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Never Buy without a Pre-Purchase Evaluation

About three years ago, I went out fishing with one of my buddies on his boat. We had a really good time, caught a fair amount of fish, and I was hooked. I felt the need to go out and buy my own boat. I’m in my mid-twenties and I don’t have a lot of extra money sitting in the bank, so I decided to put all of my tip money away to put toward buying the boat of my dreams. Unfortunately, the boat of my dreams was way above the budget that I had to work with. My parents always said that I had champagne taste on a water budget.

I had taken days and weeks to look over every ad on Craigslist and other similar websites. There were some that were appealing, and some that weren’t but I kind of had an affinity for one in particular. It was a twenty-six foot Bayliner. The perfect size for what I need, and he price was right too.

I should have known that something was up when the seller wouldn’t put it out on the water. Unfortunately, I was starry eyed and only hindsight is truly 20-20. I got the boat home and started to clean her up. I was daydreaming about days on the water with friends. That’s when I noticed this huge crack in the hull of the boat. My dream bubble burst and I knew I needed to get professional help. I called Simex International – Marine Surveyors in Fort Lauderdale. I set up an appointment and brought the boat over for an inspection.

There’s no other way to put it. I got ripped off. The seller had to have known about the issue, but I signed an agreement that the boat was sold as is. I understand that you live and learn, but this was a really expensive lesson for me. I’ve also learned that I am way too trusting of people. It would cost more to repair the boat than it was worth. In all reality, I threw my money into the water before I could get out on it.

About a year or so earlier, I had enough money saved to try this again. I found what I thought was a great boat however; I told the seller I wanted a pre-purchase inspection done by Simex International – Marine Surveyors in Fort Lauderdale. The guy had no problem. The marine surveyor provided me with the report and the boat was good. I bought it and have no regrets. If I can offer new boat buyers any advice, it would be to call Simex International – Marine Surveyors for a pre-purchase inspection in Fort Lauderdale. You won’t be sorry.

Captain Paul F. Squire

Captain Paul F Squire

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Insurance Surveys

There are many requirements that an insurance company expects the Fort Lauderdale owner of a vessel to comply with, including a mandatory marine insurance survey. When you need marine consultants in Fort Lauderdale, it would be wise to contact the most widely sought after vessel insurance inspectors in the area, Simex International – Marine Surveyors in Fort Lauderdale.

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"Captain Paul did an excellent job . He was prompt and extremely thorough. He was invaluable in helping me make a decision in purchasing a vessel. You won't find anyone better."

Charles Burch

"A customer is the most important visitor. He is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption of our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider to our business. He is part of it. We are not doing him a favor by serving him. He is doing us a favor by giving us the opportunity to do so. -- Mahatma Gandhi"

 

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