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Purchased a used boat and it hasn't worked from day one!

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elmxl

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? nj Found a boat listing on EBAY. It was being sold by an individual / business owner (one person in the same).
We didn't buy it thru ebay! We made the deal outside of ebay at his place of business.
He offered us a one year warranty for 1500.00 which we did not take.
My husband is a certified "A" technician for Mercedes Benz so he certainly has "engine" knowledge. Like the ads said
(it appeared in numerous publications), it was a turn key boat. It's a 1999 searay with a rebuilt
2005 Mercruiser engine. He said it is a great boat and we will have a fun summer with it... Fast forward now....
my husband added a battery (as a backup) with a pergo switch.
The following week, we launched her, idled thru the "no wake zone" and upon entering the waterway, he gave her gas
and she stalled out. We started her up again and this happened three times within less than a 1/2 mile.
We eventually made it to our marina slip and it never started again. Between my husband and the prior owner and
his mechanic, they ruled out water in the fuel, bad gas, air in the rails, a bad oil pressure shut off switch.
The mechanic came down to the marina and he clearly did not know what he was doing. In fact, he mentioned to my
husband that he had concerns over burning out the ECM. After everyone threw their hands up in the air, we lifted her
out of the water and trailored the boat back to the facility where we bought it. In a nutshell, it sat
outside for over a week. They claimed they looked at it and were convinced that the ECM was fried. Day after day, he
told us they were waiting for a compatible unit to see if she would start up. My husband would visit every evening for an update and the
story was always changing. The final story was that my husband was accused of burning out the ECM according to the prior owner. By my husband installed
a second battery and switching/inverting the positive/negative terminals, that he destroyed the ECM. That just
didn't sit well with my husband. On Monday nite, I called three marinas and told them what we were being blamed for and they all said
that there was no way. If he accidently switched the +/-, there would have been arcing, smoke and it would have immediately fried the module.
Thereby, the engine would never have started. This is what was confirmed by the three marine techs. The following morning, we went further by
calling the Mercruiser tehnical support who confirmed the same. With that information, my husband returned to the business and confronted
the prior owner. THe prior owner changed his story and denied that he accused my husband of any wrong going.
My husband than told him that he called the three marine techs as well as the tech support person at Mercruiser.
The prior owner than went balistic and escorted my husband out of the building. My husband came home and we returned (together) to
retrieve our boat where we found the prior owner and two of his employees taking
pictures, etc. of our boat. So, that is the story in a nut shell. We do not have any warranties. We were promised a "great" boat with an
excellent rebuilt motor. The boat is yet to work. Do we have any recourse in this. Is he responsible for fixing it which
at this point, he wont but, can we require him to pay the bill after we have a "real" marine mechanic repair it. i would also like to add that it was odd that the warranty cost 1500 (which we declined) and a new ECM cost the same. Also, since we didn't pay the ebay price, (we knocked off $500), the prior owner removed the stainless steel props that were advertised. Just saying************** its apparent that he is a weasel!!!
 


Proserpina

Senior Member
I suppose the first question is, did you have it inspected prior to the sale?

There may also be a problem because your husband did something after the sale and the seller is going to argue that it was fine when he sold it..
 

justalayman

Senior Member
did you test run the motor before purchasing the boat? Maybe took it for a cruise?



of course I'm joking. If you had, you would know whether it had a problem before you purchased it rather than after.


would you buy a car without test driving it or at least a warranty of the condition of the vehicle?
 

elmxl

Junior Member
Since we are not near the water and the boat had been on blocks, the motor was started and idled fine. It also started and idled fine when the new battery was installed. It could be that when they reinstalled the engine, they might have pinched / damaged a wire and all it took was the vibration of the engine to have it cease.
So, in answer to your question, it was not taken for a sea trial. The prior owner was firm on his word that this boat was "golden". All of his ads claim the same.
 

Astrolink

Member
Non legal response: From the symptoms described, the most likely problem is a bad fuel pump. Have any of these "mechanics" bothered to check the fuel pressure, which costs $50-$200 for the pump depending on which engine it has, and takes 10-20 minutes to install?
 

xylene

Senior Member
Boats are money pits

NJ a boat of this ages is always AS-IS

You waived the warranty, you have no recourse.
 

latigo

Senior Member
. . . . . . . . . . Do we have any recourse in this.
The only legal recourse would be for rescission of the transaction.

To help explain, if the craft was not used - that is that it was sold straight from the manufacturer - there would be an implied (unwritten) warranty that it was suitable for the purpose for which it was purchased.

But there is no such implied warranty of fitness covering used merchandise.

So under these circumstances in order to unwind the sale you would need to prove that the seller knew that the engine was dysfunctional as you have described.

But there is a catch there as well in that you had the opportunity to inspect/test the boat as well as have it mechanically inspected.
And the courts are prone to rely on that opportunity to inspect/examine/test, etc., in preference to any "puffing" by the seller.

In sum, since there was no express warranty as to the condition of the engine and you had the opportunity to make an independent determination of its condition, I'd say you are where the boat has left you - dead in the water.
 

