Survey deductions

V

Vetman001

Member
Mar 27, 2021
31
Boat Info
2005 sea ray 42 sedan bridge
Engines
Cummins 450
Hey guys went to survey on a 2005 Sea Ray 42 sedan bridge with twin Cummins. Surveyor noted the port side engine needs new motor mounts and recommended me asking the seller for a credit. Has anyone had motor mounts done if so how much should I ask the seller for?
 
I would request the seller to fix and/or at least have a reputable service provider quote the job.

Unfortunately my experience with credits has been a real crap show. Had a boat surveyed with several issues, one of which was dinged up props. Seller's broker was like $75 ea. Prop shop I spoke with close to home was closer to $700 ea. Deal fell apart (there where other issues too).
 
I often used a surveyor's findings to negotiate for a lower price IF the items he found were significant in Safety or Function. Then I'd find out what the cost of any necessary repairs would be and that's the number I'd use to try for a lower purchase price.

Motor mounts are obviously a significant function item and should be negotiable. Obviously the seller is going to have to fix that problem before he can sell he boat so now is the perfect time.

If you want to have your boat repair shop do the work, make it a stipulation that he lower the price by the amount of the repair and you get to choose the place that does the work.
 
I used the survey to negotiate a final price. I insisted any operational and safety issues be corrected as a condition of the sale. (Alternator replacement and inop horn replacement were two of the items.)
Light bulbs, sliding door latch and a couple of drawer knobs I let slide.

First cruise was 170 miles from Sturgeon Bay WI to Winthrop Harbor, IL.
 
Agree with all the previous advice. As to the potential cost, I had a motor mount changed out last fall. The price was $685 including parts and post changeout alignment. This was at a fairly pricy shop but was also on a very accessible inboard mount; I imagine the outboard mounts might have been more.
 
Surveyor came up with motor mount carbon dioxide detectors all need to be replaced all fire extinguishers are out of date and cutlass bearings are dry rotten
 
Vetman001 said:
Surveyor came up with motor mount carbon dioxide detectors all need to be replaced all fire extinguishers are out of date and cutlass bearings are dry rotten
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I'd hope to get the motor mount and cutlass bearings done by owner. Co detectors are less than $200 and 2 wires. Fire extinguishers (so long as it isn't the halon engine room system) are easy.
 
The two surveys on the 52DB found about $18K in things that needed to be done. The seller wasn't happy but couldn't argue the findings. We settled at around $12K off the accepted offer and the seller was going to take on the balance of the findings which they did a less than a stellar job; in fact I found when I went to pick up the boat that many were not done at all and it was just too late... With what I know after two large boats, I wouldn't have the seller do anything on corrective action unless it was vacuuming the carpeting.
 
Doesn't hurt to ask. He can tell you to pound sand and/or you can tell him you're not buying it.
 
It could go either way. If the seller is making the repairs and it becomes more involved and more $$$, that’s a benefit to the buyer.

As the buyer, if you agree to a reduced price and take on the responsibility for the repair, you can oversee it and make sure it’s done to your satisfaction
 
I have had this experience and this is what I did. I had a agreed price on the purchase and after the survey there was about $15,000 needed to be spent to get it up to the standard I was comfortable with. The motor mounts needed to be replaced and they and labour accounted for about $5,000 of that after they were replaced and the engine and shafts were re aligned. I took $10,000 off my original offer and would look after it myself or gave him the chance to fix everything on the list. He decided to make me a counter offer and I said no. After some thought he called me back and agreed to the new price. I was happy and he was not,but the decision is in your hands! I don't regret it and the boat was fixed properly and I know the work was down right! Good luck with your decision?
Cheers,
L
 
