is this a good deal and would you you buy without a test drive?

[opto55]

I am looking at a used boat to buy. 91 Lifetimer welded aluminum, 2000 Evinrude Ficht 115 hp with 180 hrs. Trailer is Highliner single axle with drum breaks. Lorance x71 Si Tec radio. All fishing equipment with downriggers. and more. His asking price is $29000. I live in northern Alberta and all the water is frozen and will be until May. Is this a good price and would you buy a boat like this without first trying it out? Thank you. Any ideas on how to work this deal?

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: is this a good deal and would you you buy without a test drive?

I have never bought a boat without one, test run.
If the owner will warranty the boat and put it in writing that if anything is wrong come spring, it might, and I use might loosely here, be alright.

 

[DJ]

Re: is this a good deal and would you you buy without a test drive?

There is not much that can be wrong with an aluminum boat, especially a welded one.

However, that engine is very suspect. There are thousands of Ficht's out there with no issues but there were some that were disasters. Get the engines history. A dealer can pull the history from the engine electronics.

 

[ziggy]

Re: is this a good deal and would you you buy without a test drive?

that's a lot a bread to be handing over w/o knowing much about it. other than it's a 17 year old boat with a 8 year old engine ontoit & lots of bells and whistles it sounds like...... maybe a survey would be in order..... still w/o a test run. how do you know it's what ya want? even if ya have money drippin out yer pockets, i don't think i would..... but at 29k, it's outa my league anyways.... hum, that's more than i paid for my house......

 

[rndn]

Re: is this a good deal and would you you buy without a test drive?

Even if the motor runs okay how do you know you will like the way the boat rides, launches, and gets back on the trailer? Always test drive in my opinion unless the price is so low it's a once in a lifetime deal. My 1996 in my signature had low hours and I paid $3,600 for it without a test drive, but $3,600 is a long way from $29k.

 

[tommays]

Re: is this a good deal and would you you buy without a test drive?

While 29K sounds really HIGH for the age of the stuff



Tommays

 

[dingbat]

Re: is this a good deal and would you you buy without a test drive?

Is this it?

http://nanaimo.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-boats-LIFETIMER-1800-RUNABOUT-W0QQAdIdZ28469368

Maybe just me but $29K for a 18' boat with a 7 year old motor is crazy.

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: is this a good deal and would you you buy without a test drive?

While 29K sounds really HIGH for the age of the stuff.
Tommays

Agreed. You could buy that rig new for that much money. If the boat and other gear are in excellent condition, you should be able to buy it all for no more than half what the owner is asking.

If you are familiair with, and have used a boat of that type, I would say that a test run may not be needed. What is needed is a thorough inspection of the boat and all associated gear. The motor also needs to be checked out by a competent engine dealer/mechanic of your choice.

PS: When I wrote the above, I thought I saw a length on the boat of 19 feet - guess I was wrong. How long is it? Unless it is well over 20 feet, I still think this price is way out of line.

PSS: I just visited their website - They have 22 foot boats (cabon models) listing at nearly 60,000 canadian. That pretty much tells the story on why this owner wants 29,000. The boats look like they ar every well made and perhaps that is the market for them there. I would think, however, that this price, even with a newer motor would be about what he paid for the boat, if not more. Whether the price is right or not is up to you but I would still insist on a complete inspection of the boat. Twenty nine thousand dollars is a lot of money to just give away on faith.

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: is this a good deal and would you you buy without a test drive?

Looks like 18' to me.

 

[oops!]

Re: is this a good deal and would you you buy without a test drive?

opto

welcone to i boats

are you from mac???

that is a lot of cash.....lot of cash.....for a used in that foot range....
dial in to e- bay and have a look....
also, in the states they use craigslist. its like the bargan finder in edmonton.
just search craigslist....
if that boat if from naniamo....its a saltwater boat.....wont hurt the boat ....
but if they didnt flush the motor....
check around.......
if your payin 29...you gotta go get it right?...drop a small deposit..and pay the rest after you test it..

and when yer drivin thru....stop in kelowna....ill take you to some ...boat yards....and introduce you to some o my buddies that have coat centers.

but that is a lotta cash for a used...8 year old motor.

cheers
oops

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: is this a good deal and would you you buy without a test drive?

i wouldn't pay 29K new

 

[Nandy]

Re: is this a good deal and would you you buy without a test drive?

I only have 2 things to say... #1, too expensive. #2 never buy a boat without testing.

 

[F_R]

Re: is this a good deal and would you you buy without a test drive?

I don't know beans about those motors, (too new for me), but with the ficht reputation I've read about I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole without an Evinrude dealer checking it out first. Just my 2 cents.

 

[pine island fred]

Re: is this a good deal and would you you buy without a test drive?

Cant give a FITCH away in this area. Buy the boat without the motor. FRED

 

[pine island fred]

Re: is this a good deal and would you you buy without a test drive?

Got a little bit ahead of myself and went back and looked at the pictures. Thought the canadian $ was up past the US $. Thats a real hunk of change to spend for a boat like that. Maby thats the wrong boat pictured. No offense, but forget it! And its a FITCH ! I must be missing something. FRED

 

[scoutabout]

Re: is this a good deal and would you you buy without a test drive?

Never ever ever never buy a boat without a sea trial. Even a new one. Unless of course it costs so little money you don't mind the worst case scenario if you hate it or it don't float.

I bought a plane ticket and flew a thousand miles then rented a car and drove two hours to test my boat. Now, the fact I did all that made me really, really, really want to like it, but still.

 

[opto55]

Re: is this a good deal and would you you buy without a test drive?

Thank you to all who replied. To dingbat , yes that is the boat. I will have to try the boat in open water before I make a decision. Any other comments are welcome. opto55

 

[magster65]

Re: is this a good deal and would you you buy without a test drive?

If you can get it for the right price... the only way you could safely purchase that without going there is to hire an independent surveyer to do your sea trial (and survey) for you. I agree about the aluminum hull... pretty well bulletproof there but all the other systems, goodies and engine need someone to have a look first.
Neat boats... I like 'em.