Are prices going to be lower at the boat shows or is it too early to tell?

what boat show<img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/uhoh.gif" border=0> thats how bad it is!

buy used <BR>there are great deals because peeps gotta dump their boats, barely used, few buyers, lotsa boats <BR>=buyers market... <BR> <BR>plus you'd be helpin somebody out out who needs to get rid of their boat.

help me out and buy mine hahaha. its a 07 RZ2 fully loaded for 51K(normal showroom price would of been 65k). full factory warranty and i mean fullllll. its a dealer boat from my parents dealership so the warranty hasn't started yet. gotta make room for the 09 in mid feb.

i can even bring it to you when i go to get my new one from the tige factory in feb hahhaahaah.

i can even bring it to you when i go to get my new one from the tige factory in feb hahhaahaah.

post up what kind of boat you are looking for and price range, and I'd bet you'd get a whole bunch of offers via PM from some dealers and private sellers. It'd also give us WW'ers something to do other than argue about every little thing that comes up! haha

Checkout onlyinboards for used boats... For me: It would have to be an outstanding good deal to buy new.. I have a feeling that many boat manufacturers will be gone or in bankruptcy by summer: Either way you lose the warranty.

Ken, can you elaborate on that comment? That's scary to hear.

I want a SAN 210. I wanted to get the latest hull so I wouldn't want anything older than the 2007. I won't be ready to buy until, January or February. Which warranties are transferrable?

Ken, when you say that what companies do you see as the weakest? <BR> <BR>Are any wakeboat companies public so we can inspect their financial situation???

Correct Craft -->Owned by the Meloon family <BR> <BR>Mastercraft -->Owned by 2 well known private equity firms (one of them is Penske racing team from Nascar) <BR> <BR>Malibu -->Owned by ??? <BR> <BR>Skiers Choice -->Owned by ??? <BR> <BR>Tige -->Owned by ??? <BR> <BR> <BR>Of Malibu, Supra, and Tige which i couldn't find much ownership info about, I don't think any of them are public, b/c they would have a stock ticker and they don't. <BR> <BR>Unless you have some inside information, I think you would simply be guessing on the financial state of any of the wakeboat companies.

color scheme might be a little off, but if you could knock a few k off you could wrap the boat and have an 07 210 with super low hours for 45k with a custom wrap! <BR> <BR><a href="http://www.onlyinboards.com/Details.aspx?ID=815684" target="_blank">http://www.onlyinboards.com/Details.aspx?ID=815684</a>

SS, TJ <BR> <BR>I do not have any hard facts behind my gut feeling.. It's just like I said in my post "I have a feeling".. The point I started getting worried about boat manufacturers came only in the last couple of weeks with the following info I read and heard: <BR> <BR>I heard about the Mastercraft $25,000 cashback rebate. This rebate requires a few hoops to jump thru, and it is not paid back for 3 years.. What this said to me was that 1. MasterCraft is hurting for sales, 2. of course they are counting on some buyers to not follow thru, and 3. They need cash now to survive, and are hoping things are much better 3 years from now. <BR> <BR>I read the Foxsports Nascar Article that said Centurion is pulling its Nascar title sponser spot "Company officials said the decision was based on the downturn in the national economy. Centurion spokesman Les Clark said the company has cut production 50 percent and laid off half its work force at its North Carolina manufacturing facility." Kind of strange that there is virtually no boat manufactures talking to our industry about the hard times. <BR> <BR>I also received a phone call this morning from a wakeboard boat manufacturer regional rep who said that a large (i will not name becasue it is hearsay) and very respected boat manufacturer is getting ready to do an enormous boat buy back from dealers.. This boat manufacturer is bigger and badder than any of the wakeboard boat manufacturers, so I can only assume that the same situation is happening with wakeboard boat manufacturers.. <BR> <BR>Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but my gut feeling is that things are not good at all... <BR> <BR>(Message edited by bulletlines on December 19, 2008)

economic tsunami

The economy is bad, but not the apocalypse that everyone makes it out to be. The real question is how long will it last and how long can the boat dealers survive in a bad market. <BR> <BR>The big three (Malibu, Master Craft and Correct Craft) will survive by hibernating. Dealers have so much 07 &amp; 08 overstock that there will be no need to manufacture many 09 boats. I do see many of the smaller boat companies going under. <BR> <BR>The dealers are a different story. Most dealers have a huge stock of new boats. The overstock must create a tremendous overhead and this prevents them from waiting out the storm. This overstock will eventually destroy even the strongest dealers. <BR> <BR>One of two things will happen. The economy will recover by summer and you will see the smartest dealers survived. If the economy remains poor for more than two seasons, the dealers will go out of business and you will see that overstock go to auction. If dealers go under, you may see a new way to buy a boat once the market recovers. Probably direct from the manufacture or from a few nationwide dealers at boat shows and through the internet. <BR> <BR>I see no reason to buy a 09 since nothing has really changed with the new models. Dealers are giving smoking deals on their new 07 &amp; 08 to release the financial burden overstock creates. I have found I can get a better deal on a new 08 than a used boat due to price cuts, rebates and financing. <BR> <BR>I don’t see any better deals coming to the boat show. I have read that many dealers can’t afford the hefty price required to attend this year. In other words, buy now or see what happens fall 2010. <BR> <BR>I do not work in the industry and maybe talking through my a$$ just like everyone else. No one really knows what will happen.

First off Ken, <BR>in order... <BR>MC does not fund the $25K and has been associated with the company Cash Rewards for a few years now. It is a sales tool/incentive to help sell boats. They pay for the cost to enter the customer in the program, nothing else. And yes...they do need to sell boats, production has already been cut back. <BR> <BR>There are dollars for every company that are allocated to marketing to the masses. Centurian was doing Nascar hoping for a return on thier investment. They may have pulled the plug on it regardless of the current economy if they could not see a tangible return on investment. But yes, they to are cutting back on expenses and manufacturing. I'd be we'll see more of that from the factories. It is not the largest expense by any means, but when necessary, cut back anywhere you can to get though. GM isn't sponsoring Tiger anymore either...that's a whole differnt can of worms...yikes! <BR> <BR>Can't comment on the last one. Wouldn't suprise me though. Overall point is that YES, it is a buyers market. If in a position to buy, it is a very good time. my $0.02.

Check out the October 13, FORTUNE magazine article on the amount of unclaimed debt out there. It makes all the bailouts the govt has given look like a drop in a bucket.

Mark, <BR> <BR>I appreciate your thoughts and feedback. I guess I stand corrected on the MC rebate program. I would like to say again that these are my gut feelings and instincts. I truly feel the boat manufacturers are running on very thin cashflow right now, and a poor Spring sales season will hurt really bad for most manufacturers.. <BR> <BR>I don't think doomsday is coming for wakeboarding: I just think that the playing field will be dramatically changed. <BR> <BR>I think that good deals on new 2008 can be found, but it is a balancing act how aggressive on pricing you can be with the dealer. Some dealers will drop the bottom out to sell a boat, but probably won't be around long to service the boat. The smarter dealers will give good deals, but keep some profit in it. Remember - There is nothing wrong with a dealer making a profit, so be reasonable when negotiating.