Questions about repossessed boats

sb in gp

sb in gp

Active Member
Oct 10, 2006
858
Grosse Pointe, MI
Boat Info
2016 Tiara 50 Coupe
Engines
Volvo D11 IPS
I'm looking to upgrade to a newer 300 or 320. I live in Southeast Michigan and have a repo dealer in the area.

The dealer has 2 boats in inventory that fit my needs, but I have a couple of questions. Both are 2005 model. 1 has Bravo III and 200 hours and 1 has V-Drives and 80 hours. Both were well cared for.

1. The boats were repo'd in NJ and shipped to MI. This means salt water. I have no experience with a salt water boat. I've done a little research and see that it does cause some problems over time, and fresh water is preferred. I'm thinking that since these boats are newer, they should be OK (a full survey will of course be ordered). Thoughts?

2. Is there any mechanical difference on a boat that is used in a Salt water environment vs. fresh water?

3. Why in the heck would a bank have a repo company in MI go all the way to NJ to pick up boats? This is baffling to me, but I can't think of a reason that would be bad for the buyer. Any thoughts?

Thanks for any help.
 
Well. . .here are a few reasons:

1) Repo boats are more plentiful in NJ.

2) Lower purchase price for the dealer does not necessarily result in a lower purchase price for the buyer.The dealer may be thinking to sell a boat at 60% of "new retail". . . and an unsavvy buyer may think that is a good deal. In this cliamate. . .may not be impossible to get that deal on a new 2008 from a dealer.

It is just a question of what you negotiate.
 
I can't help with the first 2 questions...as I have always boated in freshwater. We recently had a boat repossessed at our marina (in Missouri) and it was picked up and taken to Virginia....Commonwealth Boats...I believe was the company name. I just figured the bank had a contract with that repo company. Good luck with the hunt. I sent you a PM.
 
I looked at a few repo boats and every single one of them was a mess. People who really care about their boat and take care of them usually don't get them repossessed. The ones I looked at looked as if they had been found abandoned on the road. They were filthy, unmaintained and usually had things missing. Be very careful of them.
 
My every weekend raft-up buddy has bought several repo boats. He only buys Sea Ray, Scarab or Fountain and has had pretty good luck. They do need lots of small stuff but that seems to never end on any boat. He is Mr. fix-it so it seems never to really matter. But on the other hand, it is buy as is no warranty but usually he steals them. I do remember one salt water boat he bought several years back out of NJ, he spent a fortune on a blistered hull and all new exhaust.
 
I had a friend who bought repo'd boats more than once. His favorite story about a deal involved a duck's nest in the cabin (complete with duck chicks).

Of course, any boat he bought required tens of thousands to recondition, but he figured that as part of his "deal".
 
My boat was a repo in great condition. In this economy, you cant "put a face" on repo anymore. There are some boat owners who dont take care of their boats, but they make thier payments and will pay to have it spruced up when they sell or trade it in. Conversely there are some conciensious people who've been caught up in this Bush/Dem Congress economy. Get a survey, bargain hard, seal the deal and ENJOY!! Just my .02
 
Posted earlier about this repo thing.
I bought my 350EB 2 years ago this coming August.
Including the cost of an in-water survey and then an out of water survey I paid approx $30,000.00 less than appraised, bank and surveyor estimate of boats worth.
I spent approx 50 hours bringing hull and bilge to pristine condition (for a 1992 boat),
cleaning interior (minor) and adding some new electronics, ( Chartplotter/GPS, Auto Trim Tabs, refrigerator and parts for ice maker).
Boat runs and shows as new.

This is the time and market for a buyer with money.
I will post pictures of what I saw on Yacht Trader dot com when I found Dancing and they were so bad, no one even bid on the boat, but I drove 5+ hours to see boat.
Too bad lighting was so bad, because boat was beautiful.
Is better now and still looking good.

Look, look, look and test.
As Frank W. says due diligence and you can find a deal out there.

Had I had the funds this spring I could have picked up a 1995 410 DA for less than 50K with 800 hours on engines. Boat needed some canvas and elbow grease.
Friend bought it, cleaned it and has run it for 3 months and has turned down 76K for it.

