Best time to upgrade

[drewdwn]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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!!!