Mainshipman wrote:
I'm curious to hear stories about how folks knocked down the price on
their new boat, particularly anything creative or innovative (buying
used or stripping off options doesn't count). Anyone find any good
sources of information or do anything clever? Thanks.


There's some room to deal built into most new boat prices, but don't
expect to make a
"$100 over invoice, split the holdback" deal on a boat like you would
on a Chevy. The volume in boats is so small, and the carrying costs
high enough, that a dealer needs a pretty decent margin on the sale
before he begins subtracting expenses to see if there's actually a net
profit on the bottom line. In most markets, there is only one dealer
for most of the major brand names, so the auto game of running back and
forth a few times between two nearby dealers doesn't apply. If you buy
your boat out of town, don't expect to get any sort of priority service
when you need warranty repairs, etc from the local dealer. Whether you
realize it or not, you'll typically be going to the very end of the
line behind all of the local customers who bought boats from the sales
dept out front. The sales dept customers will be out boating each
spring while you wait, and wait, and maybe wait some more to get your
boat serviced and launched.

My advice would be to set a well considered total monthly budget that
includes all of the peripheral expenses (moorage, fuel, insurance,
maintenance etc). If you're a cash buyer,
figure 1/2 of 1 percent per month "cost" on the purchase price as the
opportunity loss for tying up your money in a boat. If you're a payment
buyer, the monthly payment will be pretty obvious. Total budget, minus
peripheral expenses, leaves the amount to write-off
as lost opportunity or monthly payment each month, and that will pretty
well point you into a price range that will be affordable.

I would shop for boats within that price range, and up to about 20%
above that price range.
Naturally, you're going to find that most of the boats 20% above your
ideal range are nicer than the boats that list at your top number- so
pick your favorite and make an offer just a bit *below* your ceiling.
Leave room for the dealer to bump you once, or even twice, before you
top out at your max. If your offer is really low, the dealer will want
to think that he squeezed every last dime out of you before saying OK
to a skinny deal. Start low enough to let him "win" a little, and try
to stay level headed enough that you don't commit to something that
will turn out in the end to be difficult to afford. You're going to
lose your butt buying any sort of boat, anyway, so it's best not to get
into a position where the expense forces you into a quick resale.

Oh. Very important. Cash talks and bull crud walks. When you make that
agressively low offer, do so in writing and be willing to write a
substantial deposit check. Take a $200,000 boat for example.......the
guy who is headed to his car, has the door 3/4 of the way closed behind
him and a kid wailing about being late to soccer practice who sticks
his face back in the showroom and says "Not that I'm ready to buy
today, or anything, but WULDJATAKE $150,000 if I were?" is going to get
a less responsive answer than a guy who says, "I really like this boat
and I'm ready to buy it right now if you can meet my price. I'll write
you a check for 20 percent down and I'm willing to make a written offer
of $150,000."

Finally, keep in mind that nobody ever made the "right deal" on the
wrong boat. It doesn't make sense to accept your 3, 4, or 5th choice
simply because the dealer was willing to come off the price just a
little bit more than dealer for the boat you really wanted. They're all
expensive to buy and to own, so getting the boat you really want is at
least as important as finding the cheapest deal in town.