Buying a Yamaha 242 without test drive?

[ericyamajet]

Hi Everyone, new member working on getting a 2016 242 limited s. Due to the shelter in place and with all the lake closed would you buy a boat without a test drive? I did see the boat in person and I did a basic examination check the gel coat, any visible damage etc all seem good. Engine compartment all clean. The seller was able to fire up the engine on the first try. The boat only has about 60 hours. That been said would you buy a boat without a test run? It is a beautiful boat and deal is good I really hate to pass on it. If I decided to push forward I was going to hook up the water intake and let each engine run like 5-10 mins with rev. Any suggestion and input would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks

 

[Five Faces]

It would be difficult for me to proceed on a sale without a sea trial, at a minimum I would run (or pay a mechanic to run) a compression test on all the cylinders.

 

[JBehrens]

I would recommend test driving. Spend a good hour on the water looking at every part of the boat, putting it through the paces before buying. With only 60 hours, the boat is likely in good shape but nothing beats having it on the water. If you can't go to a local spot due to closures, maybe see if the seller would be willing to bring it to a spot that is open under the condition that you close the deal if everything checks out.

 

[AncientCanoe]

Maybe if the deal was insane and I was very familiar with these boats. Is there any warranty left?

 

[OrangeTJ]

A question from a slightly different angle: Do you have experience with jet boats? They behave differently than boats with other propulsion systems. It is possible that you may not really love the unique characteristics of jet drive. Obviously, if you're already familiar with them then that's a non-issue. If you aren't familiar with them, I would highly recommend a test drive, preferrably in less than perfect water conditions. They have some incredible performance and handling characteristics but also some that some might consider less positive.

 

[mark_m]

Hi Everyone, new member working on getting a 2016 242 limited s. Due to the shelter in place and with all the lake closed would you buy a boat without a test drive? I did see the boat in person and I did a basic examination check the gel coat, any visible damage etc all seem good. Engine compartment all clean. The seller was able to fire up the engine on the first try. The boat only has about 60 hours. That been said would you buy a boat without a test run? It is a beautiful boat and deal is good I really hate to pass on it. If I decided to push forward I was going to hook up the water intake and let each engine run like 5-10 mins with rev. Any suggestion and input would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks

Does the seller have a presence on this website or heard of it? What kind of maintenance did the seller perform on the boat? Dealer? Did on their own? Did they modify the boat or not? Did they replace the shorelandr fenders? Lots of questions based on people here have already seen and done would raise my confidence level to buy sight unseen.

 

[ericyamajet]

Thanks for all the input. Really appreciated!! The seller just email me some maintenance record. Looks like a year and half ago they did the 50 hour maintenance. 8 NGK plug was changed and also they discover the starboard motor steering is seizing up and he got that repaired(expensive). 8 month ago the trailer's bearing was repack and bleed the break line. This afternoon try to find local mechanic everyone is like book out til july will try a few more.

 

[ericyamajet]

Does the seller have a presence on this website or heard of it? What kind of maintenance did the seller perform on the boat? Dealer? Did on their own? Did they modify the boat or not? Did they replace the shorelandr fenders? Lots of questions based on people here have already seen and done would raise my confidence level to buy sight unseen.

Its from a private party the seller did share his maintenance record. I was a bit puzzle about the steering assembly got repair for a fairly new boat. No modification to the boat completely stock. Thanks for the feedback appreciated

 

[JBehrens]

Thanks for all the input. Really appreciated!! The seller just email me some maintenance record. Looks like a year and half ago they did the 50 hour maintenance. 8 NGK plug was changed and also they discover the starboard motor steering is seizing up and he got that repaired(expensive). 8 month ago the trailer's bearing was repack and bleed the break line. This afternoon try to find local mechanic everyone is like book out til july will try a few more.

So it's been over a year and a half since last time the oil was changed? This is something that should be done every season (regardless of if the boat gets 50 hours during that season). If the boat is a 2016 and only has 60 hours, was used some but not serviced every season, there could be some neglect in the maintenance of this boat. Others who have gone longer on service intervals might be able to comment too. Is there record of a 10 hour service?

 

[mark_m]

More... have you seen the boa

Its from a private party the seller did share his maintenance record. I was a bit puzzle about the steering assembly got repair for a fairly new boat. No modification to the boat completely stock. Thanks for the feedback appreciated

Interesting that the steering assembly was repaired. Can you find out more about that? I think you have an articulating keel on this boat. Possible was it ran aground during backing or ran over something?

Trailer bearing repack isn’t that scary but interesting non the less. Is this a salt water boat? Is the trailer galvanized or painted?

 

[mark_m]

How are they pricing it?

 

[captainhook]

Hard pass, too much money to tie up into something you can't effectively test.

 

[ZGhost]

Don’t let a test drive get in between and ruining this purchase. Find a way to test drive it then make a decision

 

[OrangeTJ]

In fairness, the dealership we bought ours from new back in 2011 wouldn't provide test drives, either. Since they were the only dealer within about 5 hours we just took our chances.

 

[BigAbe75]

I say do it. Lol

if you can get a shop to look at it, that’d be great. But, if you’ve seen the engines start and rev and are happy with the deal, do it.

Are you getting a discount from the seller ? Is he not wanting to take you out due to social distancing? If so, have him go out and FaceTime with you so you can see speed, etc. Or, is it just not possible to get out?

Can you write the sales contract to include successful water trial and use a bank to escrow the money until completed? Maybe that would make seller more comfortable knowing that the cash is sitting there waiting for him. And, give you a bit of protection as well.

 

[Wayloncle]

I wouldn’t be scared to buy without a test drive. If you are able to look everything over, run engines, look at the pumps....
I didn’t test drive mine, it was 5 years old when I bought it.
I wonder how many people have really been interested in a boat, looked it all over and it looked great, took it for a test drive and then either found something wrong to make them change their mind or decided they didn’t like it?

 

[4x15mph]

Where do you live and maybe someone can help take a look at it. How close is your closest dealer who can help with any fixes?