[Caspersa21]

I have a potential buyer for our '98 246 Talari and he asked for proof that it will run. The motor has only 480 hours on it, and it's always started and run perfect for us, but I see his side of it too. I don't have maintenance records on it.

Anyone ever dealt with this before? Could I put water back in and start her up?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!! I knew I should have taken video of motor running before we put her away!

Thanks,
Casper

[Dredd]

I've never bought anything without personally hearing it run or at least knowing it has good compression... so I see his side.
I looked at a winterized boat this weekend and the only piece of mind the seller could give me is, "I'll stand behind it 100% for a year, as long as whatever goes wrong isn't caused by user error." Pretty big words. I would never hold the guy to it but, the fact that he even said it somehow made me feel pretty good about what I was looking at.
You could maybe offer to put something in the bill of sale like that, maybe a bit less dramatic, such as: If it doesn't start the first time out then you'll buy it back.

[Caspersa21]

I'm confident it will start and run, no doubt. We kind of have plans for the money if we sell it, you see. I totally see his side of it, I've just never been in this position before. I'd rather de-winterize it at my own cost to show him it runs. Is that a bad idea? Antifreeze is cheap enough.

Thanks for your thoughts.

[Dredd]

I don't think that's a bad idea at all. Piece of mind for both parties.
That would honestly be my preference as a buyer in the first place.

[Caspersa21]

Ok, then we'll probably do that. Thanks Dredd!

[blockp]

If the buyer seems sincere about buying it and the last item on their check list is that it starts and runs well, then it's definitely worth your time to start it up. Obviously after it's been run and they buy it, _they_ are responsible to winterize it property. So it will only cost you antifreeze if they don't like the sound of the motor and back out of the transaction.

Either way, 20 bux worth of antifreeze is a small price to pay to close the deal. Start it up.

And I'm with Dredd. I wouldn't buy a motorized anything on the promise from the seller that it runs well. If you're not willing to start it for me, then I assume you're hiding something.

[ShabahZ280]

Agreed... I purchased my boat in January of 2006, and insisted on a sea trial. I was breaking through skim ice on the Chesapeake Bay with air temps of 27 degrees. Ran it for about 30 minutes. The boat was winterized the next day as part of the purchase. If you can get the engine up to temperature, that'll probably give you (or the buyer) a day or two in order to get it re-winterized before any significant freeze danger arises.

[depman160]

My only recommendation is that no matter what you end up doing, make sure the agreement is in WRITING.

Anyone who watches People's Court will tell you, buying and selling an item is considered an "as-is" deal, UNLESS there is some kind of agreement in place and faults/problems are disclosed.

Just best to cover your ass in case you have to de-winterize and then re-winterize the engine, regardless if the person buys it.