Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

We test drove a boat yesterday but did not purchase it for a variety of reasons. I would like to share our experience with the test drive and get some feedback.

The boat was a 2010 and had not been registered since 2013. The plastic corner guards were damaged in the front. One actually actually had a hole in it. Jim said there were a lot of dings on the toons on the inside roughly 4" in size. I saw good length scratch but could not be felt.

The salesman said they serviced it which meant changed the oil. The boat was winterized. It needed a new battery and fresh gas for the test drive. When launching the boat, it did not want to start. Eventually it did. While driving on the water, I could feel a surging sensation. Another test was to put the boat into reverse and started out fine, then shut completely down. The salesperson said we probably hit a log because we were on the river. We did not feel anything on board that would indicate a collision with a foreign object. The motor did restart and the salesman said it was not built to do a lot of reverse driving. The prop did not look damaged when returned to the trailer. The guy said the problems experienced also could have been from being fogged.

We were unhappy with the performance of the engine. Is this typical of bringing a boat out of winterization? There was a small warranty left on it (3 weeks) and suggested taking it to an authorized Merc service center closer to home. This dealer was called Marine Service Center. Lol. The boat was on consignment and obviously the seller did not want to invest anything more than they had to in order to sell the boat.

Thoughts?

Edit: At times you could smell gas.

All the red flags were flying and I think you've made your decision and just looking for affirmation so I'd keep looking for the right Toon .

Yes and no. We are new to outboards. We currently own a I/O but never had to deal with these type of issues. The care and maintenance is different so we are learning with each boat we examine.

With excuses like those, I bet the salesman was wearing plaid pants and jacket.

I'd look further too. Last spring when we were looking, I found some used boats like I was in the market for but all had issues. Ended up making a trip to Bass Pro and buying a new toon.

Sounds like you did the right thing, The Folks as Marine Service Center didn't do a good job getting it ready or Don't know how! The problems that engine was having could be easy fixes, so the fact that it was having problems tell me it was not checked out properly or there are bigger problems.

Beware of salesmen dismissing problems, its what they do, when there are problems.

LadyGT wrote:.....The motor did restart and the salesman said it was not built to do a lot of reverse driving.....

Sounds like it's a fuel related issue. Been sitting for over a year at least due to the registration being expired. The fuel in the system likely wasn't treated properly when the boat was sidelined or parked. Any and all the fuel in the system in the meantime has gone bad and the only thing they did was pour a couple gallons of fresh fuel to dilute whatever bad fuel was in the tank, filters, lines, and motor. Bad rotten fuel simply will not burn properly and will create all the problems you have experienced.

I would run the engine on an external tank after all the fuel filters are replaced. The engine is likely fine. I would have a compression test done to make sure though.

4" dents in toons? There are better boats out there on the retail market. Run from this one--and the salesman too.

My husband is a sheet metal journeyman and has been repairing aircraft skins for 30 years. He looked the boat over pretty carefully. We are learning a lot about pontoons as we search for a boat. He is being extremely cautious when it comes to the motors because they are the most expensive part of purchasing a boat.

We have been wondering if putting on 150 hours a summer is excessive? We have seen rentals that look nice, but we know they run properly. Should they be avoided?

Sounds like to me you are trying to find reasons to buy this boat instead of listening to what people here have said. Good luck on your purchase.

wickerbill wrote:Sounds like to me you are trying to find reasons to buy this boat instead of listening to what people here have said. Good luck on your purchase.

Bill,

I believe her question on the 150 hours was on a totally different toon.

GT,

run from the first boat!
But there are a number of people on here that have bought rentals. You are correct in saying they are usually regularly serviced. 150 hours isn't bad. I go down at most every other weekend from May to October and put between 50 and 70 hours so you aren't out of line there.

I am just sharing my experience while shopping for a boat. We did walk away because too many red flags and would be a money pit in a year or so. The cushions were starting to crack so add another $1k for new upholstery. Our current speed boat is over 20 years old and garage kept. The interior looks and feels like the day we brought it home. Hard to believe that for the money of a new boat, people do not take better care of them.

I think you're showing good judgement in walking away from the boat.

I'd bet money that if you'd bought it, the salesmans "Assurances" would have evaporated and you'd have been left holding the bag.

There are a ton of good boats out there.

A rental is a very good option in my opinion, both our current boat, and our boat before it, were both 1 year old rentals. We were very happy with both. Our only reason for trading in the first rental to get the one we have now was to upgrade from a 2 log 90 HP boat to a triple log PTX package with a 150 HP.