Best Time to Buy New Boat???

[Jonald]

Hey guys,  I’m looking to buy a new bass boat after October 2022.  I get married, so have to wait to buy a boat till after October.  Is there a “best” time to buy a new boat? Do manufacturers or dealers offer better deals at specific times of the year? 

[Jigfishn10]

I bought mine sometime after Labor Day 2020, matter of fact I think it was early October when I put a down payment on it to get built. Perfect time IMO. 

 

After Labor Day into Christmas - depending what part of the country you're from - is when people winterize their boats and contemplate on weather they want to upgrade or even being a boat owner any more. But, like anything, you've got time to keep your eye out there in case a good deal comes along.  

 

Congrats on the marriage.

[slonezp]

The best time will be in a year or 2 when the market will be flooded with inventory. 

 

Boats are getting premium $$$ right now. The looming recession and high fuel prices should begin to loosen up the market later this year.

[evo2s197]

10 minutes ago, slonezp said:

The best time will be in a year or 2 when the market will be flooded with inventory. 

 

Boats are getting premium $$$ right now. The looming recession and high fuel prices should begin to loosen up the market later this year.

This is exactly what will happen, expect to see a flood of 1-3 year old boats with low hours for sale in the next couple years most still with a warranty, first things people let go or default on is toys, especially all of the recent boat and rv owners that realize they just weren't that into it.

 

Also new boat MSRP prices will not go down in the coming years but expect to see rebates and incentives to be abundant on new boats due to stagnant sales and competition from a plethora better equipped 1-3 year old boats on the used market.

[J Francho]

7 minutes ago, slonezp said:

The best time will be in a year or 2 when the market will be flooded with inventory. 

 

Boats are getting premium $$$ right now. The looming recession and high fuel prices should begin to loosen up the market later this year.

I'm pretty much counting on this.

[slonezp]

As am I 

[Deleted account]

A month before the pandemic...

[Logan S]

Fall/Winter IMO, dealers get the first runs of the next model year starting around then and left over current model year boats might get a price break.

 

Also, if it's a larger dealer they might do demo boats each year, which you can get great deals on but you are still considered the original owner and all warranties start with you.  I bought my current boat as a demo and would absolutely do it again.  

 

I agree with the others that it's a sellers market right now.  With gas prices and people going back to work... Fall 2022 might be when it starts to flip back around?  

 

Good luck  

[gim]

13 minutes ago, Logan S said:

Fall/Winter IMO, dealers get the first runs of the next model year starting around then and left over current model year boats might get a price break.

 

This is what occurred when I bought my current boat in December 2015.  Gave me a break on the price tag and threw in some extras at no charge like a polymer-vinyl interior and a free travel cover.  I don't think that would be the case at the moment though.  Inventory is very low and there seems to be a high demand all year round.

[Jigfishn10]

57 minutes ago, slonezp said:

The best time will be in a year or 2 when the market will be flooded with inventory. 

 

Boats are getting premium $$$ right now. The looming recession and high fuel prices should begin to loosen up the market later this year.

The carter admin wants EB's by 2023.  

 

@slonezp 's post is a true story.

[Bird]

1 hour ago, slonezp said:

The best time will be in a year or 2 when the market will be flooded with inventory. 

 

Boats are getting premium $$$ right now. The looming recession and high fuel prices should begin to loosen up the market later this year.

Yes, very accurate assumption.

Boats, RV's and pickup truck prices will come back to earth.

[volzfan59]

3 hours ago, slonezp said:

The best time will be in a year or 2 when the market will be flooded with inventory. 

 

Boats are getting premium $$$ right now. The looming recession and high fuel prices should begin to loosen up the market later this year.

What @slonezp said! I realize that you're thinking about buying a new rig, but don't forget the used market. Once this looming inflation takes hold, with everything that will come with it, coupled with the boats that will hit the market as covid restrictions have eased, there will be deals to be had on nice used rigs. A lot of people took up fishing, and bought boats during the heights of the lock downs. Some will stick with,  a bunch won't. They'll get sick of making payments on a rig just sitting in the garage or the driveway. In about 12 to 18 months, maybe sooner, the used market will be flooded. Save all that you can, cash will be king!

