Boat Buying Decisions, What is your Motivator?

SimRacer wrote:
"Pat Goff @yahoo.com" pmgoffjrbot wrote in message
...


How much research did/will you do before you make your decision?


A lot. Several months of boat shows, trips to dealers, and online research
happened before I bought my boat. Let's put it this way, I decided in the
early summer of 2002 that I wanted my own little bassin rig, and I didn't
buy it until February 2003. I "considered" and researched everything from
inflatables to 21+' glitter rockets. Ended up with a G3 Pro 175 aluminum
mod-v hull.


What is the final reason you will/did choose your particular boat?
Price? Major reason, I ain't even a Pro in my dreams, so I wanted

something I could pay cash for.

Reputation? Minor reason, but was considered. Friends of mine highly

recommended the brand.

Service? Major reason (also ties into servicing dealer's reputation

though)

Looks? No concern really.


The only other thing I could add here would be warranty. The warranties
included with the various parts of my boat appeared to be in-line with
industry norms, and would've been a red flag had they not.


Would you make the same decision now if you know everything you do? If

not,

what would you have rather done different?


I would've gone ahead with the largest HP OB the hull was rated for.
Otherwise, very happy with the boat my research led me to. But to get that
extra HP would've meant a mandatory move to 4-stroke tech and added way too
much to the cost IMO, and there was a wait for a model with the bigger OB on
it. (My hull is rated for 75HP, I got a 60HP, and Yamaha's only 75HP I could
find at the time was a much more expensive 4 stroker).


Did/will you take a test ride before you bought/buy? How important is

that?

No test drive. Wasn't important to me as my boat is a little aluminum mod-v
hull. Had I been eyeing $30k-$40k boats though, I would have liked at least
a ride in one if not being able to drive it myself first. Anything over
$40k, and I am going to demand a test drive or I will not buy it (I would
have had to finance such a boat, and if I am to pay for it over years of
time with interest tripling the amount the boat eventually costs me, I will
drive it first or not buy it...)


How much do you think that dealer made/will make on your boat? What do

you

consider "fair"?


I don't know how much the dealer made. Fair? Boats are worse than cars in
this area IMO, so I can't comment intelligently I'm sure. Given that a
typical markup for retail products is 100%, I can't imagine that my boat's
"cost" to the dealer was only half of what I paid for it, so I guess it was
"fair" in the end. I did go with a lower end, shorter, aluminum boat thought
as IMO, these fiberglass glitter rockets are more overpriced than Corvettes
and Hummers, even with sub-250HP 2 strokes out back.


Is/was a particular pro influential in your decision?


Nope. I do not aspire to be a pro, so I took recommendations from other
weekend warriors such as myself. These are the people that don't get out
much, and can comment on their experiences with such lightly used boats, how
they age, and how well they tolerate winter storage in my area. Pros, IMO,
can only recommend stuff for like people, people that will fish 35-40-50
times a year or more, and look for different qualities in their gear than us
casual fishermen. They'd recommend a Cadillac, and all I "really" need is a
good dependable econobox. I mean when you boil it all down, bass boats are
simply floating docks/piers to fish from. The quesiton then becomes, how
nice of a dock do you really need to get the job done? Thusly, several of my
friends liked their Yamaha OBs, and won't use anything else. The Yamaha
brand lead me to the G3 brand, and the rest is history as they say. Plus,
other locals and friends didn't care for the Tracker brand of boat that is
very similar to the one I ended up with from G3.


If any, what was unpleasant about your boat buying experience?


Distance to the closest dealer (1 hour). The wait that was anticipated to ge
t one with the larger OB I mentioned (6-8 weeks), and the result was buying
one "off the lot" that was otherwise perfect outside the engine size. Even
then, the upgrade was only an extra 15 HP, so I am not "really" that
disappointed.

Pleasant things: Dealer had a fair number of boats in my price range
($10k-$20k). Went in on a Saturday, spent only about 2 hours on-site, and
was done and towing my boat home THAT DAY. Had I needed to finance it, it
could've also been done during that one day, which surprised me. Dealer knew
more than "what was in the brochure", and threw in a free spare, OB engine
cover, and gave me a price break on an upgraded LCD finder and installed it
while he cleared my check with my bank. Also threw in the necessary trailor
light adapter for my tow vehicle (I thought it came with it, but we couldn't
find it. Drove my small SUV up there as I was "just looking" and ended up
"buying" before I realized that Chevy uses an adapter for trailor lights
now....)


Any and all responses would be appreciated, anyone who'd like to have a
conversation with me direct, please contact me a



Looking forward to seeing what the responses are!




Best of luck with your survey Pat.


GREAT post SimRacer! Very informative. Thank you.