Southwest Virginia Boat Show - You Do the Math

[GMLIII]

I went to the southwest Virginia boat show today and Webster Marine appeared to have a pretty good deal on a G23 2019 with most of the options including the integrated steering assist which is a +/- $10,000.00 option . I didn't check off each and every option but it had the enhanced lighting package, JL Audio 2 sets of 8.8 tower speakers, bow filler cushion, integrated steering assist, automatic fire extinguisher, heated driver and observer seat, transom remote and Go Pro stern mount integration to LINC system. Sorry my price sheet picture is somewhat blurry but in a nutshell the retail on this boat is $201,136.00 and the boat show price is $157,885.00 or 21.7% off of retail. Also to note this is not a high volume Nautique dealer. I'm sure many will say this is not a good deal for a variety of reasons but from what I saw I thought this was a good price for a 2019 G23. Please post comments good or bad.

[Bevostein]

I assume that price is without trailer and there’s no other significant dealer prep fees, etc. if that’s the TRULY the MSRP I would say that’s an above average deal.

I caveated that because there was a thread on here a couple of months back and someone posted an MSRP of a boat from a different boat show. The numbers looked out of whack from an MSRP spec sheet provided to me by my dealer. I even looked up the boat on the dealers site and input the options in the spreadsheet. There was clearly some padding in the boat show MSRP of the boat so the discount was not as significant as what they were saying at the boat show.

The boat in your post could easily hit 201 but it could also easily be $5-6k under depending on whether it does or does not have a few options like Studio Elite, underwater lights, surf select, etc

[GMLIII]

I assume that price is without trailer and there’s no other significant dealer prep fees, etc. if that’s the TRULY the MSRP I would say that’s an above average deal.

I caveated that because there was a thread on here a couple of months back and someone posted an MSRP of a boat from a different boat show. The numbers looked out of whack from an MSRP spec sheet provided to me by my dealer. I even looked up the boat on the dealers site and input the options in the spreadsheet. There was clearly some padding in the boat show MSRP of the boat so the discount was not as significant as what they were saying at the boat show.

The boat in your post could easily hit 201 but it could also easily be $5-6k under depending on whether it does or does not have a few options like Studio Elite, underwater lights, surf select, etc

I would not disagree. this boat definitely had intergrated steering assist and (4) 8.8 JL Audio speakers but not the Studio Elite version , underwater lights or surf select. But in hindsight I paid $151,000 for my 2017 G23 with standard audio package but my boat had underwater lights, coastal package and surf select and no stern thruster. Even though mine was 2 years prior and I built the boat, this boat show buy seemed very reasonable to me. Yes MSRP may have been increased but the buy still seemed like a good buy for a 2019 model just saying.

[Wayward]

Am I missing something on the price sheet? If MSRP is 201k, and sale price is 157k, the discount is 21.5%. Not 27%.

20-22% is a fairly normal discount for a stock boat (From what I know).

27% off would put the price at $146,829.00

[GMLIII]

Wayward I have been out of school awhile , I divided the Difference by Boat Show Price vs MSRP Price so you are correct 21.7% and not 27%. Good catch. Poor math skills on my part.

[Nautiquehunter]

You guys are at another level. I can't imagine spending anywhere near 150k on a 23' wakeboat.

[GMLIII]

You guys are at another level. I can't imagine spending anywhere near 150k on a 23' wakeboat.

LOL up to "starter home" pricing

[Nautiquehunter]

I currently have 6 boats and still don't have anywhere close to that in all of them.

[GMLIII]

I currently have 6 boats and still don't have anywhere close to that in all of them.

Yes the pricing is insane but that is what these boats are costing these days.

[scottb7]

Yes the pricing is insane but that is what these boats are costing these days.

Friendly reminder, that is what they cost new. You can save $10k per year used. But thanks for buying new so I can buy used.

[GMLIII]

Friendly reminder, that is what they cost new. You can save $10k per year used. But thanks for buying new so I can buy used.

I guess I was a sucker , I just bent over and took it up the rear .

[Neptune442]

You guys are at another level. I can't imagine spending anywhere near 150k on a 23' wakeboat.

You'd have to have a multi-million dollar net worth to even consider such a thing.

[Infinity]

