Promo Boat Ownership Tips

[Gloersen]

Like to start a thread on the do’s and don’t’s of promo boat ownership for edification.

prior thread reviewed.

 

http://www.ballofspray.com/forum#/discussion/6477/promo-boats

 

Dealer buyback arrangements?

1 vs 2 year turnover.

ideal # of “owners”

Amount of use limited (hours) to enhance resale.

5.7L vs 6+L?

Etc, etc.,…

 

Thanks.

 

[ForrestGump]

There is no right or wrong answers to this topic. It's based on what your area will support and what your wallet can support. As far as hours go, we've gotten the same price for our 280 hour promo as our 150 hour one.

[ScarletArrow]

Do's - wad up as many $100 bills as you can gather and throw them out the window while driving down the highway at 80mph.

 

Don'ts - worry about your money.

 

I did the promo thing for almost 4 years...granted it was the wrong 4 years...but it was just full of headaches.

 

1 - I think the best thing any promo driver can do is find a consistent source to sell their boat.

 

I sold two of mine to the same group in Canada...I know one guy who has sold 3 or 4 to same buyer in Australia.

 

When you can get a committed buyer in-season the experience isn't all that bad, but otherwise you're time gets sucked up from tire kickers.

 

2 - Don't be afraid to say 'no' to a tournament request.

 

I could have pulled 15+ tournaments on 15+ different weekends in my last summer.

 

I love tournaments, but I can't do that every weekend for 3 months straight.

 

One guy making a request (no names please), wanted me to let some college kids pick my 200 up and trailer it over four hours to a college tournament in another state since I couldn't bring it myself.

 

That's when I decided it was over...

 

3 - Otherwise, get the most popular colors and options; keep it clean and fix the little things that break on a new boat, limit it to around 150 hours and you'll be in the best shape possible. It's a crap shoot.

[Razorskier1]

Treat your boat like @richarddoane treats his!

[Than_Bogan]

Well, I'm part of the problem. I'd like to buy a used promo boat, but they are just so damn expensive. If somebody could somehow offer me a 2014 Carbon Pro in early 2015 for $38k, I could sign a pre-buy deal. But then the poor guy is losing some serious cash on that one season!

 

I feel like I have a pretty good job and obviously skiing is important to me, so when I'm not willing to pony up for a 1 yr old boat at these prices, it makes me worry there aren't a lot of potential buyers.

[ForrestGump]

I also think it's based on the area. In the SCR, there are only 6 promo nautiques. Whereas other regions have 10-13. Which means in our region, it's easier to sell a 200.

[The_MS]

I was CC for 9 years and only sold 1 boat in my home state. Everyone wanted to ski the 196 at tourneys but when it came to buying, they would by the cheaper LXI. In today's boat market, I would buy any of the big 4 if the price is right.

I had to carry my 08 into 09 and then in late 09, @Shane took me to the cleaners. As a buyer, I would only buy a promo boat and would not think of going new. Just being on BOS will give you a good idea of who the owners are that really take care of their boats and have them dialed in.

[skiboat38]

Keep them clean, dry inside so they smell new when you go to sell them, don't try to make money but just break even and if there is a problem later on hook them up with the right people to get it taken care of as they will come back if treated right. Don't take them to sites that treat the boat rough. I'm on my 24th CC and have only sold 5 in state. When someone starts the conversation by telling you they are interested but point out what they don't like end it quickly. Set the price fair and don't negotiate......People think Promo's get awesome deals but that is not the case. You are first to a tourney and last to leave and the following day is cleaning the boat.

[RichardDoane]

really nice and clean 2012 MC 190 Closed bow, 207 hours, shared delivery to the 48 states, email richard@burienautorepair.com

 

 

[thager]

@richarddoane With the new MC Pickle Pull out there, how much are you going to pay someone to take it? : ) Just kidding. Sweet boat!!

[gregy]

I would not do it again, However I don't ski tournaments much anymore. If you go to a lot of tournaments it may worth it. You may have to watch your boat during the tournament to make sure its being cared for properly. There were some lake that didn't have proper facilities. There were driver that would absolutely abuse the boats. I had some bad scratches on my over the years and damaged hulls from parking them on shoreline. It took a lot of enjoyment out of tournaments. I'd get with other owners in the area and ask them which lakes and drivers they've problems with.

[RichardDoane]

@thager - the goal is to get out even, and have had use of the boat for the past 2 seasons, this 2012 is a nice machine, and if the numbers don't work out I'll keep it going another season, in 2009 I decided to update the old 1992 MC 205, and got on the program for 2010, it's now been 4 good promo seasons and I'm glad I stepped up

 

Ryder misses my old 205

 

 

 

[LeonL]

@ShaneH, I heard from someone that there are only 26 CC promos in the country currently. I don't know if that's correct, but I know across the brands there are less than there used to be.

[ForrestGump]

@LeonL according to the 4/26/13 CC roster spreadsheet, there are fifty CC200 promos. Split up as:

 

East 6

West 13

Southern 12

South Central 7

Midwest 12

[skiboat38]

CC was down to a low number but has gained quite a few back, the roster does include two dealers and wakeboard boats

[ForrestGump]

The roster numbers I posted above were only 200s.

[jipster43]

I ran my first tournament 22' behind @richarddoane 's 190 and not behind the 200 that was also pulling the tournament. It skis awesome and check out the sweet Bimini setup!