[slonezp]

Might also be a bunch of bank repo's in the inventories which should be priced below market. 

[A-Jay]

Guess I'm the odd man out in this one.

IMO, when a basshead truly has the means,

'The Best' time to buy a new boat, is when YOU are ready to. 

That said, shopping and doing the do diligence to ensure one gets into the right rig, is no doubt, a solid plan.  

If that's the deal, then now's the time.

Considering what this entire venture costs,

how much are the months/years spent 'waiting for the right time' worth

vs the actually $$ saved ? 

The new & used bass boat market is all over the place.

Seems it always has been. 

Plenty of sellers and plenty of buyers.

ALL the buyers feel that ALL the sellers are asking too much

and ALL the sellers feel like ALL the buyers want to pay too little.

The current challenges associated the accessories inventory & availability isn't helping. 

And yet, somehow folks still get new rigs every year. 

Hope is a valuable thing, but it might not be the best strategy.

Go buy a boat & go fishing.

A-Jay

 

 

[InfantryMP]

Yea the availability is a huge thing. If you do not want to order a boat and wait, then it may smart to start looking now. It took me about 3 months to find a boat I was really comfortable with, and the crazy part was it was the last one. The dealer had two identical boats, just different color schemes. When I went to my appointment to check it out, the blue one was on the way out only leaving the one I bought left. 

[Big Rick]

9 hours ago, Jonald said:

 I get married, so have to wait to buy a boat till after October.

Seems to me your best time to buy a boat is November 1st. First, the new wife is still enamored with you and you can get away with the new boat purchase with little to no flak. Two, the feds just raised interest rates today for the first time since 2018. Look for sales to stagnate with $5-7 fuel. November looks to be your magic month. 

 

If you hadn't already painted yourself in the corner with the above quote I would solidly be in the corner with @A-Jay and tell you the time to buy is when you're ready to buy. 

[volzfan59]

I agree with you @ajay, if someone has the means, no time is the wrong time while doing their due diligence. @Jonald is looking to buy new so my suggestions probably aren't for him. 

[Jonald]

2 hours ago, A-Jay said:

Guess I'm the odd man out in this one.

IMO, when a basshead truly has the means,

'The Best' time to buy a new boat, is when YOU are ready to. 

That said, shopping and doing the do diligence to ensure one gets into the right rig, is no doubt, a solid plan.  

If that's the deal, then now's the time.

Considering what this entire venture costs,

how much are the months/years spent 'waiting for the right time' worth

vs the actually $$ saved ? 

The new & used bass boat market is all over the place.

Seems it always has been. 

Plenty of sellers and plenty of buyers.

ALL the buyers feel that ALL the sellers are asking too much

and ALL the sellers feel like ALL the buyers want to pay too little.

The current challenges associated the accessories inventory & availability isn't helping. 

And yet, somehow folks still get new rigs every year. 

Hope is a valuable thing, but it might not be the best strategy.

Go buy a boat & go fishing.

A-Jay

 

 

Thanks for your input! 

2 hours ago, InfantryMP said:

Yea the availability is a huge thing. If you do not want to order a boat and wait, then it may smart to start looking now. It took me about 3 months to find a boat I was really comfortable with, and the crazy part was it was the last one. The dealer had two identical boats, just different color schemes. When I went to my appointment to check it out, the blue one was on the way out only leaving the one I bought left. 

What did you end up buying?

1 hour ago, Big Rick said:

Seems to me your best time to buy a boat is November 1st. First, the new wife is still enamored with you and you can get away with the new boat purchase with little to no flak. Two, the feds just raised interest rates today for the first time since 2018. Look for sales to stagnate with $5-7 fuel. November looks to be your magic month. 

 

If you hadn't already painted yourself in the corner with the above quote I would solidly be in the corner with @A-Jay and tell you the time to buy is when you're ready to buy. 

?  The wife is actually down for a boat surprisingly! Thanks for the input I think Nov is a good target given the economy and *** that’s going on right now

[WRB]

Waiting for the economy to correct is wishful thinking in the near future. 