Keep looking!!
My $0.02 worth
Dan
 
Bought my boat 3 seasons ago as a repo from Commonwealth Boat Brokers in Richmond Virginia. The boat was cherry with low hours. Stole it for at least 10k less than an "average" like model with much higher hours. I had made contact with Rick at Commonwealth a few months prior to my boat becoming available, to let him know what I was looking for. Had to act fast and made 3 trips, including 1 with my mechanic, in 7 days. Deal went off without a hitch. Broker does all repos for Bank of America and went to Michigan to get my boat, so distance apparently is unimportant. After visiting their storage lot, I can tell you there are lots of fairly new models that were neglected and abused, but many that were at least in OK shape to the naked eye, some well above average.
Have had a few friends use this broker with good results also. Being in the right place at the right time, prepared to survey, having financing lined up, will benefit you. It seems that the bank that holds the note is mostly looking to get back as close to whats owed on the boat than make a profit. So each situation could be different.
I would certainly be willing to try this again when it's time to move up, but still have a thorough survey done before finalizing any deal.
 
Thanks to everyone that replied to this thread. Sold the 260 to the first person that saw it and delivered it on Friday (felt sad and excited at the same time, weird, wife and kids almost wept).

I put in a bid on a repo boat a week ago. Supposed to know something in a few weeks. I put in a very low bid (25K below internet market value) thinking I have time on my side. We'll see.

Thanks again, this board is the best thing going for a boat owner!
 
Good luck! Let us know how it works out.

And Go Lions - the only team that is undefeated in pre season! ( I am a former Michigander and still root for them)
 
We got our boat through a bank repo. Lots of little things to fix but had lots of budget room due to the low price. Afterwards we felt we got real lucky since there were not any big problems.
 
Here's an update on my attempt at buying a repo boat.

Put in a very low offer ($30-50K below market price) about a month ago. Got a call from the broker 2 days ago and he said the bank wanted to counter offer. I thought this might be coming as a friend had seen this happen before on a repo. Their offer was $27K more than I had offered. I laughed and told them no, that my offer was as high as I'd go. They called me this morning and accepted my original offer. Survey / engine inspection tomorrow, might have a new boat in a week. Wow it is a buyer's market!
 
Bottom Line said:
I can't help with the first 2 questions...as I have always boated in freshwater. We recently had a boat repossessed at our marina (in Missouri) and it was picked up and taken to Virginia....Commonwealth Boats...I believe was the company name. I just figured the bank had a contract with that repo company. Good luck with the hunt. I sent you a PM.
Click to expand...


Yup, Commonwealth and they are about 10 miles from my office.
 
Commonwealth boats - that's where we found 'dolce vita' waiting for a caring, attentive new owner. Think of boat repossession firms like dog pounds or the SPCA when looking for a new dog. There's a bit of luck involved in finding the boat you are looking for, but it does happen.
No problems with the transaction at all. I would buy another boat from them.

Pier Pressure, good luck with the survey and let us know how it turns out!
 
sb in gp said:
Here's an update on my attempt at buying a repo boat.

Put in a very low offer ($30-50K below market price) about a month ago. Got a call from the broker 2 days ago and he said the bank wanted to counter offer. I thought this might be coming as a friend had seen this happen before on a repo. Their offer was $27K more than I had offered. I laughed and told them no, that my offer was as high as I'd go. They called me this morning and accepted my original offer. Survey / engine inspection tomorrow, might have a new boat in a week. Wow it is a buyer's market!
Click to expand...

Friends of ours recently purchased a diesel 1997 40DA from a repo lot. Like you state above, it comes down to what the bank wants out of it. They negotiated for quite a while and he was always ready to walk away from it. He got a good price, though in this market I am not sure what a good price means anymore.

A little OT but we looked at a boat a few months ago, had been for sale for 2+ years, priced at $199K. It's brokered but we looked at it through the owner. We met him at the docks, chatted for a while, one of those "which boat is yours" conversations, and he invited us to look at his boat. As he put it "when she sells she sells".

I was searching YachtWorld today and saw the price was dropped to $149,000. It's a fantastic boat, just not our style. A 25% price drop.

So is it a great deal at $149K? I really do not know in this market.

More OT, there is a boat in our area named Pier Pressure too...owner builds docks for a living.
 
Scott, Hope all turns out well for you w/the survey. Who you using? Congrats on the quick sale of your boat. Say hi to Jeff (if it's Harrison Marine) your getting your new one from-he's a buddy of mine. Sounds exciting-it's all good!
 
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