Nautique Winter Sales Event

I went to my dealer expecting to get the 3000.00
savings on a 09 210. The dealer explained that
3000.00 is for new 07s 2000.00 for new 08s and
1000.00 for 09s. then he told me after dealer
participation of 400.00 it amounts to 600.00
savings. Not bad on a 70000.00 plus boat. I
think I will wait for the Spring Sales Event.

That's a discount of 0.00857%. I'm surprised you didn't jump at that.

Wow. They are proud of thier stuff!

I have followed threads where pricing was discussed. Can we do a hypothetical exercise? Everyone talks about how you can get a better deal on a past model is $3000 really the kind of discount you can expect? What would be a good price for an 09 210?
(I know the consensus is that if you are happy with the deal then you got a good deal.)Can we qualify that? An 08 or 07?

A base price for a new 08 SANTE is about 70,000. I wouldnt pay over $50,000. Not a realistic price, but thats what I think they are worth. 70,000 is double the fair price for a fully loaded truck that I can use every day. Think of what you can buy for 70,000. IMO, All boats are overpriced.

^^^^+1

Okay so the consumer realizes that 70K is high. So what do people actually get these boats for?

Shooter do me a favor and go get me a pepsi. Oh, and make it a diet.

I think what you mean to say is thats what it is worth to you rather than thats what they are worth.

I am trying to find out is what should I expect to pay for the boat? What's a good deal for an 09 210 or earlier model?

I would never buy brand new unless they were having a huge blowout way under priced. Ok Shooter Mcgavin that cracks me up I love that movie.

Here's one more who thinks new boat pricing is a joke. $70k price point is just the end result of years of artificial price inflation in the boat industry. What drove that inflation...? People paying for boats in record numbers using home equity. The boat manufacturers have gotten themselves in the habit of raising prices by 10% every year. What was the price on the equivalent of a SANTE 10 years ago? What about just 5 years ago?

This has nothing to do with costs. These boats are basically the same as what was on the market years ago. Has boat technology really changed that much? There is no way costs have gone up as much as prices have. Boat companies charge whatever they can get away with regardless of their costs (as we all would if in their shoes).

Now folks have to buy boats with either savings or boat loans. The gravy train is over. It's time for a MAJOR correction in the boat market.

In my mind, new boats should be priced between $25k on the low end and $50k on the high end. The margin on each boat would be much less, but it would be made up for by a dramatic increase in volume.

Finally, the comparison to trucks is not entirely fair primarily because of the vast disparity in volume, but it's still hard to ignore. Forget about the fact that you'll use a fully loaded $35k truck every day... think about it from this angle: how many more components and systems exist in a new truck than a new boat? A boat is a VERY simply machine compared to a truck. It's basically a big, solid piece of fiberglass, some vinyl (a.k.a plastic), carpet, simple transmission, and a big motor. The electronics are relatively simple. Now compare that to a truck which has multiple body panels, engine, suspension, anti-lock brakes, traction control, transfer case, six speed transmission, hemi engine with cylinder shut off, strict emissions controls, air bags galore, etc. etc. etc.

Wake up boat companies. You have to learn to survive in a world where folks don't blindly write checks out of their home equity.

I agree with Call. Because of home equity,boat prices were linked to the rising home prices. My home has lost 50% of its equity, does that mean boat prices should drop too?

People dont think about paying 70,000 grand for a boat. They think about paying an extra 700 a month on their house payment for 20 years.

The gravy train is over.

Wait for the going out of business auction. That's where you'll find out what the boats are really worth.

There was a guy a few months ago who sold his 07 Moomba XLV loaded for only 30 grand because he needed out of it asap. I was ot alet in getting there. There is another guy selling his 07 LSV for 40 grand he is never gonna get it. If you look around you can find some darn good deals out there on boats 1 2 3 years old etc...with very low hours. Look at the 2 Epic boats for sale on wakeworld in the for sale boats under 5 years old thread the one boat an 08 for 45 grand is a killer deal. Like I said buying new doesn;t appel to me unless they come off their price point and make me feel i am getting one heck of a deal.

Don't worry about being "ot alet" in getting there Flight, there's going to be a lot more of those deals out there. Go talk to your bank's loan officer. It's a much smarter way to find a correctly priced boat than going to talk talk to a dealer who wants you to pay 1% off list.

