Dealrship Sales Model

[Ewok]

That's right, the engineer can't talk directly to the customer, you need a customer relations engineer to do that, that's what I told the Bobs.

[chpthril]

This might be off topic but it is similar, is there a reason why you have to go through the dealer to get parts?

Same reason we dont call Detroit when we need something for our Chevy/Ford. Its just how a typical manufacturer/dealer/consumer relationship has worked for years.

[skippabcool]

This might be off topic but it is similar, is there a reason why you have to go through the dealer to get parts?

[robert theisen]

i have a perfect example my wife and i go to tampa once or twice a year to visit my parents and brother.we are all from virginia but all have moved to different states.one year we visited my parents we went to lazy days a rv store near tampa and bought a motorhome. we flew back and picked it up a month later. a motorhome is quite possibly a luxury item not a necessity.i believe this is the same as a boat. my local dealer is less than 60 miles from me. i also took my motorhome to red bay alabama about a thirteen hour drive at 6 mpg just to get the factory to do all the warranty repairs. if anyone thinks boats are a pain to own.they should own a motorhome.i never heard from my local dealer and don't expect to.the next year we went to visit we bought a honda crv to tow behind the rv. it was a awd in florida. why did they order that?does it snow enough to actually stick?well apparently not they gave us a deal[i know because i used to sell hondas in va.]so we bought it,put a hitch on it and towed it back.i would imagine you could get the best deals in texas. oh i happen to be going there in april. i'll do some research and compare va to texas. to me if there was 20000 difference i'd buy in texas,but if it was 1000 difference i'd buy here in va. you can figure 13 mpg towing with a diesel pickup.about 1200 miles one way diesel at 3.20 plus a gallon you would spend over 1500 in fuel there and back.plus hotels it wouldn't be worth it. by the way i'm going to texas to wakeboard and tour the factory again as well as see all the new colors in person. check out all the new options and check out the dealers down there.as for the dealer sales model.i don't know the perfect answer,but i know how to find out what i need to know to make a decision. the general public just wants to know msrp online or have a msrp posted from tige on the boat. just like cars.then everyone would have a starting point.with nothing posted and no idea of where to start they are left to trust what the salesman tells them. i know as a salesman myself you can be as honest as the day is long and some people still won't trust you.they want to check the prices.if the do my prices are posted online.they quickly find out i was telling the truth. there problem solved.

[Tanner]

trog,

Pricing is definitely VERY regionally specific.

Back on topic...
It's sad when a dealer tells you his best price on a boat is X dollars and swears he's cutting you a massive deal. Then you go to the dealer one state over (who's actually closer btw) and they are $20,000 cheaper when you spec out the same boat, but then aren't allowed to sell to you because the other dealer throws a fit about territory!

[thtrog]

If you register, Supra has a pricing tool on their website - this is informative to the consumer and gives Supra contact information on potential buyers. Is the pricing the same for all regions???? I don't know....
http://www.supraboats.com/configure.php

[robert theisen]

^^^^ i completely understand i sold cars before i was in tool sales. i am speaking from a customer perspective.if you know msrp then you know wether or not dealer has jacked up the price. you can also find out his cost with a little research. i can use that to help me negotiate. not everyone can do that because they don't understand cost of doing business. they think dealer can operate on lower profit margin just for them as i'm sure you already know.i'm just trying to make a suggestion that would give average buyer peace of mind and equal starting point with other customers. i am in no way saying system is broken just in need of some tweaking to make it run smoother.

[chpthril]

all i'm saying is if tige had their suggested list prices on the web people could go into a deal knowing what full profit was and judge wether or not they got the price they wanted from there. it would also help the dealers they could say thats the price look on line and check for yourself also helps with sticker shock situations,customer knows before hand how much boat costs.

Knowing the MSRP is in know way an indication of what a dealers gross or net profit is. Too many variables such as overhead (fixed and non-fixed costs), staff costs, volume discounts (or lack of them), etc. Dealers know what they pay and what the MSRP is and based on their market, cost of doing biz, what % they need to hold.

[robert theisen]

all i'm saying is if tige had their suggested list prices on the web people could go into a deal knowing what full profit was and judge wether or not they got the price they wanted from there. it would also help the dealers they could say thats the price look on line and check for yourself also helps with sticker shock situations,customer knows before hand how much boat costs.

[Domsz06]

Another thing that is different about boats vs cars though is there isn't a tige dealer on every corner, so the dealers have some "room" to play with. I think us as consumers get used to having what we want where we want, and on boats you sometimes get the dealers that just really don't care. I also think tige has been known to yank dealerships for unreasonable dealers.

I know when I buy my new cars/boats I will go to where the prices is lowest and then come back to the dealer that is close. If they are not willing to drop to a "close" price then I save the money and know I won't get the fastest service, but for me it's worth the savings.

[robert theisen]

they do the fixed prices with wakeboards and bindings. they they say how low the september sales can be and then in january you can unload last years stuff for as low as you are willing to go.i think thats all consumers want is to know they aren't paying more than their neighbors for the same products.i agree it would be best for tige if they had online pricing for all models and options and the only difference would be shipping.then the consumer really wouldn't save enough to justify a drive to save a few hundred dollars.i personally would feel better knowing tige had a suggested retail price that was public.when you hide things it is hard for the consumer to trust you.just my 2 cents.

[Ewok]

I think the best possible senerio would be for the manufactureres to put a bottom line fixed price that nobody could go below and that would solve the problem.

I agree that would fix many of the problems surrounding the mystery of the price. Hopefully that would solve some of the territory disputes as well but some sort of mechanism for dealers to share sales for out of territory purchases would hopefully keep more dealers in business and more local shops for service.

[dom w. forte]

I think the best possible senerio would be for the manufactureres to put a bottom line fixed price that nobody could go below and that would solve the problem.

[Ewok]

That is exactly the right direction, I can't believe Tige didn't do this first, or at least price out the R20 as the entry level boat.

[thtrog]

Axis pricing No Secret!

This may not be exactly on topic...Surprise! You can price an Axis on-line including options, then email for a best price. I think this is what most consumers are looking for before walking into a dealers showroom uneducated.
http://www.wakenskate.com/A20-AXIS-W...20-pricing.htm