Thinking about a new boat?

[ckone0814]

Re: Thinking about a new boat?

We looked at two boats today, 2008 Century 1850 dc and a 1902 cc. Both prices came back just under $29k with rebates included. I'm not even close to being an expert on boats or prices but these seemed high. I'd be interested if they could get into the 22-23 range but starting at 29 I doubt that's gonna happen.

 

[Dirty Dawg]

Re: Thinking about a new boat?

624MX, so that may be the hook, wait for the rebate and recoup some of the the losses, interesting business model!

What type of profit margin does the boat business generally have? Obviously it most vary but any estimate? Ike

 

[642mx]

Re: Thinking about a new boat?

624MX, so that may be the hook, wait for the rebate and recoup some of the the losses, interesting business model!

What type of profit margin does the boat business generally have? Obviously it most vary but any estimate? Ike

I'm not sure what the profit margin on boats are. If I had to guess, its probably 8-12% like the ATV business.

 

[642mx]

Re: Thinking about a new boat?

We looked at two boats today, 2008 Century 1850 dc and a 1902 cc. Both prices came back just under $29k with rebates included. I'm not even close to being an expert on boats or prices but these seemed high. I'd be interested if they could get into the 22-23 range but starting at 29 I doubt that's gonna happen.

If your serious about buying.... Go in there with a cashiers check in hand for the price your willing to pay. Go straight to the owner or sales manager and tell him he can make $23K in 30 seconds today.

You would be surprised what that kind of attitude can do. I bought my last truck like that. The dealer told me what they wanted for the truck, and I wrote a personal check in front of the sales manager for what I would pay..... 5 minutes later I was signing papers on the truck I wanted for the price I was willing to pay.

 

[ckone0814]

Re: Thinking about a new boat?

If your serious about buying.... Go in there with a cashiers check in hand for the price your willing to pay. Go straight to the owner or sales manager and tell him he can make $23K in 30 seconds today.

You would be surprised what that kind of attitude can do. I bought my last truck like that. The dealer told me what they wanted for the truck, and I wrote a personal check in front of the sales manager for what I would pay..... 5 minutes later I was signing papers on the truck I wanted for the price I was willing to pay.

Yup, i've done that for my last 3 cars, "I'll buy that car right now for $XXXXX (insert well under invoice number here)" and I have no fear doing it for my boat. I'm a cash buyer.

It just would be nice to know what XXXXX should be - for cars, i'm informedbut for boats, i'm not so i have no confidence they can do XXXXXX...

 

[jacknbella]

Re: Thinking about a new boat?

That's an excellent idea. Although, I wish I had the cohones to walk into a dealership with a cashiers check like you have! Unfortunately, I'll need some financing ahead of time so that won't work for me

As far as buying new then taking the depreciation hit... well, consider this: I'm working with a Four Winns dealer in regards to ordering a new 2009 H220 Frenzy from the factory and its MSRP is $56,900 but he is willing to sell it for $39,000. That's nearly $18K off the sticker price. Who's taking the depreciation hit here??? Or, is this common practice with boat dealers?

Please share your thoughts.

 

[642mx]

Re: Thinking about a new boat?

That's an excellent idea. Although, I wish I had the cohones to walk into a dealership with a cashiers check like you have! Unfortunately, I'll need some financing ahead of time so that won't work for me

As far as buying new then taking the depreciation hit... well, consider this: I'm working with a Four Winns dealer in regards to ordering a new 2009 H220 Frenzy from the factory and its MSRP is $56,900 but he is willing to sell it for $39,000. That's nearly $18K off the sticker price. Who's taking the depreciation hit here??? Or, is this common practice with boat dealers?

Please share your thoughts.

Ahhh financing.... Unfortunately, my wife doesn't believe in financing.... anything! (well except our house) If she did, I would've had a much bigger/newer boat in the garage...lol.

18K off is possibly a good deal. Is the dealer showing you what MSRP is? Or is the information common knowledge? (for example, does 4 Winns post MSRP on the web?). Don't ever trust a piece of paper any dealer sticks in front of you.

 

[Dirty Dawg]

Re: Thinking about a new boat?

That the nice point about buying cars. The "basic" manufactures cost is pretty well know and can be easily figured out.

Can you do the same for boats? Ike

 

[ckone0814]

Re: Thinking about a new boat?

That the nice point about buying cars. The "basic" manufactures cost is pretty well know and can be easily figured out.

Can you do the same for boats? Ike

That's what I wanted to know. I've decided I'm just going to focus on one or two boats then go around in person (or by internet if i have to) and throw out some offers. If nobody bites, then they can pay the interest till Spring.

 

[jacknbella]

Re: Thinking about a new boat?

The MSRP numbers I shared earlier came from their website under the "Build a New Boat" category. Do dealers use a different MSRP value? Is it possible to get their INVOICE cost somehow, similar to what some automotive companies use?

 

[haskindm]

Re: Thinking about a new boat?

Figuring out a "good" price on a new boat is definitely harder than it is on a car. Many (if not most) manufacturers do not publish an MSRP and boats are not required to have window stickers like cars are. Good luck in finding out the invoice price, I don't know of anyplace that it is available. I also suspect that invoice may change from dealer to dealer depending on volume and location. Definitely a very different business model than cars. Is pent many hours on the Internet trying to determine a "good" price. Found very few dealers that publish their prices in the brand that for which I was looking. Ended up looking at the prices for the same boat a year or two old and extrapolating how much more I was willing to pay for new...

 

[OldePharte]

Re: Thinking about a new boat?

I have been told by the Bosslady that we "will" have a new boat come spring! So, come February, I'll be hitting the local boat shows rather hard. 2008 or 2009 makes no difference to me. It will be a 26 foot tri-toon so we can take out "The Boy", our 4 year old grandson. Our lake is so rough on most summer weekends, we need something more stable and smoother than our 24 foot deck boat.

And oh, we will be paying cash.

 

[marco-polo]

Re: Thinking about a new boat?

I'm not sure what the profit margin on boats are. If I had to guess, its probably 8-12% like the ATV business.

I just bought a new Chaparral. I believe the dealer mark-up is way greater than 8-12%. I would bargain for a bigger discount. I also believe now is the best time to buy. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas these dealers are doing nothing but paying overhead, mechanics salaries and interest and they have very little coming in. If you write a check and wave it in front of them you can get a good deal. If you wait until the first of the year, then they're going to hold out till boat show season. Now is the time to deal. Someone else's advice about being careful who you buy from is very true. In today's economy, doesn't do much good to get a great deal, then not be able to have a dealer to service and honor your warranty.

Good luck

 

[2manytoys]

Re: Thinking about a new boat?

I just purchased a 09 last week and got a better deal then some of the 08 closeouts. The dealer I purchased from made the mistake of telling me that they had not sold a boat in 30 days. I did a lot of comparisons and then went in with an offer that was $1200 less than their "best price" and they accepted. The other bonus was the boat had to be ordered and I do not have to take delivery until the Spring, which means I get to hold onto to my money until then! A lot of folks might think I am crazy for buying a boat with the current economical situation, but I will guarantee that when things turn around you won't get a better price than I did.