Question about the buying process

[alw041]

I plan to go to the Feb. boat show in Dallas, TX and order a boat. I have a couple of questions though. Who do I make a deal with at the boat show? The boat company or a dealer that is there? Also, if it is through a dealer do I have to use my local one? I live in Shreveport, LA and my local Moomba dealer doesn't have a good reputation. Am I allowed to order from a Dallas, Austin, or Houston dealer? I have heard that dealers have "regions" that they can sell too. But I don't want to spend money at a dealership that won't treat me right. My final question is about taxes. Do I have to pay the TX dealer sales tax, and then pay LA sales tax when I register the boat at home?

[motosno963]

for the sales tax...when i was in the army down in tenn i bought a boat from a dealer in kentucky and would have paid sales tax if it wasnt for me being in the army..when i got out i moved back to NY and when i went to register it here i had to pay ~$900 in sales tax..dont ask me why it was crazy tho

[lsvboombox]

There are dealer teritories not sure how it would work at a boat show though. I have the same deal as you, i dont like my local moomba dealer so i located one online and had it shipped. If i couldnt get around the territory issue i would have bought another brand. If you run it to the issues and dont like your local dealer i would suggest looking at other brands. Losing money will make sc take a closer look at the dealer and fix the issues

As far as taxes, around here you pay the taxes to the state the boat is registered.

[alw041]

So for example. Lets say I buy a boat in TX for $60,000. Would I just pay the dealer $60,000 and then taxes wouldn't be paid until I registered it in LA?

[motosno963]

you might have to talk to a dealer on that..or the dmv..i would think when you buy the boat you would pay sales tax..now if register it in another state that you boat the boat from they might charge you as well

[skiyaker]

In indiana you have to show proof that you paid sales tax when you title/register the boat- if you've already paid it in IN or another state you're good to go. If not then you have to pay it then.

As far a territories go in 2008 when I bought mine I had several dealers willing to sell to me out of territory. Last offseason I was going to trade it for a holdover boat that was out of territory- the out of territory dealer called the factory to see if they would let me do it and it was a no go. If you fib to the out of territory dealer about where you live you can probably get by with it especially since you're a first time buyer- just don't count on your local dealer being helpful at all with service.

[alw041]

The fact that I don't want to go to my local dealer doesn't have to do with pricing. It is completely about service. I have talked to people that have bought from my local dealer and the normal answer is: crappy service. For example, 3-5 month waiting to get anything done, even if you bought from them. Their priority is fishing boats. I am willing to pay a little more, and drive 3-4 hours 1 way to Dallas to get better service. The only thing I am worried about is if they will actually sell to me because of territory and if I have to pay double sales tax. The tax would be a huge hit on a 60k purchase.

[mmandley]

I plan to go to the Feb. boat show in Dallas, TX and order a boat. I have a couple of questions though. Who do I make a deal with at the boat show? The boat company or a dealer that is there? Also, if it is through a dealer do I have to use my local one? I live in Shreveport, LA and my local Moomba dealer doesn't have a good reputation. Am I allowed to order from a Dallas, Austin, or Houston dealer? I have heard that dealers have "regions" that they can sell too. But I don't want to spend money at a dealership that won't treat me right. My final question is about taxes. Do I have to pay the TX dealer sales tax, and then pay LA sales tax when I register the boat at home?

You can buy your boat from any dealer you want. What you cant do is buy from Tx Dealer and have it shiped and delivered at a LA dealer.

When you buy the boat in TX you dont have to pay TX tax but you will pay LA tax at registration. Im lucky i live in OR no sales tax so if i buy anything in Washington i dont pay tax eighter, such as my Motorcycle.

At the boat show you will most likly have the local Dealer. You can make a deal with him but see the stipulation above. You might see a Factory rep at the show but they wont sell you a boat, they will only talk to you about the boats.

[lsvboombox]

You can buy your boat from any dealer you want. .

As far as sc goes i am pretty sure this is inacurate. Some dealers respect the territorial rules they have been slapped with other dealers dont. So you are not going to be able to go anywhere. You will need to find a dealer that will overlook the territory issue

[skiyaker]

As far as sc goes i am pretty sure this is inacurate. Some dealers respect the territorial rules they have been slapped with other dealers dont. So you are not going to be able to go anywhere. You will need to find a dealer that will overlook the territory issue

I was going to drive to TN to pick the boat up myself and they (factory + TN dealer) told me for a new boat I would have work out something where they would trade it to my local dealer and buy it through them- at additional markup and shipping cost of course. They tried to get the factory to classify it as a "used boat" since it was a holdover but that was a no go. Go figure the outback in question is still listed for sale. I'm guessing that since this dealer was close to the factory they probably play by the factory's rules- might be a much different story in Texas- the Texans I've met tend to call BS on something like that and just do what they want (love Texas!). In 2008 I had dealers tell me I just needed to come up with a zip code local to them and tell them that's where I lived.