Bass Boat model year change, best time to buy is now

If you are looking for a good deal on a new boat, the fall/early winter is a good time to buy. I stopped in at Ranger dealer the other day and he was out of stock. He told me I could order a new 09 at 08 prices, with even a 10% discount if I ordered now. He will probably be going to the dealer meeting soon so he could also order a 09 for me then, if I wanted delivery next winter or spring.

Here is a secret: If a dealer has some stock boats, he will be willing to come down.

When I sold boats, we would order at the July dealer meetings and get free "flooring" until about May. After that, we had to start paying interest on the inventory, which adds up in hurry. The goal was to make as much profit during the free flooring time and then discount the few remaining boats in May so we would not have to pay interest on all that money.

This time of year, I also knew that the dealer meeting was coming up so if I didn't have what someone wanted, I could take the order with a small deposit and order the boat at the dealer meeting. The more boats I ordered at the meeting, the better discount I could get.

If you need a boat soon, and the boat you want is not in stock, order it for delivery. The factories are slowing down now, so they are going to offer the dealer incentives to keep ordering. The dealer is probably not going to order enough now to get a truck load so shipping charges could add a lot to the cost, so make the dealer an offer: Offer to go pick the boat up at the factory.

It may not be worth it to you to take some time off work and spend hundreds of dollars on gas, but it is better than waiting for the factory to get a truck load going in your dealer's direction, especially if your dealer is only getting one or two boats.

If I knew which boat I wanted to buy, I would be ordering now.

until next time, bass editor

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