Buying a used boat in the winter

Hey guys just wondering what you guys usually do when you buy a used boat in the winter and can’t bring it out on the water for a test drive. I’ve found a boat that I think is a very good deal and don’t want to wait until spring just in case it isn’t still available. I would like to put the muffs on it and see it run but my only concern is after that I have a 4 hour drive home and the temps are in the -10 below zero area right now. Would I risk something freezing and breaking? Any input would be appreciated. Thank you

See if you could work something out with the seller to hold it for ya until the weather warms back up to safely run it. We’ll be back up above freezing in a few weeks.

Express your interest and concerns right now. If he won’t work anything out you’ll either have to risk it and buy now or revisit it when it does warm up and see if it’s still available.

That’s my $.02 anyway.

Ask the seller who winterized it. If a dealer a quick call there to verify it runs and away you go.

If they don’t have a heated garage option you could also have them bring it to a dealership/mechanic to let it warm up enough to have them start it and do a compression check or run a history on the motor (depending on the age). Well worth the $100-150 it would probably cost.

Outboard will not be a problem, tip up and down a few times and good to go.

Is this an I/O or inboard boat?

If it’s an outboard, it should drain down on its own as soon as its shut off. Don’t tilt the motor up, leave it down so everything drains.

You could see if the owner is willing to take a deposit and wait until warmer weather for a final engine test.

As an alternative, you could try to arrange to take it to a local dealer for a once over at your expense.

Basically, it’s down to what are you willing to risk. The used boat market last year was white-hot and this year is going to be the same IMO with everything selling within seconds. If you wait, you probably lose the boat to somebody who’s willing to buy now.

Grouse

I’ll add this. Sometimes in life you just have to make a gut call. Go look at it, if it looks good and the guy seems OK buy it. Use your intuition, if it feels bad just walk away. Most guys you can tell how they use their equipment and if it’s been abused or taken care of.

Good luck, used boats are hard to come by these days!

There’s been lots of good advice here. First, bounce the idea off people you trust and know personally if they’ve purchased used boats before. I like the idea about asking where it is winterized or maintained, and calling that business to do some potential homework. Used boats are hard to come by in a hot market.

Another thing that goes along with Dutch’s “gut” call is comparing it to whatever other things the owner has. If you go to look at it, take note of other equipment and how it is stored. Things like battery tenders on other batteries (mower, atv), covers, cleanliness, organized tools, and just a generally clean storage area are very important clues. Someone who keeps other stuff maintained and organized is likely to do the same with their boat. Buying “used” items is as much about understanding or viewing the seller as it is the item itself.

Your chances are slim and none and I think I just saw Slim ride out of town on the back of a horse.

For a private seller the chances that he has water available in the middle of a Minnesota winter to hook the boat up to would be rare.

With the market as it is today most sellers are not willing to hold some thing for even 1 day. Currently if you find a used boat for sale today and it is still up for sale in a month or so it is because some thing is wrong with it or they are asking way too much for it.

Buying from a private seller in the northland currently you will need to make a judgement call or wait till closer to spring to shop.

I was in this bind a few weeks ago and couldn’t pull the trigger. I need to get out in the boat and try it out. Dont care how well the guy said he took care of it or how well it looks. I can wait til the exact boat comes along and fills all my wants and needs then I can pull the trigger on a winter boat……maybe

I bought mine in the winter. Had the guy crank and fire it up dry in a heated shop and once it hit and idled about 5 seconds, shut it down. I swapped the impeller later as part of my normal used anything purchase maintenance reset and there was basically no evidence anyone had ever swapped it before and it was fine, no signs of getting mangled by a dry start for 5-7 seconds. It had a livewell valve leak (wouldn’t hold water) and he told me he never even used the livewells and just used a cooler with ice so I expected those might not work the best. I would recommend taking it to a heated shop, let it warm up for a couple hours, then crank and fire it for a few seconds dry and just plan an impeller swap if you get anxiety from it.

I went through this same dilemma last year. Found a boat almost exactly what I was looking for, but it was February in North Dakota, $6k – $8k under selling price in MN. I drove 9 hours to look at it, he did start it up dry to show it started, only ran it for 5-10 seconds, was in a heated garage. I then drove to the dealership he bought it from, same town, asked my questions. All seemed in good order. The dealership did offer to test hop it for $250. Ultimately, all seemed to be honest, so I pulled the trigger and bought it. No issue since.

You could rig up a make-shift earmuff to antifreeze bottle and run that through the engine. I did that also, but ended up not using it.

If its an aluminum boat use your gut.

If its glass you’ll need time to survey (check transom and stringers) and water trial.

Drizzy Musky wrote:

If its an aluminum boat use your gut.

If its glass you’ll need time to survey (check transom and stringers) and water trial.

What??????????? I can crawl around a glass boat just as fast as a alum boat.

Dutchboy wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Drizzy Musky wrote:</div>
If its an aluminum boat use your gut.

If its glass you’ll need time to survey (check transom and stringers) and water trial.

What??????????? I can crawl around a glass boat just as fast as a alum boat.

Lol.

In all seriousness most aluminum boats are quick fixes and hull isnt structurally compromised. Fiberglass not so much….moisture meter and survey are your best money spent