Trade value disappointment

[Kevin1741]

For haha's I stopped by a dealer to run some numbers. He offered me 36k for my 2014 sx240 with 24 hours. So that worked out to $17500 plus my boat for a 2015 ar240. Looks like I will be keeping my boat.

Has anyone looked into trading a 13/14 24 footer in towards a 2015? If so, what kind of offers have you had?

 

[Murf'n'surf]

Have you checked your value in www.kbb.com?

Sounds like you might want to sell it yourself. You always lose in a dealer trade. All ways!

 

[TN888]

Wouldn't even consider spending an additional 17,500 for one year newer. Same length, same motors....no way.

Just my opinion.

 

[veedubtek]

That'd be one expensive wake tower!

 

[Julian]

It is more than just a tower....I'd love the rudder/keel and sound proofing!

 

[txav8r]

Still...it is pretty expensive sound and steering with a tower. Depreciation sucks, and dealers are going to make money selling, buying, and selling again...that is what keeps them in business. Selling outright would get you the most, but you would lose the 36K in sales tax deduction. I had that conversation with Toby years ago about trading the Dawg on a new boat...the first words out of his mouth was, "you won't like these numbers". If it is what you want, who cares, you get what you want. Boats don't seem to make any kind of financial sense...just smile sense!

 

[Williamsone46]

Keep in mind when trading anything in, your selling it at wholesale. Any accessories you've added might add value to you but not to everyone so a dealer will value it for everyone. Generally the best cause would be to sell it on your own and do an in-n-out through the dealer.

 

[Englewoodcowboy]

You have to check with your state ont he tax break... in VA they do not give you credit for that, specially on what they concider luxury items, I found out the hard way on mine, could have sold my trade in for 500 more than the dealer but I thought it was not worth the tax savings then when I went to title it and pay the taxes I got the whole story. In my dealers defense, they did not know that either as they were in NC and I live in VA...

 

[SCSTWG]

I would also suggest having another Yamaha dealer give you numbers as well (if you have one relatively close by) just as a sanity check. I have a quality Yamaha dealer 10 minutes from my house but I don't do business with them because their prices are very high on everything from new boat sales to service and parts. Even so, they can't keep boats in stock and since the demand exceeds the supply, they have no incentive to discount. I don't blame them, I just do business elsewhere.

 

[Kevin1741]

This same dealer was way off when I traded my 2012 ar210 for the SX. I ended up in another state a couple hours away for 3k more. I'm happy with my boat. Was a nice thought to upgrade.

 

[txav8r]

I hear you guys...but it isn't always just about a bottom line price. Having that dealer close by, means you can establish a relationship with them, and get to know everyone from the sales department, to finance, to parts and service, and even the owner/manager of the dealership. Trust me, you won't just buy and be done...you will have parts or service that you need later on. And driving past a dealer to another one in a city with more than one is not too much of a drain, it is to drive out of state to get that same level of service. I don't think too many dealers will be undersold out of their market. There are always reasons that happens. I totally get avoiding the dealer that has a bad reputation however, and it serves them right, that their reputation precedes them. But the reputation shouldn't be based on not beating someone else's price alone.

 

[Kevin1741]

For me price gets me in the door, I'm definitely not going to spend 3000 more to have a so called relationship.

 

[txav8r]

Hey, I am with you, $3K is 3K. But rarely will two dealers be off that far, probably less than 1K or maybe even less than $500 after the negotiation. It just isn't possible to get the best price over the phone. And if you haven't worked it down to almost ready to sign, your not at the best price yet. Also, some dealers don't sell as much and will knock a good deal off the price...but they paid more to begin with than the higher volume dealer. So really, the price difference is in the negotiation and the relationship. You actually don't pay more to have a relationship...you create a relationship to pay less, at least sometimes. A fully agree some sales departments don't look 2 feet past the initial sale, but others do. Anyway, I am not second guessing anyone here, I am just saying it isn't all about initial purchase price, there is more to ownership long term.

 

[Kevin1741]

I agree most dealers are close on selling price. I have seen the big difference in trade value.

