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View Full Version : Best time to upgrade



drewdwn
08-22-2011, 09:21 AM
We are looking to trade in our outback for LSV and want to know when the best time is to get the best deal. We live in wisconsin and the summer will be ending soon and want to know if we should do something now or wait until the end of the year or wait until the boat show closer to spring. Last year at the end of summer my marina gave me a pretty good deal but didn't pull the trigger because I was between job positions and wasn't sure what was going to happen but now I've been in this position for a year and am ready to get a new boat. Any advice would be helpful, thank you!

mmandley
08-22-2011, 09:26 AM
Generaly the best time to sell is the worst time to buy. Sell when boating season is starting up to the time when weather is really hot because thats when people see all the boats going to the lake and think man i wish we had one. The best time to Buy is always off season when the dealers are slow and looking for buisness. Jan threw March is generaly when my dealer says its the best time to Buy and Service your boat as the shop is vacant. Come April when the sun starts to come out buisness starts ramping up and by Memorial time the shop is so busy theres a waiting line to get in the place.

As for you tis year id sell the boat right now as the there is still some season left, unless you can support buying the new boat in the early part of the year and sell the boat later in the spring. If your trading in then buy/trade Jan to March generaly Boat show time has tons of great deals on the boats and you can make up a little in savings that you lose selling to a dealer.

drewdwn
08-22-2011, 02:00 PM
Thanks, I was thinking of waiting til the boat show but my dealer says he's got some good deals, I just dont want jump in without weighing my options

kaneboats
08-22-2011, 02:06 PM
When he offers you a deal run it by us. I'm sure there will be some nice ones at the end of the season. Just heard about a pretty good one near Tampa the other day.

wolfeman131
08-22-2011, 02:06 PM
Thanks, I was thinking of waiting til the boat show but my dealer says he's got some good deals, I just dont want jump in without weighing my options

Your dealer probably does have some great deals now on 2010 or 2011 boats. You will get a great deal on a 2012 at the boat show. The 2012 will probably still end up costing more, but if you go with a 2011, don't forget to take into account depreciation and/or perception for when you want to sell the boat. NADA doesn't give a flip that you bought a boat late in the season when they provide prospective buyers with a value range. If you're going to keep the boat for a long time, go for the better deal which will probably be the 2011.

saskyrider
08-22-2011, 06:18 PM
personally i think it depends on your area... if you live in a warm climate where you can ride all year round then boat show time is the best time. Up here i think the best time to buy is just after the september long weekend..... people are done using their boats for the year and you can score a deal from someone that doesn't want to winterize their boat and are looking or have already ordered a new one for next year. I realize the winterize part is not much but for some people it's a big deal with lining up storage and making sure you've got everything just so to keep the varmints out to! I person i met this summer at the lake picked up his 2008 LSV with 205 hours... loaded up with every upgrade i'd ever want to do for under 30K!!! i was pretty skeptical until i talked to the local dealer and he even made mention of that boat and that it had been a consignment. there are some crazy deals to be had... you just have to be patient... now for selling your boat well.... that time was 4 months ago. good luck!!

drewdwn
08-22-2011, 07:51 PM
I told him im going to be patient and that I have found some really good deals online and now he whats to sit down with my on wednesday. I think he might try to give an even better deal. Thanks for all the advice. I'll let you know how wednesday goes

drewdwn
08-24-2011, 05:33 PM
What are some good sites for used wakeboard boats? I'm being patient with this one so I get exactly what I want. I want to see what all my options are.

brain_rinse
08-24-2011, 05:36 PM
How'd the meeting with the dealer go? Onlyinboards.com is the best site I'm aware of.

c.rix
08-24-2011, 05:43 PM
If you have the space and cash flow to do it Buy a smoking deal this fall hang on to your boat till spring you will get more for yours selling it then

drewdwn
08-25-2011, 01:36 PM
Thats what I was kinda thinking of doing if I can afford it. I found a 2010 LSV brand new for 45000 if I could get it for 40000 i would pull the trigger and it sounds like they are willing to work with me even with a trade in. As far as my dealer he hasn't really been in to much contact, I wanted to give him the business cause he really helped my last time but now it seems he doesn't want it. I will drive 6 hours to get this LSV for a good price.

LakePerson1952
08-26-2011, 03:41 PM
As others have mentioned, the time to buy is at the end of the season and sell at the beginning. That said, however, I got a major honey of a deal on a new 2010 Outback the week following July 4th - I've seen older used Outbacks selling for more! Of course, I tend to be the kind of person that keeps things a long time so I really didn't care that technically it was almost 2 years old when I bought it. The bottom line is that boat dealers are generally hurting now and if you can find a new 2010 then the dealer has probably had it and has been paying interest on it for something like 500 days and s/he's probably beginning to think it will never sell so ..... Of course, if your season is really nearly over (that would suck IMO) AND you can find a 2010 .... you'd really have some leverage.

lsvboombox
08-26-2011, 03:57 PM
check out wake effects in osage beach, Missouri. I got a crazy deal on a 10 lsv at the end of last year. Paid 1200 to get it shipped to PA and it was still a smoking deal....

08LSV
08-27-2011, 07:19 AM
I found a 2010 LSV brand new for 45000 if I could get it for 40000 i would pull the trigger and it sounds like they are willing to work with me even with a trade in. As far as my dealer he hasn't really been in to much contact, I wanted to give him the business cause he really helped my last time but now it seems he doesn't want it. I will drive 6 hours to get this LSV for a good price.

