Dodgy lying assed boat salesman (or scum as I like to call them)

[BenDover]

Well firstly, let me tell you of my distrust in the sales people involved. NOT ALL BOAT SALES PEOPLE.

Had a look at a boat which I liked very much. My dad was actually the first to talk with these salesman and had given his details. The boat was apparently sold pending finance and had fallen through the finance stage/or the person had pulled out 4 times previously. He said he couldnt sell the boat to us but will call if the deal falls through. 2 days later get a call asking if we want the boat still as it available. But others are interested and we should leave a $100 deposit. And we did. This was on monday. The plan was to take it out and go through it propperly and test it on the water today. I get to my dads house early and he tells me the salesman had already called him EARLY. And asked if we where still coming today. And continued to say that the guy who had pulled out before us wanted it again and had made them a great deal so do we want to buy the boat today or not. Dad said that we are definately interested but we hadnt even tested it yet. And that if we where to buy it today it would be subject to finance. Enough said.

In the car and on the way up there the phone rings again. Its the saleman saying that they dont do subject to finance deals. And continuing to pressure us to sign up as soon as we get there without even taking the boat out. By this stage I was pissed off bigtime. I told them to sell it to someone else and give me the $100 bucks back.

No wonder noone has purchased this boat!!!!!
No way to do business at all and left a bad taste in me and my fathers mouth. >:(

[Coontakinta]

Mate I feel for you.
I'd have thought that most of these dodgy salespeople would have been weeded out by now. I'm sure very few people respond well to this style of hard sell.
I reckon you did the right thing. Sounds like the type of place who dont want to know you once the $ are in their bank.
I'm sure there are plenty of other boats and dealers in your area so this dealers loss will be anothers gain

[Noelm]

got a story much worse than that and from a private seller, I found a pretty rare boat that I was after in QLD (I am in south NSW) called the guy, told him I will come up tomorrow, organised an expensive air fare, hire car and so on, called the guy again and said I would be there tomorrow at about 12:30, gave him my mobile number incase he needed to contact me, got up early next day, drive to Sydney Airport, up to Brisbane, collect hire car, give the guy a call again telling him I would be about an hour away, when I find his house, the boat is not there, he sold it to a guy while I was driving up from Brisbane and did not even call me to at least save me some of the trip, I asked why he would do such a thing, and his reply (and he is sort of right) was that he was not sure I would ever turn up, and the guy had the money there and then! Now what he said is quite true, but he could at least have had the common courtesy to at least wait the half hour or so for me to get there seeing as I had called him from Brisbane Airport telling him I was on my way, what a jerk!

[BenDover]

Sorry to hear Noelm. I would/could never do that to anyone.

I bet you the deal falls through again and if I ever get a call from these guys, the answer will be short and swift.

[cormorant]

Talk to the boss and buy it of him after testing etc .if it is right and checks out . Stuff the salesman up and maybe he will end up out of sales in a differnt industry. No reason to miss a good boat if the price is right . No owner of a business wants drop kicks like that who can't pick a decent client.



High pressure sales tactics, bait and switch , upsell and all the other tactics are used all the time. They get a lot of product sold a lot of the time that is why they try em.


Noel - cash is king but............................................... ........release the hounds on that bloke.

[gr hilly]

for warned is for armed we know where not to look for a boat.
cheers Hilly

[Gon Fishun]

Stay in contact with them and let them chase you for the sale. Be patient, string them along and offer them a very low price ( if the boat is right for you.) Don't say yes when they ask you. Ring them with your answer. Like we all have said , plenty more fish in the ocean.
Oh and don't be afraid to Name & Shame them.

[BenDover]

We didnt get a chance to test it. We had organised on monday to take it out first thing thismorning. But during the 45 minute drive to the dealers they basically told us dont bother coming unless your going to buy it right now and didnt even want to take us out for a test run.

