Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Hello,

As far as I know there is no edmunds.com to check invoice prices for pontoons. So here is what I'm looking at:

2012 Hampton 2485 RL with a 200 HP Mercury 2 stroke.
The boat is 19,500 and comes to about 31K after options including 6K for performance pkg [3rd toon] and what they call an elite package with lighting, amps and speakers etc. I called a Mercury outboard retailer and they sell the 200 2 stroke for around 12K

So with power and options, the retail price is around 43 or 44K. How much room do we have to negotiate?

Thanks so much, getting together this weekend to get it done. Need some wisdom.

Rick

First of all welcome to the forum!

I really don't know how much mark up is in a pontoon at the dealer for a new one. Sun tracker prob has the least and has sales from time to time. If I had to do it over I would not buy new but would look for one that is one maybe two years old with low hours.

See below

The boat business is not the car business, and you're not going to be getting a new incredible high performance tritoon at $100 over cost. A medium size car dealer sells 50 cars a month, where a medium size boat dealer sells 50 boats a year.

The boat business generally sucks, and has been through a couple of dealer shake outs. Only the really good dealers will survive 2012 and 2013.

I want to deal with an established boat dealer, and I prefer to buy local--even if it's going to cost me a little more. Having to take a boat back for warranty service is expensive driving

I will carefully research the product before stepping into a dealership. I will have a backup boat brand or two, as not all manufacturers have dealers in every market. The internet is a great source of competitive information--prices, etc. It's pretty easy to figure out what dealers in your general area is willing to earn your business with a fair price. That's the dealer who you should try to deal with.

That said, the only place you can get information on invoices is DealerCost.com. The current information is a couple of years old, but it gives you a little source of relativity.

I'm going to start next January at a couple of big city boat shows, and I'm going to try to make it as pleasurable of an experience as possible. Hopefully competition will bring prices down to the lowest prices.

Just enjoy your purchasing experience, and keep the personal feelings out of the buy.

Thanks. I've been ripping up the internet, def. armed with plenty of info. The marina has been a fixture for generations and I'll be docking with them + storage. I've sat in junk and sat in toons I can't afford. This boat is my sweet spot all around and the manager promised me he'd talk to me tomorrow with his best price. As for stock, he only has two left and my wife doesn't want to miss the season. I actually do feel a little pressure to pull the trigger.

Thanks very much for your informative response. Tomorrow I visit the Manitou dealer a few miles down the lake!

Rick

I especially like the Manitou VP trihull boats with a 150 hp motor. It's a luxury boat at a fair price. And, nothing will handle and maneuver around a tuber/skier like a Manitou if you're into water sports.

Hamptons are built by Playcraft, but Playcraft is a top-drawed builder that does a lot of cutom projects, so they tend to be pricey.
Unless you know what the dealer actually paid for the boat, and what his expenses are, its impossible to say what the markup "should" be. Get their best price, and take it or leave it.

Welcome, and good luck on your purchase. One thing I will mention is this. Who cares what markup there is? Just pay attention to the deal you are getting vs the deal you can get elsewhere. In my opinion, that is really all that matters, not how much money the dealer is making. Is the deal about as good as you can get? Who cares how much the dealer is making? If the manufacturer gave them the boat, does that make the boat worth any less? If the manufacturer overcharged the dealer, does that make it worth more? No, none of that matters. Once you get the deal negotiated that you believe is about as good as you can do elsewhere, and hopefully from a dealer that is making enough money to stay in business when you need them, then you should feel good about that deal.

ended up buying an AP 240 SL with 27" toons with a yamaha 150 4 stroke. i have no idea what the dealer made and once it's in the water tomorrow i won't care. thanks for the info guys.

rick

Best way to buy a toon....make the best deal you can then forgetaboutit and enjoy it!

Congrats! How about some pics?