Buying for less out of state vs buying local

So I'm in Texas and the boat market seems to be stronger here. Between the used boats my dealer is offering and those in Florida, California and even Tennessee there is a difference of 10,000 to 15,000 bucks.
The dealer here is offering a 2008 SANTE 210 for 59000 (demo with 200 hours on it) vs one in Tennessee for 49000 with 80 hours. Besides the shipping seems like I would be pretty stupid to buy locally.

Same for Az man. If I were in the market I'd be buying from Ca no doubt!

if you are willing to ship, you can get some smokin deals. Diggs has a sweet X2 priced at 45k, i've seen 08 MB V23s for under 43k brand new too. Some great deals out there right now.

Shipping from CA to TX should be 1K max. Go for it unless you see the need to suck up to your local dealer at your expense.

The only thing to consider is dealer service. You need to compare the price difference vs not having your boat on the water. This is like insurance and hopefully you never have any major issues that you need to worry about this but it is something to consider. Obviously 10K is a big difference but 1 or 2K I would consider the pros and cons of not working with your dealer. They can get things done if you have a major problem mid season.

I am not a dealer but I can vouche for the value of having a good dealer in the area.

Just something to consider. Always keep in mind their is a difference between price and cost.

regardless of how big a problem might be with a boat, they HAVE to take care of you. It might just take longer than if you had bought it from them.

What if you have a Master Craft and you live in California.... you have a job change and move to Virginia... is the dealer still going to treat you like crap because you didn't purchase the boat from them? If so.... doesn't seem fair at all

I think the only thing you will lose is the personal relationship w/the dealer. I think they will still take good care of you. Where you will see a difference is when you need your boat in a crunch, they won't go out of their way to get it back to you. Expect to go to the end of the priority line.

If you give them first opportunity to sell you a boat and they can't make you a deal close to what you can get elsewhere they have nothing to be mad about.

If you buy a 08 or newer from a California dealer you will get a Catamium engine upgrade that you may not want (California EPA requirement that cost about $2,000). You will also find that Correct Craft dealers out of your assigned area may not sell to you. I think the dealers are penalized for selling outside their area.

I also think your $10,000 to $15,000 difference is off. A new 08 SANTE 210 with trailer is about 56,000 in Cali. $10,000 discount is worth it, but a few grand is not worth the savings.

I did it. Saved a bunch of money. However, my local dealer treats me like the red headed step child.

Jason thats crap. They get paid for service and does not make you want to buy from them down the road now does it. Nor does it make you want to recommend them.

There is no guarantee your dealer will take care of you. Guaranteed you will at least be their last priority on service dept waiting lists.

That said, if you do all your own maintenance, there's really not much need for a dealer anyway except for the one or two typical little warranty issues with a new boat.

I did it too. Bought a used boat anyway. I called several local dealers for several months, looking for the right boat. None were able to come thru in the time frame we wanted. We found a boat at a good price 350 miles away & jumped on it. Since then I have not needed to bring the boat in for service at all, but I have bought accessories from the dealer. They have been very cooperative, ordering me parts, even inviting me to their customer events. I did a couple of exhibition rides for them last year & I wouldn't be surprised to do that &/or riding lessons for his customers this summer.

If the dealer spends a lot of time (money) working with a client, only to have them go buy the same boat elsewhere, he's gonna get chapped. But if he works with you & is unable to come thru, and then you find what you want elsewhere (model, features, price, etc.), then he can't really blame you for going that way. At least the guys at my local dealer have been very understanding anyway.

A good dealer will and should take care of you, but when things are tight and everyone wants their boat fixed yesterday, it would be reasonable to take care of their own first. If I bought locally I would expect a little more love from dealer than if I showed up with a boat I bought from out of state, assuming I just didn't move to the area. Getting your boat serviced shouldn't be a problem around non-peak times.

I have bought locally and from over 800 miles away, and it wouldn't be worth it to save 1-2Gs, but anything over a $5K spread is a no brainer IMO. You can buy a lot of mechanic time, upgrades, whatever, with $5K or more.

