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3 Things to Do Before You Buy a Boat

Buying a boat is an exciting thing to do.

It is also an emotional thing that can cause your brain to malfunction – and you may miss (or ignore!) critical things that are right in front of your face.

This can cause you to make bad decisions – sometimes very bad decisions – and your dream boat soon becomes a floating money pit that seems more like an anchor tied around your neck!

Here are three things you really want to do BEFORE you buy that boat;

Inspection – Make sure you get to inspect the boat both in the water and out of the water, and that you get to take it for a test drive. If possible have an impartial person (meaning you pay them for their opinion) inspect the boat too. Ideally someone knowledgable about boats such as an experienced boat owner, mechanic, or even a surveyor. Some surveyors will charge far less if they do not have to do a written formal report and all you want is for them to look at it and give you a verbal opinion.
Insurance Quote – It is a shame to already own a boat and then get a quote for insurance that is more than you can afford – or even worse – find there is no one willing to insure it at all that you can find! Beyond just being common sense – insurance is often necessary for you to be able to rent a slip in many marinas. Find out what it will cost and who is willing to insure the boat before you own it.
Slip Fees or Storage Costs – Depending on the size of the boat buying it is just the beginning of what it is going to cost you to own it. If it is larger than you can safely and realistically trailer you are probably going to be renting a slip. Depending on where you are and the size of the boat, slip rent can be several hundred dollars per month! This is something you need to clearly understand BEFORE you buy a boat you can not afford to pay the slip fees for. Likewise, even if you buy a trailerable boat you need a place to park it that is safe and legal. If you can’t do that because your yard is too small or you live in a condo etc, then you are going to have to rent storage for your boat. You need to know what ist costs and it needs to be nearby – or you simply won’t use the boat much – and that is almost guaranteed.

Your Decisions to Make

I am not telling you to buy a boat or not buy a boat either. All I am saying is that buying a boat is not like buying a car or a motorcycle in so many ways.

There is more to it and there are more factors and costs that can make a big impact in your life.

Of course, you also need to buy the right size boat and the right type boat for what you want to do with it, where you plan to operate it and what you can actually afford to maintain and operate as well as own it.

Before you rush out and make perhaps one of the worst decisions of your life – take a few minutes to do some homework and then proceed with caution. Make informed and intelligent decisions.

When you do that you are far more likely to be much happier with the boat you buy -be able to actually afford it – and enjoy it often too!

Where to Find Commercial Trucks and Equipment

There are a number of excellent sources to look at for keeping an eye on the market and what’s available. This is something you should consider doing at all times – not just when you are actively looking to buy a certain piece of equipment.

Why might you want to do it?

The same reason you read trade magazines and blogs (and hopefully you do that too!) which is to stay informed on what is happening in the trucking industry (or construction or whatever other industry you may be in). You get to see trends and that helps you anticipate what is going to happen next. All that information helps you make better day to day business decisions.

When it comes to keeping an eye on equipment availability and prices it helps you there too. For starters, you will always know what the value of your equipment is – and what it would cost to add additional equipment should you decide to do so. If you pay particularly close attention you may even notice some other trends too – such as when there is so much equipment coming on the market as to drive the prices down across the board – and you can guess the underlying causes.

Here are a Few Truck Sales Sources to Look At

Truck Paper – The first on my list – and one I have studied for years now is Truck Paper and it is a massive market place for all kinds of trucks and other equipment. The system is robust and free to search and you can key in all kinds of parameters. You can even bid on some equipment in auctions online – and other equipment listed will put you in direct contact with the owner/seller for you to negotiate with directly if you wish.
Craigslist – Hey don’t laugh either. There are often some excellent truck and equipment dealers to be found on craigslist – but do be CAREFUL! There are some scammers there too. I found one who wanted to sell me a $35,000 tractor for $6000 – which would have been a killer deal, except for the fact they didn’t own it! Do your homework and use caution – but do not let that stop you! Some times you can find a small fleet or an owner operator who just wants to get out of the business and is willing to actually sell a truck or several trucks far below actual market value!
Mega Carriers – you know the big boys routinely sell off their trucks by the hundreds as they continuously buy new trucks by the same numbers? It is possible to get a well-maintained fleet truck (that has been governed) and still has plenty of miles and usually some warranty left on it for a very reasonable price. Sometimes even below market – and especially if you are selling and able to buy several trucks at a time. Years ago when I was a safety director for a small to mid-sized fleet we routinely bout trucks in groups of 10 to 25 at a time this way and paid about half or less than half of what book was because of buying several at a time. Some were even 1/4 of what they would have cost at a dealer!

Obviously you can look at many other places too. Keep a pad of paper and a pencil (or your smartphone) handy and ready and as you see trucks for sale in yards and at businesses around the areas you travel stop and take a quick look – and be sure to get the complete phone number and the exact location!

There are some deals to be found this way too – and sometimes they are never even advertised anywhere!

The owner just sticks a sign in the window and that it. So unless you stumble upon it you will never even know it is there and for sale.

Use care dealers are another source. Sometimes they will take a commercial tractor in as a trade – and then they often can’t sell it as they had hoped – so they may be willing to let it go for a great price just to get that big ole truck off their tiny little sales lot.

Be Sure to Visit Seller Direct Services Too!

