Hmmm...yes, this does sound right

I dropped my BASS subscription years ago because they are nothing but a scam so I am not familiar with the article. Have missed the mag zero.

Boats are a discretionary expense and therefore the scam prices and higher interest rates.

I own a boat, but I want a new boat. I refuse to pay the prices so I just sit here holding onto my money. I do not have to buy a boat. Enough people get into that frame of mind, the market will get corrected--fast.

**** SCAM ALERT ****
I should not have to pay Bill Dance, KVD, BASS, BassChamps etc... when I buy a boat. They do not add ANY value to the purchase. When will the industry clue in? Boards such as this are a better medium to advertise and move product. Word spreads fast on what works and does not work. Lose this cost.

I can fully assure you, boat sales are tanking this year and it will get worse. Several manufactures are closing plants and laying off workers. Thousands are laid off and the ripple effects are very dramatic in the industry.

I do not wish ill to anyone or industry, but you will be hard pressed to convince me the boat industry has not been taking folks for an expensive overpriced ride for a long time and that cruise is about to come to an end. Don't take my diatribe as fact. Google "Boat Sales" and see what you come up with.

Hey JesseX;

+1

Oprah said there is good deals on boats

Let's not leave out the amount of money consumers are paying for the "JD Power" award. That's a whole nother scam of itself.

B

bought a new car suv for my little girl yesterday.Had to remind them too. by the end of the day I had a headache.this one sales manager.I guess they bring him in to tryyy to close the deals.I saw right thru him. This guy is apiece of work. when the Ford survey comes out he will not be smiling.the internet manager saved the deal.

You are correct about the law of nature. Look at gas prices and really look way back to the 70s. Through manipulation and greed gas prices blew up in everyones face and it took a long time to recover.
If these manufacturers and dealers were'nt so greedy and lowered the price they would move more product and everyone would get a little instead of holding out and being greedy.
There is no argument short of greed to explain the cost of a boat hitting the $50K mark. It was crazy at $35K,( speaking strictly about Bass rigs 20+ ft. with 200+ engines), and now if you are associated with the selling, dealing or manufacturing of a boat you argue the costs you have to stay open. The profit margin from manufacturer to dealer and dealer to customer has got to be way out of balance, someone is getting rich at the expense of everyone and thing else.

SRL gas prices and boats are a little different. No one should gripe about profit margins, profit is American. The way to control prices is for consumers not to buy, that will get their attention. In the past ten years they have found a bunch of wanna be KVD's willing to spend 50k to look like they are on TV and are willing to pay out over 15 years. I think alot of these people are getting a tough lesson now and may rethink their choices in the future. It's funny when you go to the store the parking lot is full of mid size family cars and one or two BMW, hummer, mercedes, etc. Go to any tournment and its the opposite 50k boats are the rule and you will see a few older boats or smaller ones. I do not care how someone else spends their money but you have to question the common sense of it. I own my own company, my wife drives one of the expensive cars I mentioned (paid cash for), but I will be damned if I pay 35K+ for a boat.

Without reading this entire thread, I would add the reason boats are $50,000, is because easy financing was available. Pay out $400.00 a month, didn't seem so bad. Now the situation is different. Boat financing is much more difficult and most companies really don't want the business, because the loss rate is so high. A finance person recently told me boat default is second only to RV default.
With the financing so much more difficult, the sellers will have to drive the boat prices down to be able to sell(get financed) the products. Many dealers are getting eaten up by the "floor Plan" on certain parts of their inventory. Under the right circumstances they will deal, or they will eat these high dollar boats.
Bob

Genmar is in Bankruptcy chapter 11..
Many of the comments made here make a great deal of sense.. Being taken for a ride by the dealers and the finance companies is absolutely true, but we allowed it to happen. The first time I went 70-mph in a bass boat I was amazed at the power and the feeling it gave me.. I don't want to be a KVD, Bill Dance, etc..

I do like a fast boat, but not for 50-60K list price.
Again, we as consumers with GOOD credit should be able to control some what, the price we're willing to pay for the high performance rigs being made today.
It has been a scam for a long time --- but we let it happen.. 500.00 a month boats payments.. You've got to be kidding me..

Its all about keeping up with te jones's....

I don't give a darn what someone else does. I do whats right for ME!

If you can afford the big boats then by all means go get it. I will stick with what I can afford and run it till it dies!

Boats don't catch fish YOU DO!!

I do not have simpathy for stupid people or companies that can't run themselves!

I am guilty of buying the high dollar boats, the thing is I have not had a boat payment on my last several boats, if you have a lot of equity in your boat then upgrading every 2 or 3 years is not that difficult. I have an 07 now and probably will be holding it for a couple of more years, I try not to have payments on toys and if I do it will be for 6 months to 1 year. I do not know how the boat and RV dealers are going to make it through this economy.

Are you friggin serious? Do you know how many companies that affects?

Define "afford". When I talk to a lot of people and friends "afford" to them means they can get a loan for it and make the payment no matter how long those payments go on for. Money in and money out.

Dead on about "payments". I'm amazed at the number of people who have no clue how much they actually wind up paying for stuff. They walk into a car dealership and all they want to know is how much is the payment - even if it goes well beyond what the car will last in heavy use.

There are lot of people in this country who make pretty good money who actually don't own anything. They make payments on a lot of stuff, but don't own anything and stretched out the payment plan so far with so little down payment they have no equitity in it either. What equitity they did have in their home they wound up taking a loan against it to put as a down payment on something else or buy something else that depreciates so fast it has no value any more either.

Of course it's the same people who finance everything. I MEAN EVERYTHING. They buy a burger at Burger King they put it on the credit card and pay the minimum monthly payment at 21% interest or whatever.

Remember when you financed anything you had to actually fill out a credit application and they checked your work history, your bank account status etc....Remember when banks made you put down 20% on stuff so that if you never made the first payment the bank could turn around and sell it and come out just about even....

The American consumer is broke. They ran out of cash a generation ago. Now they have run out of cheap credit. Since our economy revolves around selling stuff to people it's not so great when they can't afford it anymore. We built a world economy selling stuff to people who had no money.

That's my rant for the day