New boat pricing

[Kgrove]

I searched a bunch of key words and couldn’t find what I’m looking for... is there a rule of thumb for the range of discounts possible on new boats? I know, I know... it depends. I’m sure there are differences between manufacturers and even between models based on demand for the boat, etc. That said, I know if I go into McDonalss I shouldn’t bother offering 10% less that the list price for a Big Mac because the price they tell you is the only price they’ll sell for, but if I don’t ask for a discount on a new car, I almost certainly paid WAY too much.

I’m trying to get a feel for how pricing and negotiations work on new boats, and of course the salesmen are not going to tell me the truth. I’m a rookie on new sailboats and the industry as I’ve only been on other people’s boats and the boats I’ve owned were all domestically made wakeboard boats... very different beasts. I’ve been looking at used boats, but with exchange rates where they are and so many of the manufacturers overseas, it might make sense to look at new boats instead. Any guidance you can give me about what kind of % discounts from factory quoted prices might help me figure my way around.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Kgrove.

[Polux]

Not really, it depends on the demand of the boat and if they have boats that have not been sold.

Meaning if you are going to buy a boat that has a 2 year waiting list the discount would be near 0 while if you are going to buy a boat that is stuck and waiting for a owner at one year or more, than you will have a big discount.

On normal circumstances the discount with a dealer can go till 9%. If you can deal directly with the shipyard that discount can go till 20%. Normally only with small brands you will be able to deal directly with the shipyard.