How do you proceed when buying far from you house?

Hi, so tomorow I'm going to check my new boat ( a SAN of 2000) in north of England (about 4 hours by train) I have already gave a deposit.
Firstly is it some important stuff I should check on the boat ? Do you always try the boat on water?

If the boat seems nice I will buy it but how do you do generaly? do you trust the seller by sending him the money on his account before you got the boat? do you do half before and the other half once you got the boat?
The seller looks really nice and honest so if everything seems good I might send him the money on his account and then once he got the money I'll pick up the boat. but we never know...

Don't give money up front. Take a check or the like. You should drive the boat if possible, and have a mechanic do a compression test. Check everything!

def. certified cheque from the bank (its basically cash , as funds are already withdrawn) after you have checked the boat and water tested it.
Get ownership for boat and trailer or at the very least bill of sale for each(with names adress signatures) and registration from the state. (sometimes owners dont have ownership papers...as the bank holds them until the loan is paid off).

(Message edited by absoluteboarder on April 21, 2009)

I have negotiated over the phone before even seeing the boat. I asked about the condition, knew my values and said if the boat is in the condition the seller claims, and the water test is good, I will buy it at that price.

Don't give any money until you see the boat and then perhaps only a small deposit until final payment is made and at that time I would have a written agreement so all parties know the terms -what to expect. It does not need to be complex.

Any large deposits or payment should be put into an escrow account until the paperwork is complete and boat picked up.

The seller should feel just as good as you about the process as it protects all parties. Plus, you don't want to go though the process only to have someone else come along with a couple more bucks before the deal is closed. An escrow deposit and contract should keep your deal enforceable and safe.

Cashier Check for payment

Just check for leaks (oil/water/etc etc) on engine, make sure it doesn't overheat or anything, no shakes/vibrations/etc etc

Look for little things too, if a lot of small things are busted or •••••• then they most liekly didn't take care of big things either.

Ok thanks for the advices. I sent an email to the seller but it wont be possible to try the boat because, the guy is not member in a club in 2009.
Anyway I'll check the boat, It only has 290 hours so it might be in good shape. I'll let you know if I'm taking it or not..

...not a member in a club?


..the guy cant drive it to a piece of water where you dont need to be a member?........if I am reading this right that is not a valid excuse....now I would become concerned!

Have him make arrangements with a local dealer
to do a water test or put a $5000 deposit in an escrow account until the condition of the boat can be verified. If it were me selling I wound find a way to water test and get the full payment. Good Luck make sure you post some pics.

So I went to see the boat. And it looks really really nice and clean. Super well maintened. Totaly new tires, brakes, and triangle on the trailer.
The boat is on LPG which is perfect for europe (much more cheaper than fuel) but the only problem is that to fill in the boat i can't only take the gas tank, I have to go to the fuel station with the boat (most of the boat in uk are like that because they have a lpg station at their club). There's a gas capacity of 220 liters so I might be able to ride 5-6 hours.

My question is, could I pull my boat for only 2 miles to the gas station with my every day car which is : (you gonna laugh!) ??? it 's a 1.8 with 110 horses.

haha sick wheels man. When we had our 03 sante we tried taking it down the street once with a 4cyl jeep wrangler and it was rough! You may get away with it, but that mini van is going to draggin @$$. Hope it all works out for you. Be sure to check out planetnautique.com , its very helpfull for nautique owners at times.

Also please post a pic up when you have the boat hooked up to the van

Have the guy selling it take it to the local dealer and have it checked out-- Have them do a "trade check" on it that includes the compression check on the engine-- if you are serious about buying the boat it will be well worth the money to have it looked at by a local dealer! Good luck,,,

Jeff Brandon
Surfside Marine Service
150 S. Dobson Rd.
Mesa, Az 85202
480-969-5006}