Need help dealing with new boat dealership

[Sam Woodbridge]

Hello everyone, my name is Sam and I've been confused and frustrated over my experience in trying to get a solid price on a new sailboat from a dealership.

I've talked to two of them and I think I'm getting them upset with me and that is not my intention at all.

What I have been asking is how much does it cost for base boat, freight, commissioning, and delivery. One dealership just refused to give me that number. Not in that matter, but side stepped the question so often. I replied with "so its simply a open bill and you can charge whatever you want"? The second dealership was very forth coming with the price.

The other thing I have been asking for is a option price list. The dealership who actually gave me the price on base boat, freight, commissioning, and delivery would not give me one. And you might have guessed, but the dealership who side stepped that question actually gave me one.

I'm having a very difficult time wrapping my mind around all this. I'm super straight forward and expect to be treated as such. But the dealerships have been leaving me with unanswered questions. When all I want is a brake down of where the money is spent on a new sailboat.

Ideally I would be so pleased to get the price on a base boat with freight, commissioning, and delivery with a option price list. And take it from there, but I keep getting pushed around by these people.

Anyone have any ideas? Or could anyone just straighten me out and tell me how this process is done.

Thank you Sam

[AA3JY]

Suggest to wait for the boat shows if that particular vessel is shown..better response from boat manufacturer rep if present then talk to the dealer of the vessel that they represent..Competition as well as deals is in your favor at these boat shows..

[Sam Woodbridge]

Originally Posted by AA3JY

Suggest to wait for the boat shows if that particular vessel is shown..better response from boat manufacturer rep if present then talk to the dealer of the vessel that they represent..Competition as well as deals is in your favor at these boat shows..

Thank you for the reply - the last boat show we had was cancelled due to COVID-19. But yes if anther boat show presents itself I'll be there and use your advice.

[Statistical]

Boats are not like cars. They are sold in much lower quantities and pricing is a lot more opaque. The dealers having information you don't benefits the dealers. They want you to pay more hopefully much much more. While it isn't universally true people buying new tend to be more affluent and less concerned with the dollar by dollar breakdown. The more opaque and generalized the price the more the dealer can pad their bottom line. Some manufacturers make options lists available but many do not because they work with dealers and that is the way dealers want it. You can try reaching out to the manufacturer but they are likely going to point you back at the dealer.

Where are you at in the process? Have you decided on a specific boat in a specific configuration or are you still browsing. If it is the later I am not surprised they are being vague with pricing. They are still trying to sell you the dream. Dreams don't have prices. When you get to a specific model with a specific configuration and specific options pricing should get more real I mean at some point they have to give you a large number in order for you to write a large check.

A question would be does it have to be new? A boat with only a few years on it is essentially new.

[motion30]

If you were having trouble communicating with the dealerships now, think what it would be like after delivery if you have problems

[NaClyDog]

Originally Posted by motion30

If you were having trouble communicating with the dealerships now, think what it would be like after delivery if you have problems

"But Sir / Madam, we have the absolute best post-sales support in the industry. Nobody can match our service! It is unparalleled!"

[Sam Woodbridge]

Originally Posted by Statistical

Boats are not like cars. They are sold in much lower quantities and pricing is a lot more opaque. The dealers having information you don't benefits the dealers. They want you to pay more hopefully much much more. Some manufacturers make options lists available but many do not because they work with dealers and that is the way dealers want it. You can try reaching out to the manufacturer but they are likely going to point you back at the dealer.

A question would be does it have to be new? A boat with only a few years on it is essentially new.

Thank you for the reply - what you wrote has been my hunch. I'm just not going to buy with a open bill from dealership. Before you know it your padding the dealership with 20k because they where not forth coming.

I agree a boat a few old has benefits too and if I'm forced too I'll be buying one used. Theres just not that many beneteau 38.1's on the west coast with the options I want.

Thanks again for your reply. All of this is helping me understand more.

