I have been talking to a salesman by the name of Shane at Lanier Marine Liquidators in Dasonville, GA for a little longer than a week about a Crownline boat they were brokering for the owner. The boat looked really good in the pictures and I asked for the broker to send me additional photographs of the boat that were to include close ups of the hull. Again the photographs came out really good.
I remember asking the the broker about the condition of the hull. He responded by informing me that the hull was in "GREAT" shape and there were no signs of stress related cracks. I believe the words he used were, "this boat is in excellent shape".
Upon us reaching a sales price I was told that the motor had been rebuilt and that the trailer the vessel was sitting on was not rated to for that much weight. I informed the broker that I was not going to haul a boat across two states on a trailer that was not rated to handle the load. He then found me another trailer.
Before I left I received an additional photograph, which did not come out informing me that there was a few "blisters" on the hull but and was told not to worry about it. Lets be real here for a minute a few makes me believe that there may be three or lets just say I would go as high as seven or eight. I decided to go ahead and make the drive and we made an arrangement to pick up the boat on a Wednesday. I live in Jackson, MS about eight hours away.
I made the trip with the knowledge of it having a few blisters and average wear and tear. When we arrived we were met by a very unprofessional individual. He told us where it was at and led us in the gate to show us our boat that was suppost to be in better than average condition and owned by someone that had way more money than sense. This boat only had 120 hours! The story was making sence up to the point when we laid our eyes on it.
This boat looked nothing like it did on the pictures and looked nothing like the boat we were described and told all about. The "few blisters on the hull" turned out to look like some had unrolled a roll of bubble wrap on the hull of the boat. There were also stress cracks all over the boat and some were caused by the use of the improper trailer. I asked for the professional opinion and condition report on the hull of the boat from one of the hands there. He told me that in his opinion it was going to be best to put a Rhino Spray-In bed liner on the hull of the boat to keep the water from damaging the hull any further. Can you say REDNECK! He then told me that it was a used boat. Well DUH! I think that he thaught I must have had stupid on my face.
I then started to have him show me the hulls of the other used boats in the lot that suffered from the same condition. He was not very interested in that because he knew it was not normal. I climbed in the boat and the first thing I noticed was that the floor of the boat was in very poor shape. It was suppost to be in "excellent shape since it was kept in a covered boat slip away from the elements of the weather and sun."
I made a few calls to some of my local marinas and asked them about the boat and got some suggestions about the hull and the cost to repair the damage, all estimates came in at or around $2000. Keep in mind that I drove all the way from Jackson, MS to go buy a boat that was in excellent condition above full NADA high retail, and that was because of the condition it was in. I was ok with that. I was not ok with being lied to and told BS stories so get me in the door.
We decided to leave there at 9:45 after being there for over an hour and a half. Our so called salesperson shane never once came outside and intruduced himself we never had the chance to meet him. It was for the better though. I was very angry. I am very dissapointed in the brokers as they are in the boat business and should know boats.
At Lanier Marine Liquidators they dont know boats they know how to tell lies and waste your time and money. The trip cost me over $600 by the time I put a trailer hitch on my truck. I would advise any and all persons to stay away from them as all they have is crap that they want over retail price for on excellent condition. They dont have a single thing on their lot that is even close to excellent condition, most of it is rebuilt from other boats in the yard. Most will not even float!!!
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