Question About Boat Dealers

[agallant80]

I have been looking at trading my boat and I have had offers from dealers from $25K to $45K. Keep on looking. But then again its $200

 

[Expidia]

Ummm, $200 difference on a $17,000 boat and you walked? I would not consider yourself a "horse trader". Did you even offer to split the difference and seal the deal for a $100 extra?

Also, garaged or not, everyone thinks their rig was kept in "pristine" condition. A buyer probably would have a lesser opinion of the condition. Any boat is only worth what a buyer would be willing to offer you for it.

I'd be the first one to sell my rig on Craigslist rather than have a dealer make too much on the deal, but as others have already said selling it yourself can be a real PITA.
Selling a boat in my area of the Northeast in November, I'd doubt prices would firm up again until the Spring. And having to set up appointments for the bargain hunters over the winter to see your rig and thats if they show up at all, most don't, but if its priced to sell the one person that actually sees your rig usually buys it.
Around here how would they even test drive it?

But wouldn't it be a hoot if someone came out mid winter to see your boat and offered you $200 less . . . but you refused

 

[Begester]

Not sure where you live but a Bass Tracker seems like a pretty popular boat and likely has more than 1 dealer in your area. I did this when I bought my truck...shopped several Chevy dealers against eachother and it worked great.

Although I did learn that for an extra few hundred bucks, if you like the guy your dealing with...its worth its weight in gold!

 

[jbcurt00]

When there's a big problem, you really don't want to be this guy:

Not sure where you live but a Bass Tracker seems like a pretty popular boat and likely has more than 1 dealer in your area. I did this when I bought my truck...shopped several Chevy dealers against eachother and it worked great.

For work we bought a work vehicle from a Ford dealer where an employee's husband works. Beat them up @$ to get a 'good' used demo 15passenger 3/4ton van at a great price, w/ extended warranty. Now we HAVE to let them do the warranty service, the other small Ford dealer won't do THEIR warranty work, and it takes forever to get it back nearly every time.....

The employee and her husband won't forget it anytime soon, and he wasn't the sales guy. He's their service manager.....:facepalm: And talk about a coniption, you'd have thought we killed some baby seals when the boss decided her new company vehicle needed to be a delivery van of sorts and they bought a Honda Element.......

And ABSOLUTELY:

Although I did learn that for an extra few hundred bucks, if you like the guy your dealing with...its worth its weight in gold!

 

[WrenchHead]

If you are up north, wait 'til the snow flies. And one question - Are you paying cash or financing?

I'm in Florida and I got cash. I bought my 2005 from the same dealer for cash.

 

[WrenchHead]

Maybe dealer thought you would cave in? Probably waiting for you to return :noidea:

They didn't realize they were dealing with a hard-headed redneck sumbitch

 

[WrenchHead]

go find another one and get your $200.

I found a new Alumacraft at another dealer but when I returned for a second look it had been sold.

 

[WrenchHead]

If your boat is garage kept, clean and runs good, why trade for another very similar rig?....just run what you have ,enjoy it and keep your money over at the bank....At least wait until your boat gives some trouble or you want a different rig....Heck, you might trade for that new one and it might not run as good as what you have....then you'd be kicking yourself for trading...

Yeah, mine runs like new and looks like new, garage kept. I just wanted to trade because mine is 10 years old and the money in the bank ain't doing me any good. The interest sucks. The dealer has to sell boats to stay in business, but I can run this boat the rest of my fishing days. Yeah, a new one could be trouble, this one has never been in the shop. I change the oil and replaced the water pump impeller myself.

 

[WrenchHead]

On the flip side you really walked over $200? I'll bet you spend more than that on beer and food on a good weekend.

Well, there was a little more involved but I didn't want to get too windy. Now I'll explain -- originally, without seeing my boat, they said they would give me between $3,865 to $4,935. Their boat, which had to be ordered was $17,345. When they later evaluated my boat they offered $4,500. I said I would think about it. I call them in a couple of days and said I had a counter proposal -- give me $4,900 and I would buy the boat setting in their lot which had a price of $17,045. They counter offered and said they would meet me in the middle at $4,700 for my boat. I agreed. They said to clean out my boat, bring the title and they would get the new boat ready. As I'm taking my anchors and spare tire off my boat they call back and say the sales manager has to stick to the $4,500 offer. I said I would think about it. I put everything back in my boat and went fishing the next day. Boy did it run nice. The dealer lost the chance to move a new boat in their inventory because they wanted $200 more. And don't forget -- they reneged on their offer. I'm a compromising kinda guy, but I don't like it when someone tries the old "bait and switch".

