Hello fella's i'm new to the forum with a questionor two.
I'm in the Houston area and I'm looking at a new Stingray probably.My question is what is the norm if there is one on price? When buying a car if you're patient you can get up to 10- 12k off on some vehicles. I'm looking at a 230LX that MSRP's at about 46k. Tell me please if you know if i can expect to bargain down to 36-37k?
Thanks,Dean
Could be. But I believe in comparison shopping to get dealers bidding against each other. Try using same size boats with same options by Caravelle, Larson, Maxum, and/or Rinker.
Wait for a boat show in your area. Most dealers don't want to haul them back and are willing to give deep discounts. Especially, on the last day of the show. If no boat shows in your area, there's year-end close outs going on right now.
Probably impossible to get a solid answer on that question. I have read some pretty long forum threads on discounts off of MSRP and after many hours of reading pretty much realized there was no set answer. Many said 10-15% was possible. With the Stingray you are looking at more than 20%. And probably as with cars the more "extras" that are in there the bigger the potential discount . 20% + off on a base model is probably not doable, but throw in $10K worth of extras above base and maybe you got a shot. Something tells me that $1500 for canvas probably has a little "wiggle room" to the dealer.
I think the interesting question to pose on the forum would be: "What percentage off of MSRP did you pay for your boat?" and see what kind of answers come up and take an average of those for a good starting point.
And finally it cant hurt to ask for any price you want, or as Kelly suggested "well I can get brand X for $36,000" Worse that can happen is they say no. And if they let you walk away then you know the price was really to low for the dealer to swallow.
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1986 Wellcraft V-20
1986 Yamaha 150 hp
Could be tough with the Stingray's as they are pretty competitively priced. Also, dealers will often work better by throwing stuff into the deal for "free" . . . If there is anything you want/need like a Canvas, GPS, Fishfinder, Watersports stuff, Life jackets, anything that you are going to buy, they may be more aggressive with stuff that you would pay $100 for and it only costs them $65. It's still real money to you, but it costs them less to give stuff than a straight cash discount.
If it helps I bought my Larson 208 LXI for about $8500 less than MSRP back in August. I paid about $28,000 but the boat came with a lot of additional equipment. I got a 2007 model and my dealer had snagged a deal with Larson to take some of their 2007 inventory. I paid pretty much what they had the boat priced at but I did get a discount of a few hundred $$. Basically I got the price lowered by the Tax I would have had to pay.
If you are looking at new boats keep in mind that most dealers charge a "prep fee". This can range from $200 to $1000. It basically includes the battery, installing the outdrive, all fluids, connecting electronics like depthfinder, etc...........
I bought a new stingray in May, smaller then what you are looking at, but the MSRP was 22,000 and I paid 17,000. By the way after a season and about 50 hours, we are very pleased with the Stingray.
I will now put in my 2 cents, and to give myself some credibility I was the sales manager at a major dealer here in Kentucky for 6 years. The only reason I resigned my position was because I finished my Masters in Wildlife Biology, and am now in that field. I have no reason not to tell you the truth since I don't work in the boat sales field any longer.
If you are holding out for a 'discount' on a boat then you will probably never get out on the water. Say what you may, and only believe half of what you hear about boat discounts. Boats are not comparable to cars or trucks, and are in two totally different classes. Boats are considered a luxury item, and they do not go down on price very often.
Most of the time when someone tell you they got a Huge discount on a boat they aren't telling you the entire truth. I don't know what it is, but people feel an inept need try and convince people they got a huge discount on a major purchase to make themselves feel better about paying the price they did. I've seen it a dozen times. "You gave John a 20 % discount on a Crownline ... why can't you give me the same thing?". When actually it simply wasn't true. 'John' paid a little less than MSRP on a boat, and acted happy with his purchase when he pulled out of the lot.
The only time you will get a 'great deal' is if the boat is past the time for boat shows and they need to make more room for new inventory. Even at that point, I have known dealers to hold on to a few if they have the room, and use them for a dealer trade later on for ATVs or Motorcycles. Boat dealers seldom go below 15% on any discounts, and they will more than likely just throw in a pair of Bass Pro fishing rods, or $300 gift certificates for gas.
There just isn't the margin to be handing out discounts on boats that there are on cars and trucks. Most of the time the dealer has them priced well below MSRP, and are only making about $500 to $1500 on the deal to begin with no matter what anyone else tells you.
Take it from me. Unless the dealer absolutely has to get rid of a boat, or is selling out his inventory for bankruptcy you won't get an incredible deal like you get on cars and trucks. If you notice. Most of the car and truck industry's discounts are handed down at the company level, and not the dealers themselves. The only way you get a discount on a boat that is comparable is if you have someone who works for the boat company themselves, you know the owner and he is willing to 'give' you the boat without a profit, or you get an '07 model in the middle of '08. By then you've already wasted all of your summer holding out for a 'Great Deal' and what was it really worth.
So, to sum it up ... don't hold your chips or breath thinking that boat dealers have some 'miracle' price reduction ability. You will only find yourself without a boat, and frustrated in the end. Keep in mind that there is a $500 to $800 price above cost in there that dealers won't touch for 'their own momma'. That is what pays the salesmen and staff when they only sell 5 boats a month, and keeps the lights on. A dealer won't touch that margin for anyone, because he knows he has to pay the bills too. He'd just as soon let you pass on the deal, and go somewhere else to hassle someone else over the discount you think you deserve.
