25 Outlaw shopping

[saleen367]

Ok,
I've started a thread on this back in Jan. but I can't find it again.

I shopped around in Jan. - Feb. for a 25 Outlaw and thought I had one pegged. Then the war in Iraq hit and all things came to a halt.

Now things have cooled off and I'm shopping again. I thought I remember many people on here telling me that I should have no problem with a cash buy 25 Outlaw around $57k including trailer.
Sound reasonable?

I ran 57- 60k past the local dealer today and he said not a chance. It's his last 25 arriving soon. I hate to go somewhere else and then rely on this guy for service because he balked at a couple grand.

Am I being unreasonable thinking $60k?:rolleyes

Jeff

[bajacraig]

25s are not my thing but a quick look at boat trader and with an 02 with the 375hp Mag for $54,900 and with 2, 02s with HOs, one with a procharger for under $60,000 I would think your where you want to be.

But I do know how it feels on having the service hanging over your head, that sucks.

I take it she would be new and have an HO? Do you have an idea on how the sales are doing for the dealer?

I will tell you, I worked on my dealer for 6 months to get the price I wanted. Just don't let them know how much you want it, when they smell blood...... they've got ya:evil

[Baja232]

Over the winter my local dealer had both a 25 Outlaw and a 272 for sale at $57k, but neither had a trailer. However, this is coming from a dealer whom I've never been able to work a deal with, as they are usually on the high side.

Therefore, I believe you are on the money. Keep shopping.

Dan Burgess

[TeamBajaMarine]

Jeff,
I have to voice my opinion here, for the money you have posted that you want to drop on a 25 Outlaw, you should have no problem (probably not an SST if new), the dealer is obviously on glue and holding out. This is what happens with supply and demand, you say he only has (1) 25 Outlaw left, what kind of dealer only has 1 boat left in the spring? My guys around here are overloaded with Baja's and are willing to deal. Personally I would go elsewhere, screw the dealer and if you have any problems if you buy new, he is obligated by the Baja Factory Warranty to fix your boat, If you go used without a warranty, go to any competent shop that wont rip you off. I think this dealer is a schmo for saying 'not a chance' Everything is negotiable! Shop around and you will find that bad boy 25 Outlaw for that kind of money, new or used.

I have shopped around and their are dealers around the country that are thousands above others, because they can get it, they dont have to haggle, but in some areas of the country, moving boats is tough. Again, I say fly or drive to get the boat you want for the money you want to spend, its out there, brother. Everyone knows my 25 Outlaw story that I flew to Michigan (from New York) to buy, and I love my used Outlaw with zero problems after 2 years of ownership. Good Luck!

[davesoutlaw]

Jeff
I had the same problem with my dealer not wanting to budge he said the 25 outlaw is bajas hottest selling boat and does not have to deal on it because he will get the asking price for it. What you might want to do is call baja and see if they have any promotions going on or any rebates. I got a 2,500 rebat on my new 02 outlaw.Good Luck

[saleen367]

:) Appreciate everyones input.

I gotta say ... I started talking with two separate dealers this morning and went from mid 60's to only 62k.
I think they both think I gotta have their boat.
I'll admit ... the one offer, had it been a different color combo on the SST graphics I probably would have considered it. But blue, blue and dove just doesn't sit well with me.

I'm going to start calling dealers nationwide and see who will give me the best price considering the drive I would have to make to pick it up.

I was hoping that I would get a dealer willing to go $59, but the ones around here have supposedly moved 3 - 25's already. Then there is Hawk in IA. I couldn't get them to budge at all. The salesperson even said "good luck and enjoy your new boat" when i told them they were easily $3500 overpriced.

Thanks again ... and anyone that knows of a dealer willing to go 59k on a new 25, email me @ JSaleen367@charter.net

[TeamBajaMarine]

Saleen,
I am gonna send you over to my friends at Channel Marine in New Hampshire, I have fowarded your email to my friend Kory Keenan, he should be in touch. Lets see what he can do for you.

[Baja340SF]

Blake,
Thats funny you say that.........as i was reading his last response i was thinking that maybe id call Jim Piscetta over at Channel tomorrow to see what they have in stock and to see if his pricing is in order.
They are good people at Channel and Jim is a NO Bullshyte type of guy!
Good luck with your search saleen!

Also......look all over. I too found MY deal at a distant dealer. I drove to Ohio from Boston to buy mine!

[TeamBajaMarine]

I was at the Boston Boat show representing TBM and they were great hosts! I had a great time with everyone from Channel, Jim is defiantely a character, but a good businessman and Kory is simply just a funny guy, but again a good knowledgeable salesman.

[Bajaman81190TC]

As far as Hawkey in IA. You'll pay more but you'll get service after the sale.

A buddy has his on consignment there. It's a low hour 25 with a 496 mag HO. I'm not sure if he is contracted with them or not. You'll save 5 grand by going directly to him and skipping the dealer. He's in the middle of a career change and needs cash. Let me know if your interested, leave me your email address and I can email you pics.