 

[WrenchHead]

got friends who get a new car every year.; both of them. Some people just like new. Plus we get to buy used.

I buy a new F-150 every two years, yeah I like new and I like a warranty, and I can't stand to work on old vehicles.

 

[WrenchHead]

Your spending $14K (aft tax, reg, fees &etc, the $17K less $4500) for a new boat and walked for $200?

I expect you'll spend part ir most of a tank of gas looking at 3 or 4 more boats, plus some time online & boat shopping marinas or yards. Seems penny wise, pound foolish.



What WAS full retail on the $17K boat? I'd bet it was discounted some already....

And do you have any $4700 offers to buy your current boat?

Another perfect example of why boats & boat buying isnt like cars & car buying....

How long do you think it'd take the dealer to sell your used boat going into winter? There is also the risk that it'll take months to sell your boat & he'll end up selling it for less then the $5500 you said he planned to sell it for.

If i was the dealer, the $200 is what I'd consider part of the earned interest/return on his sitting on a used boat for a couple months.

The new boat was a BassTracker, non-negotiable price for a package deal all over the country at $17,045. You can price them on the internet at Bass Pro Shops. The dealer said they would make $1,000 on the new boat and $1,000 on my boat. That would give them a profit of $2,000, but they wouldn't trade for a profit of $1,800. So be it. I could sell my boat for around $6,000 but didn't want strange people coming to my house. Sometimes that can open a can of worms.

 

[jbcurt00]

The fact they backed out of the agreed price was an important detail. Completely changes the situation.

Esp when factoring a deal for a sales floor boat vs an as ordered package.

Good luck, enjoy the new stuff. The guy I helped rehab a couple boats in the way back bought & worked on projects because he HAD to.

Once he didnt have to, he stopped & when new for cars, trucks & boats.

 

[pckeen]

Watch out everyone. THE MOB HAS BEEN AWAKENED.

:mask::mask::mask::mask::mask::mask::mask::mask::mask::mask::mask::mask::mask::mask::mask::mask::mask::mask::mask::mask::mask::mask:

Ruuuuuuuunn:bolt:

 

[ssobol]

I once worked at a company that didn't do anything if they didn't get at least 15% return. Once when things were slow someone came along with a deal that would have got them 12%. The company said no thanks. I said "things are slow, isn't 12% better than zero". The company thought different.

Maybe the boat dealer has some sort of policy that if they don't make $2K on a deal then they're not doing it. Unless there are a lot of deals to be had, companies with this attitude often don't last.

 

[WrenchHead]

I once worked at a company that didn't do anything if they didn't get at least 15% return. Once when things were slow someone came along with a deal that would have got them 12%. The company said no thanks. I said "things are slow, isn't 12% better than zero". The company thought different.

Maybe the boat dealer has some sort of policy that if they don't make $2K on a deal then they're not doing it. Unless there are a lot of deals to be had, companies with this attitude often don't last.

A dollar in the hand is worth two in the bush. Profit is profit. All companies need cash flow. They say a Bass Tracker is a fixed price. But even if they sold my boat for what they had in it they would add $1,000 (or more) to their treasury. If they want to trade boats with me they need to understand the meaning of trade. Since they reneged on their price I should call them and say I'll take their deal, get the boat ready. Then call them back later and say I need more for my boat. Paybacks are hell.

 

[64osby]

That $1000 profit might actually be costing the company money. I worked for a company that would not pay commissions if a deal fell below 10% margin.

If a dealer actually started prepping a boat on a verbal deal I would be surprised. It takes paperwork for the shop to get going.