^^Depends on your priorities in life, to be fully comfortable and have zero risk...you are of course correct.
However, some people live by the motto that "You only live once" and can't take it with you. Some figure out how to use their home equity to buy the boat...course then you are technically risking losing your home if something bad happened, but you can also sell it if you needed to pay down a good chunk of the money owed on the HELOC. Some think its important enough to have the family time or fun and its worth the cost (course you can do that whether you spend $10k or $200k).
Personally, I fall under the last category where not only is a boat the best family time investment ever (for me it has been anyway) as it keeps my teenagers happy and wanting to spend time with us on the water doing activities in an era where teenagers want to sit at home in front of their gaming systems and phones..... course they also bring friends along at times, many of which have never had the opportunity to experience something like this and its my opinion that experiences like that are important for kids since it helps shape their futures and can potentially also motivate them to become successful so they can enjoy life to the fullest. I grew up doing water sports/camping all summer and its some of my favorite childhood memories. Also having a high stress job, surfing is one thing for me that completely takes my mind off everything else and allows me to relax, smile, laugh and have fun. Literally nothing else changes my attitude like being on the boat, I cant help but to smile and enjoy myself surfing even if its during a rainstorm. Even if not surfing, just being on the boat or tinkering with it in the garage is a stress relief for me that I have found is well worth the cost. For too many years I did nothing but work, it took some drastic situations for me to realize that I had to change my habits since if you work 24/7 using the rational that you are doing it to better your family....but are rarely with your family because all you do is work... Lets just say I realized that I had to balance things better and am thankful I got that wake up call before it was too late.
While I am certainly not hurting financially, we are comfortable and make more than we spend, I am not wealthy yet by any means. I was blessed to run into a situation where I basically traded money already owed to me for my 2014 boat, so I ended up with a clear title. They got themselves in a spot and did not have the cash to pay me but had paid cash for the boat 2 years prior and when they suggested we settle the debt in that fashion I jumped on it since I had been wanting to upgrade from our current I/O to a wake boat but was nervous about spending that kind of cash on a new/newer boat to do it. Had that not worked out like that, I probably would not have borrowed the money at that time since I was still gunshy from the 08/09 crash where as a custom builder who did a lot of speculation homes, I ended up losing everything I had and swore to learn from my mistakes and never get myself over extended and in a position like that again.
I gotta say tho, after an incredible 3 summers, as long as I could put myself in a decent equity position, I would be more apt to borrow now if I needed to in order to keep a badass wake boat in my life since in my mind, the pros far outweigh the cons. Because these boats are so popular/cost more every year....and I got the boat at a great price, I have also lost very little in depreciation and could likely sell it for within $5k of what I paid for it 3yrs ago (not counting the upgrades I have done which are not too much, since I enjoy doing the majority of the work myself in the areas I have or can learn the skills). Since I am so happy with the boat, I intent to keep it for at least a few more years and is why I continue to do little things here n there to keep it in like new condition.
Not exactly on-topic with this thread, but the above comment struck a chord with me since there are so many ways of looking at something like this. So hope you don't mind me sharing, not my intention to de-rail.

So many incredible 2019 models, I went to our boat show in January and there was a lot to drool over!!

[GMLIII]

^^Depends on your priorities in life, to be fully comfortable and have zero risk...you are of course correct.
However, some people live by the motto that "You only live once" and can't take it with you. Some figure out how to use their home equity to buy the boat...course then you are technically risking losing your home if something bad happened, but you can also sell it if you needed to pay down a good chunk of the money owed on the HELOC. Some think its important enough to have the family time or fun and its worth the cost (course you can do that whether you spend $10k or $200k).
Personally, I fall under the last category where not only is a boat the best family time investment ever (for me it has been anyway) as it keeps my teenagers happy and wanting to spend time with us on the water doing activities in an era where teenagers want to sit at home in front of their gaming systems and phones..... course they also bring friends along at times, many of which have never had the opportunity to experience something like this and its my opinion that experiences like that are important for kids since it helps shape their futures and can potentially also motivate them to become successful so they can enjoy life to the fullest. I grew up doing water sports/camping all summer and its some of my favorite childhood memories. Also having a high stress job, surfing is one thing for me that completely takes my mind off everything else and allows me to relax, smile, laugh and have fun. Literally nothing else changes my attitude like being on the boat, I cant help but to smile and enjoy myself surfing even if its during a rainstorm. Even if not surfing, just being on the boat or tinkering with it in the garage is a stress relief for me that I have found is well worth the cost. For too many years I did nothing but work, it took some drastic situations for me to realize that I had to change my habits since if you work 24/7 using the rational that you are doing it to better your family....but are rarely with your family because all you do is work... Lets just say I realized that I had to balance things better and am thankful I got that wake up call before it was too late.
While I am certainly not hurting financially, we are comfortable and make more than we spend, I am not wealthy yet by any means. I was blessed to run into a situation where I basically traded money already owed to me for my 2014 boat, so I ended up with a clear title. They got themselves in a spot and did not have the cash to pay me but had paid cash for the boat 2 years prior and when they suggested we settle the debt in that fashion I jumped on it since I had been wanting to upgrade from our current I/O to a wake boat but was nervous about spending that kind of cash on a new/newer boat to do it. Had that not worked out like that, I probably would not have borrowed the money at that time since I was still gunshy from the 08/09 crash where as a custom builder who did a lot of speculation homes, I ended up losing everything I had and swore to learn from my mistakes and never get myself over extended and in a position like that again.
I gotta say tho, after an incredible 3 summers, as long as I could put myself in a decent equity position, I would be more apt to borrow now if I needed to in order to keep a badass wake boat in my life since in my mind, the pros far outweigh the cons. Because these boats are so popular/cost more every year....and I got the boat at a great price, I have also lost very little in depreciation and could likely sell it for within $5k of what I paid for it 3yrs ago (not counting the upgrades I have done which are not too much, since I enjoy doing the majority of the work myself in the areas I have or can learn the skills). Since I am so happy with the boat, I intent to keep it for at least a few more years and is why I continue to do little things here n there to keep it in like new condition.
Not exactly on-topic with this thread, but the above comment struck a chord with me since there are so many ways of looking at something like this. So hope you don't mind me sharing, not my intention to de-rail.

So many incredible 2019 models, I went to our boat show in January and there was a lot to drool over!!

Well said Infinity

[Bevostein]

There is an awful lot of judgment filled and spiteful comments going on in these threads when boat prices are mentioned. I think we all can agree on the extremes...Bankrupting yourself to buy a boat is dumb and if you have crazy money then have at it with a new boat every year. Leave it at that.

Between those two extremes is everybody else and frankly its none of anyone's business to proclaim whether someone else buying a boat is right, wrong, wise or stupid.