Promo or Demo boats........

Does anyone have any info on just how to get one?! Or just how the whole program works.

Looking to buy a used promo boat, or looking to become a promo boat owner/driver?

know some people who have had nautiques for a while. Seems like every year they have to have the boat at a few tournies, and then at the end of the year they get a new boat. I guess they make up the price dif from a yr old to new one by takin it to some events. But there is still that initial cost on gettin the first boat, however maybe they will cut a lil off the price if you sign up fot that. I'd try to get in touch with manufacturers and dealers all over the place for info

From the people I talked to, the first year is like 10%off, next is 20%, next is 30% and so on...

Contact a dealer, they usually set up the demo team. When I was working at the MC dealer we had a couple of guys that did it every year for us and we would usually help them find buyers for their boats at the end of the season.

I have a demo Gekko GTO-22 available - inexpensive for the right rider.

rider@boarditup.com

To get a demo/promo boat you have to 1) be a pretty good rider and 2) take it to local events and show it off. Thats the main thing.

Actually, usually skill has nothing to do with promoing a boat. We have promoed Centurion for the last 2 years. You are required to pull at least 5 events for Centurion, pretty standard throughout the industry. The boat has to be set up perfect and be ready to pull at the first tournament. You also have to be ready to have someone else drive your brand new boat, have people track in dirt/grime, etc., and then go home late Sunday night and clean the thing and get it ready for the next weekend. Scottay is a little off, promo prices do not change, at least for any of the manufacturers I have talked to, which include the big 3. You pretty much have to sell your boat for enough to buy the next one. MC and CC dealers have the option to buy the boat back and sell it. It is kind of hard to break in and usually dealers want someone that has a good reputation at tournaments or has something to offer them. In the end it has been a good experience, but you do spend a lot of time on the road and usually end up pulling 8-10 events. We put on over 80 hours just pulling tournaments this year. Most promo people can't really go into the details of their contract, so it is going to be hard to get information out of anyone and until you sign on the dotted line you won't get an actual $$ figure from most manufacturers.

i basically agree with Nick i have promoed for centurion the last 2 years as well. you need da social skills and detail and a good overall knowledge of boating. talk to the dealer thats where you gotta go, if you know a dealer isn't doin as good as some of the others offer to help!!

I am looking to become a promo boat owner. I have something in the works and am hoping to work a deal with Malibu/Malibu dealer. Just didn't know exactly how it worked. Do I buy the boat at cost, use it, then have the dealer sell at the end of the year??

I have some friends in the Malibu program and we have also looked into it. You don't get the boat at cost, but there is a discount involved. Malibu has factory and dealer promo programs now, and I think the details change with both of them. On all the Malibu promos I have seen you are responsible for selling the boat at the end of the year. That's the hardest part of the promo program, you have to unload a boat that is not new, but still close to new in price every year.

Maverick, you have any pics of your Enzo??

(Message edited by kstateskier on February 01, 2004)

no pics yet Boss is holding out on me, they don't want me to see it till everything is completely finished on it. the reasons i run a centurion are 1 becuase of the awesome dealer here 2 centurion could use the help they are very decent boats 3 they're motivated, malibu nautique and MC have virtually no reason to want to help you help them they don't need it. they already are the best. Centurion, Tige, Sanger, Moomba need help so they are going to be more willing to give you a better deal work with you and help YOU out. and realistically there is nothing really wrong with any of those boats all boats are terrible investments and have alot of problems thats just how it is. its a price to pay for fun.

I don't agree with the 'all boat have a lot of problems', but I do see some of your other points. However, promoing on the water ski side is a whole different ballgame.