benefits of buying new every year?

[archcityblues]

ive noticed that more than a few members buy new every season, lots staying with the same model. why are you doing so, are there any benefits to this? obviously there are a few minor changes each model year? does it make financial sense to do this rather that trade in a 5-7 year old boat and pay the diff? would it be wise to trade and buy after warranty up, or is my best bang for the buck on a trade with a one season boat and buy new?

[nyryan2001]

arch - obviously Ive done it a few times

Pros-
- you can get better pricing on boats and options... and definitly dealer installed options as you are a "frequent flyer" with the dealer
- service and warranty wise you are at the front of the pack for an issue. If anyone gets their issue fixed on Friday leading into July 4th weekend.... it'd be you. Dealers usually bend over backwards to keep flippers happy. That is a good place to be in... and has real value IMO. Ive been on the other side with Malibu being straight out refused service under warranty.
- always under warranty... and "gray area" issues will likely end up favorably for you... if they could for anyone
- you can work things like first 18months of services included in the sale... and keep boat ownership costs down
- you get a new boat, newest styling and all the new features
- All these ^^^ favorable conditions combined may allow you to afford the next level up boat, where previously you may not have been able to.

Cons-
- TAXES. depends where you live this can be the biggest drag. Whether sales tax or property tax....these can eat you alive. Again state dependent.

- Depreciation. For me this hasnt been an issue at all. Lost NOTHING on my 247 with 150hrs, maybe 1.5% on my first G used 90 hours.. and I am sitting very well on my current G value wise. The keys to beat depreciation to 1. get a great deal on the new boat on price and by ordering ONLY those options which hold value, and dont drive the costs up... and gotta choose the right colors, so you lose some freedom there keeping resale in mind. 2. selling or trading your current boat at a favorable time and in a favorable method, comission free consignment via dealer is preferred. You need a great dealer for this end of it. You cant get taken to the cleaners on either side of the sale and expect to do well. You run the risk of being without a boat sometimes going this route... or dealing with the pressure of trying to sell when there isnt any buyers at your asking price. Stress situations here.

-Setup. This is the biggest PITA and drag for me. Custom ballast, stereo, registration, decals, paperwork, gear and all the other individualization that goes into a new boat. getting all this done right is expensive and exhausting, unfortunatly I have a full time job, so time is important, and this part requires lots of time. the DIY upgrades are important for a flipper, as they build value into your boat at around 1/4 to 1/3 the price of OEM... and often better quality and performance than OEM. and when resale comes along can get your boat sold faster for more than a likewise OEM equipped boat. IE Rev10s sitting next to another OEM 6x9s... although stereo has very very little to do with a boat sale.

[Nautiquehunter]

So how much in real dollars does it cost a year to own? Does anyone lease a boat?

[st68]

is your dealer local or Marine Max?

arch - obviously Ive done it a few times

Pros-
- you can get better pricing on boats and options... and definitly dealer installed options as you are a "frequent flyer" with the dealer
- service and warranty wise you are at the front of the pack for an issue. If anyone gets their issue fixed on Friday leading into July 4th weekend.... it'd be you. Dealers usually bend over backwards to keep flippers happy. That is a good place to be in... and has real value IMO. Ive been on the other side with Malibu being straight out refused service under warranty.
- always under warranty... and "gray area" issues will likely end up favorably for you... if they could for anyone
- you can work things like first 18months of services included in the sale... and keep boat ownership costs down
- you get a new boat, newest styling and all the new features
- All these ^^^ favorable conditions combined may allow you to afford the next level up boat, where previously you may not have been able to.

Cons-
- TAXES. depends where you live this can be the biggest drag. Whether sales tax or property tax....these can eat you alive. Again state dependent.

- Depreciation. For me this hasnt been an issue at all. Lost NOTHING on my 247 with 150hrs, maybe 1.5% on my first G used 90 hours.. and I am sitting very well on my current G value wise. The keys to beat depreciation to 1. get a great deal on the new boat on price and by ordering ONLY those options which hold value, and dont drive the costs up... and gotta choose the right colors, so you lose some freedom there keeping resale in mind. 2. selling or trading your current boat at a favorable time and in a favorable method, comission free consignment via dealer is preferred. You need a great dealer for this end of it. You cant get taken to the cleaners on either side of the sale and expect to do well. You run the risk of being without a boat sometimes going this route... or dealing with the pressure of trying to sell when there isnt any buyers at your asking price. Stress situations here.

-Setup. This is the biggest PITA and drag for me. Custom ballast, stereo, registration, decals, paperwork, gear and all the other individualization that goes into a new boat. getting all this done right is expensive and exhausting, unfortunatly I have a full time job, so time is important, and this part requires lots of time. the DIY upgrades are important for a flipper, as they build value into your boat at around 1/4 to 1/3 the price of OEM... and often better quality and performance than OEM. and when resale comes along can get your boat sold faster for more than a likewise OEM equipped boat. IE Rev10s sitting next to another OEM 6x9s... although stereo has very very little to do with a boat sale.

[nyryan2001]

no, my dealer is/was Buxton in Dallas. A+ folks there. as in family level good folks. They truly make the buying AND ownership experience pleasurable in every aspect.

Just moved to VA... appears now I will be using Chessie Marine here, as Ive been with them in the past and was very happy with them from my previous interactions.

