I had red carpet on a Stratos. NEVER again. No use for tan carpet either. I like grey or charcoal.
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Ultimately, the future for boating pricing is a big question mark.
However, there hasn't been a day that has passed since boats were sold that the majority of people didn't think new boat prices were outrageously high.
Looking at every other type of boat that exists from Pontoons, Tow Boats, Center Consoles, Etc they are all priced much higher than our bass boats.
Therefore, is the problem the manufacturing companies or with our expectations. Hard to say....
Naturally, rebates and deals are coming into play as the equilibrium for supply and demand has shifted left. But, when it shifts right again, pricing will rise as it has for the last couple decades.
That sort of proves my point. People dont want the smaller rigs. Just because that big dealer is moving boats doesnt mean thats the consensus. They move a lot of pro staff and pro boats to that add to the movement. I agree with others that new big boats have always been expensive but i do think the perception is changing. People used to be much more inclined to go get that smaller rig but now that doesnt seem to be the case. It seems like people would rather just give up if they cant get the big time stuff
..having anything left for upgrades could mean anywhere between $2K to $40K for tournament level boat accessories. :laugh:
I doubt prices will drop much. Manufacturers will either close their doors before making significant price cuts, or scale back catering to the wealthy. I doubt profit margins are as much as many think. Take a tour watching boats being built. It's extremely manually labor intensive, in a harsh work environment, no where near as refined as the automobile industry with robotics for example. Take a look around at all their overhead. Their material costs have spiraled up. 10 years from now pro level tourney rigs will be approaching $200K. Buy them now while they're cheap. :laugh:
This.
..and I confess I have said boats weren't a good investment. :laugh:
I bought a new 18' Hydrasport 175HP in 1992 for $18K. Using an inflation calculator, $18K in '92 is equivalent to $38K in 2023. Today a comparable new 18' Nitro with a 175 is $42K, only $4K higher in comparable $s with better 4S engine, trolling motor, and hydraulic steering.
My new '92 Hydrasport was pro tournament level at the time. Today's pro tournament level boat is a different animal all together. Comparing the two is like comparing a '92 Geo Prizm to a '23 Corvette.
Out of curiosity I wonder what the out the door price would be if everything on the boat to include motors, graphs, anything else was priced at the cost it took to make each item without the markups included. This would include labor, materials, incidentals, yada....yada....?
Have a 2021 Bass Cat. See the same year make and model advertised for 8 and 9 k over what I paid in 2021. Guess guys are adding in all the ad-ons they did after the got the boat. Banks are only going to finance a certain percentage of book value.
I will take 60k for my 2021 Sabre FTD SP. Added gamin livescope and a pair of raptors. So 60k gets it :)
I can't imagine these manufacturers are making a killing profit margin wise on the sales of these boats. I think its sort of in the independent rod manufacturing sort of category, just scaled way up. Big enough to make some decent income and run a sustainable business, but not so profitable (or scalable) that giant corporations are dying to jump into the business.
https://m.facebook.com/groups/275256246246938/
Literally an entire forum of bass boats for sale under $10k to get people on the water to simply fish. Lots of nice older rigs on there all the time.
Sold my 2007 Ranger Z19 the end of Nov for $36,000. But it was a very clean, well maintained boat. With a new Merc 225 4-stroke motor on the back with 4 yrs remaining on warranties. Took 2 days to sell. Guy drove down from Indiana and picked it up.
My old 2002 Skeeter ZX250 is worth more now than when I sold it in 2010. My 2000 Ranger is worth more now than what I paid for it 4 years ago.
Nothing against bass boats but if I were to spend $100,000 on a boat I’m no longer looking in that direction. Remember at the end of the day a product is only worth what 2 parties are willing to come to an agreement on. No matter what one person thinks or what it costs to come to market.
According to the BPS flyer that arrived in my mailbox today I can buy a brand new Z19 with a 200 hp Mercury for $47,995 plus freight and prep. That seems pretty reasonable to me.