You love boating, so isn't fall a miserable time of year for you? Your boat has been winterized, stored or shrink-wrapped for the season, and your memories of the amazing summer that was, and a longing for the spring is all that you have to keep you warm. We feel your pain, and withdrawal from boating is hard for us too. Seeing empty slips is a glass half full proposition though....filling them next spring will be energizing and teaming with promise. There is opportunity here for you as well.
Some of you may spend this time of year thinking about what you love about your boat, and maybe what it is lacking. Maybe you dream of something bigger, newer, smaller, faster, or more geared to the way your family boats or you imagine them boating in the future. If that is the case, have you ever considered the opportunity that fall and the early winter boat buying offers?
Traditionally we have thought as the Boat Show season as the kick off for thinking about boat shopping, and often the buying decision came in early spring as warmer weather drives excitement for the new season ahead. In a lot of ways, that pattern worked against you, and is now even less attractive than it once was. Our industry has evolved: manufactures are building less boats, and not stocking near as much inventory. They ask Marine Dealers to commit to a fixed number of build slots, spaced relatively evenly over the year. Those marinas are keeping less boats in their yard, and plan to have the build slots "pre-sold" to customers as much as possible. Because of this a number of boaters are waking up to the opportunities that shopping for your new or used boat in the fall provides.
Here is a list of 8 pros, and 2 cons to shopping for boats between September and December:
PRO!
- Choice | Make it yours! When you are looking to order a new boat, it
will come directly from the factory to your dealer, exactly the way you want it. You can choose the right model, the colours you love, with exactly the right options for you. If you are thinking of a used boat, you can grab a prime one before the busy boat show season eats up all the most desirable used boats that came in between the mid summer and late fall. Alternatively you could be on the top of the list for a particular model or type of boat when it comes in on trade by committing early. - Low pressure | Time to choose - When it comes to the above, and you commit to buying a boat in the fall, you have some time to really work through your needs to determine the right model, then even more time to guide you through the details of options and colour choices. There no rush, so you can relax.
- Reduced or Eliminated Costs for Current Boat - Most good marine dealers will offer you free storage on your trade in, reducing your cost of ownership. You likely will be able to cancel your boat insurance also as you have effectively ceased to own it, further reducing your costs.We call this the "Great Boat Holiday" - click here to check it out.
- Get More | Maximum Trade Value - Trades are all the same in one way, they are worth less everyday. The sooner you let your dealer know you will be trading it in, the sooner they can start marketing it and have access to more buyers, more early. This often results in a 5% or more savings in trade value over what it would be worth the next spring.
- Pay Less | Lower Than Boat Show Prices - The truth is, a custom ordered fall boat is THE LEAST EXPENSIVE NEW BOAT TO PURCHASE. Why is that? The dealer does not have to stock it, insure it, pay interest costs on it, and does not have any risks in stocking a boat that may take time to sell. The best dealers recognize this and pass those savings onto you. On top of that, we can pass along the Manufacturers Boat Show Savings as well! This is a DOUBLE DIP!
- Priority Delivery in Spring | Get Yours First - Your new boat does not sit and effectively age before you use it. When you commit to that new boat early, it will be here on time and your dealer would commit to you for whatever delivery date you want!
- SAVE up! If you want to, you can sock away some more mney over the winter for a bigger deposit in spring, make your loan value and payments smaller.
- GREAT rates! Boat Show season usually has the best financing rates of the year, so yoeah, what the heck, you can get those too!
CON!
- May Not be Able to Drive Boat till Spring - You will have wanted to
driven similar models and owned a boat before, etc. There will need to be a trust in your dealership to keep your needs and best interests as their priority while they are going through this process. - Waiting | Hurry up Spring! - Having to wait till spring to get the new boat is one "good evil".