Vetman001 said:
Surveyor came up with motor mount carbon dioxide detectors all need to be replaced all fire extinguishers are out of date and cutlass bearings are dry rotten
Click to expand...
SO here is my take on this, Depending on how the boat was priced in the first place, that is a rather small list of discrepancies. Motor mount condition can be quite subjective, If I were the seller I would want to know exactly what the determination is based on? Are they broken or is there measurable compression that is out of spec according to the mount manufacturer? It sounds like the boat is very clean and the surveyor felt like he had to find something to recommend replacing. Before I would just agree as a seller to reduce the price I would insist on a second reputable opinion. When I bought my 44 in 2015 my engine surveyor made a recommendation that all the hoses be replaced because they were original. No evidence of leaking or excessive checking. He suggested asking for $2000 in repair credit. We did and the seller agreed without batting an eye. I eventually replaced the hoses 4 years later. Doesn't hurt to ask but depending on how you like the boat and the fact that there are precious few of these boats available, I wouldn't let this kill my deal
Carpe Diem
 
Was the boat priced at 300, and you offered 200 and they accepted, well, I think in that case you are agreeing to some amount of repairs. Was it 300 and you had to offer 305 to beat out others, yes, should be a discount if the items are legit. I did see a tool online that allows you to put in new cutlass bearings without removing the shaft, just remove the prop. https://strutpro.com/ Might be something to look into....
 
Todd320 said:
Was the boat priced at 300, and you offered 200 and they accepted, well, I think in that case you are agreeing to some amount of repairs. Was it 300 and you had to offer 305 to beat out others, yes, should be a discount if the items are legit. I did see a tool online that allows you to put in new cutlass bearings without removing the shaft, just remove the prop. https://strutpro.com/ Might be something to look into....
Click to expand...
Yep, I highly recommend the strut pro tool, I did my Cutlass bearings last year and bought one of the tools. It made quick work of it. Not sure where you are located, but if you were at all close to me (Seattle area) I'd let you use it so you wouldn't need to buy one. I probably won't use it again, but it was worth it to me to be able to do it myself.
 
Did the sea trail Apparently the water pressure was 30psi and the survivor said spec is 15psi. Is this true
 
I'll chime in, for fun and to show my ignorance, that I never heard of whatever water pressure he's talking about or how it was measured. Raw water intake?

Also, if you're around Northern/Central NJ area and you need a strut pro tool, happy to let you or anyone borrow one.

J
 
Surveyors are typically only going to do a very superficial review of the engines. Unless your surveyor's charter was different from the norm, I think I would try to get Cummins to come out and take a good look at the engines. You can find the regional offices on the Cummins site. Their techs would have access to any history of the engines if they have been seen before and will give you a thorough list of anything they think needs to be done and why; most will know how much the work will cost as well. Ideally this would be done concurrent with the survey but would do this even if you make the deal and go to purchase. They aren't cheap and will usually charge for travel from the office to you but even so, I've always found them to be worth it.
 
alnav said:
Surveyors are typically only going to do a very superficial review of the engines. Unless your surveyor's charter was different from the norm, I think I would try to get Cummins to come out and take a good look at the engines. You can find the regional offices on the Cummins site. Their techs would have access to any history of the engines if they have been seen before and will give you a thorough list of anything they think needs to be done and why; most will know how much the work will cost as well. Ideally this would be done concurrent with the survey but would do this even if you accept the survey and go to purchase. They aren't cheap and will usually charge for travel from the office to you but even so, I've always found them to be worth it.
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I had Cummins on the boat today just don’t understand to why they think 30 psi is ok to wait until fall
 
Vetman001 said:
I had Cummins on the boat today just don’t understand to why they think 30 psi is ok to wait until fall
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Just a guess but I imagine the tech evaluated the water flow and judged it OK for now. If the boat is not overheating and there is good flow coming out of the overboard, I could see his point.
It may cost quite a lot to get the raw water system flushed. It's not terribly difficult but takes a lot of clock time while the cleaning solution runs through the system. Typically it would be done while other work is being done and only the hook-up and removal would be charged for but if its the only piece of work getting done a shop might charge you a lot of time.
It's not a very hard DIY job. You would need a pump and fittings along with a cleaning solution such as Barnacle Buster. I think there are some threads describing others's efforts and there are several YouTubes documenting how to do it.
 
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