I just bought a boat ...turns out to be a bad motor...from an individual .. is there a lemon law to help me?

Question

I bought a boat from an individual that looks good and the motor sounded real nice when the water was hooked up to it. But when I got it on the water the exhaust pipe keeps rupturing indicating theres a problem with the engine. I believe he knowingly sold it to me with problems. I bought the boat with a line of credit on a credit through my credit union. Can I dispute it? Is there any way I can get the money back and return the boat? Is there any law that protects consumers in a situation like this?

Answer 1

The law won't protect you unless you can prove fraud.

Present the bill for repair to the seller and see what reaction you get.

Now you have two options:

1. fix it yourself and bite the bullet on the repair

2. take them to court and sue for damages. Make sure you have all your ducks in a row, and have proof for everything.

Answer 2

Not what you're going to want to hear but...

Caveat emptor: let the buyer beware

This we have all heard too many times. You as the purchaser should have insisted on test driving the boat on the water. Hooking the muffs up to the outdrive only shows that the engine starts and runs and this is never done under a load.

Not being a lawyer you could have legal recourse against the seller "IF" you can prove that he had knowledge of the defect and did not disclose it to you. You may want to check with state and local consumer agencies to see if you have any recourse...but it will still be up to you to prove that the seller without a shadow of doubt knew of the defect and knowingly made the sale without disclosing it to you.

With all of this said a better definition of "caveat emptor" would be:

"The axiom or principle in commerce that the buyer alone is responsible for assessing the quality of a purchase before buying."

Answer 3

It's very difficult to get any compensation if you bought it from a private owner.  Most U.S. federal and state laws on matters of property and sale require that the buyer verify the item/product's condition before buying as most sales are done on a "AS-IS" basis.

I believe the moral of this lesson here is always demand a test drive of a boat AND demand to take it to a marine mechanic of your chosing to inspect it at your own expense.

Answer 4

lemon laws are for purchases from dealers.  And usually for cars not boats.

Almost all deals done in private are "as-is" - meaning no guarantee and no warranty.  People usually sell their cars and boats BECAUSE something is wrong and they just don't want to deal with it any more.  Next time you should expect to spend some $$ of after purchase repairs.

Sorry to deliver the bad news.

Good Luck...

Answer 5

depends on a few things, how long you've owned it, did you buy it from a person or dealership, and if from a person did it have written "as is where is" or "no warranty implied".  If either fo these I'm sorry but your outta luck.  You may want to talk to the bank to see if they can help as well, but if its an aftermarket thing, then its kind of implied that there are no warranties.  As for the exhaust, what part keeps busting, is it the header gaskets?  If so it may be the wrong gasket for the heads or just bad gaskets in general, need more info you may want to talk to the credit union, sometimes they can help you with disputes.