/had a hard time typing that while laughing at a dealer "offering" 1% off. Hahahahaha.

^^^^^ David Call:

You seem to have it all figured out. Thank God we have you to tell us how much money the boat builders and dealers are making. After all, any one can see, as you stated, that the boats today are the same as they were years ago. Damn, until you enlightened me, I was thinking an 08 X-Star was somehow different from a 1996 proStar 205...how profoundly silly of me!!! Damn Mastercraft for their corporate Greed!!! They are pocketing 50K on every XStar they sell by your analogy.

Adjustments may very well be made, and some content may have to be taken out of the boats to get the retails back into realistic levels. However, with the exception of real estate, pretty much every other "big ticket" commodity...boats, autos, motorcycles, airplanes, etc...sees a price increase year to year. It is a fact of life...things get bigger, better (hopefully), faster, plusher, flashier, etc...year after year...if they didn't, what would be the incentive to upgrade?

How about labor? Do you earn the same amount you did 5, 10 years ago? If so, you need to upgrade your skill set. Builders and dealers pay more for labor now. How about insurance, taxes? Anyone out there paying more now than 5 years ago?

Lastly, almost all the builders being slammed here enjoyed growth and success long before the trend of using home equity to buy a boat became the norm. Boating is a luxury, and the segment grows when the economy is healthy and somewhat stable. When the economy tanks, boating generally tanks with it. I will agree that the coming year will be difficult, a glut of used and wholesale boats will cloud the price issue for quite some time. However, once those boats are gone, the builders who survive will again have the chance to feel out the market and see where it needs to be. It may very well be that the era of the 100K wake boat is over for now, and companies will go back to feature laden boats without all the flash and fluff to get the retails where they need to be to drive sales.

Boat show discounts are usually partially subsidized by the dealer. I mention this because most dealers (at least in MN) are independently owned and have only one location meaning they have no abililty to control price, they must charge current market value which leaves them little room to subsidize bigger discounts than they offer every day, esspecially given the cost of renting floor space at a show.

If a dealer is offering you a good price on Monday the deal really can't get better by Friday, it's basic economics and good business practice.

Getting back to the original topic. The worth of
anything is what someone will pay. All I am saying is luring buyers into the showroom
by advertising of 3000.00 discount when it is a 600.00 discount pissed me off and wasted my time.
If this was disclosed in the ad I wouldn't have
bothered. I think if you want to get early orders
you need overcome the fear in the economy. They
need to make deals now that are better than waiting to see later .

Someone explain this:

2006 MasterCraft X-1 MSRP: $39,995

2009 MasterCraft X-1 MSRP: $53,330

These boats are identical and in inflation adjusted dollars to today $39,995 is $42,142.

Where did the extra 11k or 27% come from?

At this rate in 2012 a X-1 will cost over $71k

There is no way that costs are the only justification for these increases. If their production costs are rising anywhere near 10% a year they won't survive.

http://www.boatinglife.com/product.jsp?ID=81496&clientID=17146
http://www.boatinglife.com/product.jsp?ID=1000002521&clientID=17146
http://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm

The X-1 price increase came from a couple of areas.

1. At $39,995 this was a lower margin boat with limited production.
2. 2009 got upgraded billet aluminum dash instead of plastic
3. 2009 has billet aluminum tower instead of tubed aluminum
4. 2009 has better drivers seat with standard flip up bolster, was a upgrade in 2006
5. 2009 MCX has Cats and E-Control allowing for GPS cruise control
6. 2009 gets JL Audio Speakers instead of Clarion
7. 2009 gets billet trim ring on rear of boat
8. 2009 X-1 trailer gets LED Lights

The actual selling price of an X-1 is not to far off from a 2005 which is a more apples to apples comparison for the 2009 X-1.

I think what you guys are forgetting is that economies of scale come into play. Boat mfg's - esp inboard mfg's produce and sell a few thousand boats a year at best. Thus making enough profit on the 2500 boats a mfg sells to support employees, r&d, and administrative staff becomes a different number from a company selling 1M+ vehicles a year.

Now I'm not saying I don't think they are overpriced. However I don't know that you can necessarily compare things to the auto industry.

Back to the original post. MAYBE, you just got a POS sales person who was too lazy to try and sell you a boat, instead he sized you up and blew you out the door.

Call back and ask for a sales manager and see what kind of price he gives you.