Winter is a good time to buy boats.

Tom

 

 

[slonezp]

3 hours ago, A-Jay said:

Guess I'm the odd man out in this one.

IMO, when a basshead truly has the means,

'The Best' time to buy a new boat, is when YOU are ready to. 

That said, shopping and doing the do diligence to ensure one gets into the right rig, is no doubt, a solid plan.  

If that's the deal, then now's the time.

Considering what this entire venture costs,

how much are the months/years spent 'waiting for the right time' worth

vs the actually $$ saved ? 

The new & used bass boat market is all over the place.

Seems it always has been. 

Plenty of sellers and plenty of buyers.

ALL the buyers feel that ALL the sellers are asking too much

and ALL the sellers feel like ALL the buyers want to pay too little.

The current challenges associated the accessories inventory & availability isn't helping. 

And yet, somehow folks still get new rigs every year. 

Hope is a valuable thing, but it might not be the best strategy.

Go buy a boat & go fishing.

A-Jay

 

 

I don't disagree but, based on the OP, I interpreted it as "When can I save the most money?"

I've owned 3 "real" boats, 2 of which I purchased new, and (2) 14ft aluminums. As far as the new boats, I purchased my Mirrocraft in December and the Lund in March. When I purchased them, price was important, but not the reason I purchased when I did. The Lund was bought off the sales floor. I wanted some additional options but opted for the floor model because tournament season began in mid April and to order a boat would have been 3-4 months.

 

Now that I'm playing the market and looking to get into a larger more expensive rig, if I can save $20 or $30K off new...well that's a lot of Benjamins.

[WRB]

A low hour garaged used bass boat is worth buying a plane ticket and/or travel for a good deal. 

Tom

[Jigfishn10]

I guess it's all in what you can handle financially. Currently you will be paying higher for a boat because of supply and demand. If you plan on getting a loan for the boat you will be paying a pretty high interest rate now that rates have been adjusted and expected to go up further.

 

Then the smaller financial items like fuel, insurance, registration etc. that you would have to do anyway. Here in MA trailer registration is every year and boat every other year.

 

Personally, If I were looking at a boat today, I'd hit the "pause button" and wait. I'm in construction and have seen work slow down to a crawl and future projects that are already in the backlog get put on hold. So for me, discretionary spending is not in my DNA at this time. 

[Bankc]

No one can really predict the best time to buy a boat.  At least not in this current economic climate.  

 

The best thing to do when the economy is like it is, is to save up your money, so you're ready to pounce when a good deal presents itself.  There's a good chance that inventory will go up in the coming few years, and prices and demand will fall.  There's also a chance that if inflation isn't tamed and interest rates continue to rise at a rate that is too slowly to control inflation, yet fast enough to stall the economy, then we could be looking at a stagflation scenario, like in the 80's.  Even the brightest economic minds don't really know what's going to happen.  

 

But one thing is for certain.  The more money you have saved up, the better off you'll be.  If inflation and interest rates skyrocket, then you'll have a bigger down payment and need less of a loan, thus reducing your costs significantly.  If prices fall and inventories rise, you'll have the means to immediately pounce on any good deal that won't last more than a few hours. 

[DaubsNU1]

Some great advice here...I'm going to just put this out there, as someone who has been married, and divorced...and gone through all the ugliness associated. 

 

My advice: get the boat before you are married. New, used, doesn't matter...get what you want, and get the title in your name alone. 

 

Reasons #1:  When you are married, you really can't just go out and buy things you want without consulting your spouse. Money can cause lots of arguments in marriages...trust me on this one. 

 

Reason #2: if your marriage does not work out, and you get divorced...in most states you get to keep the things you brought in to the marriage. If the boat was purchased before you were married...it's yours and yours alone. Anything you purchase after getting married, is joint-property...and must be split equally. Meaning you would have to sell your boat and split the $$, or compensate your ex for her 1/2 of the boat. 

[Siebert Outdoors]

My Stratos 20SS extreme is going up for sale here real soon.  Probably next week.