Remember the auto industry after 9-11? That's when factory rebates in the industry began to spike. Soon after, never-before-seen 0% financing landed.
Both programs were a good way to spur sales in an economic slowdown and move dealer inventory, and it worked – for a time.
Some analysts called the incentives a "market correction" for prices that were inflated to begin with. Either way, customers won.
Auto incentives today are better than they've ever been. The automakers aren't battling a terrorist attack this time around. Instead, they're combating high fuel prices, and the past few weeks, the Wall Street crisis and the looming fear that credit sources might dry up – especially for higher-risk borrowers.
BassFans who've watched the boat market this year know it's the slowest in memory, with 2009 projections just as dismal. While the bass-boat market, according to manufacturers, continues to hold its own, the saltwater and pleasure markets are a shadow of what they were even a year ago.
What that means is that similar to the auto industry, boat manufacturers have stepped up their sales incentives. And for folks who can afford boats, right now is a great time to buy.
Contingency Spike
Before discussing the latest round of incentive offers, it's worth noting that the boat industry witnessed a contingency escalation earlier this year. Each major bass-boat and engine manufacturer now offers a healthy owner-incentive program tied to tournament competition.
No matter which boat brand you choose, you'll have some reward for winning a tournament (depending, of course, on the model purchased).
Ranger to date has awarded more than $3 million through its Ranger Cup program. Triton rolled out huge contingencies this year above its standard Triton Gold program, and also awards a boat to Triton owners who win a Western FLW Series. Skeeter has its Real Money program that it upped this year. There's Bass Cat Quest, and Tracker, Nitro and ProCraft pay contingency money through the Bass Pro Shops Tournament Rewards program.
Yamaha and Evinrude also upped their contingency monies this year.
Still, the boat market remains a tough one, so it's no surprise to see more aggressive sales promotions this fall.
Cash-Back Deals
A few manufacturers recently announced rebate programs similar to what's seen in the auto industry.
Rebates can give buyers some flexibility when they structure their boat deals. Some choose to apply it to the downpayment – a good way to get into a boat with less down, or to save interest over the life of the loan. In the case of the latter, the rebate becomes larger than the initial sum, when interest savings are considered.
Rebate money can also be used to option up and select items a buyer would normally pass on.
A rebate might also be used to purchase additional warranty time, insurance, or a buyer could simply pocket it and put it toward gas (or a vacation for the wife or husband who won't necessarily share in the joy of the boat).
Triton recently announced the Fall Into Cash program in which new-boat buyers will receive up to $3,500 cash back on select models. Here are a few of the details.
Buyers who purchase top-end, 21-foot, 2008 model-year boats with a Mercury 250 Pro XS get $3,500 cash back, while 20-foot models with a 250 Pro XS generally pay $3,000 back.
Triton's cash-back deals extend down through smaller models and different engine choices, where cash back ranges from $1,000 to $2,000. Triton's also giving cash back on '08 saltwater models.
In general, customers must take delivery from dealer stock before Nov. 1 to receive the maximum rebate.
Skeeter also recently announced a cash-back program that it calls Get Bit, Save Big. Buyers who purchase a new top-end Skeeter can receive $2,500 cash back, while other models pay from $500 to $2,000 back.
Notable is that Skeeter's promotion applies to dealer orders as well as dealer stock. The program ends Nov. 17.
The Suzuki's Got You Covered! promotion offers buyers 6 years of warranty and service coverage at no extra cost.
Lund is also offering cash back through its Catch of the Year program. There, totals range from $300 to $1,500.
G3's Great American Boat Sale offers up to $1,000 cash back on fishing boats, and up to $2,000 back on pontoons.
Other Incentives
Some companies don't currently offer cash-back deals, but do offer substantial buying incentives.
Yamaha once again instituted its Why Wait? Buy Now promotion, which rewards buyers with either a 3-year Y.E.S. warranty contract, or a credit toward Yamaha goods (like Yamamlube oil).
But Yamaha last week announced an additional incentive that somewhat mirrors the auto industry – zero down, zero interest and zero payments until January 2010 on many of its smaller outboards. Financing must be arranged through Yamaha.
The Why Wait? Buy Now program ends Dec. 1, while the 0% promotion ends Dec. 22.
Mercury Marine's 5&Drive promotion, which ends in April 2009, tacks several years onto the standard factory warranty period.
Buyers who purchase most Mercury Verado and OptiMax engines receive an additional 2 years of factory warranty, for a total of 5 years. Jet-drive and 2-stroke buyers also receive an addition 2 years of warranty.
Evinrude's Take Command sales event, launched in conjunction with its 100th anniversary, likewise extends service contracts to 5 years on new-engine purchases (a $2,500 value). But it also tacks an I-Command digital-gauge package onto some engine purchases (a $1,200 value).
Honda's got a program working too. Its program, which ends Sept. 30, focuses on financing and offers financing rates down to 6.49% for qualified buyers, plus no interest or payments for the first 90 days. For the details, click here to open a pdf file.
Suzuki offers engine buyers its Suzuki's Got You Covered! incentive program, whereby customers who purchase a new engine get Suzuki's 3-year limited warranty plus 3-year extended protection plan at no extra charge. In other words – 6 years of coverage.
Ranger's fall promotion, titled We'll Cover Your Deal, rewards new-boat buyers with a free deluxe boat cover (a $950 value) and a free Ranger Owners Group membership (a $125 value). Since most buyers would purchase the cover anyway, look at it like a $1,000 rebate written into the boat deal.
Lastly, the Tracker Marine Group, which includes Tracker, Nitro and ProCraft, is running a clearing event called the 2008 Model Countdown Clearance that offers savings of up to $2,000 on various 2008 model-year boats.
Notable
> BassFan asked Bass Cat president Rick Pierce whether the company would again offer incentives this fall. "We'll probably have something to announce by November, but to tell you the truth, we don't have much inventory," he said. "Our inventory's the lowest it's been in 7 years, which is good, so that's why there's no immediate rush to put incentives on it."
