About a year ago I was looking to purchase a boat with no motor or outdrive from Boat Deal Brokers. The boat was a Crownline CR-250 cabin cruiser. My plan was to buy a hull in good shape and later add a motor and outdrive. I was informed by the sales manager that the boat's stringers had been inspected and were all sound. The sales manager also told me he would give me a good deal on a motor when I was ready to buy one.
A few months later, I called the sales manager and told him I was ready to shop for a motor and outdrive. We agreed on a price and I dropped the boat off for installation of a motor and outdrive. The sales manager called me sometime later to let me know one of the stringers under the motor was in bad shape and needed to be replaced and it would cost me extra labor money to have the work done. I reminded him that he had told me the stringers were all inspected and were sound. He acknowledged that and I didn't have to pay for the stringer replacement.
I finally got a call about 6 weeks later (mid July timeframe) that the boat would be ready for me to pick up. When I showed up, I went out on a test ride. The test ride went fine except the motor stalled every time the boat was put in reverse. This was due to a bad shift switch. They tried to adjust it but in the end needed to replace it. In my opinion, this should have all been tested and discovered before I was called to come pick the boat up, since it meant I had to wait around for four hours for them to fix it. Additionally, the lack of professionalism from the men working on the boat could not go unnoticed. As an example, the mechanic was smoking while working on the shift switch and allowing his ashes to fall into the motor compartment. In the end, the motor and outdrive worked fine, but it wasn't a positive experience getting there.
Recently, I took the boat to a professional repair company to get an estimate done on some interior cabin repairs. Upon inspection, the repair man showed me the where the stringers were in the cabin and showed me just how rotted they were. He informed me it would be unsafe to take the boat out on the water with essentially no structural support from the stringers. He also said, as much as he would like to take my money, he would likely refuse to do the work because it would not be worth the cost to fix. I had a second person look at it, who came to the same conclusion. The repair man had also asked me if I bought the boat from Boat Deal Brokers because this is the type of shady business he sees from them on a regular basis. He wasn't surprised when I told him yes.
The next day I contacted Boat Deal Brokers and reminded them of our dealings as listed above. I told them I would give them the benefit of the doubt that it was an honest mistake and they should want to make it right. The only other option was that it was intentional and dishonest and I was lied to when I was told the stringers were inspected and in good shape. After confirming that they had originally told me the status of the stringers, they refused to accept responsibility for selling me a boat I can't use. Their only response was that I had the right to pay for my own inspection before I bought it and they would be willing to do the work to fix it, but I would be billed for it. They also stated they don't warrantee hulls. I'm not sure they understand what that means, since this is not a warrantee issue. The hull didn't degrade after I bought the boat. It was sold to me under false pretense and lies. My requests were to either take everything back they sold me and refund my money or to put the boat in the condition they told me it was in when they sold it and fix the stringers. This was met with a chuckle, saying it wasn't going to happen. Apparently, jeopardizing the safety of me and my family is a laughing matter. For this reason, I recommend you stay as far away from this business as possible. read more
