Jupiter Sunsation

Banks are going to need a few years to forget about the beatings they took on boats, airplanes, rvs and other toys. The housing bust was hard enough on them and those "assets" couldn't move/get stolen/stripped etc.

I recently heard of a guy with 20MM in assets get turned down on a new 4MM yacht with a 1MM downpayment. Bank didn't want the risk, if it repo'd the yacht the 1MM wouldn't even cover year 1 depreciation. Buyer didn't want to pay cash for it, thought cash was way more important than a boat so NO SALE.

bms26

Prices have got to come down on new boats. In the last 10 years boat prices have sky rocketed! The average joe blow could only afford a new boat because of the crazy (dumb) 10 - 20 year loans the banks were offering. This is what got the boat industry in trouble in the 1st place. Now that banks are not financing anyone for crazy long terms, things are going to have to change.... 28 ft single engine's for over 125k ? Come on, how many "normal" people can afford that?

Baja555

Fountain should have worried about making his boats more affordable rather than trying to prove how fast they are to everyone.. then maybe the company wouldnt be bankrupt.. just my 2 cents..

Jassman

The price of materials also would have to come down... and I do not see that in the future. I know resin has gone up approx. 35% since 06... To many factors, and to be honest, if these builders were making so much money over the top, even with slow sales, why are the majority of them out of business. Tough times right now, but I do see a light at the end of the tunnel.

seafordguy

Maybe it will stabiliize when NEW boats are sold to people who can actually afford NEW boats. Part of affording a new boat is covering the depreciation hit. That's what Nortech, CIG and OL do - sell boats to clients that can afford them.

Back4More

Speaking of prices coming down....Merc needs to drop its ridiculous pricing.

offshoredrillin

Exactly Eric! the whole conundrum of the boat market directly ties into everything else in this economy, living within ones means. There are aspects of the economy that live on credit and it isnt necessarily a bad thing, otherwise no one would be able to own any large item/purchase, but it has to be managed. Consumers need "skin in the game" higher down payments, better credit and actually being able to afford a boat. it makes me realize at times that people don't think about the actual costs of ownership, not just the purchase price.

39 Unlimited

Here's the problem:


Government can’t print money properly
B]Because of a problem with the presses, the federal government has shut down production of its flashy new $100 bills[/B]

Baja_man

I can't speak for the 4 brands listed but I know Sunsation has sold at least 14 boats over the last year.

Also here in the midwest RV's are still selling surprising well. The mark up on them is thru the roof too.

US1 Fountain

iTrader: (1)

Not sure about that. More affordable would translate to cheaper quality/build. There are tons of affordable brands, several middle range, then a few high end.

.