Kitchwiz Posted August 2 Report Share Posted August 2 I had a conversation with my collegue back in May ,he would ask you find a boat yet? Id say no but getting close . He said what's it been a year? I said 14 months ! He said maaan my wife said she needed a new car on Friday and we went on Saturday and bought one. I said yeah hoe'd that work out ? He said I bought her a Jeep Wrangler and after 6 months she hates it. Well there ya go. I have to admit having facebook marketplace has made it easier than the past buying boats. I owned my first boat when I was 24 and is was a 1990 Skeeter F17 with a Yamaha 75 2 stroke on the back . Biggest POS I've ever owned.. I saw it on a Friday in a parking lot and bought it on Sunday . Ever since then I've never been without a boat and I've only owned 4 boats in mt 58 years. My last one was a Nitro Z-7 Bass boat , I found out that I could get in touch with Toyota Motor Credit Corp. (Bass Pro and Cabela's credit financier) and get in line to purchase buy backs or Failed loans on boats (Repo's) . I put down all of my information and they give you a region in which mine was all of Georgia . It took a month but I finally got a couple of potientials . The only kicker was they would guarantee the vessle but not the condition so you have to befriend people in places that can do you favors for going and taking pictures. I finally found one in Blackshear Ga. 5 hours drive from me. I drove down looked at it in a lot with probably 30 other boats and 30 or 40 ATV's Utv's and PWC's. TMCC had to deliver it to a dealership that would complete the sale and it couldnt' be financed through TMCC ever again. I picked a dealership 30 min from my house and within 5 days it was there, I purchased it for $5100 off of what the original price was in 2012. It had 31 hours on it and after doing a little research I found out that the one who owned it was a 70 year old man and he had passed away . he left all sorts of neat stuff in it . That was the best boat I've ever owned . from April 2013 until April 2023 I put almost 300 hours on her ,I really hated selling her but I moved down here to South Florida and there's not much use for a bass boat down here. My 2001 Pathfinder I bet I looked at 10 or 11 pathfinders Some good some rough but there are alot of misleading people in this world. A year later I found a 1 owner pristeen ( I thought) barn kept 2200 V . I hounded this poor guy every weekend to come take a look and the reason it took so long he was building a house where else but Blackshear Ga. The boat had not been used for over 3 years and was dirty but looked pretty much like a well taken care of boat. The floor grip showed zero wear . I spent 2 hours combing over every inch of it. I paid the guy at 8:30 and headed home from South Miami . It should have took 2 hours .. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fin-addict Posted August 3 Report Share Posted August 3 I try to find out as much as I can myself. I will inspect entire boat. If anything questionable I get an expert to inspect. Engines, always have them inspected, comp, oil, and signs of wear more so on larger boats with dsl motors. Rather have a boat that has been used rather than a garage/slip Queen. JMO fin👍⚓️ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitchwiz Posted August 30 Author Report Share Posted August 30 I do Know That looks and the excitement of a new purchase can be very deceiving. For instance Mots of my ressearch came from 4 sites Facebook , Craigslist ,Boat Trader and Pops. While I would never buy anything from Pops I did use their webite to do my research. What I found is this : If it has been posted for 2 to 3 weeks or longer there is something with it. If its too cheap its a cover up or a scam. If it is too expensive and the owner wont budge that may be batter than the alternative . I had guy with a 2003 Pathfinder with a original Yami 150 and he kept saying around 500 hours . This boat was polished to a T and looked as if someone spent alot of time detailing and fixing the little stuff that really didnt matter. He said the boat was too big for his family ( but he had a 24 CC in the same building . He only had it for 1 season . It took him 5 weeks to sell it and when he did it wasnt three days and it was back on Facebook again showing 7 to 800 hours . Big red flag was the original photos showed a trolling motor and bottom paint. now it does not. He reduced it by almost $5000 and I guess he finally sold