If it is used and really far away, I would fly out to check it out yourself and arrange to rent a truck to haul it back or work with a shipper. I still wouldn't pull the trigger on something I haven't seen or at least had a very trusted person inspect.

I bought a used Tige in Indiana and my dealer in Wisconsin (Reed's Marine) has been NOTHING less than STELLAR! I'd say it depends on your dealer as a case by case basis. I broke my steering cable on Friday of Labor day weekend, Reed's had it fixed the next morning--in fact they woke me up to tell me it was ready. That's awesome service....and I did not buy the boat from them. You bet your butt I'll give them first crack at my business with service like that even when it was my own fault. Assess your local dealer to see how it will play out for you. Realistically if you save several thousand dollars, how often do you REALLY use service? I have exactly once.

Almost all "problem" boats get sold somewhere out of state... Buyer Beware!

I have done it twice.
I first gave the local guys a shot at matching the price when they did not I bought the Supra from Michigan and the Malibu from Tennessee

I agree with the local dealer thing the local Supra guy was pissed and did not respect my position and always gave me a hard time. The Malibu guy is totally different.

The Supra I drove 1800 miles to get but the Malibu I had shipped through U-Ship both worked out well.

I was set to buy a 08 X15 in oct 08 after checking the net I found the local dealer was 12-15k high. When I told them they copped an attitude and told me if I didnt buy from them don't expect them to work on it until they were
done with their boats. I called the CC dealer
for a test drive. They were super nice no attitude, a real passion for the sport. I bought a 08 210 SANTE in Jan from them it came from Cali they had it shipped. I saved 20k over the X15 and MC lost a customer for life. You DON'T owe the dealer loyalty they have to earn it.
PS They still have the X15 at the same asking price.

well so far I've been to the CC dealer twice and taken about 45 minutes of their time so I don't know if I should even give them a chance by showing them the deals out of state and seeing if they can come close or just go ahead and ship from out of state and hope they don't remember me if I ever need service. I've only talked to one guy but I pretty much have my heart set on a 230/236 either 2007 or 2008. They only have one 2008 here in town and I don't even know the price but based on the 2008 210 SANTE price (59,000) I know it will be more than that and there are several deals around in the mid to low 50's.

I am looking at getting a new boat here in the future. Unfortunately, there is not a Nautique dealer here in Vegas. I went to Arizona and test an 09' 230 team addition. nice boat. They wanted $109 for the boat. The other dealer that I can go to is in Calif. I have not priced the boats there yet. Now that it is getting late in the year, I will probably wait to get a 2010 boat.

Mark
CCC are good people if you do the Cali thing Im 10 min from the shop I remember seeing a gray 230

I might be in the area the second week of June. I might just stop in and take a look and compare prices. The Nautique is an awesome boat. I want to have mine custom made. Personally, I I don not like the head unit, the amps, and the way the speakers are wired. I want to do it myself. I did the same thing to my current boat. The sound is crisp and clean, just the way i like it. I do like the cabin speakers. So basically, just give me the cabin speakers in a box and i will do the rest.

Many of the super deals on out of state boats are from dealer going out of business - how else can a dealer sell sell the boat for cost or below? I was looking for at the 230's last year - there are some super deals in the eastern part of the US right now - one dealer going out of business has a 230 team selling for about 65k - which I suspect is close to cost. There are some used low hour 2008 230's and 236's selling for 50-60k. Only thing to remember about CC is if you buy a used boat the warranty pretty much sucks. If you have a local dealer that is still sitting on 2008 models - they should be willing to deal - plus you get a much better warranty. I don't think any dealer will be giving away the 2009 - production has been cut so there wont be nearly as many 2009 as 2008's.

If someone wants a killer deal on a brand new '07 or '08 Moomba LSV then check this out, Sacramento says they have one but don't say which year it is. Either way it's 30K new

http://sacramento.craigslist.org/boa/1184487929.html

I'm with nu bu, give em a shot and show em where you're coming from price wise if they can do it great if not they can't they can't be pissed.

http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/8/661585.html?1242433767

Just don't be surprised when your local dealer goes out of business and you have no place to service your boat! :-)