[BenDover]

Stay in contact with them and let them chase you for the sale. Be patient, string them along and offer them a very low price ( if the boat is right for you.) Don't say yes when they ask you. Ring them with your answer. Like we all have said , plenty more fish in the ocean.
Oh and don't be afraid to Name & Shame them.

Na, not my style.

[Jarrah Jack]

Well done Ben..It shouldn't have gone like that but it did. We know who not to buy a boat from no need to name and shame. Just email the boss this thread, as I have done in another circumstance, and the point should get through.

Pity that you may have missed out on the right boat but if thats their idea of business then the back up service, if needed, would be just as bad.

Its all a learning experience and you've done well.

[BenDover]

Thanks Jarrah. I dont know if it was all BS and a sales pitch or not. Either way I still feel that I have been treated very badly. Na no need to name and shame. Its not the business's fault. If they hadnt of called us and just left it, we would have tested and checked it out and made an offer. Their loss.

[Marlin_Mike]

Na, not my style.


You say its not you to name and shame. But the link in your 1st post clearly shows who is the dealer/seller???????????????????????????

[SeaHunt]

You say its not you to name and shame. But the link in your 1st post clearly shows who is the dealer/seller???????????????????????????

Indeed it does.
And while I have never bought a boat from them I have bought spares for my outboard, trailer bits a new sounder and a EPIRB..
And have found them to be quite good, helpful and reasonably cheap.
Of course the boat salesmen are slightly different breed. :-?

[wayno60]

Im all for naming and shaming, if the shit hits the fan with one of our brothers so he should lets us all know what happening.
It happens in all trades of sorts, car sales, real estate, i was even presured at the carpet place on the weekend, (this price is only for today) yer yer yer sure mate, what eva.!!!!

[nigelr]

Is this the same boat, Ben? Latest listing on BP.................
http://www.boatpoint.com.au/boats-for-sale/boatdetails.aspx?R=9041227
Sorry to hear your tale, I'd of been ropable.
Too old and feeble to be violent though lol! but I wouldn't go near 'em now with a pole, and I'd be telling all, just as you have.
Cheers.

[rodneyk]

there pretty quick to respond to critisism the add has been pulled of boatpoint:-X

[Fatenhappy]

Spot on Ben ....

I notice the link is now showing the article as no longer listed on boatpoint ..... No denials though from anywhere I guess ?? .... me thinks I smell a rat !! ... >:(

And salespeople wonder why they generally get a crook name !!! ... bummer for the rest who are good guys though! ...:-?

[BenDover]

Sorry I have removed the link showing the boat add. Ive calmed down more now. Still dont think what they did is right. But like whats been said. Its all a learning experience

[svranjic]

Know how you feel mate

Recently I purchased a new boat trailer from a large well known boat dealership here in Perth. I asked them to price match another dealership and asked them to pay for the registration of the new trailer (why the hell would I have to pay for rego on a brand new trailer???). The dealer principle calls me and acts like a total condescending tool. Anyhow he agrees and orders the trailer in. Now it is a brand new trailer made and purchased in 2009. The idiot goes and registers the trailer as a 2008. When I went back to the dealership to query it and ask that they fix up the error I am taken into his office and told its my problem and that there is no way they are going to fix it.

It gets better, the fools didnt bother to check the compliance plate of the trailer when it arrived at the dealership. The compliance plate said 2008. You would think they would look at the plate and go wait a minute we are at the end of 2009 the customer ordered and paid for a brand new trailer. So they handed me a new compliance plate with 2009 stamped on it, which was ordered from the trailer's manufacturer. They chucked it to me and told me to fit it myself and fix the registration on my own.

Bastards - will never deal with them again.

