Mariner / Santego?

[mjk1040]

Here in the states one mentioned years ago to look farther north when buying a boat as to the shorter boating season and possible lower hours boats available, not to mention the exchange rate on the dollar. I think a 1995 380? Santego just sold here for $45K. And an older 340 sold for about the same thing. Good luck with ur decision and hope all works out 4 u!

[Craig_B]

Well looks like this was all for nothing.
The broker just screwed me over for the sale of the Mariner. Never got back to us after 2 weeks and now has sold the boat to someone else.
The Santego is apparently buried in the back of the marina and inaccessible due to snow so we wont be able to see it until April

I am So F'n pissed!!

[tomschauer]

I wouldn't be to worried, there are a lot of boats out there for sale. But if the broker didn't get back to you, I would not buy from him or her.

[bud37]

I agree with Tom, lots of boats out there and later on will most definitely be a better time to look, you can get a much better idea what is what when you are not freezing....
Things happen for a reason sometimes, this may work out much better, did you have a deposit ?

[Craig_B]

Definitely Not using that turd as a broker ever.
No deposit was made. Never got the chance to put one down.

I will keep looking and still a chance with the Santego just not till spring hits.

Thanks again to all who helped out.

[Craig_B]

darrenlife
I have tried to respond to your private message but it seems to be stuck in my out box.

To answer your question. No. It was Georian Harbour Yacht Sales in Penetang.
The boat we are still hoping to purchase is in Midland. Hopefully it is not the same broker you had difficulty with.

I am now considering trying to avoid brokers altogether and just look for private sellers.

[Cooler]

Craig - that is actually a good strategy. Brokers are in it for one thing only. There are a few honest brokers, but it's a lot easier finding an honest owner. Gives you a chance to get to know the previous owner, which tell you how they really used the boat. If you find one in a marina near you, chances are that fee is paid for the season and you could negotiate that as am incentive to sell. The seller I bought from was a career engineer, and just by the way he talked I could tell he fixed things over the years the correct way. Most owners have an emotional connection to their boat, so they like to know it is going to be taken care of also. You can always access this forum for info on other brands also! Most guys here have knowledge across a number of brands. Good Luck. er

[Cooler]

Share with us what you are looking for in a boat. How are you going to use it? Is speed more of a concern than comfort? Do you want to trailer or have in a slip? What are the things that make you anxious about boating? Desire twin engines or single. Prefer inboard or I/O's. Any thing you think is important. Budget you're trying to stick with? Crew size? Looking forward to helping. er

[bud37]

Source of the post I am now considering trying to avoid brokers altogether and just look for private sellers.

I can suggest going to marinas and walking the docks, asking people....can be quite time consuming but again you might find something. The problem is you are caught between a rock and a hard place a bit, Imo for the most part the good boats are listed with brokerages.

Now if your target is around 30k and less then kijiji and day trips will pay off, but now is really a tough time to hunt .......even if you find something, then put deposit and wait for survey and sea trial you will have stopped looking and maybe miss the gem. It seems to me to be much easier at the time of the year when the boats are floating and decisions can be made more quickly, just going aboard a floating boat gives a much better sense if it is something that fits the goal or not.

One thing, all the boats look huge in the yard, then get a heck of a lot smaller somehow in the water... .....just sayin.

[Viper]

It's a bit of a quandary actually; while I'm sure there are benefits in dealing directly with the owner, I've always learned with large purchases though that it's best you not deal directly with a seller as it's more difficult to take the emotional factor out of the deal when you do. That's why sometimes it's best to have a third party that has no emotional investment in the property being sold do the negotiations for you. The trick of course is finding a representative that's good at what he does and can act as a mediator between the buyer and seller. References from other boaters are good to have.

As far as purchasing a boat now, let's face it, while there are deals to be had, Spring is traditionally a seller's market as they know buyers are eager to close a deal, and are willing to make more concessions at that time rather than the Fall so they don't miss any of the fast approaching season.

One should also be careful with walking the docks and talking to other boaters about a boat for sale there IMO. While they can be a good source of information, it's likely they won't be totally impartial, one must take what they say with a grain of salt. Chances are they are friends with the owner and their opinions may not be completely on the up and up, and may skew the real picture.

Don't fuss over the one that got away, there's plenty out there and if it's not yours now then it wasn't meant to be. You'll soon find the one meant for you and be thankful that the other one fell through.

Good luck and we hope you find what you're looking for.