Did we do the right thing?

[Ric&Belle]

We have been going through the process of buying a 1989 Carver 34 Santego. We have been looking for awhile and this boat ticked a lot of boxes for us. We spoke to the broker and looked through the boat and made an offer, and negotiated a price with the seller.
We then had a mechanic look over the engines, and he was happy with them but found a small leak coming from where the drive and the hull meet. He had worked om the boat once before (about 12 months previously) and had noticed it then and told the owner, who had his regular mechanic look but not find anything. Our mechanic was quite good and has a good reputation so we trusted him.
The owner was happy to address the issue and while the boat was out of the water we organised to have the survey done. The survey went well, finding the boat to be solid and systems working, although he did reccomend that it was overdue for an anti-foul and that it shouldnt go back in the water without new anodes as they were nearly gone. He also suggested that the build up of the previous anti-foul should be scraped off as it was quite thick. Again the owner was agreeable to all this. We added another $10 000 to our deposit so he knew we were serious about buying the boat and agreed to another $2000 to the purchase price
All of this took time to organise and we kept in touch with the broker.
Our finance company called and reminded us that our finance contract would run out if not finallised at a certain date and when we mentioned this to the broker to find out when the boat was back in the water for a sea trial, He said he would call as soon as he knew. The broker we had been dealing with left because of a family issue and another from the company stepped in
Our next call from the broker was to say that the buyer had decided not to sell for the agreed price but wanted more money.
We said we didnt think this was fair and would stick with our agreed price. The broker appeared to agree with us advising him it was an old boat and he was getting a good price, but he wouldnt budge. The brokers even offered to lessen their fees to get the deal across the line but the owner wouldnt budge saying he had spent a great deal on the boat.
We felt that all that had been done was boat maintenance and didnt add to the value of the boat, and if it had been done when it should have been done wouldnt have been one large amount.

Did we do the right thing walking away?
We felt bad for the brokers who had done a fair bit for us, getting nothing out of it.
We will get our deposit back but are out the cost of the survey and mechanical inspection. We liked the boat but the actions of the owner left a bad taste in our mouths.

Sorry for the long winded post.

[Phrancus]

Well done, you did not let the emotions take over.

A change in an agreed price is not impossible if things changed. But this is highly sensitive and requires personal contact. In my opinion, not through a broker and especially not if you are that far in the process of buying.

From a negative point of view, the new broker may have mentioned a price hike to the seller (or not even that) and misjudged the intentions to buy.

May very well be not the case. Perhaps the cost were way higher than the seller expected or something like that but even then; if at any point it feels awkward, walk away. Whatever goes wrong in the future, you will always have this thought in the back of your mind that you should not have gone through with it or joy-spoiling thoughts like that.

If the deal is done in a pleasant way, whatever goes wrong will be simply something that was not foreseeable by survey as you did what could be done. Deal with the issue and move on enjoying the boat.


Lot's of boats out there, there's always a next.

[buster53]

Sometimes it is best to walk away and yes, you are out the money you have spent. 5-6 years ago, my brother walked away when the seller wouldn’t take care of issues found during survey. Ended up finding an even better boat in better condition.

[Midnightsun]

Everything happens for a reason, you will be much better off IMHO.

[km1125]

Yep, I think you did the right thing. Surprised this late in the season that the owner would balk, as he'll now also have to pay for storage and the boat will be a year older next year and probably not garner as high of a price. Seems like prices are coming back to 'reality' after the last couple years of ridiculous pricing.

Keep an eye out next spring. You might be able to pick up that same boat for thousands less and you already have some knowledge of it!!

[Viper]

Ya you did the right thing. I don't know what the market's like down under right now but move on to the next one and you never know, the seller might come back to you if he doesn't get any action soon. Am I correct in saying your boating season is approaching or is it almost over like ours?

Did they find out exactly where the transom assembly leak was coming from and did it get remedied? Which engines and drives are they?

[bud37]

"Did we do the right thing".....welcome to the forum.

So that is actually two questions as I see it, if you are asking if it was right to walk away from a deal you were not happy with, of course. What you did wrong IMO was you liked the boat but opened up the contract by demanding repairs, at that point the seller is put off as I would be as well. My opinion is that boats are priced and sold based on the market and are sold as is where is unless the contract has stipulated anything different.

I would have considered the repairs on me and made the final offer based on the repairs to be made by myself after the deal closes....of course this would all hinge on whether the original pricing was fair for the condition.

Why do folk think they are buying a boat in perfect condition if it is priced accordingly. I have run into the same thing and consider the sellers point of view here, he repairs all these things the buyers people have come up with and then the deal falls thru, he has lost the use of the boat and incurred many hours of his time lost and at this point may have to go to court to control the deposit to cover costs.

Unfortunately you are always open to the costs of your surveyor and mechanic, which in fact may happen a few times as you go thru the boat buying maze. Watch out for the brokers intentions going forward would be my advice and good luck with your search, as has been said there are many boats out there, prices are moderating back to reasonable levels in most cases.

[km1125]

Source of the post .... I don't know what the market's like down under right now but move on to the next one and you never know, the seller might come back to you if he doesn't get any action soon. Am I correct in saying your boating season is approaching or is it almost over like ours? ....

Oops! I didn't notice the flag and assumed there were up here somewhere!!

Curious to know what the market is like down there and if it experienced the same surge in prices due to "covid"??

[Phrancus]

Not sure if I agree with Bud37 here. As far as I understand, the work to be done found during the survey was all done and paid for by both parties. Price and product still in a balance and agreed, thus a closed contract pending sea-trials.

Between that moment and the sea-trial, the asking price suddenly went up. Apparently with added value due to the work agreed upon as an excuse. Even though that work was already paid for by the higher agreed price.

The timing with a different broker may or may not have something to do with that but we'll never know and it is not all that relevant, it would merely by an excuse for the seller who may have been put dollarsigns in the eyes by a broker who overplayed his hand by thinking the buyer was going to accept as they had shown their eagerness.

Whatever the facts, all posts help a future buyer who has to deal with brokers, surveyers and the financials in the process of buying a boat

[ColRon]

Ric&Belle, I think the consensus is that you did the right thing by walking away and I agree with that. The current owner may have found that the cost of the agreed repairs were Going to cost more than the negotiated increase in price. Personally I would rather have the responsibility of having the repairs made myself and would have renegotiated a lower price to cover the cost of needed repairs if the completed survey to included sea trial were satisfactory. By taking the responsibility of having the required repairs completed, I can have them
Completed to my satisfaction and can use the repair facility of my choice after the purchase has been completed. This also reduces the possibility of the seller having repairs completed that are only temporary enough to just get through the sale only to find yourself back in the same position shortly thereafter. Best of luck in your continued search. That was not the only boat out there and if you set on a Santego, I’m sure it’s not the only one either, the next one many be even in better condition.