Apart from the obvious: Sell the boat outright then buy a less expensive boat.
Has anyone ever traded a more expensive boat (owned free and clear--no lien) and got a lesser/downgraded boat + cash from a dealer/broker?
Probably not the typical business model for a dealer, but if the numbers were transparent and a profit was evident and agreed upon for the dealer, would/could this be an efficient way to move a boat?
Not unless the dealer already had a buyer for your old boat at a decent profit.
sold and bought less expensive. never dealt with a dealer/broker on a deal like this though.
Typically in a scenario like this, it is extremely hard for a dealer to be profitable, therefore if they structure a deal it ends up being a really low trade allowance for the boat you are trading in. As they have to recoup all margin out of the boat you traded for, along with not lose on the boat you traded in.
99.9% of the time, just sell it on your own and then go get what you like in this scenario. Even if you take a low price for the expensive boat it will still be better than what the dealer will offer, and then this gives you a way to deal on the less expensive boat you actually want, as the dealer is now profitable on that unit without a more expensive trade.
Hope this helps! This is from my dealership experience.
Sam
Thanks boys! Appreciate the insight and advice. Boating needs have changed and no longer require "this much boat". Working with low-ball offers and tire kickers can be time consuming and I can appreciate the dealer work that goes into making a sale!
Alot of dealers will sell them on a commission based deal. I find it unlikely they would give you cash but never know.
The difference in money in your pocket will be enough for you to fool with it. If you "trade down" with a dealer, you will take a big hit...real big. Run an ad right here. Put a good firm price on it. See what happens.Originally Posted by IMhooked
You could be talking a difference of 10 thousand in your pocket. The dealer does not wsnt your boat and he has to get it in showroom shape and stand behind it to a certain extent. I have sold boats privately and it worked out great. The last one I sold was Facebook Marketplace... worked out great. I have also sold cars there.
RT188
I LIKE boats...BUT I LOVE PLANES
Oh yeah.... I love the RT188 too.
Sold and bought less expensive. Twice
in the boating biz it is hard to give back change. the higher priced boats are getting harder to sell as the days go on.
I've done that on a car deal and walked away with a check. But you need to know who you're dealing with and have a pretty good idea of the value before hand. Trust but verify.
And you've got a better chance of that working out in your favor of the boat you're trading is in high demand, something the dealer knows they can move quick. Understand the dealer has to keep the lights on....
Just make sure you know the outright price of the boat you are interested in first and know what you want for your current rig. Bring a calculator to the negotiation.
This is true, and also the dealer will have to put a higher-end trade-in on their floor plan [bank loan], which further increases their reluctance to do upside-down trades at a time when sales are slowing down. Remember that dealers stock new boats because the factory requires them to do so, and because selling more new boats gains the dealer annual factory kickbacks, and because new showroom boats increase customer foot traffic. Expensive used boats have fewer incentives for the dealer to benefit from, the exception being if the boat in question is in really high demand.
Boat and car markets are 2 different animals. I would agree most dealers will low ball your trade in value in this situation.
Bryan McDonough
2023 Nitro Z21 XL
Nitro Team
Had 9 boats. Bought a new boat once. Plenty of good used boats out there.
Huh? $80-100k boats get bought daily. Should we talk about the Ikon going for $125k+?
The boat dealer is going to rape you on a trade value. It's really not a big deal or headache to post for sale. Put it on BBC and marketplace. It's really all just using common sense anymore to avoid getting linked up with the scammers.
Yes. It would be a very efficient way to move a boat...FOR THE DEALER.
We sold wife's tritoon last year. We looked up similar year and models, compared hours, engines, etc, and pxed it competitively. Sold it in two weeks.
Dealer offered many, many, many thousands less than what we sold the boat for. If anyone's making money, I want it to be me.
My boat is listed here for this exact reason. I have quite a bit of equity in my boat but the only way I'd get to use it is to sell it outright. If I traded it, I'd basically get an even trade on what I owe. If I sell it, I'll have around 8-10k to buy a new used rig.
no but recently looked at going from my boat to tin at about same cost and could not make the change. The Tin was about the same cost because it was without any features. Things I take as basic the new boat did not have and I could not accept it;;; things like an auto bilge pump or carpeted storage
2024 Phoenix 818
2024 merc 175 pro xs 3B411947
Just as an update all. Took MILL CREEK's line of thinking and did my market research. Posted it according to that research and sure enough a buyer from 2 hours north showed up with cash and scooped up an immaculate boat at the right price. Ironically a dealer I was talking to previously about working together called my buyer while we were hooking him up to offer him an 'updated price' on one of his floor models. I DID fall back on the advice in this thread and execute a little patience, research, and confidence. I thank you all for your experience and recommendations in this discussion!
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