 

[airdvr1227]

A dollar in the hand is worth two in the bush. Profit is profit. All companies need cash flow. They say a Bass Tracker is a fixed price. But even if they sold my boat for what they had in it they would add $1,000 (or more) to their treasury. If they want to trade boats with me they need to understand the meaning of trade. Since they reneged on their price I should call them and say I'll take their deal, get the boat ready. Then call them back later and say I need more for my boat. Paybacks are hell.

Statement like 'sold it for what they had in it' show that you truly don't understand the process or the math. Most don't. In order to know how much the dealer has in your trade you need to know what the dealer's cost is for the new rig. And you won't know that. Where I worked the bottom line was making 22% profit. If we didn't get there it was no deal.

Because the Bass Tracker is a fixed price the manufacturer has actually made it even more difficult to take in your trade. The difference between his asking price and his cost is all he has to work with. The first number the dealer looks at when considering your trade is ACV...Actual Cash Value. I guarantee you the dealer was not putting $4500 in your trade and was trying to figure out how he was going to make money on a unit that he probably wouldn't sell until spring. So, every dollar more that he gives you over his trade ACV is actually money he is discounting off the profit on the new unit. Example...if the dealer puts and ACV on your trade of $3500 and shows you $4500 he actually reduced his profit on the deal by $1000.00. What puts dealers out of business isn't letting a potential sale walk over $200. It's kidding themselves on what the trade ACV really is.

 

[Tail_Gunner]

I purchased a new Bass Tracker package in 2005 w/60 hp Merc 4-stroke. Went back to same dealer looking to trade for a new 2015 Bass Tracker with same package. They checked over my boat and offered me $4,500 for trade-in on the $17,045 new boat which was setting on their lot. My boat is garage kept, extra clean, runs perfect at any speed. Starts up quickly like a car. I wanted $4,700 for my boat but they refused to bump up $200 on the trade-in. Claimed they would only make $1,000 on the new boat and make only $1,000 on my boat when it sold. So they wanted $2,000 profit out of the deal but would not accept $1,800. I walked and that was two weeks ago. I have purchased over 12 new vehicles and could always negotiate deals after a little back and forth. Anyone have experience horse-trading with boat dealers? I was wondering if all boat dealers are so stubborn.

There are not to many time's i will not even wade into a conversation of this sort....but here we go...going to a bit sharp angled....A few things to consider...Health Care for employee's.... the cost about 600 per month per employee...advertising...did you know a half page ad in a newspaper cost about 6000 a day....and ok light's.....and heat...and state employee comp benefits...then there's that dam salesman...then the title clerk...then there's the receptionist
....and the finance guy ...the 401k matching contribution's...uhh rent or mortage..serious...Let's add the cost of flooring on say 1 million.. and last but not least the guys' who work on the boat's..think they work for 10.00 a hour...ohh and the factory training and diag machine's..at the end of the day 2000 seem's extremely healthy and if it was profit most owner's would be dancing madly backward's.

On your end yes 2000 is a lot of money and very much respected wether you know it or not that's a huge amount of money but once all the cost's are accounted for it's gone.. In this day and age most dealer's grin and bear it...make the most of it...smile and be happy.....A bit jaded yes but the truth of the matter 2000 turn's into a hundred or two and the end of the day. Actually in the old day's it was horse trading and money was made, that was the old day's.

The above is a Opinion your mileage will vary.

 

[roffey]

I worked at a auto dealership for a few years, when you take a trade you tie up all your profit and then some in the trade. It was my experience we rarely sold the traded vehicle for more than we paid for it, but that is most likely why I no longer sell cars, LOL.If you don't sell the boat until next year that zero dollars in your pocket and being the end of the year they may not sell or service much of anything until the spring.

At the end of the day you make the best deal you can and if your not happy with it then don't di it, I would walk over one dollar if I did not like the dealer or the sales person. It's my money

 

[Brian 26]

A dollar in the hand is worth two in the bush.

Very true but the dealer is not getting a dollar in the hand on this deal, they're getting a boat in hand. When they finally sell that boat they will have their dollars, which probably won't be until spring. I know a guy that owns a large boat dealership and he will not take boats in on trade for this reason (with rare exceptions). It's also the reason that most car dealers send cars traded in right to an auction to sell at a wholesale price.

I agree with you 100% that when that salesman went back on his verbal agreement you should have walked.