Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 19, 1995 TAG: 9502180005
SECTION: BOAT SHOW PAGE: BS-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN OUTDOOR EDITOR
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Ed Graves knows boat shows.
He has been chairman of the annual Southwest Virginia Boat Show since 1973 and he has operated Valley Marine Center in Roanoke for 34 years.
One thing Graves knows, boat show really aren't "shows" in the sense they are staged simply to entertain people. For certain, there is an allurement about boats that can make it enjoyable just to look at them with no real intent in buying one.
But boat shows are sponsored by boat dealers, and boat dealers make their living by selling boats.
So if you are a serious boat buyer, think of a boat show as a huge one-stop warehouse of boats, where the buyer can do a lot of comparison shopping and enjoy the best selection and lowest prices he or she is likely to see the reminder of the year. That's Graves' advice.
We asked him for some other tips:
BEST TIME TO COME: "If you are sincerely interested in talking boat buying with a dealer, the best time is anytime Friday and around dinner time on Saturday, when there's always a break around 5-to-7," said Graves. "Sunday is just an extremely busy day."
When the show is crowded, it can be difficult for a buyer to get the information he needs, because sales people may be tied up with other boat show visitors and there is less time for answering questions.
DON'T PLAY GAMES: "Don't tell the dealer you are 'Just looking,' when in reality you are serious about boat buying," said Graves. "Go ahead and tell him you are considering buying a boat at the show and you want to talk seriously about that."
Being honest about interest saves both the buyer and the dealer time, because the dealer quickly can determine whether the person at his display is serious or just on an afternoon lark, Graves said.
KNOW YOUR NEEDS: There is a huge diversity in the boating business, where everything from canoes to cruisers are sold and engines range from 1.5 hp to more than 200 hp.
That makes it important for the buyer to be able to give the dealer a good sketch on what he plans to do with the boat he intends to buy, Graves said.
"Tell the dealer, 'Here's what we intend to do with the boat [ski, fish, cruise, use it on a river or take a large family on a lake]. What do you have that fits our needs?' That's better than a dealer showing someone every boat on the floor, then having them tell you what they need."
COMPETITION IS AN ADVANTAGE: Dealers will be in the show with their very best prices, because their competition is going to be just to the left and right and across the aisle, Graves said. This makes a show a buyers market, and buyers should take advantage of that through comparison shopping.
"Right under one roof there will be several hundred boats," Graves said. "There must be close to 20 percent of those that will fall somewhere close to the market that the buyer wants to be in."
Don't just compare boats, but also check out dealer service and reputation, Graves said.
Dealers will be offering boat-show specials, low-rate financing and special packaging that may not be available after the show. In fact, you can expect prices to go up after the show, Graves said.
"That's almost automatic, because the manufacturers have gone up on the dealers," he said.
This means, if you can find the boat you want in the dealer's inventory, you are apt to be able to buy it at a lower cost than if you ask the dealer to order a boat for you.
Don't be rushed into making a decision. Come back a second time. If you want to sleep on a decision. Ask the dealer for a free pass to be used the next day.
BE READY TO TALK MONEY: You can speed things up if you bring to the show information on your credit and how you plan to finance the boat.
STICK WITH ONE SALES PERSON: Customers may have the best results if they stick with the same sales person in a given show display.
"That's more important to the buyer than the dealer," Graves said.
by CNB