The great sell off of 2020

[Yambers]

Lets not forget that Yamaha also offered 6 months of no payments, and 0 down. That 6 months is up for a lot of people that got to enjoy a boat all summer with no payments, and probably don't have any intention of making a payment.. I had a whole thread about this.

 

[Enduro900]

@Enduro900 It is not recent, I agree with you, but with hoardes of people rushing to buy something because they feel that they are going to be left out whom don't want to invest the time, education and safety concerns compounds the issue. Everything takes some sort of self investment, not just financial. Although you see where people whom can financially afford to do something believe that, that makes it alright to do whatever they want and do not think about all the ramifications. We live in a nasty age of entitlement.

Look online, Buy boat, pick it up, pull kids the same day or next day, at speeds that are unsafe without regard to anyone else on the water. It happens I have seen it.

Perhaps if some were to put in the extra effort to read and educate there would be less of an issue.

I agree with you, there should be some sort of boaters class required and a license/permit to show.

Yet in my other recreation, people can buy snowmobiles that go from the showroom to the trail and will perform at speeds of 110+ MPH on trails that are 12ft wide with 2-way traffic, and no testing or classes required there either...hence people die every winter doing that as well. I try to ride in areas with less traffic in that sport too.

 

[Brad460]

You are talking to the wrong dealers. Yamaha dealers must think they have some type of rare exotic boat. I had the same thing happen when the Jeep Gladiator was brand new and I was looking to buy one, dealers were selling MSRP and above, I found a dealer that would actually work with me and I was able to get a fair trade in and get the Gladiator for under invoice. I'm in the process a buying a 2021 Mastercraft and I found a dealer that is willing to work with me, they are giving me a deal that 2 other dealers in my area will not come close to. They aren't charging freight or prep (usually $1900.00), they are throwing in 2 options for free and are going to winterize the boat for free after I do the delivery test drive next month. They are also going to do the 25hr service for free next year, this is a 4 hour service.
The problem is that dealers need to understand that things aren't going to be like this forever and consumers have a long memory of who treated them well and who treated them like shit when it comes to buying new boat.

We ordered a new 21 Moomba last week and got a great deal..same as you I got them to waive the freight and setup ($2695) in addition to a fairly sizable discount. They very eager for me to pull the trigger that day and not “think it over”..

Agreed- dealers know this hot market will be coming to an end, sooner than later.

 

[Dixie Highway]

I'm hoping about February, I'll be 25' CC shopping by then!

 

[HangOutdoors]

@Dixie Highway That looks like an awesome boat. Very interested in hearing first hand thorough reviews of it.

 

[Priceisright]

The problem is that a lot of those who are not boaters and just want a boat will buy from a Dealer new, rather than go through the process of buying used. It happens all the time. They will continue to keep demand up for some time.

It is easier to walk into a boat dealer, fill out finance paperwork get approved and order or take delivery of your boat, than to determine fair price, have an inspection done, get clear title from someone else, pay off the sellers note, etc. etc.

Agree, lots of leg work getting a used boat. If you have the time and patience though you can easily save 10k

 

[Priceisright]

I bought my boat to day drink lol

 

[Dixie Highway]

@Dixie Highway That looks like an awesome boat. Very interested in hearing first hand thorough reviews of it.

You may be disappointed to hear I'm not looking at Yamaha for the next one. I'll be in salt water 100% of the time, and will likely get something more offshore oriented. The price point is good with the Yamaha, but unfortunately it's very close to some pretty serious competition with outboard power. The quiet performance of a 300 hp Yamaha in an outboard vs. the loud twin jets on a 255 FSH is something price alone can't overcome (unless the 255 was half price, which it is not).

 

[Ronnie]

This reminds me of when drones became an issue. That is, when the cost and difficulty of operation put them out of reach of most recreational consumers you never or rarely heard about drones (radio controlled air craft). Dji came out with the phantom that was easy to fly and relatively cheap ($600 without camera, for comparison I used to fly nitro methane powered conventional pod and boom RC helicopters and the ground gear, eg, the remote, starter, temp gun. Etc. cost more than $600, the heli itself with the gyro, numerous servos and receiver cost over $1k on the low end and they were hard to fly so crashes and repair bills and time were common) and suddenly anyone with $600 could and often did buy one and started flying as soon as a battery For it was charged without putting any effort into learning how to fly it safely or where to fly it much less obtaining insurance for it or how to maintain it properly.

