Out of town dealer.....would you???

[SCSTWG]

I am a newbie condsidering buying a new or near new Chaparral, but I am concerned that the closest dealer is 60 miles away as opposed to Sea-Ray, Rinker and others that are right on the lake a few minutes from my house. How big of a deal is it? Should I try to stick with a local dealer that has certified repair personnel? Thanks for your input.

 

[tommays]

Re: Out of town dealer.....would you???

I would stay local as it seems every new boat needs things fixed

 

[gkp200]

Re: Out of town dealer.....would you???

I would take the better deal wherever it is. I bought local Jun 07 as I followed all the advice to buy local, even though it cost me an extra $2K. Dealer went out of business 3 months later. I moved to another area shortly after. That local dealer just went out of business in July.

 

[dave11]

Re: Out of town dealer.....would you???

Buy the boat you want. 60 miles is really nothing for the right boat.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Out of town dealer.....would you???

agree, after the warranty is out the other dealers will be glad to take your money to service the drive train. they may even service it under warranty, seeing they are all mercruisers.

 

[204 Escape]

Re: Out of town dealer.....would you???

Our dealer is 93.87 miles from my house. He is also advertised as being the only dealer in Kansas being right on the lake. I like this because if we need repairs, we can immediately test drive our boat. Besides we have a really, really good relationship with our dealership, and their staff.

Yes, I'd go with the dealer that is 60 miles away, providing:

1) They will give you a good price
2) They will give you good service

If you can't get this, from any dealer, you bought a boat with "future problems in the making", as far as I'm concerned !!!!!!!!!!! Just my $0.02 worth.

 

[TBarCYa]

Re: Out of town dealer.....would you???

I just bought my boat from a dealer that is about 80 miles from home. There is a local dealer that I will use in a pinch for warranty work, but I got a better deal where I bought the boat.

One thing to consider is that if there are several brands from the same company (ie: Bayliner and Maxum) then you could possibly lean on one of the other dealers for warranty work as well. I don't know for sure that this works, but it can't hurt to ask.