CONTINUOUSWAVE

I was daydreaming about buying a 405 CONQUEST boat--whose cost is about ten times more than I could ever spend on a boat--and I noticed Boston Whaler no longer lists the MSRP on the website or with the BUILD-AND-BUILD tool.

I'm not even remotely a serious shopper for this boat, but I am curious on pricing.

https://www.bostonwhaler.com/build-and-price.html

When you get to the $734,000 models, price is not shown.

If you need to know the MSRP, you can't afford it.

Adding to the pain is the lack of any flexibility in out-the -door prices. A buyer will be lucky to get a basic Coast Guard safety kit and ground tackle without a extra charge. Dealer administrative fees remain non-negotiable. It is now most certainly a seller's market.

I'm a pretty good negotiator. I bet for $734,000, I can get them to throw in a galvanized danforth anchor. Maybe even one of those Walmart orange PFDs.

;-)

For me, the MSRP for a boat better be expressed in just five digits, and the first digit should not be greater than five.

As for dealers who are ordering these very expensive Boston Whaler larger boats on speculation--that is, not to fulfill an already signed purchase order from a customer but just to have on their showroom floor--I have to admire their optimism. Or maybe they are just savvy dealers who know what products can demand the highest prices.

Also, I think most of these really expensive boats are bought with a downpayment, a loan, and a monthly payment. There seems to be a lot of two-year-old $400,000 Boston Whaler boats on the used market these days.

I was trying to lookup statistics for exotic car purchases: what percent are loans vs. cash. My thought was they were mostly cash, because who would buy a $300k Ferrari F12 unless you had mountains of cash. But... I might be wrong. I can't find the data. I assumed boat purchases (high $) would also be cash, but probably not. There are so many high-dollar boats running around, it's hard to fathom that there are that many uber-wealthy people in the world. But, there are.

My wife and I are dreaming of retiring and living on a Trawler, and that's about the only time I could consider spending more than $100,000 on a boat. But, times change, incomes change, so who knows.

From my interaction with owners:

Buyers who have stepped up from a classic or post-classic model to a new model purchase with cash.

Buyers that are new to Whaler, and to boating in general, finance purchases of 17' and larger models ($35,000 and up).