it. When I broadned my search to 200 mi it made picking a little easier. Up next was a Broker that purchased boats that came off of fleet lease but all of them started with 1500-18-- hours on them and were beat all to hell. It didnt help that they wouldnt offer a warranty at all just a guarrantee ,and still wanted only 20% off a comperable year boat. Those guys kept saying you wont find a 2022 boat for that price. But to add up eveything that it needed you were justbuying the boat the motor was a throw in. Breakdown on a 2022 Cobia 2100 Yamaha 115 W/1800 hrs Bottom paint ( boat had not been hauled out in over a year) VHF radio worked but no antenna No Bimini No Cooler seat All maintainence was done on the water No trailer Fuel filter was dated 11/22 No trolling motor or Anchor system (Just a rusty Anchor) Seats were faded and torn from stepping on them. Scratches everywhere and rubail chewed up everywhere. Motor skeg was beat bad Prop had to be replaced Asking $26k but would negotiate down to $24k with no warranty By the time you purchase all of what it needed your up close to 30 K with a motor that has 1800 hours on it. But it was "Fleet maintained" By who Lil Jonny ? My Next post Ill share what I found and you guys tell me if I ot a good deal or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitchwiz Posted August 30 Author Report Share Posted August 30 After A Long patient ,meticulous process of vetting every selection I put in my top 3 boats I found a 2001 (1) owner Pathfinder 2200V without a T top. The good; 1 owner , was covered 90% of its life. Provable service records , 344 hours on a 2001 Yamaha V150TLRZ motor, Had a brand new unregistered Simrad Go9 It ha a new Matching Bimini,Helm cover & motor cover. New dash panel and switches in 2019, New BT model MK 15 foot Talon . Seats and pads were all replaced in 2017. Conversion of Batteries to rear hatch in 2018? The bad : Motor ran fine at test but water jackets were 80% blocked with salts and corrosion. Boat sat for 3 1/5 yeaars in a shop building All trailer wiring was shot Tires were dry rotted ( date code 10/06 ) Hatch twists and pulls dry rotted (Replaced all) Talon cables were all corroded and had to be re-built No-trolling motor Oil system tank had to be rewired and piped, Tilt trim rams leaking down Lift pumps Scuppers Bunks Tie downs and winch strap plugs New Bearings and tires The boat Listed for $23k He said give me $22k and Ill help you load it up . I paid he man we went thru all of the original build paperwork and he even had all of the safety tags in the original Waterproof binder. After a week of Having problem after problem issue after issue I was worried I bought a wreck. I called the gu and was originally asking him a question about the batteries and what was the new white roll of wire that was under the dash for . He asked how is baby was . . I told him honestly ? Ive spent over $2300 just to get her sea worthy ,I explained to him all the problems I had and he said Man I'm so sorry let me give you some money back. I told him theres no need for that but thank you . He said let me send you a little something it will make me feel alot better. So I said okay at this point every little bit helps . The guy texted me back and verified that I had Zelle. This guy sent me $2000 back . He said "Im a stand up guy and I havent thought about that boat sitting out there for at least 2 years so I had no Idea it was in that bad of shape . I have called or texted this old guy every month just to send him pictures and updates . So out of it all I spent $20,000 on a 2001 1 owner Pathfinder 2200 V . She runs perfect now and I woud take her anywhere. All of the work has been done by myself and a good friend of mine so far . I have a Suzuki dealer in Sabastian that said he would give me $6k for the motor on a trade in for a new Zuki 200 . I will probably repower in a year . Let me know yalls thoughts . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanaflatsfish Posted August 30 Report Share Posted August 30 Sounds like a good ending..... Now you know the entire boat..... The stuff mentioned above are all easy fixes for a DIY... Congrats.. dc 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitchwiz Posted Tuesday at 07:16 PM Author Report Share Posted Tuesday at 07:16 PM Has anyone got a similar story? Anyone proud of their purchase? Has anyone been ripped off or close to being ripped off from a seller? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.