Hey, right now we are just barely getting this thing started – but in time my intent is t have many different trucks, trailers, and other commercial equipment along with boats, real estate, and other things featured right here on this site and on our accompanying YouTube channel.

So come back and see us often and you never know what you might find!

1999 International Box Truck with a Diesel Engine and a Lift Gate

There are a ton of older used box trucks on the market. Their prices range all over the place from cheap to crazy expensive and their condition is the same. Some are well maintained and ready to work and others are more ready for the boneyard than the highway. Most are somewhere in between these extremes.

Here is a box truck I came across recently and actually thought about buying it myself;

The old truck is in need of some repairs – but she has potential in my opinion. The sleeper is surprisingly large and almost the size of what I am more used to in a big truck (tractor/trailer). Though the opening is more old-style where you sorta crawl through and into the sleeper vs just standing up and walking back there.

The box wasn’t bad – though there are two small leaks on both front corners. Not hard to fix if you know how to work with epoxy (it has a translucent roof).

The engine started and ran fine – after being jumped. It had been sitting for some time and not run on any regular basis so the batteries were down. I jumped it with my car after about 20 minutes or so of charging.

The biggest apparent problem is the door to the box – that thing is hosed – and a new one is in the range of about $2000 installed – give or take. To fix it right and do the work yourself would be probably less than half that – but regardless of who or how – the door needs to be repaired or replaced – and I would just replace the thing.

My business is primarily focused on training and consulting along with providing related products and services to help individuals, companies and other organizations do better in work, business, and life – and not on actually transporting stuff personally at the moment. Yet it was very tempting and I almost bought this thing myself!

For the right individual or company, it could be a great opportunity but for me, it would have been a costly mistake – or an expensive hobby – depending on how you look at it I suppose.

What to Do When You Have Equipment or Other Property to Sell

Got a commercial truck, trailer, heavy equipment or a boat, car, motorcycle or something else to sell?

Start by making sure you have all that you need to be able to sell the item to begin with. Do you have the title – and is it clear of liens and encumbarances?

Is it in YOUR name or will you have to get someone else to sign it (exwife, business partner etc.) ?

If that is the case you need to deal with it early in the process and not have it be a surprise which can and probably would kill your deal.

Gather up all other papers and manuals and anything else that goes with the item and make sure they are neat and organized – and that you dont have other things mixed in with them. Be a shame to give away a signed title to another piece of equipment when you didnt realize it was in the same folder or envelope.

Write a Description

As you do think about what information you would need and want if you were looking to buy it yourself. Be thorough and detailed but clear and to the point too.

Be sure you have a way for them to contact you?

I have had many people leave off ANY and ALL contact information from their own ads – including some I would have liked to have made offers on myself. If they can’t contact you somehow then everyone loses – especially YOU!

And don’t worry – when you list with Seller Direct Services – we handle that for you too.

Be accurate and honest. Too many people exagerate and omit information trying to make a sale dishonestly. That is one thing that kills a lot of deals when it is discovered before the deal is completed – and results in bad blood and lawsuits after the fact in other cases.

You don’t need that. They don’t need that. Neither does anyone else. So tell the truth and be as accurate as you can. If needed the price can be a point of negotiation to address any problems with the item – and in most cases, there will always be someone happy to take on almost any problem – for the right price.

List It in Multiple Places at the Same Time

You need to cast a wide net to attract and capture the attention of buyers as fast as possible. So list it in multiple places all at the same time to increase the chances of finding the right buyer and finding them faster!

When you list with Seller Direct Services we don’t care where else you list – and we encourage you to do so! You can even point them to our site and our YouTube channel if you like. We do not charge a commission – just a flat fee per listing. So it is in our best interest and yours to help you find a buyer as soon as possible by any and all means we can use.

We will also tell you how to do some free promotion of your own using your existing social media accounts and other things you may or may not even be aware of.

Got something to sell? Want to list it now for FREE for a limited time? Send me an email to listings@sellerdirectservices.com and let’s talk about it now!

Seller Direct Services is a division of Transport Resource Solutions LLC and is owned and operated by L.D. Sewell

Welcome to Seller Direct Services!

Ever since I founded and started Transport Resource Solutions LLC as a training and consulting company providing specialized information and resources to help people build and run better companies and build better lives, one of the resources I envisioned was Seller Direct Services.

Seller Direct Services is a resource to help you sell or buy vehicles, equipment, real estate, recreation vehicles, boats, tiny homes of all kinds and real estate – and a way to so it directly between the seller and the buyer. No agents, no brokers or other intermediaries – just Seller Direct Services – hence the name.

What we will provide are interconnected platforms to market the item for sale and to bring sellers and buyers together. We use multiple methods and platforms to attract interest.

That will include being featured as a video tour/inspection on our Seller Direct Services YouTube channel, a written article and post on our Seller Direct Services site (here) and various marketing and advertising on some of our sites in our growing network of other interconnected sites.

We will also use other ways of generating traffic and interest too.

This is a very efficient way for the potential buyers to find and then to contact sellers directly via email or voice mail/ message and go from there.

For a limited time to introduce Seller Direct Services initial new listings will be FREE – and subsequent pricing will be a flat rate per period of time and very affordable too.

Thanks for stopping by and come back soon!