Now IMHO in the context of the pandemic people that would normally spend their money on other activities like cruises, concerts, flying out of state, etc. are buying boats, jet skis, rvs, bikes/motor cycles instead. Some possibly many of these people are not taking the time to learn how to boat safely. I’m sure I met at least one of these people last weekend. She was careful not to beach her new and financed waverunner and approached the crowed beach we were at at no wake speed but seemed to be checking / showing off the acceleration performance of her New toy as she left the beach, as In she boarded in knee deep water, hit the start button and Went Straight to Wide open throttle traveling between and close to At least 6 swimmmers/people standing in the water on the way out and on the way to the top speed of 70 mph. She Was on plane before passing people in the water. I think that their should be at least some mandatory training before anyone is allowed to operate a high performance vehicle on a public thoroughfare whether is a street or a body of water.

getting back to the topic, There is a sell off every year, usually when the temperature drops and the rain starts here in NCal. Will I see a lot of new toys being sold at dirt cheap prices? I don’t know, I hope so but I would not bet on it. No one knows how long COVID restrictions will be in place, so if people bought these new toys because of COVID they would not now sell them unless they were confident that they won’t need or want them next year. This of course assumes that the same people can afford to make the monthly Payments, maintenance and potential storage fees for such toys.

 

[Sugarcharged]

Interesting discussion since I will be in the market for next boating season here in Indiana, which, actually starts around April timeframe realistically for my family. Anyway, I keep checking the local dealer and from having zero Yamahas a month ago, they have 2 new ones in stock (AR210 and SX190) and two used AR195 for sale (a 2017 and a 2019). Prices are too high IMO but they are still there for about 10 days, so definitely there is more availability but prices still high.

 

[Yambers]

@Sugarcharged What are you in the market for? Looks like we might be competing for the same small inventory. Haha

 

[Sugarcharged]

@Sugarcharged What are you in the market for? Looks like we might be competing for the same small inventory. Haha

Hehehe, possibly but let's agree, no price war. Pretty much decided we want a 2018+ AR195 or could be an AR210, however, after selling a 23ft pontoon that was definitely too big for our small family, we want a smaller boat that can go into the coves and my wife could be more comfortable on the "driver's seat". I know the saying "buy your biggest boat possible first" our your 2nd boat first, but it didn't work for us, we may go smaller this time and the AR195 keeps checking all the boxes for now. I need to get inside both and check the size in person, didn't have a chance to do that yet. I like the twin engines on the AR210 though.

 

[Crob83]

Interesting discussion since I will be in the market for next boating season here in Indiana, which, actually starts around April timeframe realistically for my family. Anyway, I keep checking the local dealer and from having zero Yamahas a month ago, they have 2 new ones in stock (AR210 and SX190) and two used AR195 for sale (a 2017 and a 2019). Prices are too high IMO but they are still there for about 10 days, so definitely there is more availability but prices still high.

They have 2017 195 listed for 36K basically, crazy I bought an 18 from them in April for 32K with 30 hrs on it

 

[Yambers]

@Sugarcharged We are hoping for a used 24', possibly a used 21'. The wife is dead set on bringing 29 people each time, a trailer full of food, coolers and supplies, and needing a head compartment since she has a squirrel bladder (slight exagerations).

And of course, no price war. Hopefully next season we can plan on hittin the water together. You go to Monroe mostly?

 

[John_D]

The Florida market is healthy and strong. I sold my 2017 Tracker Bass Boat for what I bought it for new, less the upgrades I installed. But I look at it this way I enjoyed the boat for 3 good years so the upgrades were a wash.

 

[212s]

I agree with you, there should be some sort of boaters class required and a license/permit to show.

Wait, you guys down south don't need to take a course and get an operator's license? Up here in Canada, taking a boating course and passing a test is required to get a "Pleasure Craft Operators Card" which is your license to drive a boat/jetski. Even with one, people can still be stupid though.

 

[Crob83]

Wait, you guys down south don't need to take a course and get an operator's license? Up here in Canada, taking a boating course and passing a test is required to get a "Pleasure Craft Operators Card" which is your license to drive a boat/jetski. Even with one, people can still be stupid though.

No you don't need anything but a driver's license

 

[Yambers]

You have to be at least 15 to operate a boat in Indiana. You are good if you have a drivers license. If you are 15 or older and dont have a drivers license, you have to pass an education class and carry a card.

 

[Cyclonegrey]

Just rechecked my “local” dealer inventory and it looks like one has 4 2021’s (two 19 and two 21 ft) that are not presold and another has one 2021 that isn’t presold.
those trying to sell a 2020 or 2019 for new MSRP will be very disappointed.
Hell the one dealer has the exact boat I requested a quote for and was told in no few terms. $2k non refundable deposit to place an order. Crazy
Now I just need the market to allow for freight and prep being dropped.

 

[HangOutdoors]

I see dealers advertise online but they actually don't have the boats on the lot or in inventory.. Take lists on their websites with a grain of salt.