I am thinking of opening either a basscat dealership in the lake conroe area or a phoenix dealership in the dallas fort worth area.I am not familiar with the conroe area and have limited knowledge of the dallas market.Which area do you think would be considered a better area for a small business?

Thanks Marcus

? Where do you think you will find the best mechanics.your service dept. needs to be A+ around the DFW area. Word travels quick around here.

I am a certified yamaha mechanic and have alot of knowledge with mercury motors.I would pretty much do everything myself.I have previously been a skeeter dealer for the past 5 years and I am looking to relocate business.

I have a cousin down there in Conroe and man is it growing. It's now completely linked to Houston and most of the jobs are white collar/computer. No smoke stack industries. Very affluent population.

Got to go with the product that is in demand. If someone is looking for brand specific they will travel more. Impulse buys on 50K just do not happen that often. Pick the brand then location will be determined due to dealer networks.

Conroe would be a good choice. The only Bass Boat dealership close by is Texas Marine and a lot of the "locals" don't care for their service department and would be very willing to try someone new out. Every other dealer is a ski boat dealer and us bass guys don't think they know what they're doing when it comes to working on our boats. Also, Bass Cat's are already pretty popular at Conroe so you wouldn't be trying to establish a brand new name that no one has ever heard of. Cats are everywhere at tournaments.

The only Bass Cat dealer near Lake Conroe is Bowden Marine in Humble Texas. That's the north side of Houston. As stated above the dealers around here steer their inventory toward the CC and bay boats. Not a lot to chose from in the bass boat market and getting quality service.

Joke: Do you know how to make a million dollars in the boat business? Start with Two Million...

You got that right.It's not a business to get rich in thats for sure.

Not the best business to get into right now.dang near all the top dealers are going down hill right now.If it were me wouls focus towards something else,Good luck and welcome to Dfw.

I don't get it! Sales are falling, dealers are going out of business and yet the prices of boats are going up. How can that be? I think the dealers are just crying wolf and are not hurting as bad as they say. Is there some other explanation?

If somebody knows the real status of the industry please let us know. I'm not the only person wondering about this.

I am not sure about texas in particular but the west coast I think got the worst of the storm,I dont know this for a fact its just what I have seen.I have been a dealer here for skeeters for about 5 years and have had to shut my business down because no one wants to buy a $40k plus bass boat here.Thats not even mentioning if a dealer floorplans a few boats and then they dont sell within the free floor plan timeframe that dealer then has to make basically a boat payment on everyboat that sits there.I will have a few different ideas when I move but I will never have 10 brand new boats sitting on a lot waiting for someone to buy them.Its the floorplan companies like GE that kill the dealers along with the high price of these boats now days.I predict that people will start buying the boats that are not the top of the line models.I for one am going to downsize from a 21ft to probably a 19ft 0r 20ft with a 200hp,I can catch just as many fish in a boat thats 1ft-2ft shorter.With that being said there are still people who will buy that brand new Skeeter FX 20 with the new yamaha sho for $60,000,but for most of us we are looking for something about half that price or lower.When you consider that dealer cost on a 2010 Skeeter 21i is almost $50k and the price goes up $2000 every year on that model,in another 10 years you'll see these boats selling for $65k-$70k and we'll still be making the same amount of money at the end of the year.I think the only thing that will change our future as boat buyers is stop buying the Skeeters,Rangers,Tritons Etc. and go with a good used one or the other manufacturers that arent so high on the sale price of there boats.

One of the big floorplan financers, Textron Financial got out of the market last year so it might be a little tougher getting inventory financing.

I think you have a better chance of opening a Phoenix dealership in the Conroe area, as I would imagine Bowden Marine might have something to say about you opening a kitty kat dealership around Conroe. I do believe they have somewhat protected territories.

There are lots more dealerships around Conroe than just Texas Marine. The BassCat dealer in Houston is Bowden Marine in Humble. After running Rangers for 22 years I switched to a Cat this year because of the 1) Superior Customer Service at Bowden Marine and 2)Being treated like just another customer at Texas Marine.

Really ?? What other bass boat dealership is in Conroe ????

You should know that the real money is made on service, accessories and parts, anyway. If there is any way to keep Skeeter, I'd do it if it were me. You need to find a couple of doctors who need a tax write off and let them get a bank floor plan...then set up an "S" corp for the sales dept. You set up another one for service and make all the money. They'll send you some high roller customers for the Skeeter center console boats. You sell it, and earn a commission. But you make your real money in the service dept, which you own by yourself. Get a great lawyer for your contracts, though.

BassCats arent cheap, either.

I think he is talking about around Conroe and not in Conroe itself.

Not a good time to do this. Just keep your money in your pocket and get a job in a boat service dept.

Gotta agree with Old Frog,

Considering your statememts about limited customers for new boats, really cant see where there are less boat owners, must be more owners driving older used boats----SERVICE and parts and accessories seem to be the better chouce.

Gotta say your very "Gutsey" with a move like your willing to make (Of course leaving the land of "Milk & Honey" seems very prudent at this time).

Gotta go back to Old Frog again, Get GOOD legal/tax advice, its getting more important as we speak.....

I just moved to the lake conroe area from southern california
been trying to get an independent small marine business going
things have been pretty slow
offering mobile & dockside service to promote business
I've heard from many that they are pretty unhappy with many of the marine business services
mostly because of arrogance, high price & taking to long to complete repair jobs
Hopefully this will help me to build my business, capitalize from that, competitor's failing, etc..

I repair most makes & models, jet skis, personal watercraft, trailers, etc...

Maybe we could do some sort of joint venture
to advertise, save on overhead, offer diversity in service, etc...

Does any one know if there will be a Skeeter Boat dealer in the Houston-Conroe area? Who do you think it might be..

Doesn't LMC sell Skeeters also?

Dawson was the only Skeeter Dealer in Houston area.

i dont think id invest right now unless you specialized ,like maybe really high performance boats like allison bullet or stroker or maybe moodcraft i hear there starting up again after the death of the founder