Don't ever be afraid to walk away. If your offer on a 2010 is even in the ballpark, make it and if they don't take it tell them that your offer stands until you find another boat but that its all you can do. Even though this is still the boating season it is very much a buyers market. Don't get me wrong everybody needs to make a living and the deal has to work for everyone, but you the buyer are the one with the power in this economy. I drive past the same Malibu/Nautic dealer all the time and they have had most of the same boats since 2010. Like LakePerson said they have money/credit/space on the lot, tied up in the boat that they can't use to purchase 2012 models. You are not the one with the boat that needs to sell it to make a living or at least turn over new merchandise. You have the most valuable thing which is time and a boat that you already own and can use right now for as long as you want.

This year we almost boat a 2011 Malibu 247 LSV (I probably shouldn't say this on here but oh well). We had talked price with the dealer for over a month just stopping buy at random and had them include all the options we wanted and everything. I cashed out stocks/bonds retirement (probably not very smart) so that we could get the best deal as we would have all cash. Finally I had my boat detailed and dropped it off for them to give me a trade in value. First they made the mistake of only offering me $28,000 for an '08 LSV with only 100hrs and loaded out. But you just have to view it as business and not personal. I finally got them up to $32,000 for the trade and we agreed on a out the door price for the Malibu (the Malibu price was really good) to buy the boat. They were still jacking around and did not want do the paperwork that day... Kinda pissed me off as I was going to be off work the next few days and I wanted to take it out. I left my boat with them and went home for the night. By the next morning it had rubbed me wrong enough, with all the stalling and their lack of urgency with the whole process, so me and the little lady had a heart to heart and decided to keep our Moomba after all the upgrades we had done and just pay it off and enjoy it. We really do love our boat, I am not sure what we were thinking at the time. The next morning I went to the dealer and told him we would not be buying the Malibu and that I needed to pick my boat up. No papers were signed and no handshakes given so I felt OK with it. They were stunned... After going home their regional manager called me on several different days following and offered me a better and better deals each time and more for our trade. I can't list the deal on the new boat in good conscience but I will tell you that they were up to $35,000 for our trade in, which is a lot for a dealer trade in. I guess the moral of this story is just to be patient and remember "you don't need to buy it, but they need to sell it".

wolfeman131
08-27-2011, 08:58 AM
so that we could get the best deal as we would have all cash

Glad you're still with us, as that 247 is one great boat. Although, it has it's drawbacks as any other boat has.

I have been in a similar position with cars and services such as sateliite radio where I've asked for the best deal, been given a number and thosen to walk away. I get infuriated when the follow up phone calls start with the better deal and the pleading for my business.

I'm not sure the cash deals get you the best price anymore. It certainly used to be the case, but I think now that they would rather you finance. It might be different for boats versus cars (where the manufacturer holds the note) but I know that I wasn't able to leverage a cash deal as I believe that they actual would have preferred I finance so they could pocket the interest. Any experts out there on this one?

ian ashton
08-27-2011, 09:14 AM
Whether it's financed or cash, the dealer nets the same. If the dealer has in-house financing (not sure that many do these days) they will likely get a small yield from the interest, or a single "commission" from the bank that they are packaging the loans through.

The benefit of a cash buyer is that they don't have to be approved, both credit and collateral.

wolfeman131
08-27-2011, 09:18 AM
I thought you might weigh on on this one, Ian.

So, based on the current, lower interest rates and where/how you have your money invested and if you have a need for liquidity, there may be an argument to hold your cash and finance the deal as you won't actually get a "better" price.

08LSV
08-28-2011, 02:31 AM
So, based on the current, lower interest rates and where/how you have your money invested and if you have a need for liquidity, there may be an argument to hold your cash and finance the deal as you won't actually get a "better" price.

You are absolutely correct. i didn't have my stuff invested very aggressively since I lost almost half of it when the economy took a dump. The interest rate from the credit union I got was good but still slightly higher than what I would have been been earning. What I meant buy using all cash as an advantage was just that the dealer doesn't have anything at all to hold over you except your own desire/the glazed look in your eyes. haha!

wolfeman131
08-28-2011, 10:46 AM
the dealer doesn't have anything at all to hold over you

Very good point, indeed. Once I settle on something new, if I must finance, I try to have several options as finding the right deal on the financing is sometimes more difficult than finding the right deal on the item. I hate how some folks selling big ticket items show a tremendous "deal" on the item then jam people up with double-digit terms.

08LSV
08-29-2011, 12:52 AM
Very good point, indeed. Once I settle on something new, if I must finance, I try to have several options as finding the right deal on the financing is sometimes more difficult than finding the right deal on the item. I hate how some folks selling big ticket items show a tremendous "deal" on the item then jam people up with double-digit terms.

Exactly!!!

drewdwn
08-31-2011, 01:01 PM
Ok, My local dealer has not contacted me at all in the last week so I'm assuming he doesn't need my money. I found a 2010 at another dealer and he said he can't move on the price because he has beening paying interest on it. I walked away from him. I think I'll just keep my boat for now since no one wants my money. Thanks for all your help guys!!

08LSV
08-31-2011, 04:19 PM
You will probably be surprised by a call in a few months when that dealer is tired of continuing to pay that interest payment..... Not a bad idea to keep what you have until the right/best deal comes along. This usually happens to me as soon as I'm over my initial wants.