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Selling boat that has taken on some water....


powbmps

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Bit of a long story, but I am hoping to get some honest opinions/input from the Malibu Crew. 

Someone local to me wants help selling his '05 LXi w/Monsoon 340 (525 hours), and I want him to be realistic in his pricing expectations (it's the green one in the boats on the water thread).  A couple years back the boat was swamped at his dock on the lake.  It was not fully underwater, but the waves assured pretty much everything was wet to some degree.  Not sure how it works with 13 year old boats, but his insurance company "totaled" it and he bought it back.  He then had it gone over thoroughly, and put in storage.  According to him everything was working fine when he put it away. 

Fast forward to now when my friend and I agreed to help.  We towed the boat home and started cleaning it up.  No visible damage to the boat (other than normal wear and tear).  The rearmost tracking fin and prop were replaced at some point, but the rudder assembly is original and not damaged (still tight in the bushing). No visible rust on the motor. Motor oil and transmission fluid look normal, but I'm sure they were changed after the incident.  After charging the battery up, and cranking it over a few times, we got it started on the fake-a-lake.  Starter will be replaced, as the solenoid does not seem to engaging consistently.  We took it out for a ski and it ran great.  Hole shot feels slightly softer than my '03 with the 335, but I'm assuming it may be the prop change (OJ in place of the original Acme).  Engine sounds good, and runs quiet with the down-turned stainless tips (tempted to swap those out with my flappers ;)).

There are a few electrical issues that need to be dealt with.  Everything up under the dash looks clean, with minimal to no corrosion.  None of the breakers on the panel are tripped.  The multi-gauge on the left is 75%, with the temp, oil pressure and voltage working.  Fuel gauge portion is not working.  Center speedometer works fine.  Tachometer with single line Perfect Pass display has issues.  Tachometer gauge itself does not work (the '05 we use has the same problem) and the Perfect Pass display reads "LS1 / 8.1  ^ = yes", but will not respond to any of the buttons.  Assuming it may be toast.  PP servo motor seems to be seized up, as you cannot turn the knob at all.  I will be calling them today to figure out what it needs.  Blower and bilge work, but horn, heater and shower do not.  Switches light up, but nothing happens.  Could be an easy fix, but I'm not sure how much time I want to put into tracking it down at this point.

There are only three LXi's of this vintage on SIA.  Two really nice ones for $28K and $25K , and a high hour one that needs some interior work for $16K.  There are four nice looking boats on Only Inboards for $26K, $24K, $30K (maybe it's the new Nautique pricing making people more optimistic :lol:), and $17K with no trailer (nice looking boat, but for some reason it has been on there for at least 18 months.  It was several thousand more back when I was looking).

Any thoughts are appreciated.  Thanks!

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Any one who knows what they are in for with a swamped boat will be in the mid teens.   As a buyer I'd expect to have to yank and replace every piece of wiring in the boat.

FWIW, those SIA prices seem pretty high.  Nice ones seem to sell for around 22K around here.

Edited by oldjeep
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I second @oldjeep‘s opinion - mid 10k range.

Electrical issues have to be taken care of and can easily get into the thousands for parts alone. PP and gauges alone are a nightmare then starter, alternator, ....

Whatever you end up asking for the boat, be TRANSPARENT and HONEST, let the buyer decide if he/she is willing to take on that task.

Good Luck with the sale, a very nice boat!!!

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56 minutes ago, ahopkinsVTX said:

Hmmm that’s a bit of a tough one. I’d probably start around 19.5 and go from there. I bet someone will snatch it up around that becaus eits such a desired hull. 

 

20 minutes ago, oldjeep said:

Any one who knows what they are in for with a swamped boat will be in the mid teens.   As a buyer I'd expect to have to yank and replace every piece of wiring in the boat.

FWIW, those SIA prices seem pretty high.  Nice ones seem to sell for around 22K around here.

I appreciate the replies.  The SIA and Only Inboards prices do seem out of whack.  Especially for this time of year.  He wants to ask $17,500 for it.  Could be an okay place to start, but maybe $15,000 is where he should expect to end up.

