SIGforum.com Main Page The Lounge Last Update: My boys think they run great w/pic. Buying used jet skis from a private party, should I insist on a sea trial?
Main Page The Lounge Last Update: My boys think they run great w/pic. Buying used jet skis from a private party, should I insist on a sea trial?Go | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
Member |
I wouldn’t buy jet skiis, dirt bikes, crotch rockets without a test ride. They are toys and usually ridden hard but if you ride it and break it you buy it | |||
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Member |
Definitely test ride, but as the buyer expect cash in hand to do so. When I sell a motorcycle the buyer hands me cash to test ride, if he wrecks it then the deal is done. 10 years to retirement! Just waiting! | |||
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| Lawyers, Guns and Money  |
I've done deals for cash. It does make one nervous. I've had an armed friend standing and watching. If you're going to do any negotiation, it's easier with cash than with a pre-printed cashiers check. "Some things are apparent. Where government moves in, community retreats, civil society disintegrates and our ability to control our own destiny atrophies. The result is: families under siege; war in the streets; unapologetic expropriation of property; the precipitous decline of the rule of law; the rapid rise of corruption; the loss of civility and the triumph of deceit. The result is a debased, debauched culture which finds moral depravity entertaining and virtue contemptible." -- Justice Janice Rogers Brown "The United States government is the largest criminal enterprise on earth." -rduckwor | |||
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Coin Sniper |
You absolutely need to be able to take them for a ride. If they're on a lake, where are you going to go? There are a lot of things you can only see, feel, or hear if you're actually on the machine. I think it would be fair to agree to an area to stay in during the trial and if he wants to accompany you on the other machine that seems like it would be fine too. Pronoun: His Royal Highness and benevolent Majesty of all he surveys 343 - Never Forget Its better to be Pavlov's dog than Schrodinger's cat There are three types of mistakes; Those you learn from, those you suffer from, and those you don't survive. | |||
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| Member |
Take it for a test ride before you buy, or pass, no way to tell if there's any issues just by hearing it run or watching someone else ride it. I can understand the sellers reluctance to allow test rides but there's got to be a middle ground if he wants to sell his jet skis. If you're serious about buying and the only thing stopping you is a test ride make that clear to the seller, have cash in hand when you take the test ride and make sure the seller has the titles in hand. If he's still refusing a test ride I'd just pass and find someone selling jet skis that's a little more flexible. | |||
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| Thank you Very little  |
It's Florida, bring a gun, bring two guns, bring some SF friends with guns, everybody brings a gun!  | |||
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Member |
That is sound advice. Way more than you can tell from a ride. | |||
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Nullus Anxietas |
I did that, one time, when I was buying something in a somewhat spotty Detroit neighborhood. "America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system,,,, but too early to shoot the bastards." -- Claire Wolfe "If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living." -- Seneca the Younger, Roman Stoic philosopher | |||
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| Peace through superior firepower  |
Just don't go all Captain Queeg on 'em. Leave the ball bearings at home and don't mention the strawberries. | |||
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semi-reformed sailor |
Me and a buddy went to look at a dirt bike in eastern NC. We were both cops so both armed. When we met the guy, Tim asked for a test ride. Tim Handed the guy his license. Rode around a Walmart parking lot, i called in the numbers to see if it was stolen-it wasn’t,money was handed over and we went on our way. "Violence, naked force, has settled more issues in history than has any other factor.” Robert A. Heinlein “You may beat me, but you will never win.” sigmonkey-2020 “A single round of buckshot to the torso almost always results in an immediate change of behavior.” Chris Baker | |||
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| Savor the limelight |
I promise not to fill the jet skis up with sand. | |||
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| Savor the limelight |