Again, I'm not trying to be harsh or hard hearted. I'm simply telling you the truth. You've heard the term 'Business is Business'. Well, this is the business end of the boating industry as I know it. If you are looking for a big substantial discount then buy used. Most dealers buy used boats at about 3/4 of what they're worth, and then jack them up to Blue book. You'd be better off looking for a discount there.
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Everyone starts boating with a bag full of luck.
As you gain experience the bag of luck empties, and becomes a bag full of experience.
Listen to Lucky since he has direct experience. But keep in mind that the dealer makes money (sometimes a LOT) off the financing and off the insurance if he can sell you on that. My dealer offered 8.5% and when I told him that I had already been approved for financing for 6.5% from a 3rd party he miraculously was able to match it.............. Dealers make more money from the banks when they "sell" a loan at a higher rate.
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thanks for all of the replies. I'll find out around the end of the month when I'm back in country. I've bought many vehicles and the answers I'm getting here are the same but I realize that cars and boats are different. It's one of them things with me, i'm getting it for want and not need.
It has been my experience when purchasing a new boat to do so at a boat show. At boat shows there are incentives that the manufacturers offer that may not be available at other times.
As an example, about 3 years ago I had the bug to move up to a larger boat. The boat we'll call brand X had several manufacturer options available only at the boat show. The boat show deal the dealer offered me $142,000 was acceptable and I was seriously considering the purchase. There were other things going on financially that I had to consider. Now this was Day 1 of the boat show. I told them I would return the following weekend with my answer. Returning the following weekend I had decided to keep my current boat and would not go new.
Ten days later I get a phone call from the dealer offering me the boat for $132,000, would I be interested. Now I was really intrigued and I thought about it for a couple minutes and finally decided not now.
It sure was tempting though but financially that was not the right time for me. If you go to a boat show don't show the dealer by actions or facial expressions how much you like or want the boat. You need to be totally objective and put on your best poker face when making your deal.
Good luck with your walk down the path to boat ownership. This will be a learning experience that you can take with you the next time because surely as the sun rises in the morning you will be bitten by the twofootisis bug sometime in the future.
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Rick Grew
1999 Bayliner 3055 Ciera SE, Happy Together III
Out of Bolles Harbor, Michigan
2004 Past Commodore
West River Yacht & Cruising Club
I don't know if it will help you bargaining or not, but next year Stingray is going all Volvo -- if its got a merc on it, use that to your advantage, because they will likely be trying to get rid of their merc stock, if its got a volvo on it, act like you only want a merc and use their all volvo switch to your advantage.
I talked to a couple of dealers and one had 7k off on a 46k boat and the onther said he will make me a smoking deal on one. I'm overseas right now so I'll see in 10 or so days. Anyone know why they went Volvo only?
both were 08's with volvo
I talked to a couple of dealers and one had 7k off on a 46k boat and the onther said he will make me a smoking deal on one. I'm overseas right now so I'll see in 10 or so days. Anyone know why they went Volvo only?
both were 08's with volvo
Cause Volvo gave them a better deal on engines and drives...............
Cause Volvo gave them a better deal on engines and drives...............
That's my thinking. They have not said definitively in the Stingray forum. They mention performance, but stay away from saying anything negative about Merc.
Its actually a tuff thread to read in its entirety because of a lot of silliness mixed in with opinions. Some are not real happy.
I also suspect its because of the dominance of Brunswick, who owns Merc too. Stingray has been pushed out of a couple stores because the Brunswick people said all Brunswick or no Brunswick -- at least I know of one occurrence of this in the dealer where my Stingray was sold.
Kind of seems like there will be lines drawn with alliances of merc with certain brands and volvo with others.
My Stingray has a merc -- if the right one had come along with a volvo I would have bought it too.
2008 Chaparral SSi210 fully loaded with a MSRP of $43,495
My dealer offered it to me for $33,000 after several iterations and he is also installing a dual batery with switch (this was not a manuf option on this boat), including the coast gaurd kit, flares and 3 months of Boatel storage.
I think I got a good deal and don't want to go over board since they will be completing repairs for me.
luckyinkentucky, although I'm sure your knowledge of this topic is appreciated, I think you mixed up your info a bit - or it mixed ME up as to what you were saying. You said there isn't a ton of wiggle room in pricing, so these 15-20% off deals are not correct - but I think maybe you're not talking about off MSRP, right? Yeah, maybe the dealers put them on sale with less than 10% wiggle room, but most certainly buyers often get 15% off MSRP!
Lucky also pointed out some good info on situations where they may be more willing to deal or less willing. Good info.
Well this boat has a factory rebate of 5k at the present time. To me he can come down more than 7k if 5 of it is factory rebate. I do believe after some negotiations I will be able to reach my goal of 10-12k off. I know I'll have to wait a while probably, but the season is over anyway.
I wouldn't wait to long, that rebate could go away! I've seen it happen one to many times. This past season I had a few clients get burned that way. They were waiting for the $2000.00 Rebates to go up to $3000.00 the way they did the year before (2006). But....instead of the rebates increasing in March.....they just went away! They lost a couple of thousand dollars by waiting to save a thousand dollars. Ironic?
New boat purchase
I have no reason not to tell you the truth since I don't work in the boat sales field any longer. 
Re: New boat purchase
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