Buying a boat long distance

Hi All--- I had my C-Dory motors serviced at Wefings and was impressed with the efficienty and professionalism of the entire staff.Even though I did not buy my boat from them orginially. They actually stored my boat for free for several days. They also deliver to most mid-west and east coast locations. They would be my top dealer of choice for any future purchases. I would not hesitate to recommend Marc or his staff to anyone even the most picky of persons. And if you are lucky enough they might even take you to dinner. Rich
 
The question I have about buying/selling is how do you handle the transaction. You can't take personal checks. Bank/Certified checks are not secure. I've heard about escrow accounts. Any ideas??

Ed.
 
edwardf":2h9ogzoo said:
The question I have about buying/selling is how do you handle the transaction. You can't take personal checks. Bank/Certified checks are not secure. I've heard about escrow accounts. Any ideas??

Ed.
Click to expand...

With all the fraud and hokey-pokey going on, I'm not sure.

Looking at both sides of the transaction:

You could always transfer the money through PayPal, but they take 3% as a fee, and that's $1650 on a $55,000 boat, so the heck with that idea!

If you really trust your C-Brat envoy / representative, you could wire the money to him in a bank transfer, and let him pay with cash, and I'd trust some of my C-Brat friends here to do just that.

However, I'd never actually buy a boat without personally seeing it myself, even after having a qualified friend evaluate it, so I'd just fly out, hand you the cash, and finish the arrangements myself for the shipping, and return home.

What does it cost to put the money in an escrow account? It might just be a really safe way to have a qualified and bonded 3rd party hold the $$$ until the goods are delivered.

With the e-account, what protections are there for the buyer if the boat is not as described/advertised/first examined later when when received? Where does the seller stand, and under what circumstances does that person get their $$$, now that the boat has been transported? Or is the $$ simply paid to the seller FOB, ready for transport?

Yikes! I'm just gonna go get the sucker myself, cash in hand and shotgun in the trunk! :lol:

This is a really good question you've got here! :smileo

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
I have used the following technique for a number of boat purchases. I set up an account to recieve the money--or send the money with my local bank. I have put the deposit down (usally by wire transfer)--to the seller's account, or a personal/certified check--but these have more time to clear and be sure that they are OK with some time.

The day of purchase, you meet with the seller, and do the survey sea trial. When this is complete (if you need a written survey, it may take more time), I transfer the funds to the seller's account. The buyer and seller have lunch, and during this time the funds are transfered. (could be coffee or a beer) when the banks confirm that funds are transfered, the title is exchanged, signed off, and bill of sale notorized-and the boat is towed (driven) home. The single purpose account if necessary, will protect you from other fraud. I find that this wire tranfer works best for all--both as a buyer or seller. Of course cash always works--just don't bring pennies...
 
Joe is absolutely right -- many fish-hooks in some deals. Then again, trust and judgment often come into play.

We recently bought a Canadian boat based on emails alone -- no survey, no friend looking at the boat, etc. A risk perhaps, but all ended well. The boat was better than stated, and we were able to send funds via XE.com at a good rate of exchange. I'll admit to a few butterflies before the boat got here, but all-in-all a mutually satisfactory deal for buyer and seller. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.

Dusty
 
If financing, I know BoatUS will handle the money tranactions, and I seem to remember that Wefings will handle transactions also, have no idea what kind of fees they charge for the service.
 
We're interested in a boat from out of state but have no way to pick it up so we're going to have it shipped which may take a couple of weeks. We're going there to check it out in person and do a sea trial, and if all looks good, we'll pay the seller and bank and get a bill of sale (and hopefully a title). We'll get it insured right away. Other than trusting the shipper to pick it up and the seller to give it up to the shipper.... are we missing anything? I wish there were a way to trade money, title and boat all at the same time, but I can't think of how to do that. I know Boat US has an escrow service but no matter what, that just ensures the paperwork exchange happens... you still gotta get the boat shipped at a later time.

If a bank is involved, I assume I will get a clean title, so I'm not sure what Boat US involvement would really do for me.

Has anyone else here encountered this timing issue and how did you solve it? I thought about getting a broker involved to store the boat in the meantime (if I could find someone who would do that)... Or maybe just find a storage lot that could release it to the shipper...but then I think I'm making a mountain out of a molehill... Is there really an issue having the seller continue to store the boat when we have the title and paperwork??
 
as long as its insured you should be fine. any thing that can happen at his house can happen at yours. You just have to make that judgement call based on the seller when you meet him. Is he a brat? if its in my neck of the woods you can leave it on the street here until your shipper comes get it. Personally I would put it in a storage unit until the the shipper comes.
 
How about another idea?

Where is the boat?

Is there a retired C-Brat in that area that would deliver the boat to your home in Alameda for the shipping fee or something approximating it?

If you turn down down the boat, no problem. Fly home.

If you want it, pay for it, get all the paperwork done, notify your insurance company, turn it over to your C-Brat transporter, and fly home to wait for your "new" C-Dory to arrive.

Be sure your "transporter" and his vehicle is insured, and that you trust him/her.

Since this person is an experienced C-Dory owner, they also should be able to help you evaluate the boat out of the water and during the sea trial.

Why deal with strangers and storage issues when you have C-Brat friends in the world willing to help out?

(I might be missing something in the insurance arrangements, we'll have to hear from others that know more than I in that area.)

Good Luck!

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
If the seller is a C-Brat perhaps he'll keep the boat for you until you are able to arrange for the shipment. If not and/or you would rather move the boat to a different location until you "ship" it, perhaps there is a C-Brat living in the area that can provide storage for you.

(Mary, I sent you a PM, look at the header of this page at the messages.)
 
A transporter needs cargo insurance . Not for amateurs due to expense. I would ask to see a copy of policy if you are using U Ship or anybody for that matter. Many carry minimum which may not cover the boat .
We still do no obligation sea trials for those interested in discovering the right boat. My consignment [brokerage] customers usually don't have a problem with it if I think the buyer is serious.
Yes, we waste alot of time , but sometimes we get a sale .We always strive for good will.
Marc
 
Just a little word of caution to add to the many great posts already.

A "bill of sale" is not a transfer of title. In my opinion, you just do not every lay out cash for a boat without a clear title on official state forms. There have been many boats, aircraft, cars bought with bogus titles that have been printed up and modified on today's modern and very cheap color printers. Look carefully at the printed title to make sure all the right ORIGINAL signatures are there, and that lien holders have signed off and so on. There is indeed a sucker born every minute, so be careful all through the transaction. Fortunately, I'm only passing along tales of woe from friends and acquaintances. But these things can and do happen.
 
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