 

[subysti]

Retail for that boat is between $39K and $44K guesstimate on options. Now is the time to sell! Just sold my 96 Larson in a week just by word of mouth.

 

[motorboater]

Thing is, you aren't guaranteed anything once you drive off with your new boat. Some dealers might remember your name, some wont. Staff or ownership changes. Or in my case, they stop selling Yamaha within months of buying from them. Relationship done, glad I didnt pay extra for it. Another dealer moves into the territory, I actually help a forum member from out of state ( @SCSTWG ) buy a used boat from them, yet they dont go to bat for me when I have a simple warranty claim. What did I learn? 100% bottom line, dollars and cents, of the deal is all that matters. I'd rather pay extra to transport a boat to me than pay extra locally for a "relationship". And thats fine. The dealer is a business, also only concerned about the bottom line.

 

[OrangeTJ]

Fortunately for me, I haven't needed my dealer at all since I purchased our boat in 2012. Hopefully not jinxing myself here, but it has been 100% reliabel. At the time we bought, the nearest dealer here in CA was 2 hours away and they were not really a "boat" dealer but rather a multi-line powersports shop that happened to sell the boats as well. They did have a good price, though. Looks like they try to make up for it with their service prices. They quoted $850 for the 10 hour. Ummmm...no.

Now we have a much closer dealer who sells only boats - Cobalts and Yamahas. Haven't been there yet, although I'd love to own a Cobalt someday. I hear mixed reviews about the service of the dealership, though.

 

[ccrayjr]

I have to disagree. I purchased a boat out of town and saved $8k. I did the deal over the phone, got pre approved and drove down and took a sea test and signed and drove off. The dealer in my area services me just as if I bought the boat from him. A lot of dealers separate service from sales as separate revenue centers to attract all customers... also dry docking, etc. I doubt any dealer would turn down Yama warranty work or stereo additions to a boat.

 

[Julian]

I have to disagree. I purchased a boat out of town and saved $8k. I did the deal over the phone, got pre approved and drove down and took a sea test and signed and drove off. The dealer in my area services me just as if I bought the boat from him. A lot of dealers separate service from sales as separate revenue centers to attract all customers... also dry docking, etc. I doubt any dealer would turn down Yama warranty work or stereo additions to a boat.

This is not the case for all dealers. Some dealers simply have too much work and not enough capacity to get the work done, so they give preferential treatment to their customers. The margins on pure service work are also almost certainly higher than on warranty work.

 

[Ronnie]

When i considered trading in my Yamaha for a new one at my local dealer, Tracy motorsports, told me pretty much what @Williamsone46 said, they weren't planning on giving credit for any of the upgrades and went on to say they would pay me $15k and sell it for $20k or more. At the time they were the only dealer for 400 miles and 2012 yamaha's with 1.8L engines were not allowed to be sold new in Ca, it was an emissions thing, so the prices were already higher than usual and inventory was scarce. I ended up selling privately for $20k and buying used in scal, where they have or had a lot more yamaha dealers.

If I had to do it again I'd check out the new places closer than scal but wouldn't hesitate to drive as far as sandiego (500 miles one way) to buy a new or used boat from a dealer or private party. I'd never buy a boat from my local dealer which doesn't seem to give local buyers anything in terms of price breaks on the boat or service afterwards. Spend $70k on a boat there and they will still turn around and charge $800 plus for the 10 hour service (basically a 1 to 2 hour oil, lube and filter job). I understand it's just business but because of the way they conduct it they will never have mine where boat or pwc purchases are concerned.

Now that my extended warranty has expired it's not likely I'd go back there for service, the quality of which was and probably is still excellent. However, since I didn't buy it there I believe the best way to establish a relationship with the service guys would be to tip them well before and after they perform the service (e.g. $50 on drop off with a promise of $50 more if I get it back clean and early). The service itself won't be any cheaper but you can buy / tip your way to the front of the line which is no small thing in season and they might go that extra mile when they wash it (if they are allowed to wash it now that the state is in a drought).