I dont see myself flipping this 2014. I am convinced I have the best boat and setup available for how I use my boat.... perhaps in a few years.

Tried to work with MarineMax in the past... and couldnt come to terms on numbers.

[nauty220]

There are two simple factors that determine the ability to "trade up".

Dealer & Price -Pretty obvious but I have had every trade up make sense except for my last one but I wanted a 2014 so I did it.

I take on more risk because I get the coastal package and I basically ate that cost in order to sell this past year.

Dealers - There are a handful of nautique dealers that sell lets say 30 - 50 G's/year, however the majority have dealers that sell less than 10. In my experience working with a dealer who orders a lot of new inventory taking on more risk with his floor plan, works in my favor early in the year. He is more flexible to move inventory however if you walked in right now and they had two left to move you are going to pay a premium and people do. So in actual dollars there can be a $20kish difference in price initially.

Price - I would say the money works out better trading every two years vs. every year IMO. So if I buy on the low side initially, and my boat comes back to dealer to sell in perfect shape, good options, and good color scheme like ryan said it will move quickly at the higher end on price. My experience with the 230's this is very easily done. I think it will be different for the G because we are talking 100k plus which is an overall smaller market.

So basically you are trying to manage depreciation between the original price margin to balance everything out.

So actual dollars spent/yr with my 230's was the taxes essentially. With the G I lost the price equivalent of the coastal package.

[archcityblues]

if you dont mind me asking, how much did some of your flips of the same model cost you?

[nyryan2001]

I showed you what my depreciation was... None on the Wakesetter, 1.5-2%ish on my first G....I wouldnt really even consider this depreciation perse... as its also selling a USED boat, I put 80hrs a year on those. Terms have been favorable for me up to this point. I am really digging my current boat... will likely have it for at least 2-3 more years, now I am using this one roughly 120hrs this year.

Couple other considerations I will add that make the scenario more favorable:

- highest demand boats fare best... usually the are the most expensive, and folks really really want them. and they are at the highest end of most folks' price range... well usually beyond lol. so lets figuratively say a new 2015 costs $140k, and I bought my 2014 for $130k...and its the right colors, right options, and in immaculate condition... chances are, if its truly a boat in highest demand... I can sometimes sell it for what I bought it for (or very close) because folks really want into the boat, but dont want to spend the extra 7-10K for the 2015....right at the time when 2014s are starting to dissappear and 2015 prices are setting in.

But what happens here is you gotta have your ego in check:

Do you really know what boats are in highest demand?

Can you keep a boat in immaculate condition to demand a premium upon resale?

DO you really know what color schemes and options(<-- aka resulting resale price) will attract the most buyers?

^^^^ lots of folks dont get this, they think they do, but they dont, and this is where they go wrong. Either in these areas... or pay to much, or on the resale of the old. Another thing implied here is timing is important... both on buying the new and selling the old. Its critical.

And as I stated earlier... you DO assume risk, there are NO garauntees... either in terms of $$$, or perhaps in terms of being without a boat during prime season.... or BOTH.

[AllianceBJJ]

^^^Same here^^^

Have gotten out of all my previous Nautiques with Buxton with no losses. Hoping it holds for the G that I will be unloading for the next one...

[wawasee]

My father bought a brand new Sport Nautique in 1991. We would still have it today if was not lost in a fire. Personally I would not enjoy buying a new boat every year. I enjoyed taking care of the same boat all those years. The old saying "they don't make them like they used to" will forever apply. The other thing is that the boat was $21,000 in '91. The insurance paid $12,000 for the lose due to the fire. People were always interested in buying the boat. That is years of enjoyment with little depreciation.

[axeman]

NYRyan, Nauty220 and Alliance all know what they are talking about. However all of them including myself have worked with Buxton Marine in the past so that may be a skewed view of how well you can fare off upgrading every year. You have to know the numbers well, choose the right colors and keep your initial purchase price down as much as possible in order to trade up every year (i.e. Choose just the necessary options). At the end of the day, it's still a gamble and you don't know for sure if you'll break even, make money or lose your @$$ on a sale.

[archcityblues]

does anybody just trade up to new as the warranty dies, for example every three years. im shocked at the low depreciation %s that im reading on this thread. i was warned about how much id loose after buying new? im glad that i did, i love my boat, just dont want to fall too far behind. i dig and claw for every dollar that is spent on recreation stuff so i have to make smart financial decisions. lots of people in my area have $up the yingyang and dont care that a boat transaction costs them tens of thousasnds each year.

[Miljack]

Thanks for all of the postings thus far. My $0.02 as follows;

1. Boat Model is critical (as stated well by others earlier)
2. Colors-must be in demand and laid out/optioned well
3. Options-demand based
4. Strong local market-my $0.02, a strong active market locally helps with selling a well purchased/optioned boat. The local market knows what a new one costs, and in the past couple of years the lead time on a G meant waiting for delivery.

For what I'm seeing now with the G series boats, much more used inventory available, CC has developed the boat further making the newer models a little more desirable ('12-'13 no real changes), thus making "flipping" a G a trickier proposition.
Arch, from what I've seen both in boats and cars, once the warranty is within 12 months of expiring, the "asset" begins to lose value on a steep slope...
IMHO from what I've seen the 230's are tough to make work with a flipping program, and 210's look impossible...