Test Drives

[Mike Fischer]

Hey Guys,

I am in the market for a boat, at least in the near future, and I visited a Bass Pro store in St. Louis yesterday and I asked the salesperson if they offered any kind of test drives on new boats. He said they don't, which sounded ok being that they aren't near any sort of lake. I called Bass Pro in Branson, b/c I know it is situated on Lake Taneycomo, and they too said they "don't do test drives". Is this normal? I like the look of the X5, but it seems like a big purchase to not even be able to take for a quick spin on some body of water.

Any X5 owners out there get to test drive their boats before purchase?

 

[Chris Castineira]

That's pretty much the standard, kind of like Harley Davidsons. Kind of stinks but I can understand their reasoning.



CHRIS CAS

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

Used to be that the NITRO State Team was required to give test drives in their boats. That is still the case last I heard. Might be tough finding an X5 State Team guy but it's worth a try. Call the store and the person who handles the State Team.



TOXIC

 

[Bryan McDonough]

See if they can get you in contact with a current customer of an X5.

 

[Mike Fischer]

What is the reasoning? I've never bought a 2nd vehicle like this, only cars.

 

[Jody Woodruff]

I wouldn't want to buy a new boat that had been "demo'd" numerous times and I would imagine if they offered demos that would be the case. I would bet their reasons are insurance and the cost associated with it.

 

[TritonGlenn]

There could be tons of reasons. Here are a few that I can think of:



1) If you are going to buy a car and you want to test drive it, they normally (if they are smart) will check your drivers license or make a copy of it before hand. Wasn't always the case (and still isn't everywhere), but even if you don't have one - most people that are going to plunk down a sum of cash on a car have a drivers license. Without one, I don't even think you can complete the registration. So to buy a car, you have more than likely either driven your own in the past, or at least had some instruction ahead of time.



But any yahoo can come in off the street to buy a boat. No license required in most states, and tons of new boat buyers have exactly "O" experience behind the wheel of a boat. Throw in a high performance rig and you are looking to either:

a) Spend a lot of time teaching a new buyer how to drive a boat

b) Watch that new buyer tear up that new boat

c) Both



Factor in how many times a day a customer would come in for a test drive if everyone gave them. You would probably have to have a person just live on the lake with test boats. :lol:



2) The economy. Gas prices on the rise again ($2.60 a gallon for regular where I live). If the lake isn't close, a dealer could spend several hundred dollars per day (on a slow day) in tow vehicle costs and boat gas / oil costs. Even if the lake is close, outboards drink gas like a alcoholic drinks alcohol. Even the Optimax that I have on my boat, which is relatively fuel efficient, is still a gas hog compared to what a car or truck gets in gas mileage.



3) Lookie-Lou's. No money, bad-credit, can't even afford their house payment, but bored on a Sunday morning type of people. How do you justify taking Joe for a test drive, but not John. John's a potential customer too (at least in his eyes, even though he doesn't have a dime to his name). So if you give to one but not another, the guy who probably can't afford the oil costs for the boat, let alone the boat payment, will sue for discrimination. Oh, and don't discount Joe either. He slipped on the ramp when getting into the boat and now he wants to sue too. Which brings me to my next subject...



4) Lawsuits. Liability. Maybe with all the scum bags that hired lawyers to sue a business that was actually doing them a favor to begin with ruined it for the rest of us. The company they sued had no involvement with the accident the person got into, but the guy won the lawsuit anyway due to a sympathetic (read - "dumb") jury. Now the company can't afford the liability insurance required to take their customers out on a test drive.



5) Volume of sales and business practices. I like "Mom and Pop" boat dealerships that are just large enough to give you a decent price due to their volume, but at the same time, have just the right amount of customers that they can spend that much time with their new boat buyers and actually take them for a boat ride prior to the sale. Heck, I bought my current boat from a place called "Pops". Don't get more "Mom and Pop" than that, does it? But the truth of the matter is - Tracker Marine / BPS sells more boats on a daily basis than a lot of those businesses put together. They have a wide selection, big showroom, and the price points draw in their customer base. Not to say that I think they have the best deal on prices, but I've seen them sell a 90 on a boat rated for a max of 115, drop the price tag a bit lower than the competitor down the street, and sell 5 of them before the mom and pop store sells one. Most (not all) of the mom and pop stores I've dealt with put max hp on the boats they sell. If it's rated for a 150, it gets a 150, not a 135 and a lower price sticker. Speed isn't important to everyone. Some are perfectly content with a lower hp engine than max rated hp, and that is fine. Nothing wrong with that at all. Tracker marine turns that demographic's wants into sales... and they do it frequently.



These are just my opinions, but think about what I wrote and hopefully you will understand a bit why Tracker (and some other dealerships of other brands as well) no longer give test rides.



All the best,

Glenn

 

[TritonGlenn]

Woody summed up in two sentences what it took me all that time to write. :lol: I think I'm lonely. :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:



All the best,

Glenn

 

[Jimmy Easterling]

Knowing what I know now about my Z6, I would have found a way to buy the Z7 or Z8. Demo drive would be nice but I fully understand why not new boat demo drives.

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

That's why the State Team guys are required to do it. They have to carry a minimum amount of insurance, 1 million in liability to be exact (so do I because I give seminars) and show Tracker/BPS as an additional insured. They get the discount on their boats to make up for the wear and tear as well as working shows, etc., at least it was that way when I was on the State Team and I gave my share of demo's........ BUT....If I was not comfortable with them, they didn't get behind the wheel. It was more to show the bells and whistles and how the boat would perform with me driving it. I also did the same thing after the sale with a customers boat. Meet them at the lake and show them how to operate their boat!!



TOXIC

 

[TOMMY RICH]

Never understood it myself...insurance issues or not.

Even if you need to have them with you for a test drive.

They're not gonna get a check from a Credit Union until you take delivery anyway.

I know



Shouldn't be any different than a car...I'm not buyin' it unless I can drive it.

My dealership let me take my truck for the weekend before I bought it

 

[Eddie Payne]

Mike here is a link to a discussion over on Bass Boat Central. The post by Matt E. is excellent. I now have Matt's old Z-7.



http://bbcboards.zeroforum.com/zerothread/417063-anyone-running-an-x-5

 

[Mike Fischer]

hey thanks for the blog post, that is some really good information. I think I'm going to watch BPS for some closeout deals on the X5. The BPS in St. Louis just brought a 2008 750 up and it was listed for 18,999 with a 115Opti... its too long for my garage, but the X5 is perfect. Thanks for the information!!

 

[TrepMan]

I bought my 2000 Tracker PC 175 w/out a test drive, and loved the boat. My '99 Nitro I had fished out of with Rich and told him to call me if he ever sold it, which he did, and they like a great friend FORCED me to look it over in detail and take a test drive before I agreed to buy it from him. It seems more common for used boats then new, due to the information above. The great thing about the internet and ALL the message boards, is its EASY to find someone in your area with the boat you are looking for, unless its a brand new model, and hopefully you can find someone to take you out.



I did this for Tex Transplant when he found his Stratos from the internet 5 mins from me, test drove it for him, which helped him decide to buy it (and I did not know the seller at all).

 

[Eric Aasen]

When I was looking for boats, I got a test drive in a brand new Ranger 188. I didn't end up buying that boat but I thought the test drive was a very nice touch. Gary Dobyns called and set up the price and test drive so maybe I had an in with the management but I think all our dealers out here give test drives to serious buyers.



NoCAL

 

[Mike Tosello]

You cant test drive a new boat, New motors need to be broken in within factory specs.. Some at idle speeds for a cetain period of time and never over suggested RPM's until the break-in period is over.



Mike