After several comments on Aquatica Marine and Galleon Marine (Langley), I had to add just one more post to this otherwise boring blog. As you can see by reading all of the comments, there are many people out there who have been taken advantage of by the unscrupulous people at this Langley boat dealership. I have no personal knowledge as to who the new owners are of this new iteration of the business, but would recommend you be extremely cautious if you are planning to buy a boat from this dealer. Please read all of the attached comments.
If anyone has any concrete information about the new ownership, please share it here.
Cabin Chronicles 
norman dube has partnered up with some new money from the car business as most can probably tell from the product out front. the car guys seem like good guys i hope they can keep norm in line. friend of mine went in and got a bit of run around on his boat service but hoping that is growing pains.
Oh no! Norm Dube is a horrible piece of shit! They fucked us really! We purchased a boat from them last August pending a sea trial Warren Motley takes us for our sea trial the Bimini top comes flying off on highway on way to lake tears the shit out of itself and my boat! Assured up-and-down that this would be fixed it would be back to knew we wouldn’t even know what happened. Now after almost a year of unreturned phone calls and unreturned emails I’m sitting with a boat with All kinds of scratches on the fiberglass on the glass on the aluminum the Bimini stanchions are just pitted. There is a hole in the Bimini canvas and Norm at marine one wants nothing to do with us and says he’s done he’s white to sounds of it. Help!
There is a common thread running through all of these complaints about the prior incarnations of what is now known as Marine One, Langley; the dubious character and behaviour of the owner. The owner(s) always sets the tone for the entire operation, of course.
One of the owners (sales manager) of Marine One (and prior incarnations) is a classic bullshit artist. No big deal, we all know a few, not an unusual trait to encounter in a career sales person, but this is how you need to protect yourself from such artistry if you are buying an expensive used boat. Used boats, unlike your typical used car, are only as good as how well they have been maintained and operated by the previous owners. Key steps:
1. Research the used boat manufacturer and model carefully. Find as many comparable boats as you can find. Read the reviews and forums referencing the model of interest. Take note of known problems with the model. Become a knowledgeable buyer. Bullshit artists thrive on ignorance. Don’t like what you are reading about the boat that interests you? Look for another boat.
2. Ask the dealership sales manager lots and lots of questions about the used boat (number of owners, where has it been previously registered, log and hours, SERVICE RECORDS, etc, etc). All such historical information should be confirmed in writing by the sales manager – or subsequently be confirmed in writing by you. Document the backstory.
Note, if there are no service records (a red flag for any used boat) the dealer should, at their cost, provide a full mechanical condition report by a licensed mechanic (no exceptions). Won’t do that? Walk away.
3. And finally, assuming you have not walked away at steps 1 or 2, make all offers subject to obtaining a “satisfactory” MARINE SURVEY (no exceptions) and a sea trial. Note, a good dealer will typically agree to share the cost of the marine survey 50/50 if material (expensive) problems are uncovered by the Surveyor. If the dealer won’t agree to that split, it tells you something about his level of confidence in the boat. Your call on that tell.
In an ideal world, a dealership will already have a current Marine Survey on file for any used boat that obviously warrants a survey due to age or condition. But that would be an unusual dealer. If you find a dealer like that in BC, jackhamdplease post the name and location in this excellent blog!
Jack
Jack,
thank you for the well written response and advice, but I’d like to add a dose of reality to it.
More often than not, a used boat isn’t even owned by the dealer or broker who is listing it, they are simply consigning the boat for an owner.
1. I would agree that service records on used boats are extremely important, but if the dealer or broker does not own the vessel (ie. taken in on trade) they would never agree to absorb the cost of a mechanical inspection. I would expect a reputable dealer to recommend an inspection be completed but it would be the buyer or even the seller who would have to front the cost for such an inspection.
2 Survey: Same argument as above. If the broker or dealer owns the vessel then they likely do have a recent survey, but if they don’t own it I would never expect them to split the cost of a survey.
You raise an important point, Mike. One that was implied in my earlier advice, but not specifically stated.
So yes, be VERY cautious about buying a used boat “on consignment” with a boat dealer.
If you want to buy used clothing or furniture from a consignment store, fine — but nothing as sensitive to hidden or latent problems as a used boat. A consignee has no real skin in the game and is cloaked in plausible deniability. And, as Mike illustrates, the consignee has little to no motivation to…do the right thing.
Post Script: A boat accepted as a “trade-in” by a boat dealer is OWNED by the dealer. Consigned boats are owned by another party — an unknown party from your perspective. If you are not sure what you are dealing with, ask.