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Mega Dealers
In my hunt for a new boat I have heard a couple people mention that there
are some huge mega dealers in the mid west that really sell boats at the
best rates just becasue they sell so many boats.Since my only local dealer only sells Ranger, and I have moved Ranger down
my list a bit I am now having to explore pricing and availability out of
town. Since my buy local first may not be practical I see no reason not to
go where I need to in order to get the features I want at the best price. So who are these Mega Dealers?
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Bob
Nov 8
2004
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| I would be VERY cautious dealing with a "Mega Dealer", especially if you are
going to travel quite a distance to buy the boat. I made the mistake of buying my last boat from a distant dealer. While I
did get a good price, his idea of service and mine were quite a ways apart.
Part of the reason that I got a good price is my guide service partner Gil
and I both bought boats at the same time. We were promised that anytime we
needed service, because we are guides and need to have the boats ready at
all times, we would get preferrential treatment. I've had numerous minor warranty problems that have gone either unresolved
or I've had to fix, and pay for out of my own pocket. On Gil's first guide job of the year, he accidentally hit a rock with his
lower unit, doing some pretty good damage to the prop, the lower unit and
the skeg. To make a long story short, the dealer had his boat in excess of
SIX WEEKS! The loaner boat that was promised to either of us in the event
of such a disaster never arrived. The dealer stopped taking phone calls
from either of us and wouldn't answer e-mails either. How would this dealer
have affected your tournament schedule? So, my suggestion to you would be to look closer to home and don't worry so
much about saving a grand or two. There's more to buying a boat than price
alone. |
Steve
Nov 8
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| Over all I have found that most dealers are for the most part , crooks who
are looking to take an unsuspecting shopper to the cleaners.And if your a
first time buyer ,watch out. That being said ,once you've been taken, you
learn quickly.
Ken |
Ken
Nov 8
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| Steve, I mostly agree with the sentiment, but of the three local shops the
only one that gives me any kind of preferential treatment is not a dealer at
all. In the one where I have actually bought two boats in the past I can
get technical advice freely if I want to do work myself, but when I had a
motor problem that I discovered the day before a classic they told me I'd
HAVE TO do it myself or not fish. Also, your comments on a thousand or two
are perfectly valid, but I am already finding a much larger price difference
can be had on some boats, and even more when you compare different brands
with Ranger being the most expensive across the board. The decision not to buy locally is not taken lightly. I will go out of my
way to buy locally if they have what I want at a price even close
competitive, and the local Ranger dealer has given me pricing that is better
than most prices I have found in the region. I would have to go several
states away to get a better price on a Ranger. I just don't like having
only one choice. Currently I am looking at Stratos and Champion, but I
still haven't totally ruled out Ranger, Nitro, and Astro. I am pretty much
sold on NOT buying one of the built for speed boats like Blazer and Allison.
Anything over 70 MPH is too fast most of the time anyway. |
Bob
Nov 8
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| Too fast? What's that mean? J-K Bob. I'd cross Nitro & Astro off your list. Ranger is a great boat but
you pay a big chunk just for the name. Stratos & Champion are excellent
boats too. I'm totally in love with my Gambler, I doubt I'll ever get out
of one. Warren |
go-bassn
Nov 8
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| Bob...one word of caution on ANY dealer. Now that I've been reading
www.TheHullTruth.com and many other sites, I'd do a search on EVERY site I
could find for the dealer's name before I bought one ANYWHERE. I'm shocked to find out how few really decent people seem to be in the
boating business these days. It appears to be about the same number of
decent people who are in the car business. If you were in Houston, TX. and wanted to buy an Evinrude or Yamaha
motor...my guys at Northshore Marine are the most honest people I've ever
found. But, they only carry metal boats.
RichG |
RichG
Nov 8
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| I'm not really looking for a metal boat right now, but that distance doesn't
really intimidate me. Some of the dealers I am already looking at are that
far away or further. |
Bob
Nov 8
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