The bloke I purchased my boat from told me it was a 1998 model when it was a 1990 model. There are more sharks on land than there are in water

[Flex]

got a story much worse than that and from a private seller, I found a pretty rare boat that I was after in QLD (I am in south NSW) called the guy, told him I will come up tomorrow, organised an expensive air fare, hire car and so on, called the guy again and said I would be there tomorrow at about 12:30, gave him my mobile number incase he needed to contact me, got up early next day, drive to Sydney Airport, up to Brisbane, collect hire car, give the guy a call again telling him I would be about an hour away, when I find his house, the boat is not there, he sold it to a guy while I was driving up from Brisbane and did not even call me to at least save me some of the trip, I asked why he would do such a thing, and his reply (and he is sort of right) was that he was not sure I would ever turn up, and the guy had the money there and then! Now what he said is quite true, but he could at least have had the common courtesy to at least wait the half hour or so for me to get there seeing as I had called him from Brisbane Airport telling him I was on my way, what a jerk!

I hope that boat wasn't one of the fabled Centre console podded shark cats was it? Be enough to break a man i rekon.

[Fatenhappy]

Know how you feel mate

Recently I purchased a new boat trailer from a large well known boat dealership here in Perth. I asked them to price match another dealership and asked them to pay for the registration of the new trailer (why the hell would I have to pay for rego on a brand new trailer???). The dealer principle calls me and acts like a total condescending tool. Anyhow he agrees and orders the trailer in. Now it is a brand new trailer made and purchased in 2009. The idiot goes and registers the trailer as a 2008. When I went back to the dealership to query it and ask that they fix up the error I am taken into his office and told its my problem and that there is no way they are going to fix it.

It gets better, the fools didnt bother to check the compliance plate of the trailer when it arrived at the dealership. The compliance plate said 2008. You would think they would look at the plate and go wait a minute we are at the end of 2009 the customer ordered and paid for a brand new trailer. So they handed me a new compliance plate with 2009 stamped on it, which was ordered from the trailer's manufacturer. They chucked it to me and told me to fit it myself and fix the registration on my own.

Bastards - will never deal with them again.

The bloke I purchased my boat from told me it was a 1998 model when it was a 1990 model. There are more sharks on land than there are in water


Call me stupid, but i'd imagine there'd have to be issues there for WA State Transport/Police to get involved in wouldn't there ? .... :-?

[svranjic]

I did call transport time and time again trying to resolve the issue. I kept getting told different information and fobbed off. In fact they actually sent me out a boat registration sticker when I was asking about fixing the registration relating to a boat trailer...... idiots!!!

In the end I finally was told to re-register the trailer under the correct build date I would have to take the trailer over the pits and pay the $200 odd to have it re registered and inspected.

That would be pointless because part of the deal was the dealer had to pay for 1 yr of rego for free. No point being out of pocket 200 bux just to change the build date on the licensing papers.

I have the receipt etc for the trailer and have attached the proper correct compliance plate to it. Obviously the trailer manufacturer knew they had messed up because they had a new compliance plate printed and stamped for me with the correct build date and chassis number on it.

I dunno what else I was supposed to do

[Tangles]

Sometimes the antics of salesmen will give great pleasure;D

I remember putting a deposit down on a second hand Sig 580f at a price from a Bris dealer who deals in them, the price was funny as the guy had it originally private on Boat Point for 4 k less, anyway as luck would have it was within a day now in a dealers yard and of course the price went up... anyway we negotiated with the dealer and got a price i was happy to pay. So far so good.

i put down a decent deposit and thought all was good. Thought i had bought a boat, well driving home i got a call that my deposit was now no good ( not accepted even though it was 40 mins earlier?) and they had another buyer at a higher price with a better deposit and price. My offer and deposit was rejected, Would i match it? I know i could of stood up but frankly it gave me the shits.

Uuhmm NO , we had a deal i said and a deposit, but if this is the way you deal, good luck with the new buyer and cancelled the deposit immediately ( they where good about that)..anyway I walked away.

3-4 days later i get a call from the same salesman telling me my deposit now stood ?and was now all good and i happy owner of a boat ( at that higher price, not what we what agreed originally)..

