Long Distance Boat Purchase – Sharing My Experience

Agree. The dealer does make all the difference. I think I now have this type of relationship with my Mechanic.

Oh. . and the dealer was always *nice* to me. The issue was with the quality of the work (low) and the price charged (high).
 
billandamy said:
And it isnt just about the purchase of the boat to me...I will be going here for all services (not a do it myself kinda guy with cars and boats), winterizing, etc...and if something goes wrong, both of us (dealer and I) know where i am going.
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First thing we did was contacting our local MM and approach them with having our 240 as a trade. We had the same idea in mind as you. We also wanted to have all the services and be part of the MM customers. When we layed all the cards on the table I asked the question if we're reasonable to make this happened with the numbers we've proposed. They said yes and told us that with major nationwide events going on, including the boat shows we should expect their call pretty soon. This conversation took place in the late august. We've waited for two months and had realized that if we wanted to get a boat this season we need to open up our options.
As of today, I've never herd from my local MM.

Alex.
 
comsnark said:
Agree. The dealer does make all the difference. I think I now have this type of relationship with my Mechanic.

Oh. . and the dealer was always *nice* to me. The issue was with the quality of the work (low) and the price charged (high).
Click to expand...

comsnark,
I'm totally on board with what you're saying. Having very knowledgeble local mechanic is what I'd like to have as well. But, I also like to learn as much as possible to avoid any trips to mechanics.

Alex.
 
I too went first to my local MM dealer as I had a 2003 Doral 250 to either sell or trade towards a 320. The salesman is a great guy, but didn't come close to what my Doral was worth on trade; and also was high on what I should have been able to get a 320 for. I listed the Doral on boattrader.com and sold it within 3 weeks for about $6,000.00 more than I would have gotten on the trade. I then searched for the 320 and after about 3 months, found the one I eventually bought with the blue hull I wanted as well as the inboards and other options I wanted; and at a price I was very happy with. Even with counting the transportation and my travel costs I saved a LOT of money (at least to me), and more importantly was able to get what I was looking for.

If I could have done something similar here thru the MM dealer, I would have, but it just didn't work out that way for me.
Barry
 
comsnark said:
Agree. The dealer does make all the difference. I think I now have this type of relationship with my Mechanic.

Oh. . and the dealer was always *nice* to me. The issue was with the quality of the work (low) and the price charged (high).
Click to expand...

Aye, thats a whole 'nother component.

Im just not a shopper. Whatever it is, it is. Heck, I havent set foot in one store yet this holiday, and Im done with my xmas shopping. Paying for shipping to avoid the time having to go to stores (and the inevitable mass killings I would be involved in to get through crowds) suits me fine.
 
Well Bill with all due respect. When you buy a new 205 for $30-35K compared to a used '06 205 for around $22-25K I can see where you can justify to go new. For me, and maybe Alex and Barry( I don't want to speak for them and I'm not sure that Barry bought new or not) buying used is a huge money saver. Alex's 320 may have saved him nearly $100,000 over new. For me in my recent buy, I saved a strong $60,000 versus new. Yeah My boat is nearly 8 models later, but seriously like new on the inside, needs some serious elbow grease on the outside with 94 hours. All of us "like new" but it's some serious coin when you step up from 20 to 32 feet.
 
Nehalennia said:
Well Bill with all due respect. When you buy a new 205 for $30-35K compared to a used '06 205 for around $22-25K I can see where you can justify to go new. For me, and maybe Alex and Barry( I don't want to speak for them and I'm not sure that Barry bought new or not) buying used is a huge money saver. Alex's 320 may have saved him nearly $100,000 over new. For me in my recent buy, I saved a strong $60,000 versus new. Yeah My boat is nearly 8 models later, but seriously like new on the inside, needs some serious elbow grease on the outside with 94 hours. All of us "like new" but it's some serious coin when you step up from 20 to 32 feet.
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I get what you are saying...I would just save up a little longer or skip another hobby or something to get the new. Its what I always have done, regardless of pricing. It MAY be a sickness!:smt021

Boat-wise, really, I never plan on getting anything else bigger than what we got. Maybe a few feet more if ever, so we can go out into the sound more often. We only got the boat to make use of a local lake, and maybe to bring to lake Winnipisaukee or something. Boating is not, how can I say this, something we are really "into" except as another form of entertainment, just to wakeboard, ski and tube.

We are more interested in buying a slopeside Seasons condo at Mt Snow, or a summer house on the beach of the cape...those kinda things.
 
I bought my 340 700 water miles away from home. I bought it for less than the asking price for 320's around here. My broker in S Fl thought I saved 40,000 compared to N Fl prices, but I feel I saved around $25,000. We cruised home, and all went very well.

There weren't any 340's available around here within 40 - $60,000, but there were lots of 320's. Hopefully, next time my dealer will have something available for me at a great trade price, otherwise, we'll see you in Miami again. I gave my dealer 6 months to find me something, then I went elsewhere. They used to treat me like a red-headed step child (even though I've spent over $75,000 there (different boat...)), but it has gotten a lot better. The dock master still won't let me park overnight at the marina when they have events going on. I have several great friends there that own 26, 32, 42, 50, and 52' boats there that expressed great displeasure over my treatment. It's getting better.

Maybe I don't spend millions there, but my friends do.
 
2005 - It's in my signature block. You can still search these boats on line and find a huge price disparity between S. and N. Fl.
 
In the Panhandle, they are over 200,000 right now. In S or C Fl, they are 159,000 to 210,000, most between 165,000 and 185,000.
 
Alex- just a quick note. Regarding The fridge it is an easy adder and want to tell you to go for the basic unit as the S.S. option comes down to a insert in the door. The owners manual even shows the size for adding the S.S. insert. We had a local shop laser one for each ours and looks great. The galley all matches in S.S. There are plenty of little up grades from swaping bulbs out to LEDs to adding the factory look MOMO up grade speakers to the arch. Oh your boat is wired for the underwater swim platform lights. If interested let me know. They are a hit on our boat. Mike
 
Mike,
Thanks for the note. I was thinking about the insert, but found that SS at boaters world is only $50 ($699) extra than regular bloack one ($649). I have only one outstanding puzzling item, which is the 3/4" gap from each side of the openning. Based on what I see the wholes in the fridge trim brackets don't overlap the openning for secured attachment. I think it'll be necessary to come up with some kind of insert on the sides. I've never done something like this.

As for the lights, it sounds great. Could you share more details and prices. Feel free to PM me.

Thx,
Alex.
 
Just to add a quick note to my purchase story, it took 2 months to get the title. One of the hold ups was that Forida released electronic version of the title and broker had no idea how to deal with it. They had to go back to the source nad revert back to regular paper version. This is the only part that I'm glad I was making the purchase off season. Imagine having the to deal with all of this during the season?

Alex.
 
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