Just Blue

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? nj Found a boat listing on EBAY. It was being sold by an individual / business owner (one person in the same).
We didn't buy it thru ebay! We made the deal outside of ebay at his place of business.
He offered us a one year warranty for 1500.00 which we did not take.
My husband is a certified "A" technician for Mercedes Benz so he certainly has "engine" knowledge.
:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:
 

Just Blue

Senior Member
what is the name of your state (only u.s. Law)? Nj found a boat listing on ebay. It was being sold by an individual / business owner (one person in the same).
We didn't buy it thru ebay! We made the deal outside of ebay at his place of business.
He offered us a one year warranty for 1500.00 which we did not take.
My husband is a certified "a" technician for mercedes benz so he certainly has "engine" knowledge. Like the ads said
(it appeared in numerous publications), it was a turn key boat. It's a 1999 searay with a rebuilt
2005 mercruiser engine. He said it is a great boat and we will have a fun summer with it... Fast forward now....
My husband added a battery (as a backup) with a pergo switch.
The following week, we launched her, idled thru the "no wake zone" and upon entering the waterway, he gave her gas
and she stalled out. We started her up again and this happened three times within less than a 1/2 mile.
We eventually made it to our marina slip and it never started again. Between my husband and the prior owner and
his mechanic, they ruled out water in the fuel, bad gas, air in the rails, a bad oil pressure shut off switch.
The mechanic came down to the marina and he clearly did not know what he was doing. In fact, he mentioned to my
husband that he had concerns over burning out the ecm. After everyone threw their hands up in the air, we lifted her
out of the water and trailored the boat back to the facility where we bought it. In a nutshell, it sat
outside for over a week. They claimed they looked at it and were convinced that the ecm was fried. Day after day, he
told us they were waiting for a compatible unit to see if she would start up. My husband would visit every evening for an update and the
story was always changing. The final story was that my husband was accused of burning out the ecm according to the prior owner. By my husband installed
a second battery and switching/inverting the positive/negative terminals, that he destroyed the ecm. That just
didn't sit well with my husband. On monday nite, i called three marinas and told them what we were being blamed for and they all said
that there was no way. If he accidently switched the +/-, there would have been arcing, smoke and it would have immediately fried the module.
Thereby, the engine would never have started. This is what was confirmed by the three marine techs. The following morning, we went further by
calling the mercruiser tehnical support who confirmed the same. With that information, my husband returned to the business and confronted
the prior owner. The prior owner changed his story and denied that he accused my husband of any wrong going.
My husband than told him that he called the three marine techs as well as the tech support person at mercruiser.
The prior owner than went balistic and escorted my husband out of the building. My husband came home and we returned (together) to
retrieve our boat where we found the prior owner and two of his employees taking
pictures, etc. Of our boat. So, that is the story in a nut shell. We do not have any warranties. We were promised a "great" boat with an
excellent rebuilt motor. The boat is yet to work. Do we have any recourse in this. Is he responsible for fixing it which
at this point, he wont but, can we require him to pay the bill after we have a "real" marine mechanic repair it. I would also like to add that it was odd that the warranty cost 1500 (which we declined) and a new ecm cost the same. Also, since we didn't pay the ebay price, (we knocked off $500), the prior owner removed the stainless steel props that were advertised. Just saying************** its apparent that he is a weasel!!!
q4p/////////////////
 

RRevak

Senior Member
First off, my hubs is a Master Tech and foreman for Benz and doesn't know what an "A" tech is. Is that something that says your husband is just a good tech? Second, boat engines and car engines (esp Benz engines)are two different animals. My husband is extremely experienced and even he says he would have a difficult time working on a boat. He says they're just too different. Third, did you initially have the boat looked at by someone experienced with boats before you bought it?
 

elmxl

Junior Member
Hubby is a "A" tech which means that he can work on everything which is based on years of experience and knowledge. Techs start at the "C" level and work their way up.. With regards to the boat, the seller was willing to help us out and repair the boat. He asked us to take the boat out of the slip and bring it to his shop. My husband keeps playing this over and over again in his head... The place of business also rebuilds engines. When we saw the boat initially, the engine was not in the boat. The technician he has (he's not really a marine tech though....) is sort of his all around handy man. It's quite possible that when they dropped the engine back in, a wire could have gotten pinched or they could have re assembled something incorrectly, or the wire harness could have been put in wrong. Defective components ???? It ran in the building where the boat was initially. Perhaps with vibration, when we initially launched the boat, whatever they did incorrectly, finished it off.. So, we are now taking the boat to a "real marine mechanic" where they will diagnose the boat. So, to sum it up, if it's something that a real mechanic can determine was done incorrectly by the "seller", are they responsible.
 

Proserpina

Senior Member
Hubby is a "A" tech which means that he can work on everything which is based on years of experience and knowledge. Techs start at the "C" level and work their way up.. With regards to the boat, the seller was willing to help us out and repair the boat. He asked us to take the boat out of the slip and bring it to his shop. My husband keeps playing this over and over again in his head... The place of business also rebuilds engines. When we saw the boat initially, the engine was not in the boat. The technician he has (he's not really a marine tech though....) is sort of his all around handy man. It's quite possible that when they dropped the engine back in, a wire could have gotten pinched or they could have re assembled something incorrectly, or the wire harness could have been put in wrong. Defective components ???? It ran in the building where the boat was initially. Perhaps with vibration, when we initially launched the boat, whatever they did incorrectly, finished it off.. So, we are now taking the boat to a "real marine mechanic" where they will diagnose the boat. So, to sum it up, if it's something that a real mechanic can determine was done incorrectly by the "seller", are they responsible.

Not quite.

You bought the boat, "as is", never bothered to have it inspected prior to the sale, and then your husband did work on it. AND you turned down the warranty!

Sorry, but there isn't a court in the land going to rule in your favor.

And no reputable "real marine mechanic" is going to stake his reputation in that matter.

But you know what? Even if he DID, it's STILL nobody else's fault but yours.
 

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