Having a mechanic look at them is a great idea, but they are all booked a month and a half out. Other than a compression check and checking the supercharger’s clutch, I’m not sure there’s anything a mechanic would catch that I wouldn’t. I’m fairly sure clutch or compression issues would be revealed during a test ride as they won’t hit the speed and RPMs at WOT that they should. I’ll be armed of course, but everyone I know is too young, too old, or has to work. Besides, I’m fairly certain you aren’t allowed to shoot someone because they walked off with a wad of cash you willingly and freely handed to them. I’d buy new, but with all the fees being tacked on the prices are crazy. As an example, Riva Motorsports in Miami quoted me $13,600 out the door for a 2022 with a list price of $9,999. The local place quoted me $10,700 for the same machine. I’ll be looking at the used ones tomorrow morning. | |||
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| Member |
I think a lot depends on the overall context of the deal. These are 2 year old quality brand ski's with only 100 hours. If they are on a lift sitting next to a beautiful well maintained $120,000 Cobalt boat in front of a $1,000,000 lake house, with no visible evidence of neglect or abuse on the hull. If they start, run and sound good on the lift. If the guy is willing to ride them in front of you. I would be willing to make a judgment call based on all the above and make a purchase. Depending on the kind of lift they are on you can probably actually run them up pretty high while on the lift. I have sold two jet skis, a Cobalt boat, and 4 or 5 motorcycles without giving test rides. | |||
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| Savor the limelight |
Very true. One picture shows them on a trailer in a nice garage. Nice because the floor is checker board epoxy. Another picture shows them on a lift in a covered boathouse. That’s how I bought our 26’ Formula. Ten years old, 46 hours, and immaculate. The owners were a working couple from near Detroit and had weekend home on Lake Huron "up North”. Their kids were grown and had moved to other parts of the country, so the boat didn’t get used. I was basing my decision on who they seemed to be as much as the boat itself. He also had a really nice deuce and a half in his garage. I’m guessing once we meet in person, he’ll ok the test ride. | |||
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| Savor the limelight |
I’m all set, but they guy has the titles at his other house in Naples. He wants to give me a bill of sale and mail the titles to me. This is a no go, correct? I can verfy the titles online, but there’s no way I should paying for them with out getting the titles at the same time, correct? I haven’t driven out there yet. I’ve asked if he can get duplicates or alternatively, I could follow him down to Naples to retrieve the titles. | |||
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Member |
If you think the guy is on the up and up then a bill of sale, copy of his driver's license, and taking physical control/ownership of the jet skis would be sufficient I would think. Or you could withhold some cash until you get them. Hedley Lamarr: Wait, wait, wait. I'm unarmed. Bart: Alright, we'll settle this like men, with our fists. Hedley Lamarr: Sorry, I just remembered . . . I am armed. | |||
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thin skin can't win |
In some states they don't even title boats, not surprising they do in FL. Unless he can give a current pic of them in his hands I'd be concerned they are actually held by a bank and pass on the deal. You only have integrity once. - imprezaguy02 | |||
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| Member |
That's a valid point. Why not wait another week for him to come back with the titles. Hedley Lamarr: Wait, wait, wait. I'm unarmed. Bart: Alright, we'll settle this like men, with our fists. Hedley Lamarr: Sorry, I just remembered . . . I am armed. | |||
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| Thank you Very little |
Most titles now in FL are electronic, it would be surprising to find anyone with the hard copies, you have to request them to be printed then you lose the e-title option. If I sold the Truck or motorcycle I don't have a title to hand the buyer, it would be a bill of sale and they would request a new title at a tag agency. IF you have the bill of sale, jet skis, trailer etc and his ID matches the titles then it's just up to you to decide if you want to do the deal. YOu probably already checked this out but Link on FL Vessel Titles | |||
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| Savor the limelight |
He says he has the physical titles, they’re just at his house in Naples. I think with a HIN (hull identification number) I can verify the titles online. So maybe a bill of sale will be good enough? I’ve asked if there’s any liens and if he is the sole owner, but he has yet to respond. We’ve been texting the whole time. I’ll check that with my SeaDoo when I get home. I offered waiting until he has them in hand as well. | |||
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SIGforum.com Main Page The Lounge Last Update: My boys think they run great w/pic. Buying used jet skis from a private party, should I insist on a sea trial?
Main Page The Lounge Last Update: My boys think they run great w/pic. Buying used jet skis from a private party, should I insist on a sea trial?© SIGforum 2024