and hopes to buy right then and there. I know it still depends on the test drive, but I feel like I'm taking 7 hours out of my day to give a couple kids a ride on my boat and "maybe" their dad will call me later to have me meet him again to buy?

am I being unreasonable?

You are not being unreasonable. I have sold enough boats to know people flake all the time. If he is truely interested he will put some "skin" in the game and show up or be willing to put down a healthy deposit. You will refund his deposit less gas money if he decides not to buy it.

no.


let's say the deal actually happens....



and then the impeller blows a week later...not the kind of guy you wanna deal with IMO.

NEXT!.

You're fine. You weren't talking to the 'buyer' in any event. I would have asked to speak to his Dad to determine's the Dad's level of interest (or not).

NO!

I think you are being played. My .02

If he's serious and the boat is priced right he will come to you.

I drove to Orlando, FL from NC twice (11 hours) to buy my malibu. The first time was to test drive and inspect it and put a healthy deposit down and the second was to pick it up and bring it home. The price was right and if it's something I want I don't mind going to get it.

I know the market is tuff as a seller but I believe he is yanking your chain.

I can't tell you how many 'test drives' I've been asked to give over the years. No way would I spend 7 hours on a flier without getting paid for it. I don't know how badly you want to sell though so to each his own.

as everybody has already stated. if someone REALLY wants it, they'll go out of their way to get to you. sounds like someone trying to see how easy of a push over you are so they can scam ya.

No way. Way too many flakes out there. The only way I would consider it is with a non-refundable deposit that covered my time & gas.

There are so many flakes out there it's not even funny. If it's not even his money he's spending I'd blow him off. Until the "Dad" calls you to set something up he's waisting your time.

IMO he and his buddy just wanted a set, he has no intention of buying the boat. Why can't dad drive? If dad can't then who's driving the boat?

If Dad doesn't want to travel more than 2 hours to see the boat, chances are Dad is much less interested in the boat than the kid you're speaking to.
If I were you I'd charge him in your gas getting there, gas in the boat, and cost of your time, then tell him if he actually comes through and purchases it, what was given to you will be knocked off the final price of the boat. Then see how serious he is after that.

That is exactly what I was thinking Nick.

Every boat I've ever looked at I've traveled to the location of the boat or the nearest lake to test drive it and I've never expected the seller to bring it to me to test it out or to go way out of their way to let me check it out

This deal is BS. If they were interested they would make an effort to see it. They just want a free pull.

Lets see a tank of gas and a day's work.... probably about a $500 non-refundable deposit. Sounds good to me.

My guess is the kid will see this thread & pipe up any time telling us what a bunch of old farts we are.

can you drive it to houston and let me looka at it? im not in the market but i will look at it if you bring it down

To answer your ?, No. You're being very reasonable, in what would be described as reasonable expectations of a seller, however the buyer is definitely not being reasonable and does not show any signs of buying a boat. Think the deal is dead now...

Yeah it was worth if for me to drive the 2-2.5 hrs because I was gonna meet up with my cuz and ride before I showed the boat. But that extra hour drive and the person with the $$ not being able to be there really killed the deal.

I can tell I'm gettin antsy though. I want it sold, but I've only had it listed a week.

Tell him you have some other people interested who are coming to see the boat locally. Also tell him perhaps another time when you can meet closer to your location as towing out and back is alot of bucks in fuel.

Gamesmanship never hurts.

When I bought my boat the guy basically said another guy had flaked on him and he simply wanted it to be first come first serve. i drove 2.5 hours in the worst rainstorm ever.

You aren't a boat dealer and I don't know any dealer who would come that far to show you a boat anyway.

I once drove 3 hours to meet a guy from Seattle. He drove my boat around for hours with his wife and kids and a friend and myself and my daughter. Finally as we were all sitting there eating a lunch his wife packed after everyone had wakeboarded and surfed and drove Im not kidding) I spoke up and said soooo lets get this deal done I have to get back to Medford. He says well can you give me a bit to think about it? I was like what are u talking about? Think about what? He said he needed to speak with his friend who was an engineer. I said fine I will give you 30 minutes. 30 minutes later he low balls me 10 grand lower then our orignal deal over the phone. I got angry and told him he wasted my whole Saturday and started to get the boat ready to go back to Medford. He says wait wait lets negotiate and I said negoociating is over. Anyway long story short he pulled out a cashiers check for 1500 less then we agreed. We had agreed on 35000 and he gave me 33500. I thought to myself what a chump, I took the check and left. I guess I dont blame the guy for trying to get the best deal he can but what a headache

Flight that sucks! I would be so livid. Glad it pretty much worked out though. I'm dealing with another dude that lives aways away, and he says he has cash, but he won't tell me how much. I understand keeping your cards close, but again i don't want to drive 2.5 hours and have someone lowball me.

NO on many levels. I would say run from this kid. The last three boats I have sold one come to my location and wrote a check for 1/2 and then we agreed on the time to meet at the local ramp to sea trial and pay the balance. Second the buyer sent a buddy to look it over and hear it run, then sent the funds to my bank via his. we then met half way between Dallas and Columbus. Third boat met buyer at local lake after his 8 hour drive to sea trial the boat, when to the local bank and closed the deal.

The big deal killer in this one for me would be the fact that the guy with the money wouldn't be coming. And, why exactly is the guy brining a buddy to take a set? I mean, it's fine to bring a friend along, but I don't see why you should be expected to take additional parties for a set behind the boat. Which boat are you selling?