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Horns don't respond well to swamping.  Neither do heater motors.  Shower pump could also be seized.  Wouldn't be hard to throw a multi-meter on those and see if they're getting juice to the device.  If the switch lights up, I'd assume they are as I don't think any of those devices use a relay.  Having this information for the potential buyer would help.

Would be interested to know why the insurance company totaled it?

I'd look closely at cannon plug, see if you can get a Diacom readout from the engine, and replace starter and alternator as a starting point.

Assuming the Perfect Pass master module isn't toast, you're looking at probably around $350-400 in parts to replace the servo and the gauge.

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20 minutes ago, UWSkier said:

Would be interested to know why the insurance company totaled it?

 

Same reason they immediately total any car that has had its electronics submerged.  They don't want to be paying years worth of follow on claims chasing electrical gremlins for years. (Or pay for complete electronics and wiring replacement)

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24 minutes ago, UWSkier said:

Horns don't respond well to swamping.  Neither do heater motors.  Shower pump could also be seized.  Wouldn't be hard to throw a multi-meter on those and see if they're getting juice to the device.  If the switch lights up, I'd assume they are as I don't think any of those devices use a relay.  Having this information for the potential buyer would help.

Would be interested to know why the insurance company totaled it?

I'd look closely at cannon plug, see if you can get a Diacom readout from the engine, and replace starter and alternator as a starting point.

Assuming the Perfect Pass master module isn't toast, you're looking at probably around $350-400 in parts to replace the servo and the gauge.

My wife thinks I spend too much time fiddling around with my boat, so she's not too keen on screwing around with someone else's :lol:, but I am planning on investigating further once it stops raining.

I'm confused by the insurance situation as well.  Still waiting to get some paperwork from the owner.  *edit: what oldjeep says makes sense.

I spoke with Perfect Pass this morning.  They no longer offer the one line display, so it will be about $900 to upgrade to the new display and GPS.

Edited by powbmps
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1 minute ago, powbmps said:

My wife thinks I spend too much time fiddling around with my boat, so she's not too keen on screwing around with someone else's :lol:, but I am planning on investigating further once it stops raining.

I'm confused by the insurance situation as well.  Still waiting to get some paperwork from the owner. 

I spoke with Perfect Pass this morning.  They no longer offer the one line display, so it will be about $900 to upgrade to GPS.

If you want to do it on the cheap, you can buy a multi-line display, a new servo motor, and I'll sell you a 6.5NG Master Module that supports the multi-line setup for $65.  I just upgraded to StarGazer which is an all new master module.  Would save you a few hundred bucks.

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7 minutes ago, powbmps said:

My wife thinks I spend too much time fiddling around with my boat, so she's not too keen on screwing around with someone else's :lol:, but I am planning on investigating further once it stops raining.

I'm confused by the insurance situation as well.  Still waiting to get some paperwork from the owner.  *edit: what oldjeep says makes sense.

I spoke with Perfect Pass this morning.  They no longer offer the one line display, so it will be about $900 to upgrade to the new display and GPS.

They don't sell the non GPS multiline any more?  I swapped in a multiline a few years ago into an 04LXI.  It did require a new control chip in the brain box

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6 minutes ago, oldjeep said:

They don't sell the non GPS multiline any more?  I swapped in a multiline a few years ago into an 04LXI.  It did require a new control chip in the brain box

Requires a version 6.5NG or later chip.  They don't support those anymore as those are ARM-based processors and they've switched to Intel-based on the Stargazer units.

Edited by UWSkier
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@oldjeep:  PP made a business decision to stop supporting non GPS systems and focus people to move to the Stargazer version.  As noted by UWS, the dual line gauge does work with 6.5NG which is one of the last classic edition versions so a chip upgrade to any previous module will at least allow you to replace a bad single line display with a dual line one.  The dual line display is much nicer IMO than the single line unit.  Until the latest software release, V9, a short setup or a less than deliberate throttle operator, PP SG can be a challenge to get good segment times or lock in the desired speed as it tended to overrun before settling in.

