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Old     (cougarfan83)      Join Date: Sep 2011       07-11-2012, 7:50 AM Reply   
My wife and I haven't purchased a boat before, so we need some expert advice.

We are likely going to purchase a 2013 boat. Are we best off waiting until the first of the year and purchasing at a boat show? Or will that even make a difference?
Old     (boardjnky4)      Join Date: Dec 2011       07-11-2012, 7:53 AM Reply   
You would be better off waiting until the winter and making a deal on a leftover 2012. Anytime after Thanksgiving is usually when they start to make deals.
Old     (polarbill)      Join Date: Jun 2003       07-11-2012, 8:01 AM Reply   
I wouldn't be surprised if some dealers are already discounting their 2012's. The 2013 are starting to hit dealers right now I think so they need to make room for them. They have also probably had their 2012's on the lot long enough that they are paying interest on the flooring now. See if you can find out what the boat show specials(usually not that great of a deal) and tell them you want 5% less and you don't want to pay freight and prep. You might be able to get a better deal then at the boat show. Again, I don't think the deals at the boat show are anything special.
Old     (hunter660)      Join Date: Aug 2007       07-11-2012, 9:59 AM Reply   
I waited until boat shows last year and it ended up being June before I got my boat. If I ever order another one I will not wait that long again.
Old     (saberworks)      Join Date: Sep 2010       07-11-2012, 2:05 PM Reply   
I wasn't all that impressed with the boat show specials either. I was able to negotiate a much lower price on an axis a22 from a dealer that wasn't at the boat show than the one that was (didn't end up buying one after all, though). The moomba/supra specials are "free" upgrades, not necessarily $ off the sticker price. I was only really looking at Axis, Sanger, and Moomba/Supra since I almost fell over when I saw the prices on the Mastercrafts, Malibus, and CC.
Old     (nitrousbird)      Join Date: Sep 2008       07-11-2012, 3:51 PM Reply   
You would be best off not buying a brand new boat as your first boat. You WILL ding up your first boat. A gently used boat will save you a fortune and be a bit more forgiving of any mistakes you may make.
Old     (ixfe)      Join Date: Aug 2008       07-11-2012, 4:04 PM Reply   
I don't really buy into the idea that boats are cheaper at the boat show. Imagine if you saw a boat at the show with a "special" price tag of $75k. If you went to that same dealer a month later and said, "Please honor the $75k boat show price," what's he gonna say...? No??? Yeah right!

I think the real question is whether or not you want to use the boat this year or not. If you have already flushed this year, then I'd go do a custom order in November or December. That is by far the SLOWEST time of year for boat sales. Might be your best chance to make a deal. And you'll get in line before the boat show rush. Tell them exactly when you want it delivered (i.e. when you want to start paying for it).

Up here in Portland our dealer (AWS) does a big in-house event in November (Evening with the Stars) for just this reason. It's the best time to order new, IMHO.
Old     (bruizza)      Join Date: May 2009       07-11-2012, 5:31 PM Reply   
I think what you miss out on with not ordering at the boat show is factory incentives. We waited until a few months after the boat show and couldn't get the three free upgrades Tige was offering at the boat show. We still got the "boat show" price just minus factory incentives. Cost us several grand extra. This is all independent to the various manufacturers and the incentives change frequently.
Old     (cwb4me)      Join Date: Apr 2010       07-11-2012, 5:33 PM Reply   
I bought my 2007 in october of 2006[well i ordered it then].I Ordered my 2011 in February of 2011 and saved about the same percentage on both,give or take 1 or 2 percent.It really depends on the dealer.But as mentioned above if the dealer has a leftover 2012 he may be more motivated to sell it.
Old     (fullspeed)      Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Santa Cruz County CA       07-11-2012, 8:28 PM Reply   
My family owns a couple RV dealerships and we attend the RV/Boat show in Pleasanton every year and it cost us a fortune. It is a joke how much they charge us just to be there and then to transport all the RV's, salesmen and extra help it cost us a ton. The Manufactures do help pay a little of our expenses, but honestly that is not much compared to the overall cost. Do you get a good deal? Sure you get a good deal, but if you came to our dealership you would of gotten the same deal every day of the week and an even better deal at the end of the month and an even better deal if you showed up after 5pm. So is it a great deal, NO!, just good or adverage.