Make the friggin kids drive up to you their kids for crying out loud. If he's real he'll do it, also speak with the dad too. If they won't do either you're obviously being played.

I agree with popular opinion on this one. One thing to add, you could tell him you would do this if he was willing to pay for time and gas up front, say $250. If he buys boat, the $250 is knocked off the price. If he doesn't buy the boat you keep the $250.

I wouldn't kill a whole day off, plus gas, wear and tear, and the risk of an accident for anything less than about $500, and I'd ask for $1000. Just the gas is probably going to be $100.

Not that it matters, but I sold my boat a few weeks ago to a "kid" who's dad was the one paying. Never once did I have a conversation with the dad until the day the deal went through and I met them half way (3 hour drive) to deliver the boat and the dad handed me the checks.

I wouldn't have driven that far for a water test, but just because its a kid paying with dads money doesn't mean its not legit.

I agree with popular opinion. With the internet at our disposal for sending detailed pics the buyer should be able to have good idea of the condition of your boat before they even get in their car.I've sold a boat to another state without ever even meeting the people. If they want you do do all the work and the real money guy can't come just say NEXT!!!

I sold a boat about two years ago were the guy was 4 hours away. He was on call that weekend and asked if I would bring it over. He said he could meet me a little closer then his house so it saved me an hour. He had seen detailed pictures of the boat. It was only 2 years old and was in perfect shape. I had nothing going so I said sure I could do that. The morning we go to leave it snows on the pass and I called him and said it snowed the boat has just been detailed do you want to do this another day. I really did not want to drag the boat over the hill but he said if it got dirty it would not bug him. So Taped all the finders and bow off put the cover on and went for it. Made it over the pass and the boat was covered in Red cinders. I felt bad because I would never have taken the boat over that day. The guy shows up and first thing out of his mouth is wow that is really dirty I am not going to pay you full price. I just about hit the guy. After a few choice words with the guy his wife did jump in and remind him that you wanted him to bring it over in the snow. He had seen tons of pictures and had put a deposit on the boat and he still tried to knock the price down. Get a good deposit and hope for the best there are a lot of jack a$$'s that just like to waste your time and money but there are still some good people that will hold true to there word. If they have bought or sold a boat before they tend to be good but if it is there first boat they tend to be a pain.

Your boat will sell soon, suns coming out and people are looking for good deals on used boats, wait it out and dont waste your time on unwilling people..

most of you guys are nicer than me. I wouldn't pull the boat down the block much less several hours away for some "kid" to kick the tires on. If Dad's buying, then he should be the one calling, demoing, asking questions and talking price. I'm sure there are situations where the kid has done all of the haggling, but it hasn't been with me and probably won't ever be.

I sold a boat to a kid from Idaho. He drove all night and most of the day to get here(KS). We met in a bank of america so he could sign the loan papers, give me a check and be on his way. The only problem was his wife was on the loan and she didn't come. After thinking about it for a bit, I told him to write me a personal check, took a copy of his DL and sent him on his way back with the boat. His wife went in the next morning, signed and I got the check. Made me nervous, but sometimes you have to have a little faith in people.

Stanfield, the difference for you was you were delivering the boat not just taking homeboy and his buddy out for a day on the water all while hoping everything turned out.

While I haven't bought a boat sight unseen I bought my corvette from a private party in Texas sight unseen, just had pics and email correspondance. Gave him a thousand dollar deposit to hold the car for 1 week tell I could fly out from california with cash in hand. We agreed that if everything was as he described I would buy it for the pre-negotiated price or I'd loose the deposit if everything was as he said and I walked he kept the grand. There was a little nervousness but when he arrived at the airport and everything was as he said I gave him the cash and drove her home.
If there serious they should have an idea of what to expect.
Why do they need to take a set behind the boat? Thats the part I don't get. Have a mechanic check it(there dime) and just buy the damn thing or not. I have no idea why people make stuff so diffucult.
On a side note why do buyers complain years later. I sold my old corvette to a guy off craigslist over a year ago and he called me last week to say the radio didn't work anymore? I mean do they expect me to warrantty a 10 year old used car? I told him I was glad to hear that was the only problem he's had and a stereo shop I'm sure could fix it and left it at that.

SS, I'm selling an 04 Moomba Mobius LSV

Robert, I agree with a mechanic check, but I'd if I'm buying a boat I'd like to see the wake for sure. It was pretty funny because this kid was like my Dad's buying it, but I need to make sure its what "I" need. I actually believe he was potentially a serious buyer, I mean his Dad could've met if I were to drive it further down, but I just refused to drive any further and I definitely was driving any distance to show someone without any money.

Just like most of you, I bought my boat sight unseen with only pics and description and drove 5 hours to pick it up. And I actually have a guy from Ohio that really does want my boat and he's ready put a deposit, book a flight, etc. But his banks are telling him he needs the boat present and registered in Ohio. I'm certain he's not trying to scam. He knows he can't fly out here without money, but his banks aren't working with him. And that's a guy willing to fly across the country for my boat. I think its a pretty nice boat, but that's quite a trek to buy a boat. With as much work as he's put into making it happen I wish it could happen for the guy. If there's anybody here that's got a 25k-30k boat for sale near Ohio, I probably have a buyer for you.