Re: Boat show season approaching
I would only use a boat show to see one in person and to narrow down your choices to 2 or 3 models you could live with.
Then I would watch Craigslist each day towards the spring and be willing to drive an hour or two from your home to go see one of those choices, that looked good to you from the show. I wouldn't even talk to anyone at the show because these are salesman that make a living selling you on a great deal.
If you have to drive some miles from your house give them a refundable deposit on Paypal before you drive out though otherwise you might drive out there and they already sold the boat to the first person who saw it.
Most good rigs at a fair price will never see a second buyer!
Buy used if you can, 2 or 3 years later you're sure to trade up to another rig once you get some experience with what you really want in a boat. Most of these models that you will be looking at are pretty much all the same when comparing quality build names against each other. Much like Ford, Buick Chevy's etc there are some of us that are willing to pay up a little for the Honda's and the Toyota's.
I know you've asked before why Lund's are more money than say an Alumacraft. To me personally, it's like comparing a Chevy to a Toyota (Honda, BMW etc). Both are similar cars, but the Toyota, Honda's Beamer's simply have a proven history of a better repair records and a better build quality. Doesn't mean Chevy doesn't make a nice car now a days but there is a reason American car companies have lost something like 50% or greater of their market share to Japanese cars over the years.
More value for your money with the foreign cars in my opinion.
So save your money from taking a big hit on depreciation by buying from the shows or a dealer if you can. You will never keep your first boat 10 years anyway. I'm on my 6 one over the past 30 years and looking to move up again.
Grab one off Craigslist or your local paper and save big bucks. With oil prices has high as they are used boats are taking big hits.
Just type into google as an example: craigslist Trophy 1750 . . . and be ready with a cash deposit and drive out to see one that sounds good. They will disappear like hotcakes though after May/June etc.
Once you get past the Spring though used boats will be very hard to find. I tried for months and finally gave up and went with a new one because by that time I knew exactly what I wanted. But I visited and got a work up from several out of my area Lund dealers. Then I came back to my Local Lund dealer and was able to arrive at a fair deal with them. Any local dealer will warranty the brand they sell if you buy a boat somewhere else and the boat has a warranty left. The boat or motor company pays the dealer to do the repair.
I normally don't get suckered into buying extended warranties but I just boat the 40 hp Merc extended warranty which extends the 3 years to a (transferable) 6 years from Merc for $357. If you buy a few year old rig you can still add an extended warranty in most cases. What do you think "one" repair is going to cost on a $5400 outboard?
Good luck with your search . . . I went through the same thing in the months up through last Mar as you're going through and finally bought new but at a good price. Be aware that you probably won't see an ordered boat for 12 weeks plus. Mine finally came in June! But I had bought another boat in an end of season deal the year before so I had another boat to use. Then they told me that everyone orders boats at the boat shows in March. If I ordered it in Feb it would have come in 2 weeks.
The other boat which I bought in 06 was a new 13 foot Sylvan Alaskan Deluxe which sold on Craigslist in 3 days, for more than I paid for it
I know I'll take a hit now on selling my 2007 boat because I was forced to buy it new, but I also know a 30k when new boat, buying it 2 or 3 years old is going to take an even bigger hit for the person selling it, so I'll make it up on that end and be in the exact boat I want now.
What do you think possible and probable continuation of a oil per barrel at current levels of $97 and maybe seeing $5 a gal at the marinas this season are going to do to boat prices. But talk to a dealer at the show or their dealership and they will always give you a story on why boat prices are going up and you better buy right now
If you get stuck buying new, I personally did not allow them to work up a deal including accessories . . . Your best deal is going to be a bare bones one, they make all their margins on accessories just like cars and you can't compare apples to apples from place to place. Boat, motor and trailer that's it that's all. Buy the boat with the features it comes with and buy the accessories (as another poster has already said separately) best online with free shipping and no taxes in some cases and always for a lot less than a dealer. Also, Walmart has a lot of the basic stuff like lines, anchors, covers etc and name brands . . . cheap.
