'09 211 - CC's version of Moomba?

[GigemAgs]

For those of you who have been around CC boats for quite some time, wanted to get your opinion...

I have learned over the past few days that 2009 will bring not only a new boat to the lineup (216v), but will also take the 211 to a new entry-level buyer. It has been confirmed by a couple of dealers that the '09 211 will be moved to the more 'afordable' end of the market through limiting the options you can place on the 211 (keyed ignition, single hull color, few upgrades), reducing the margin to dealers and thus keeping the total price below $50K. The idea being that if a buyer wants a fully-optioned 211 (think TE), they will gravitate toward the 216v.

I think this is a colossal mistake by CC - so much so that I am backing off a purchase of a 2008 211 this week until the product line strategy is better understood. It seems CC is not paying attention to the dozens of industries that have learned this lesson the hard way - manage your product extensions appropriately and NEVER, under any circumstances, cheapen the value of an existing model. At the very least it creates confusion. At most, it could negatively impact values of pre-'09 211s - the same boat that has out-sold all other models combined... I suspect there are those that will argue that this will provide increasing price pressure on existing models - the truth is, nobody knows - and a pretty big gamble CC to make against a loyal base of customers.

My question: is this a common practice by CC? Are there other examples of prior years where the company decided to keep the same model while forcing down its initial value in the marketplace?

[SkiTower]

RE:

Very Good Point...

[saceone]

RE:

That's a great post/point.
I am not 100% sure I like where CC is going for 09 and the years to come...oh well, time will tell.

[bkhallpass]

RE:

Mastercraft has done it with a couple of boats and didn't seem to hurt them any.
American Skier is another I can think of that moved their flagship boat down the totem pole. CC has also done this before when they introduced a new Ski Nautique and rebadged the previous SN as a Ski Tique.

I think you're making a pretty big assumption that CC is forcing down the market value. Based upon what I see, the market is forcing down values. None of the boat companies are selling at capacity right now, and used market is decidedly down over last year.

BKH

[sfjakey]

RE:

Wow, I wish I knew CC had been derailed 6 weeks ago when I bough my LOADED 211 for a whole lot more than you're talking about. Bottom line is I wouldn't have bought it, just waited for the cheaper version, or better yet, looked at other brands rather than just going where I thought I knew I'd find the best. What is going on over there, is some new consulting firm telling the best boat company what to do? As a 5 time Nautique owner, and a new 211 owner, I am pretty pissed off at them right now, pissed enough to change my loyalty, which may happen anyway because they seem to be headed down the wrong path. I just don't know how to react right now, it seems everything in this country is going down the drain right now, this company appears to be no different. What a wonderful thanks to all the existing 211 owners.

[GigemAgs]

Fair Point. Although I would suggest it is one thing to introduce the same boat under a new model/brand (i.e., Moomba under American Skier, essentially a watered-down Supra) and quite another to use the existing model name/number to accomplish the same effect....

[gride300]

i bought my mastercraft x-2 in 2005 brand new and a few months later they announce that it's now the x-1 and msrp is 39,999 when my msrp was 49,999. it pissed me off and ended up screwing me b/c i got rid of it and it caused my resale to be about $3000+/-. I even asked mc about it once and they said they didnt really talk about that when discussing making it an "entry" level boat. i think they have made some adjustments at this point, but it really upset me even before i wanted to get rid of it.

[sfjakey]

EXACTLY!

[nautique95]

Bottom line is I wouldn't have bought it, just waited for the cheaper version,

You could have bought the cheaper version right now, it is the standard edition. If your boat was loaded, that is the team edition which is a considerable amount more.

[Nautiquetrevo]

I completely agree with nautique95, and gride300 its completely different than what you said, its not like they are making a brand new boat they are just taking some options off the existing model. Oh "sfjakey" congratulations on purchasing one of the nicest boats anyone could own. So don’t freak out about buying a great boat. Just because they are taking off options from the existing 211 doesn't mean your buying any less of a quality product, nor does it mean cc is completely restructuring the company. This is just called marketing strategy. Things change so stop living in the past, we have to progress with the rest of the world otherwise cc will go down the drain like regal and their imitation wake boats.

[jeffsv211]

I tend to agree with the side of "don't downgrade an established model" especially one that has cornered the market. I love my 211 -- but I prefer that it be held in the elite catagory rather than the 'standard' entry level. My friend bought a 226 and at first I was wishing I had one, but after riding behind my 211 vs his 226 - I wouldn't give it up. I recently decided that I would probably just get another 211 in the next year or 2 but I'll have to wait and see if the 211 TE remains a high end boat before I make any changes!!!!

Good Post!

[Nautiqueman]

I sell insurance. I noticed my new boat policies are down 65% this first six months of the year. Not a big thing for me, because our premiums on boats are small. However, if you build boats or sell them, this year is one of their worst in recent memory. Look at GM, Toyota is likely to have more market share this month than GM. This is a first in over 50 years of car sales. I am sure all these companies including ourselves will be doing all that is possible to survive in this market. Changing the 211 position is part of the changing market. Although, when you buy something expensive, it tends to bring out the emotion in the best of us when we second guess our buying decision.

CC will do what it takes to retain leadership in the inboard market. We will have to believe that 80+ years of doing business, including the near bankruptcy in the mid 1980's has taught the company something.

I will bet on CC making it through this, but not other off brands. That is why you have to take these marketing ploys and just live through it.

[bkhallpass]

Notwithstanding my above post, I can understand why sfjakey, and others who recently purchased 211s would be upset. I think I would be upset as well if in their situation. Resale may well take a bit of a hit as Gride experienced when MC did a similar change.

On the other hand, I would never buy a new boat to keep it only a year or two. Given that the 211 has already been out for 5 or 6 years, by the time I would sell it, it would no doubt be a discontinued model anyway. Other than the SS/SAN/210 hull which ran for 11 years, I can't think of a CC hull that's had much more than a 7 or 8 year run anyway. It wouldn't have been long before the 211 was discontinued as just part of the normal course of business.

I find it interesting that there have been numerous posts on this board asking why CC couldn't continue the
old SAN/210 hull in a stripped down version and make it more affordable for the average guy to own one. Yet, in essence, isn't that exactly what they are doing with the 211 - moving to a new hull and offering the old one as a stripped down version?

Last, I would never consider a boat, and particularly a new boat, as an investment. It's an expense, plain and simple. If you manage to get your money back out of a boat, or minimize your loss, you're lucky. Over the long haul CCs have manged to hold value better than most other brands, but then again, they cost more than most other brands to begin with.

BKH

[HS]

bkhallpass

Good comment. Does this change in the lineup mean the end of direct drives in the crossover line (216 to a V drive)?

[LT206]

Why isn't Erik on this thread - this is exactly the kind of topic he loves to get all worked up about. (not to call you out or anything Erik)