Well driving into work with the salesman on the mobile i had the pleasure of telling him what to do with with it, so i never got my sig 580f,,,

cheers
Mike

[Fatenhappy]

Sometimes the antics of salesmen will give great pleasure

I remember putting a deposit down on a second hand Sig 580f at a price from a Bris dealer who deals in them, the price was funny as the guy had it originally private on Boat Point for 4 k less, anyway as luck would have it was within a day now in a dealers yard and of course the price went up... anyway we negotiated with the dealer and got a price i was happy to pay. So far so good.

i put down a decent deposit and thought all was good. Thought i had bought a boat, well driving home i got a call that my deposit was now no good ( not accepted even though it was 40 mins earlier?) and they had another buyer at a higher price with a better deposit and price. My offer and deposit was rejected, Would i match it? I know i could of stood up but frankly it gave me the shits.

Uuhmm NO , we had a deal i said and a deposit, but if this is the way you deal, good luck with the new buyer and cancelled the deposit immediately ( they where good about that)..anyway I walked away.

3-4 days later i get a call from the same salesman telling me my deposit now stood ?and was now all good and i happy owner of a boat ( at that higher price, not what we what agreed originally)..

Well driving into work with the salesman on the mobile i had the pleasure of telling him what to do with with it, so i never got my sig 580f,,,

cheers
Mike

Hey Mike ... Its known as you probably know in regards real estate industry as Gazumping (probably not spelt right) and is now illegal in QLD for the past few years... Dunno if it also extends to other areas such as boating?

[geoffmck]

got a story much worse than that and from a private seller, I found a pretty rare boat that I was after in QLD (I am in south NSW) called the guy, told him I will come up tomorrow, organised an expensive air fare, hire car and so on, called the guy again and said I would be there tomorrow at about 12:30, gave him my mobile number incase he needed to contact me, got up early next day, drive to Sydney Airport, up to Brisbane, collect hire car, give the guy a call again telling him I would be about an hour away, when I find his house, the boat is not there, he sold it to a guy while I was driving up from Brisbane and did not even call me to at least save me some of the trip, I asked why he would do such a thing, and his reply (and he is sort of right) was that he was not sure I would ever turn up, and the guy had the money there and then! Now what he said is quite true, but he could at least have had the common courtesy to at least wait the half hour or so for me to get there seeing as I had called him from Brisbane Airport telling him I was on my way, what a jerk!

Noel, you must have had to exercise a fair amount of restraint while talking to the guy face to face! What a pr*ck!

[Thunderace2]

Well firstly, let me tell you of my distrust in the sales people involved. NOT ALL BOAT SALES PEOPLE.

Had a look at a boat which I liked very much. My dad was actually the first to talk with these salesman and had given his details. The boat was apparently sold pending finance and had fallen through the finance stage/or the person had pulled out 4 times previously. He said he couldnt sell the boat to us but will call if the deal falls through. 2 days later get a call asking if we want the boat still as it available. But others are interested and we should leave a $100 deposit. And we did. This was on monday. The plan was to take it out and go through it propperly and test it on the water today. I get to my dads house early and he tells me the salesman had already called him EARLY. And asked if we where still coming today. And continued to say that the guy who had pulled out before us wanted it again and had made them a great deal so do we want to buy the boat today or not. Dad said that we are definately interested but we hadnt even tested it yet. And that if we where to buy it today it would be subject to finance. Enough said.

In the car and on the way up there the phone rings again. Its the saleman saying that they dont do subject to finance deals. And continuing to pressure us to sign up as soon as we get there without even taking the boat out. By this stage I was pissed off bigtime. I told them to sell it to someone else and give me the $100 bucks back.

No wonder noone has purchased this boat!!!!!
No way to do business at all and left a bad taste in me and my fathers mouth. >:(


Hmmm, pressuring you to buy before testing, maybe he's trying to hide something too, you might have avoided a bullet !!!!