[Sam Woodbridge]

And yes I have completely decided on a the beneteau 38.1. All of my conversations have been exclusive with that model.

[Hesti]

What are they upset about - the total or breaking down the total? When you tell them that you want boat a with features b, c and d, delivered to place e - both should be able to give you a total. Then you can sit down with them and negotiate. If they can't come up with a total including delivery to the place where you want the boat, you should not buy from them.

When asking for prices for the individual features and summing up - things can get a bit dodgy, if there is no manufacturers price list. And even if there is one. One reason being, that features are often thrown in by the seller during negotiation - as they may be considerably cheaper to the dealer than what he can ask for them or what they are listed for. Stuff like "I throw the fridge in which is worth x ..." but only costs them y.

What nobody likes is to much cherrypicking, stuff like "your competitor is only asking xyz.ab for feature d". In the end, they all have to allocate cost and have fun and they will do that in slightly different ways.

[Sam Woodbridge]

Originally Posted by Hesti

What are they upset about - the total or breaking down the total? When you tell them that you want boat a with features b, c and d, delivered to place e - both should be able to give you a total. Then you can sit down with them and negotiate. If they can't come up with a total including delivery to the place where you want the boat, you should not buy from them.

When asking for prices for the individual features and summing up - things can get a bit dodgy, if there is no manufacturers price list. And even if there is one. One reason being, that features are often thrown in by the seller during negotiation - as they may be considerably cheaper to the dealer than what he can ask for them or what they are listed for. Stuff like "I throw the fridge in which is worth x ..." but only costs them y.

What nobody likes is to much cherrypicking, stuff like "your competitor is only asking xyz.ab for feature d". In the end, they all have to allocate cost and have fun and they will do that in slightly different ways.

Thank you for the post Hesti. What you mention does make sense to me. And what I'm beginning to think. Is I'm trying to force a sale of a boat my way. But somehow I want to feel protected from getting charged to much. You know years ago we didn't have so much knowledge at our finger tips, but this day and age we do. I have found a option price list for a new 38.1 beneteau in euros. Beneteau themselves, on their web page lists the base boat price. And when I start doing all the numbers things don't add up.

Hesti, thanks for mentioning what happens during negotiation and how cherry picking is frowned on.

[Alistair242]

If you go here there is a base price and I assume if you “request a quote” you can get prices on options.
Go right to the source.

https://www.beneteau.com/us/oceanis/oceanis-381

[Sam Woodbridge]

Originally Posted by Alistair242

If you go here there is a base price and I assume if you “request a quote” you can get prices on options.
Go right to the source.

https://www.beneteau.com/us/oceanis/oceanis-381

Thank you for the post Alistair. I have been all over beneteau's website and emailed them. I never heard back from them, but assumed they contacted the dealership I was already in contact with. I could more aggressively pursue beneteau through emails, but from what I have gathered from everyone. Dealerships will do as they please to make money and I don't blame them. The problem is more on my end and the way I choose to go about dealing with them.

The longer this goes on the more it makes sense to buy a used boat that is a few years old.

[Alistair242]

Seems odd. Maybe because they are shutting down ops in the USA? Could try contacting them in France?

[Sam Woodbridge]

Originally Posted by Alistair242

Seems odd. Maybe because they are shutting down ops in the USA? Could try contacting them in France?

Hmm, yes I have read that, but I'm not too informed about there shut down. I was under the impression they shut down a plant, but not sure about them shutting down operations in the USA.

Really Alistair, the problem is me. I have a option price list and the cost of a base boat. With the options I have choose and the cost of the base boat the total comes to 242,000 roughly. I haven't found a dealership to be forth coming with all the extra costs and thats from me going about it the wrong way. It's gut wrenching to me to have a open price tag for a purchase of this amount.

Thanks for the suggestion of calling them in France.

[Alistair242]

I understand. I have a cruising cat under build right now. Thankfully this company has been pretty easy to deal with.
Having a good contact or dealer is paramount. Good luck.