Good Dealers?

[sandm]

I don't want a new one that bad, I am buying new because used prices are asinine. Why would I pay more for a used boat than I can get new one? I don't mind paying a few grand more than the other guy, but I was quoted almost 20k difference between two dealers (for another brand, not skiers choice) That is where my frustration would come in. I have been happy with the skiers quotes, they also have Drew on here and he talks pretty transparently about pricing and MSRP/discounts.

boat territories I get. larry is pretty spot on with the why. however if this is the way the boating world is going to work, pricing should be more like Bose where it's MAP pricing and discounts are consistent across all parties.

case in point. pricing out a new kaiyen last year. our "local" dealer has 3 locations all 4-5hrs from us. I bought a boat from a dealer in idaho back in '12 and they are 8hrs away. I was able to shop both dealers since over a couple hours away means we didn't really have a "local" and both were within 1.5k of each other. that's how it should be but both dealers are ONLY boats so wintertime business is slow. both were ordered boats so they didn't have to do much with the sale.
ended up in a tige r23 instead. same "local" dealer with 3 locations 4-5hrs away sells tige as well. price came back in mid90's all in. we ended up buying from a dealer 1500 miles away since we don't have a "local" and their price all in plus delivery was 15k less than the "local" dealer. dealer I bought from also sells motorcycles in the summer and sleds in the winter so they don't need to make as much margin on product. this is what tilts the playing field for some.

some will tout service. we are trailering no matter the purchase for any major stuff but what made it easy for us was knowing that if we had small issues with our tige, we could get parts sent to us directly only having to return the defect. for some that's a dealbreaker but since I do most of my own wrenching.... I haven't ever bought a boat based on dealer service. not everyone feels the same way.

bottom line, do your research and I agree with what's posted above. why should I be handcuffed to a local dealer if their pricing is stupid when for us, service isn't important. for others, that added cost for the service nearby is important.

and fwiw, the $2500 prep fee is crap. I get a few hundred for batteries but most are not including first service, the lake time should be part of the salesman's cut for selling the boat(don't see car dealers doing this) and installing tower gear? I had to do my last tige since it was shipped to me and took me all of an hour to install boardracks and bimini(if the dealer has to charge to install a mirror, you shouldn't own a towboat). it's become the next auto dealer "doc" fee. a bs charge to reel in the costs of the finance department. a cash grab if you ask me but a lot of dealers are charging it and people are paying it.