[Stonkered]

I wouldn't have expected that sort of treatment from a large dealer such as Northside Marine. A mate of mine bought NEW boat from them and was very happy with the service... Just goes to show a lot depends on the actual salesperson you are dealing with.....

[Noelm]

I hope that boat wasn't one of the fabled Centre console podded shark cats was it? Be enough to break a man i rekon.
pretty close, it was an old 18' centre console cat that had not been used for years, I have heard of a few lying about in back yards, but so far no one has come up with an address or name.

[SeaHunt]

Yes I don't know why they go the high pressure route, I think it turns most Australians completely off.
It certainly annoys me.
I like the guys that ring you up or come to your door trying to sell you something or sign you up for something.
Nowadays I always start with " mate I am fifty something and I have never bought anything from some idiot that just shows up at my door or phones me up, and I never will, if I want something I will go find it".
They don't hand around too long after that..
The worst one lately was one of those guys trying to sign you up to a different electricity provider, he made it sound like it was compulsory, saying you're the only one that hasn't transferred in your street, if you get your lisence we can get started etc.. etc.. I gave him the talk and he said don't you want to save 7% ?
I said, lets see that would be about $25 off my electricity bill, not worth it to have to listen to you. Annoying Prick.

[BenDover]

Sometimes the antics of salesmen will give great pleasure;D

I remember putting a deposit down on a second hand Sig 580f at a price from a Bris dealer who deals in them, the price was funny as the guy had it originally private on Boat Point for 4 k less, anyway as luck would have it was within a day now in a dealers yard and of course the price went up... anyway we negotiated with the dealer and got a price i was happy to pay. So far so good.

i put down a decent deposit and thought all was good. Thought i had bought a boat, well driving home i got a call that my deposit was now no good ( not accepted even though it was 40 mins earlier?) and they had another buyer at a higher price with a better deposit and price. My offer and deposit was rejected, Would i match it? I know i could of stood up but frankly it gave me the shits.

Uuhmm NO , we had a deal i said and a deposit, but if this is the way you deal, good luck with the new buyer and cancelled the deposit immediately ( they where good about that)..anyway I walked away.

3-4 days later i get a call from the same salesman telling me my deposit now stood ?and was now all good and i happy owner of a boat ( at that higher price, not what we what agreed originally)..

Well driving into work with the salesman on the mobile i had the pleasure of telling him what to do with with it, so i never got my sig 580f,,,

cheers
Mike

Wow Mike, That is a terrible terrible story mate. Youve made me feel alot better ;D . Its partly my own fault for trusting in the boating industry ie salesman to do the right thing. And also for getting my hopes a little high for getting this boat. Turns out I am a platnum customer of aussie boat loans and they offered me a rate of 9.25 and can maybe do better depending on how much I want to borrow and the boat. This next boat I will purchase is only my second, so I am still a novice at all this. I didnt think boat salesman could be as bad as car salesman as we all share the same love of boating and fishing.... Wrong... Im a fair bloke and just want a fair go. Thats all

I have been to another dealer who was very good and helpful and a pretty good deal on a boat. But sadly this experience has left a bad taste in my mouth and I have decided to forget about it for a while. I think the problem is buying a used boat. With a new boat you can leave a deposit and make a deal and they can always order you a new 1 in.

[cormorant]

New boat ------Pfttttttt . If the dealer and manufacturer are still in business when it is delivery time.

If it isn't on the floor and I can walk away with it there is very little chance of getting my $


If the boat is there and it is the right one buy it - I resent having to deal with half wits but that is the process and the pain when looking for one offs like boats.

Out of interest is the boat still for sale - was it really for sale or was it just bait?? Very odd for teh add to go MIA the day a thread starts mentioning it. Management have anything to say to you or help with scumbag salesman and have you got your deposit back?

If the management were not interested it says a lot about the company and is a definate alarm bells ringing situation for everyone.


