Fall Boat Buying...Really?
By Wayne Ek
By the time late October rolls around a high percentage
of anglers are probably thinking of winterizing their boats or hunting.
Making a fall purchase of a new boat just does not seem practical
at this time of year, or so I thought.
During the 2006 Minnesota “Ultimate
Bass Challenge” sponsored
by Ranger Boats, I had a chance to sit down and talk with George
Liddle Jr. and Kent Sheel. George is a representative for Ranger
Boats and Kent is the Crystal-Pierz Marine line-leader for Ranger
and Stratos boats.
George and Kent brought up a couple of points
that made me change my mind about the best time to purchase a new
boat. We talked about the natural rise in material costs after January.
Let’s use
the fall of 2006 as an example. We are already seeing a huge increase
in the cost of aluminum. Petroleum based materials like plastics are
also increasing in price. If you ordered a new boat late in the year,
October for example, you would still be ordering off the 2006 price
sheets, but the boat would be a 2007 model. If new options became
available once the 2007 product line went into production, you would
probably not have those on the rig you ordered, but the boat would
be a 2007 model. George also said it was a great time of the year
to take advantage of any dealership’s stock reduction sales.
These are new boats that the dealership ordered for one reason or
another and have not yet sold. Most dealerships like to reduce the
current year inventory by winter, as the spring boat show circuit
starts around February, and they will be taking possession of the
next year’s models around that time.
Kent talked about the need
for inventory reduction on the part of the dealership. He said a
buyer could sometimes find a really good deal on non-current model
boats. I understood this to be a brand new boat the dealer had purchased
that the manufacturer (say Ranger) has now taken out of production
or replaced with a different model.
Kent also mentioned that boat
shows are fun for the buyer and you can see a lot of different types,
models and makes of boats at a show, but there is the additional
cost of tickets, parking, and the all important hot dog and Coke.
On the other hand you can stop in at any Crystal-Pierz dealership
this fall (or any time of the year) and they can bring up every boat
in the system for you to look at, even if it’s not at that particular
store.
George also mentioned that a lot of Ranger Pro-staff
boats and dealership demo boats become available in the fall. Kent
said the FLW/ Ranger Cup packages that become available are usually
marketed at a better price than you could get if you walked into a
dealership and ordered the same boat/motor with the same options.
Now that’s
something I have first hand knowledge of. My current boat is a 2004
Ranger 520 Comanche VX, powered by a 225 Yamaha. I purchased this
boat from Crystal-Pierz at a considerable savings. The boat was
an FLW boat loaded with all kinds of options and only had 10 hours
on the motor. This is my 3 rd Ranger boat. The first two were muti-species
(Fisherman Series) boats, even though I’m currently running
a bass-style boat I think the Fisherman Series boats are some of
the greatest family friendly boats made. Kent indicated that a lot
of the Ranger Boats Field-staff and most of Crystal-Pierz Pro-staff
list their boats on the Crystal-Pierz web-site (www.crystalpierz.com).
Both
George and Kent agreed that glass and aluminum boats are holding
their value pretty much equally. Kent indicated that the extended
financing and better rates are giving buyers much more purchasing
power, allowing them to look at the higher end boats that they had
never considered before.
In closing our discussion, Kent brought up a good
point. He feels that it’s not the dollar amount you spend, or if you want a
glass or aluminum boat. It’s about what you will use it for,
how you will use it, and how much you will use it. Kent feels it’s
far more important to find a boat that fits the customers needs than
to compromise those needs to fit an available boat.
If you're thinking of a new boat or a first boat,
maybe the fall is a better time to buy than the spring. We know that
a new boat ordered or purchased in the fall will certainly be there
for you in the spring. There will be no waiting and gnashing of teeth,
hoping your new boat arrives prior to the first planned outing. Have
a safe fall and we hope to see you on the water.
Wayne Ek is a fishing
guide, tournament angler and writer in Alexandria Minnesota . You
can reach Wayne Ek at Agape Fishing Guides, www.agapefishingguides.com
