Boat pricing

[Iowa Farm Boy]

What is going on with the price of fishing boats? This past weekend I too a little trip and looked at an Alumnacraft Navigator 175CS with a 90 horse. The ad said "Special Show pricing". The "special show pricing, no accessories, was $16,458. There was a tiller 165 with a 60 horse for $11362, no accessories. I did a search on Tracker Boats and came up with a 175 single console with trolling motor and depth finder for $13895. Not sure if the qualities are the same or not. Anyone know?

I guess what burns me is the overall cost. What is there to a boat? Some metal, some plywood, some carpet, minor wiring, a few $30 pumps, a motor, etc.. Not nearly what is put into a $16000 car for material and labor. Could these costs be excessive because we have no "cheap" foreign competition? Are the boat manufacturers giving us a good arse pounding?

I have been saving my pig money but at theses prices, I won't be getting a new boat until 2007.

[MrBigeyes]

I totally agree with you.... with that being said you can't compare boats to automobiles. For every lund sold there are hundreds of autos sold. So the mark up must be higher to cover costs of labor and higher materials costs as they purchase less volume. Also think of the dealer who is paying a mortgage and taxes and employees among other things and maybe selling how many boats a month to pay all of this. Just seen a similiar post elsewhere, Maybe we should call Kia and ask them to bring out a boat line! I know I sure won't be running one on Lake Superior.

[Burr ND]

Your a little more optimistic than I. At the rate prices are rising I will be able to afford it less and less each year. Boat prices up 10-18% annually. Well, my income is not rising that fast... And I can't afford it now.

Added point - most of the boat cost is the motors. I fail to understand any justification for these motors selling for $14,000-$18,000 for a top of the line motor. They are not that high tech finely tuned pieces of machinery they are made out to be. If they were you wouldn't have so much concern over them blowing sky high.

Boat and motor manufacturers will one day look back on this decade and refer to it as the 'Good ol days'. Even with the ridiculous prices, they are selling.

[Luv 2 Fish]

Several guys I fish with have Trackers( Deep V-bottoms). They have always been pleased with the Trackers performance and it certainly is less money. I believe within the last 5 years Tracker has gone to a all riveted boat. They use to be welded and riveted.

[Gerry]

You get what you pay for. There are different grades of metal, plywood, carpeting , and wire does have different gauges.

Get the best you can and enjoy it. I bet farming acre in Iowa goes
for alot more than here in Northern Minnesota.

Walleye6

[Yankee]

Make sure you read the fine print and add all the additional charges on that Tracker, otherwise you will walk into a Tracker Dealer and think he is hosing you.

[T-Mac]

The outboard engine is a large part of that cost.

[Iowa Farm Boy]

Don't you think it is kind of strange that there are no responces from someone in boat manufacturing or boat sales? I am sure they read this thread abd smiled, smiled all the way to the bank to cash another check!

[Inthe loop]

You are blaming the cost entirely on the boat. As somebody mentioned already, the engine on that package costs more than the boat. Then, to make it onto a package, you have a cost for the trailer and for transportation, electronics, and assembling all these parts. A boat package isn't like an auto. An auto already has an engine and doesn't need a trailer, nor hours of assembly and installations.

[Iowa Farm Boy]

Okay, why does the boat, motor and trailer cost so much? A car has to have a motor installed in it, has to have electronics installed in it,has destination charges, and many hours of assembly/installtion. Compare the complexity of a cars wiring system to that of a fishing boat. Could the profit margins on boats be much greater than that on a car? As someone said in a previous posts, boats tend to increrase between 10% - 15% per year. I would like a truthful answer from a boat manufacturer or boat dealer. I am not against paying a resonable markup but it seems excessive.

[alanexpup]

its like any high ticket item. they are NOT going to come down on price probably bacause they cant. with all the boat builders out there dont you think that if a cheaper setup were possible competition would let it surface, unless they make secret agreements! the only thing you can do is buy something a year or two old. let the first guy take the hit. That way you get the cream without having to pay for it. I got a 32G Lund IO tyee for 20 and I love it just as much as if it were new when I got it. for get new there are tens of thousands of like new hardly used boats out there. My neighbor bought a boat like you are looking for and I saw it sit in his yard for 5 years and it never moved. Just sat there- thats sad.

[In the loop]

You were just told the truth and you do not recognise it.
Are you familiar with the assembly line concept? Are you familiar with the concept of volume purchasing and mass production?
Take a look at a hand built aluminum car and see how it's price stacks up to a cookie cutter automobile model built of steel using robotics and produced by the thousands.
You may ask "Why does an airplane cost so much"? The same principles apply.
If you still are confused, you may need to study up a bit on economics to understand it. It is simply a low numbers situation with much hands-on labour involved. This causes costs to be high, as there is time consuming labour by many paid humans at every step of the way from raw material delivery to putting the product on the water.