PS if you still have original details I would contact owner direct if it was on consignment. Better deal and no cccick head to deal with.

[tippers]

not sure if he still works there, but a guy called david from leisure marine at capalaba nearlly sucked me in! Not going to go into any details though be cautious!!!

[hakuna]

got my last boat from Northside Marine, all went well, dropped my old boat for trade in up there for the morning for them to look at, old seaferer viking, told them there was a lot of rot in floor I cut out, rest seemed ok, for them to look at it and come to their own assumption.
Did the deal and got the new boat, 4 weeks later I got a solicitor letter from them that I traded in a dodgie boat and that they had to replace the rotted floor/ fix some of transom, $5000 bill, was taking me to court.
Told them to sue me, never heard from them again, nor been back

cheers

[BenDover]

got my last boat from Northside Marine, all went well, dropped my old boat for trade in up there for the morning for them to look at, old seaferer viking, told them there was a lot of rot in floor I cut out, rest seemed ok, for them to look at it and come to their own assumption.
Did the deal and got the new boat, 4 weeks later I got a solicitor letter from them that I traded in a dodgie boat and that they had to replace the rotted floor/ fix some of transom, $5000 bill, was taking me to court.
Told them to sue me, never heard from them again, nor been back

cheers


WHOLLY CRAP!!!!! The stories are just getting worse and worse. What is the best way to buy a boat without all this drama? Broker...?? I dont have time for games. I see a boat I like. I want to take it for a spin, check it all out, make a deal and buy the thing. Drive it away that same day. So long as im driving away with a smile on my face and happy its all good.

[Jarrah Jack]

There are bad stories out there but there are always lots of good ones. I've brought over ten boats and never had a bad experience, ok one was half bad.

You never know something good may come out of it. You'll certainly be more prepared when buying your next boat. There are plenty of bad stories no matter how you buy or what you buy for that matter. There is one common denominator in it all and thats people. There's good and bad, times when the good can be bad and the bad can be good and lots in between.

You'll know when its time to move on. I don't think Noelms experience has stopped him from looking for that legendary CC sharkcat sitting in someones back yard (Sounds a bit like Noals arck to me)

Good luck with it all Matey

[TheRealAndy]

I am going to stay quiet on this one but suffice to say if you get on the phone and chew greg nickersons ear off you fill find he is actually not a bad bloke. I am guessing the only feedback he gets on his salesman are dollar figures, but perhaps he never hears about the bad aspects. Might be worth a call.

Last time NSM got a flogging on here Greg got on and set the record straight. Maybe he might just be monitoring this thread.

[BenDover]

Just for the record, I have had nothing but great feed back and advice from people on this site. I have also been approached by a few other dealers via this site with some nice boats and a great attitude.

Thanks guys you know who you are...

[NTMID8]

Dont despare BenDover there are good stories, i myself when buying my first boat was like you keen as mustard but here in SA everyone wants 5k more than the eastern state equivilants. Anywhoos i found a great looking sig 470 in Vic, i emailed the owner as i had a very strict height restriction (my rollor door is only 2300 heigh) the bloke was really great to talk with, he emailed me tons of pics and clarified everything. I told him that i was driving over from Adelaide and i would be furious if there was something wrong with the boat and he though that "oh if i get him over here i will pressure the buy"
Well needless to say the boat was in A1 condition, it had spent its entire life in a warehouse (the bloke owns 2 bike stores in Vic) there was nothing dodgy about it so after my 11hr drive, 2 hrs of checking everything over i hooked her up, organised my insurance and trekked the next 12hrs home.
Boat is great, no problems and love every minute of being in it.

[Sea-Dog]

not sure if he still works there, but a guy called david from leisure marine at capalaba nearlly sucked me in! Not going to go into any details though be cautious!!!

Check out the bloke's fingernails.

Very long and manicured looking... Hmmmm :-?