.....Boat and RV are the same if you have to special order them there really are no great deals. Special orders are singles and we buy in huge bulk 5,6 to 7 million $$ in one order to get deals from the Manufacture and an order of 1 RV the manufactures will not kick down any real discounts. We end up paying full price on the RV at our dealer cost and shipping too. You will alway get a better deal if you buy from a dealer's already delivered inventory and of coarse if it has been sitting there for half the year, because the dealer is already pay for flooring on the item and they want it gone. We are already ordering 2013 inventory now and discounting 2012, because we know that most RV are bought before or at the beginning of summer and I know the boat dealerships are thinking the same thing.

Car dealerships are different they have manufacture's kickbacks at the end of the year by how many vehicles sold. This keeps them competitive pricing among car dealerships and allows them to show their dealer cost to the customer and act like there is no real money in the purchase for the dealership, but again at the end of the year there is the kickback for each vehicle sold, this ads up. This is not true for RV and I doubt is it is for boat either. Don't know why, maybe the volume sold is not there. The concept of getting a great deal on a purchase is the same if you want a great deal on a car though.

Good Luck.
Old     (Kingsriver)      Join Date: Aug 2011       07-11-2012, 9:35 PM Reply   
I think your best option would be a 2012 leftover in the Fall. I bought a new Sanger 237 in April but wanted to pull the trigger In the fall but my wife said no. I would spend your time now looking for a new boat and be ready pull the trigger on your terms when you can make that great deal. At the end of the day you will love you boat and based on the used market think it is worth going new. I love my new boat.
Old     (cougarfan83)      Join Date: Sep 2011       07-11-2012, 11:25 PM Reply   
Good advice all, thank you!

Our local dealership has two 2012's in stock currently. Both are great, but not our "ideal". Based on the research we have done, they seem to be offering us a fair price now. If we roll the dice and hope they don't sell, I am pretty sure we could get a bigger discount in the fall. However, at that point the season will be over and we will be making payments for something we are not using, paying for storage, and will have a "year-older" boat when it comes to resell down the road.

We are being told the 2013's will have a 5% markup (ridiculous in my opinion given that there will be no changes, but that is another subject). Running the numbers for storage ($150/month x 8=$1200)+payments (300/month x 8=$2400) + the year-to-year depreciation ($2000)....=$5600 before we really even use it. That is not including costs to winterize and insure.

Seems to me, that even though we might pay a 5% premium for a 2013 model, we really wouldn't be out that much more than had we bought now. Plus we end up with a boat that we designed and is "perfect' for us.

Is this just faulty logic? What am I missing?

Last edited by cougarfan83; 07-11-2012 at 11:27 PM. Reason: misspell
Old     (boardjnky4)      Join Date: Dec 2011       07-12-2012, 5:46 AM Reply   
Those numbers are a little bit misleading though, because the monthly payments are helping you pay down the loan and you are getting equity in the boat.

It really depends on the boat though. For example, the X-Star is all new for 2013 and highly anticipated. It would be worth the 5% increase (it will likely be more but just giving an example). If there are no major changes to a design, then there is no point in paying more.

If I were looking to buy a few year old boat right now, lets say for example, an Axis. I would expect 2010s and 2011s to be in the exact same price range. I wouldn't pay more for a 2011 just based on the year alone. The value comes from hours, condition, options at that point. If the 2010 is better kept, lower hours, better optioned, then I certainly would pay more for it than a 2011.