[Burr]

However, when the cost is broken down into its components, I do not feel the cost of the Motor is a bargin line item. Same motor on Walleye boats, as Bass Boats, as Bay boats (Bay boats may have 2 motors)... Assembly line production methods completely available and in place. Not a low numbers game.

Compare to snowmobiles, definitely a lower numbers game, limited market, comparable horsepower, same 2 stroke and 4 stroke presence, very similar technology. About the same number of competitors. Still a snowmobile can be had for much less than an outboard.

Snowmobile has suspension, constantly variable transmission, seating, aero design, track and skis.

Outboard motor is a motor with a gearcase. I will give the 4 stoke outboards a technology point for properly lubricating a verticle crankshaft.

Justifiable because that is what the public will pay for it. I can buy into the argument prices are increased to the point the demand is met with a limited ability to supply the market. Good ol days is now.

[Inthe loop]

That is what I said. The motor costs a lot.

[aluma1]

I think the prices for boats are about right. Transportion is not like loading a semi with 15 cars at once. Outboards I think have gotten real out of hand however. Brand new Tech would cost allot the first few years. They should go down or stay the same price after that. At least they could stay at the inflation rate.

[bigfish1965]

If by posting on the Canada board, this means you are a Canuck, why not give a look at www.legendboats.com

[dutchboy]

Yep,my Ranger was overpriced. But I love it, it runs great does everything I want it to do. Also it makes me happy!
If you can't afford a boat, rent one. Better yet have your buddy rent one and quit complaining about the cost! It's your choice where to spend your money.
By the way, your pork is over priced in my opinion but i don't begrudge you making a living!

[dutchboy]

Yep,my Ranger was overpriced. But I love it, it runs great does everything I want it to do. Also it makes me happy!
If you can't afford a boat, rent one. Better yet have your buddy rent one and quit complaining about the cost! It's your choice where to spend your money.
By the way, your pork is over priced in my opinion but i don't begrudge you making a living!

[Skylane]

Dutch boy, the answer is to eat more beef. They are more inefficient users of grain therefore we poor grain farmers get to sell more corn so we can afford to go fishing.

[bob oh]

How do boats compare to tractors? or $250,000 combines ????

rod bender bob

[Skylane]

Well Bob, as far as comparisons, the payments on the boat would be a lot less and the usage is certainly more pleasurable. Makes you wonder how they sell combines does'nt it.

[Iowa Farm Boy]

How do boats compare to tractors or combines? Your talking apples and oranges here. The tractor is a buisness expense that is depreciated over time. A boat is not considered a buisness expense for a farmer. Maybe I will talk to my accountant and see if I can write it off if I takes some of my prize sows out for a ride. Thats right, kick my wife out and take the sows. At least the load would be lighter!

[Burr ND]

I'd say he is talking apples and oranges. Show me an outboard motor that can go 10,000 hours between overhauls.

[Juls_OH]

LMAO! They would no longer say, "When Pigs Fly", the new saying would be, "When Pigs Fish"! Hahaha That's a great "visualization".
"Get out of the boat honey, I'm taking the 'girls' today"...hahahahah

Awww...thanks...that was a good laugh. I needed that. sniff/wiping tears out of my eyes...LOL

Juls

[wazzy]

Take a look at used, the market is loaded w used boats.
One way to get the price down is not to buy em!

[Bump]

ttt

[Scratch eye]

For what its worth...My boss has a boat dealship in New Mexico. They are not an Alumacraft dealer but he says that the markup boats is generally 30-35%. He did show me a 19' Proline that he was into for $16K and the selling price was $21K.

[Scaup]

THe alternative is to build your own boat. There are several designs out there, using time tested methods, that will accomodate everything you want out of a boat. The same boat you buy for $18K will only cost about 1/2 that if you build it yourself. Just do a lot of research and start bargain hunting for your needs in the building materials.

Just an idea.
Here are three websites to check out.

bateau.com
devlin boats
glen-l boats

[Dealer]

Good luck to your boss. He is a rarity and a relic of days gone by.
There probably is not one Northern states dealer selling upper end "walleye boats" that ever got anywhere near 25% on a new rig in the past 10 years. In actuality, entry level boats are much more profitable on average. Walleye fishermen up north are very savvy buyers, and competition for sales is painfully intense.
Your boss has a decent brand, and he would get a rude awakening up north.

[Iowa Feller]

No arguement whatsoever...however there is a large stock pile of value in the used boat market right now. Take some time and shop for used boats and see if a there is a good fit there.

[Hammerhead Herb]

I'd feel a lot more sympathetic about boat dealers and their pricing if we could have access to such pricing info as exists for cars (such as Edmund's, NADA, or Kelly's Blue Book for NEW boats)

[Dealer]

The NADA boat, motor, trailer guide (book)is everywhere. Unfortunately most bankers do not know how to read it, but it is available.

[Hammerhead Herb]

I believe that the NADA Guide gives prices and evaluations for used boats only; not for new boats.