The boating business must be good.

[sailor55330]

So I saw a new R5 that caught my eye on a dealer website in my geography. I've called the dealer sales department 3 times and each time, sent to voicemail. Left contact info and interest. No call back in almost 2 weeks. Must be good to be a dealer these days.

[Big Block Power]

Yea that's something. Not sure why they feel like they don't need to sell anything and it will walk right into there showroom. I've had the same experience from others.

[TruckerTim]

When I set out to find a new boat I looked all over the US for new or slightly used R7's. I probably called 10 to 12 dealers and I bet I got call backs from less than half. One had several postings on BT and I called five/ six times, always leaving a message. Never got a call back. When I finally got to talk to them every one posted were sold. I will say of the few I got to speak with most were great folks, including the owners of two dealerships. Went out of their way to answer question and one ultimately got my business..

[tgrace98]

I had the same experience when calling around other dealers to make sure the dealer I bought my R7 on was honest. I called 4 dealers and only 2 returned my calls.

[sailor55330]

Crazy...who would have thought the market for potentially 6-figure toys could be so good?

[liquid]

Ever walked into a Range Rover dealership?

If I could get someone to actually SELL me a truck I would've walked out of there with one a year ago. These things sell themselves, they don't chase ever.

I mean, seduce me a little ya know?

[jhnmdahl]

I asked the local dealer one summer when I’d get the best deal from him. He said they moved boats pretty fast without much discounting all summer, but if I stopped in around the holidays he’d have all the time in the woels and I’d get a significantly better deal. I did, and he was right.

[TruckerTim]

My Malibu sold in 4 hrs after posting back in May. If it had lingered thru early summer would have waited till early winter to buy. Couldn't bear the thought of one summer in 27 years without a boat!

[CaptainTom]

Village Marina and Slalom Shop were both very responsive when I purchased Cobalts from them. One thing to consider. They might not want to sell you their last in-stock R5 if they use it for demos for customers who want to order an R5.

On a macro level, boating stocks got beat-up pretty bad yesterday, including Malibu. https://www.tradeonlytoday.com/industry ... categories

[LuckyDog2]

Same experience here. Nothing close to us that fit our minimum requirements (at least a 350, no arch), so we reached out to a dealer in Rogers, Arkansas. 2 year old R5. First excuse was, well its winterized (really, dude). Secondly, we asked for a price for a matching trailer and what the lead time was for that. The guy never got back to us. So, we widen our search and found a NEW one with a trailer in O'Fallon, Missouri. 9 hour drive, one way. They were quick to respond to our initial email and bent over backwards to make it happen. Despite the long drive, when we are in the market for another new one, they will get our business again.

Another note on the service departments at dealers: Prior to us getting the 2019 R5 this spring, we have had a 1994 Cobalt 220 for many years. OKC dealer basically turned up their noses when we would call in March to schedule the yearly once-overs (impeller change, fluids, etc), always saying they were "too busy". Well, if you are too busy for a 1994 service then you aren't getting our business when it comes to purchasing a brand new boat. It wouldn't have mattered if they had the perfect R5 this spring, they weren't getting our business.

[NautiGirl]

When I found our boat on boat trader at 7am on a Monday, I didn't call. I was there when the unlocked the door. They had numerous calls but I was there first. They don't have to call people back... New or used. Regardless of where you live, these boats move.

[LuckyDog2]

You are correct, these boats do move. However, I'm still a believer in common courtesy. I'm sure there are lots of tire kickers out there, but a return call goes a long way in my book. We don't expect anyone to hold something for us whether it's a mile down the road or 10 hours away, without some sort of committment. In our situation we put a large deposit down on the boat, over the phone.

[CaptainTom]

I agree. I would call back and say sorry it's sold and then try to have a conversation with a customer. Maybe even sell them a new boat or at least keep a collection of potential customers to call when a new trade-in comes in.

[willyswagon]

The boating business is good right now, but it could be better if sales people were able to return calls. What often happens this time of yr is sales people are tied up dealing with customers that have service issues. It goes like this, I sold you a boat at the show in Feb, you took delivery in May and went out last weekend with a big crew and the alarms went off. You shut it down, got towed in and are pi$$ed cause your new boat broke down in front of your friends. You call the shop on the weekend and leave a message. The service shop opens at 7am and there are customers waiting at the gate that have booked appointments. The service shop starts prioritizing calls, which boats need to come out of the water right away (taking on water, collisions, overheated, etc). By 900 you are ripping that service has not called you back so you call me "the sales guy" to see what we are going to do about your boat. I leave the sales office to go see the service manager regarding your boat only to find the other salespeople are there doing the same thing (for their customers). Sales call from Customer "X" goes directly to answering machine while I'm out of the office. I come back and return the call to you letting you know the plan of attack. Mean while someone walks in off the street to buy a boat, straight sale, the boat customer "X" called about. There's the morning gone. We come back after lunch and the finance approval for the guy that walked in off the street is still pending awaiting proof of something stupid that should take an hour, but drags on till the next morning, at which point the whole "shit show" of events starts all over again with the sales guy calming customers by being the go between for the customer to the service shop.

It sucks for sure, and no one likes to miss a sale, but no one wants a current customer taking about poor service after the sale. Most shops try to return the calls to at least let the customer know the boat is sold, and see if they can get your contact info for future sales. With the season being so short, it's hard to cover all of the bases. Speaking of which back on shift tomorrow, so the Cobalt is in the driveway until Aug 7th

[BigGib]

I'm on over 2 weeks now waiting to get a bill from service at Village. I've yet to be charged and still don't know the total. Guess they have so much business they just don't care right now, but I've asked for it several times and just get told No more or less.