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Originally Posted by MAXUM
For all those that don't know and this is a very good thing to point out, and a nice nugget of information that I picked up along the way. The sales and service departments of most dealerships are separate. That means if a boat comes in, most places WILL NOT send the boat through the shop because it is charged back to the sales department which cuts commissions and profit margins. Therefore they do as little as possible to flip a used boat.
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Beyond basic clean up and repair of known problems I don't see a problem with this. If I were going to sell my car or my house I wouldn't pay to have a mechanic or a house inspector look for problems that I would then have to pay to fix. If I am already aware of a problem, fine. I can either fix the problem and try to pass along some of the cost or tell the buyer the problem exists and let them decide if they want to purchase and take care of the problem themselves.
Suppose, for example, that a dealership decides to go above and beyond and fully inspect and recondition a boat that comes in for sale. They spend $2000 on this. They then mark the price up $2000 over the book value of the boat and give you a 6 month warrenty. A "well informed" buyer comes in and says the book value is $2000 less. They say, "Yes, however we have fully reconditioned the boat and have given you a warrenty". The buyer may not value the dealers work and not want to pay the extra. Many buyers are very price sensitive. So the dealer may or may not be able to recoup the money they put into bringing the boat into top condition. Only a buyer can put value on reconditioning a boat. So the dealer learns to fix known problems, which is ethically correct, and not look for other issues.
If I am on the buying side I would pay an independent mechanic or home inspector to look over the car, boat, or house. I would then have an independent, expert opinion as to the condition of the item. Further, they could authenticate claims that maintenance had been done and if if appears to have been done correctly. It costs me a couple of houses of labor but I reap the benefits of exposing potential problems and piece of mind.