I'm buying a new boat, most likely a Malibu Wakesetter. Does anyone
know how much play in price is typical? This boat is about 37K.
Would the dealer actually take 35K, or is the price relatively fixed?
Is the pricing similar to cars, where bargaining is very important?
I'd really appreciate any comments.

thanks,
james

james wrote:

I'm buying a new boat, most likely a Malibu Wakesetter. Does anyone
know how much play in price is typical? This boat is about 37K.
Would the dealer actually take 35K, or is the price relatively fixed?
Is the pricing similar to cars, where bargaining is very important?
I'd really appreciate any comments.

thanks,
james


Offer the dealer 35...what have you got to lose?

"james" wrote in message
om...
I'm buying a new boat, most likely a Malibu Wakesetter. Does anyone
know how much play in price is typical? This boat is about 37K.
Would the dealer actually take 35K, or is the price relatively fixed?
Is the pricing similar to cars, where bargaining is very important?
I'd really appreciate any comments.

thanks,
james


I'd start lower than 35k, James. Boats and RVs are very negotiable items.
If the Malibu Wakesetter is a very popular boat and the dealer sells every
one he gets, then you might have to raise your offer.

I'd offer 32k or even less to start. Leave your phone number, go home and
wait for the call.

Eisboch

I would have to agree with Eisboch... Offer 32.. You might be surprised with
a 34 counter..

"Eisboch" wrote in message
...

"james" wrote in message
om...
I'm buying a new boat, most likely a Malibu Wakesetter. Does anyone
know how much play in price is typical? This boat is about 37K.
Would the dealer actually take 35K, or is the price relatively fixed?
Is the pricing similar to cars, where bargaining is very important?
I'd really appreciate any comments.

thanks,
james


I'd start lower than 35k, James. Boats and RVs are very negotiable
items.
If the Malibu Wakesetter is a very popular boat and the dealer sells every
one he gets, then you might have to raise your offer.

I'd offer 32k or even less to start. Leave your phone number, go home and
wait for the call.

Eisboch

There's probably about $8k gross working at $37k. Your dealer will want to keep
a bunch of that, which is understandable because boats are a low volme
business.

Offer a dirt cheap price, but avoid getting into name calling, threats,
ultimatums, and so forth. Keep this a business transaction, not a contest of
wills. The dealer will likely be more willing to sacrifice profit than to
endure being abused.

(There's a special joy in laying away the insulting, belligerent, loudmouth
jerk who thinks that buying a boat three times in a lifetime prepares him to
negotiate with greater skill than a guy who sells a couple of boats a week.)

Odds are that their first counter offer will *not* be their best price. Come up
from you position just a bit. It's often useful to
"walk" and then wait for the phone to ring.
If there's still a lot of ham on the bone, the
manager will be all over the salesman like flies on a cowpie. "How'd that guy
get out of here without buying? You better get him back in here! You have any
idea how much advertising it takes to generate a single 'up' these days?"

Backfire to the "walk" technique:

Almost every time I ever had a buyer walk and then reappear without any further
price negotiation, I knew I had him at the last price the house had trotted
out. He might come in and make all sorts of noise about a further discount, but
in reality he wouldn't be a "be-back" if he didn't see the value in the last
discussed price. Sure,he was going to try to do better, (wouldn't we all?),
but he wouldn't be wasting time on a repeat visit if he wasn't willing to be
closed.

In the end, the most important thing is to get a boat that you like at a price
you believe to be fair, if not extremely favorable.
There's no contest to see who can screw the dealer down to the cheapest deal,
and when such discussions ever do come up "the first liar doesn't stand a
chance" anyway. :-)

"Gould 0738" wrote in message
...
There's probably about $8k gross working at $37k. Your dealer will want to
keep
a bunch of that, which is understandable because boats are a low volme
business.

Offer a dirt cheap price, but avoid getting into name calling, threats,
ultimatums, and so forth. Keep this a business transaction, not a contest
of
wills. The dealer will likely be more willing to sacrifice profit than to
endure being abused.

(There's a special joy in laying away the insulting, belligerent,
loudmouth
jerk who thinks that buying a boat three times in a lifetime prepares him
to
negotiate with greater skill than a guy who sells a couple of boats a
week.)

Odds are that their first counter offer will *not* be their best price.
Come up
from you position just a bit. It's often useful to
"walk" and then wait for the phone to ring.
If there's still a lot of ham on the bone, the
manager will be all over the salesman like flies on a cowpie. "How'd that
guy
get out of here without buying? You better get him back in here! You have
any
idea how much advertising it takes to generate a single 'up' these days?"

Backfire to the "walk" technique:

Almost every time I ever had a buyer walk and then reappear without any
further
price negotiation, I knew I had him at the last price the house had
trotted
out. He might come in and make all sorts of noise about a further
discount, but
in reality he wouldn't be a "be-back" if he didn't see the value in the
last
discussed price. Sure,he was going to try to do better, (wouldn't we
all?),
but he wouldn't be wasting time on a repeat visit if he wasn't willing to
be
closed.

In the end, the most important thing is to get a boat that you like at a
price
you believe to be fair, if not extremely favorable.
There's no contest to see who can screw the dealer down to the cheapest
deal,
and when such discussions ever do come up "the first liar doesn't stand a
chance" anyway. :-)



I agree. The best deal here or in any other business contract is when it is
fair to both sides.

Eisboch

Offer a low ball number(30k) and see what the dealer counters with? You
might even want the dealer to run a credit check as a bargaining tool so the
dealer knows you can handle the financial part of the deal. Remember, don't
rush to buy especially this time of year because in most parts of the USA
the boating season is just starting!


"james" wrote in message
om...
I'm buying a new boat, most likely a Malibu Wakesetter. Does anyone
know how much play in price is typical? This boat is about 37K.
Would the dealer actually take 35K, or is the price relatively fixed?
Is the pricing similar to cars, where bargaining is very important?
I'd really appreciate any comments.

thanks,
james

Hi James,

Another way is to check on the Internet with several Malibu dealers by
email.

You might look at "boat trader on line" on the web.

--
Bill Kiene

Kiene's Fly Shop
Sacramento, CA, USA

Web site: www.kiene.com


"james" wrote in message
om...

I'm buying a new boat, most likely a Malibu Wakesetter. Does anyone
know how much play in price is typical? This boat is about 37K.
Would the dealer actually take 35K, or is the price relatively fixed?
Is the pricing similar to cars, where bargaining is very important?
I'd really appreciate any comments.

thanks,
james