Looking to buy 2017/18 yamana 24ft, any advice on buying for a noobie?

[Jim46]

Looking to buy my first Yamaha jet boat from the 24 ft. family... Any advice on dealing with dealerships?

 

[GTBRMC]

Suggest you update your profile with location so other members that have experience with dealers in your area can chime in. Good luck!

 

[Julian]

Add your location to your profile and people in your area will give you advice on your dealer options.

Some thoughts:

1. The later in the year you buy, the more dealers will be willing to discount
2. Getting the dealer to throw in things is often found easier than discounting the boat - like mooring cover, safety equipment etc
3. The boats don't come with batteries, so don't be surprised when you see that in your costs (part of the Setup fee usually)
4. The more complicated a boat, the more the setup fee will be - a 242X has more stuff for them to test than an SX 190.

 

[JeffVans]

+1 on @Julian response. These boats sell fast enough that the dealers rarely come down off MSRP (maybe $500 if you're lucky), Yamaha doesn't exaggerate the MSRP like other manufacturers so there's not much room to haggle if you're buying new... especially this time of year. My advice is get a nice low hour used one preferably with a warranty left on it and save some money.

 

[Jim46]

Updated my profile, I’m I’m the Virginia Beach area but willing to travel..

 

[Gunny]

im in the same baot as Jim, no pun intened intended. Im in Chesapkee VA and there seems to be only two dealers in the area to work with, Centerville marina and Lynnhaven marine.

 

[merlinjet]

My advice on dealing with the dealerships is don't! If you're willing to travel, buying a gently used, low-hour boat is the way to go. Let someone else pay the commissions, taxes and fees on a new boat. Start searching ebay, craigslist and other online sales venues (like this site) and you will find good deals on some nice boats out there. I was lucky with my boat and found it on craigslist not more than 90 miles from my home. It had 20 hours on it and was in like-new condition, the owner just needed to get out from under it. I probably saved about $5-6K on that deal. Living on the east coast, you should have a lot of options as boating season winds down and folks are looking sell. Whatever you do, never buy a boat without a test run. And if you don't know what to look for when you go check a boat out, take someone who does.