So what I am saying, is don't let the year steer you one way or another unless there is some big difference in design. Get the boat that is optioned better and cheaper.
Old     (lukus)      Join Date: Jul 2009       07-12-2012, 6:24 AM Reply   
If you're looking to get the best deal on a new boat, the hold over route is the way to go. We bought a hold over 2011 in March of this year for less than what I am seeing used 2009 & 2010 boats listed for right now. It was one of the last two 2011 boats on the lot and the dealer was obviously looking to unload them.

If there isn't a hull change between years and you are ok with not having the boat optioned exactly how you want, look into the hold overs. If you need/want the latest and greatest wait till the deadest part of the year and buy then. If you want a custom order boat, you're probably not going to be able to negotiate a great deal regardless (unless you've bought mulitple boats from the dealer).
Old     (stang_killa_ss)      Join Date: Jan 2010       07-12-2012, 1:24 PM Reply   
it definatly makes a difference. i saved $4k by buying at a boat show.
also you dont have to actually buy at the show. you can put down deposit ($250) and buy or order later thats what i did(custom order). its good for a couple months and still get the boat show discount.
Old     (cwb4me)      Join Date: Apr 2010       07-12-2012, 5:15 PM Reply   
I don't believe boat manufactures give better deals for boats at different times of the year.I do believe Dealers give better deals at the beginning of the model year and out of season.That way they can say we have already sold x # of boats and have income for payroll in the lean months.Left over models are just that.The boats with the colors and options nobody wanted.I would much rather pay for something i and others would want, than paying for a good price on a boat nobody wanted.
Old     (Kingsriver)      Join Date: Aug 2011       07-12-2012, 9:36 PM Reply   
Buy a boat that you want and don't buy it because it was a good deal. You will have the boat for 10 years maybe so get one you love. This is your first boat so be 100% excited about your purchase.
Old     (Orange)      Join Date: Jun 2012       07-12-2012, 10:24 PM Reply   
Being your first boat, I recommend considering a lightly used boat - maybe a 2007--2010 range. Unless you've been out on a number of friends boats for quite some time, it may be that you don't yet know what kind of boat you really want. Getiing a used boat will be cheaper (especially if your state doesn't charge sales tax on private party transactions) and will allow you to get out on the water for a season or two to learn how you really use your boat and not how you think you will use it.

I bought my first boat to satisfy what I thought I wanted. After just one season I found myself with buyers remorse. There was nothing wrong with my boat at all, but I figured out that some of the watersports I thought I wold do a ton were more of a hobby, while others I thought were a curiosity were my passion. I also hadn't paid enough attention to some of the features I thought were sales gimmick, but we're actually critical. In other words, after a year of use I discovered my dream boat was not what I thought and not what I bought. I ended. Up selling that boat and getting something more tailored to what I do, and now I'm much happier.
Old     (cougarfan83)      Join Date: Sep 2011       07-13-2012, 9:12 AM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by Orange View Post
Being your first boat, I recommend considering a lightly used boat - maybe a 2007--2010 range. Unless you've been out on a number of friends boats for quite some time, it may be that you don't yet know what kind of boat you really want. Getiing a used boat will be cheaper (especially if your state doesn't charge sales tax on private party transactions) and will allow you to get out on the water for a season or two to learn how you really use your boat and not how you think you will use it.

I bought my first boat to satisfy what I thought I wanted. After just one season I found myself with buyers remorse. There was nothing wrong with my boat at all, but I figured out that some of the watersports I thought I wold do a ton were more of a hobby, while others I thought were a curiosity were my passion. I also hadn't paid enough attention to some of the features I thought were sales gimmick, but we're actually critical. In other words, after a year of use I discovered my dream boat was not what I thought and not what I bought. I ended. Up selling that boat and getting something more tailored to what I do, and now I'm much happier.
I've spent quite a bit of time on my buddy's boat the past three years. We go out every week. He's got a Moomba. I have another buddy with a Mastercraft and one with a Malibu. I feel like I have a pretty good idea what things are important to me and what I really like and don't like. I certainly wouldn't want to buy something being a complete novice, but I feel like I have a good grasp. Not to mention, I spent a ton of time on here getting educated from all you folks. Good advice for sure.

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