Help with purchasing

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parkertl

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Help with purchasing/negotiating

Hi Folks,

I am in the market for my first boat. For the moment I have settled on a 2008 260 SunDancer.

I have found a couple at a local dealer in GA and am trying to negotiate the price. I was hoping to get some advice from you guys so that I know that Im getting a fair price.

I know this is the last model year for the 260 so I think there are several incentives. The MSRP is about $142000, and the price we are at right now (with minimal back and forth) is $82k for a fairly well equipped boat with the Premier 6 year anything goes warranty.

Since there isnt an edmunds.com for boats I am a little bit nervous being relatively inexperienced. Any advice that could be offered would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks for the quick reply.

One of the primary reasons for looking at the new boat was that I was told that in order to get the full Passport Premier Warranty was to find a boat that was owned for less than 12 months.
 
Have you taken the boat out for a run yet? Perhaps to compare it to a 280? I have heard that the 260 can feel a little top heavy it choppy waters. You may have already but this was the #1 advice given to me as my wife and I started talking about moving up. Remember it is a buyers market!

If you are in GA there are a lot of us around for when you are ready to raft up with some of your neighbors!:thumbsup:
 
Definitely, if we ever get the deal worked out I will be hitting the forums to hook up with folks out on the water.

If anyone else out there could share their new purchase experience, especially if it was sometime this year, I would be indebted to you.

thanks
 
parkertl said:
Hi Folks,

I am in the market for my first boat. For the moment I have settled on a 2008 260 SunDancer.

I have found a couple at a local dealer in GA and am trying to negotiate the price. I was hoping to get some advice from you guys so that I know that Im getting a fair price.

I know this is the last model year for the 260 so I think there are several incentives. The MSRP is about $142000, and the price we are at right now (with minimal back and forth) is $82k for a fairly well equipped boat with the Premier 6 year anything goes warranty.

Since there isnt an edmunds.com for boats I am a little bit nervous being relatively inexperienced. Any advice that could be offered would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Click to expand...

My Uncle just sold his '08 Loaded, with 9 hours, yes, 9 hours on it for $65k.

Good luck.
 
Have you considered a "gently used" SunDancer? There are many good deals out there and you can probably find one new enough with Passport Premier Warranty remaining. Why pay the initial depreciation? Just my .02 worth. Like Scott said, don't get attached and be prepaired to walk away.
 
Do a search on www.boats.com. Take 10-20% off on the lowest price you find. There are a lot of boats out there. If you are like me, you will be trading up for a bigger boat next year, so try to get a great deal. You can buy a warranty on a used boat. As your local dealer what one costs and add it in the price. We bought the warranty on our new 250 and used it once. In the end it was a wash.

P.S. I just checked... The right price is $65K for '08 Sundancer with a warranty … Marine Max has two with less than 10 hours for $79K. 85% or 79 is $65K.
 
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Re: Help with purchasing/negotiating

parkertl said:
Hi Folks,

I am in the market for my first boat. For the moment I have settled on a 2008 260 SunDancer.

I have found a couple at a local dealer in GA and am trying to negotiate the price. I was hoping to get some advice from you guys so that I know that Im getting a fair price.

I know this is the last model year for the 260 so I think there are several incentives. The MSRP is about $142000, and the price we are at right now (with minimal back and forth) is $82k for a fairly well equipped boat with the Premier 6 year anything goes warranty.

Since there isnt an edmunds.com for boats I am a little bit nervous being relatively inexperienced. Any advice that could be offered would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Click to expand...

That's a fair price for a new 260 with warranty if it has the generator. I was quoted $109K at the February boat show with generator.
 
The boat does have a generator along with several other options, ac/heat, windlass, spoiler, elec stove, camper canvas, carpets, tv/dvd, spotlight.

Another question besides what I should pay is, are there options that I would get out on the water and regret not having and also are their options I would get on the water and regret paying for? It will likely always be used in fresh water.

Thanks
 
parkertl said:
The boat does have a generator along with several other options, ac/heat, windlass, spoiler, elec stove, camper canvas, carpets, tv/dvd, spotlight.

Another question besides what I should pay is, are there options that I would get out on the water and regret not having and also are their options I would get on the water and regret paying for? It will likely always be used in fresh water.

Thanks
Click to expand...


These are all good options. I wish I had the windlass...I also had to add the spotlight to mine which was a lot of work. I would only add a trailer because I like to move around a bit but if you are keeping it in the water then you don't really need it. I assume it has bottom paint? Mine does not but I keep it in a lift. Sounds to me that the dealer has to be near dealer cost with all those options.

As many have said there are many good boats out there for $80K so weight your pros and cons of the 260. I personnally would go bigger if I were not trailering. The 280 is a great boat but we love our 260.

Hope this helps.

Kendall
 
That's what I paid for my brand new 2005 260, single I/O 350 with Bravo 3, without a generator or TV. So, it's a good deal if the boats a brand new leftover. But, that was the last year for that boat model, so they are probably liquidating them.

I liked mine a lot, kept it 3 years,, but it quickly became too small and the 8 foot beam on a 28 foot boat was a bit wobbly in the water, constantly trimming every time my dog moved around. Plus the quality isn't nearly as sound as a larger Searay in my opinion.

as others suggested, I might look for a slightly used 280
or even 300. There are some great certified used Searays being offered by dealers and or brokers. Bigger is better with a boat and soon after you buy one, you'd wish you went just a little bit larger.
 
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