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I feel like if the insurance company totalled it and he bought it back, he likely got a smoking deal on it.  Therefore, he should be realistic about the gains he expects to make when selling it.  Fix everything that needs to be fixed and sell with disclosure that it was once fully/partially submerged.  I assume, since the title did not change hands, that it does not say "salvage" on the title, correct?

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2 hours ago, Michigan boarder said:

I feel like if the insurance company totalled it and he bought it back, he likely got a smoking deal on it.  Therefore, he should be realistic about the gains he expects to make when selling it.  Fix everything that needs to be fixed and sell with disclosure that it was once fully/partially submerged.  I assume, since the title did not change hands, that it does not say "salvage" on the title, correct?

I don't know all the details, but I agree with you.  Not sure about the title, but I'm pretty sure the title was not modified.  Waiting to get all the paperwork.

7 hours ago, UWSkier said:

If you want to do it on the cheap, you can buy a multi-line display, a new servo motor, and I'll sell you a 6.5NG Master Module that supports the multi-line setup for $65.  I just upgraded to StarGazer which is an all new master module.  Would save you a few hundred bucks.

Thanks for the offer!  I will keep that in mind. Would make it much more affordable.  Figures I gave one away last year when I was cleaning up under the dash.  Previous owner of my boat had installed all the upgraded hardware and never removed any of the obsolete stuff.

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Whether or not the paper title shows a salvage, anyone looking to get insurance on it will find out it has been totaled. I see NH registration, so its a buyer beware state, it would be a challenge for a buyer to come back to the seller after recieving it, but not impossible.

Based on what these have been listed for around us in new england this year, without mention of sinking, low to mid teens would be reasonable. 

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Thanks for the feedback guys!

5 hours ago, asnowman said:

Whether or not the paper title shows a salvage, anyone looking to get insurance on it will find out it has been totaled. I see NH registration, so its a buyer beware state, it would be a challenge for a buyer to come back to the seller after recieving it, but not impossible.

Based on what these have been listed for around us in new england this year, without mention of sinking, low to mid teens would be reasonable. 

Now that you mention it, I do recall a couple (maybe one in VT and one in MA?) that showed up under $20K over the summer.  And then thinking to myself "where was that boat last year?".

I just put it up on SIA for $16,900.  We'll see if I get any inquiries.   

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I think around 16,900 is fair. The reason that those boats are still on SIA is they are likely overpriced. Anything priced well is gone in a couple days lately. 

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Every sank boat we ever worked on ended up needing new wiring & electric components before long, ie; gauges, switches, heater motor, starter, etc. Corrosion sets in before long. And it'll travel up into the wiring, corroding between the strands, inside the insulation.

WTH is an SIA??

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1 minute ago, Bill_AirJunky said:

Every sank boat we ever worked on ended up needing new wiring & electric components before long, ie; gauges, switches, heater motor, starter, etc. Corrosion sets in before long. And it'll travel up into the wiring, corroding between the strands, inside the insulation.

WTH is an SIA??

Ski it again

http://www.ski-it-again.com

Edited by oldjeep
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8 minutes ago, oldjeep said:

Why would they care?  You have a policy that pays out when your boat stops working? 

I would expect a written off boat (or car for that matter) to have what is called a "flood title" (as opposed to a salvage title).  If that is the case, it is unlikely you could get a loan since that obviates comprehensive insurance which banks usually demand. No comp - no insurance; or increased premiums.  Let's say you insure it (perhaps without telling the insurance company that it was previously written off)  and later your steering seizes and you crash.  Will insurance cover your boat and your liability?  it seems to me that insurers will use any excuse to not cover you.  I'd sure ask, that  is all.

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Can't speak for the entire country, but I know of a large dealer not in my state that had a boat that was sunken and said it would be ready for sale in a few weeks...apparently they get sunken boats on a routine basis (presumably working with insurance companies) and they either fix & flip the boat or sell to their salvage guy who does the same...the explanation was that there is no marine salvage title (in that state) and I don't believe there is one here either.

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