Brian

[Baja Boss]

Call Westport Marina on Lake Norman and ask for Ellis Winton.

Tell him Dock Holiday sent you. He can do it based on the prices he has quoted me in conversation. They are new with Baja and really wanting to sell some boats.

Ellis has a 25 Outlaw of his on with the really cool "Team Baja" graphics fro Kangaroo Graphics.

Interesting, I spoke to him yesterday because a friend wants a new 30 Outlaw. He said no problem, around $100,000 and with an order today he could deliver late July to early August!

http://www.boatwestportmarina.com/home.htm

Good luck

[saleen367]

Thanks to all who have given me references.

I've been in touch with Casey Freeman and he's working on prices for 3 different boats.

I called Ellis at Westport Marina and was quoted $66700 with trailer. Far cry from $60k. No fault to you Dock, I appreicate the effort.

I'll keep working till I find one that pans out.

[Reload]

just to give you an idea of prices, up her in Minnesota a new 25 outlaw sst with 496mag ho and trailer are going for $70k.

[srpbaer]

Saleen...Did you get my PM???? If not give me a e-mail at srpbaer@yahoo.com...My dealer has a 25 Outlaw sitting on the showroom...Mag ho and loaded...I spoke with him briefly...I will give you has name and number to call. Yours numbers are not far off his ....:b

[CDM]

Saleen,

I have a 2002 25 Outlaw with 496 mag and matching RR trailer for you. SST package red, black and yellow. Many many options. Email me and I will send you pictures if you are interested.

cdmooney@bellhelicopter.textron.com

[JB Outlaw]

We had the same problem 2 years ago. We had to travel 4 hours each way to find a new 25 SST with a 502 mag for $60K. Since then both our local dealer and the dealer we purchased the boat from has lost the Baja line. RC Congel who is located in both Syracuse and Alexandria Bay, NY has been advertising some great prices on Baja's. Just a few months ago they had a 29 Outlaw with 7.4's for $70K. I am not sure where you are from but if you are interested in them let me Know and I will dig up there Phone number.

[TeamBajaMarine]

FYI,
If you go to the DEALER NETWORK (http://teambajamarine.com/dealernetwork.html) link within the website, you can check out whos got what and pricing online. This is sorted by state with phone numbers also.

[TeamBajaMarine]

I happen to be surfing and here is an almost new 2002 Outlaw 25 SST with a 496HO / 425 HP for $54K and this can be negotiated down to $50K cash, thats how we do it in NY.www.oceanoutboard.com/index2.htm (http://www.oceanoutboard.com/index2.htm)

[saleen367]

:rollin

It appears a deal has finally been struck.

Will know more by this time tomorrow night if my 0% financing has been approved.

With any luck, we'll be on the river for the Memorial Day Weekend.

By the way, anyone else looking for a 25 Outlaw that is looking for a rock bottom price, look to IBC in TX. Unfortunately they didn't have the color graphics that I preferred, but great prices they do.

[zskipro]

I just a purchased a 03 25 SST with a 496 HO and matching trailer for 59k. That's the right price!!! If my dealer can sell it for that then everyone else should.....:hat

[saleen367]

OK ... deal is now off.

Apparently Baja will not extend the incentives to out of territory customers. So if I want the boat I get no rebate or 0% interest whichever I would have chosen. Keep in mind this is because the Outlaw my dealer has coming is blues and dove. It may look nice in the water but I wouldn't know yet. I'm looking for something a bit more striking.

This is close to leading me to another manufacturer. I have never seen a company so concerned over their dealer network that they are willing to turn away customers over it. Seems there are more customers than boats so we can weed out the ones that don't fit into the demographic area that they need.

I don't get it ... I'm gonna check on a Nordic Rage.

[TeamBajaMarine]

Saleeen,
can you explain what the out of territory means? I dont know about the Nordic, If I were to choose a different manufactuer, I would probably go Sonic 26 Prowler or Sunsation.

[luxy60]

Jeff,
You might want to take another look at the blue, blue ,dove colors. Color is a very personal preference thing but I got the same color scheme on my 2000 '25 and I really like it. I bought the boat sight unseen but was really happy when I finally saw it (picture in owners rides section). Even the guys at the dealership were impressed because the former sales manager used to go for the wild colors, lots of purples! The dove is really a silver and with the dark and medium blues it is a nice combo, in my opinion.

As Blake recommended the Sunsation is another great choice except they start at '28. No '25 available. I'm not very familar with the west coast boats but two other solid '25 deep vee's to consider would be Velocity (fast) and Pantera (built like a tank).

Keep us posted.

Tony

[eddie]

This is normal for a dealer not to be able to offer programs for selling out of his area. Baja isn't the only one that does this. They have to protect the people that represent them. I know it doesn't seem fair, you can't help the boat they ordered isn't the colors you want.

[saleen367]

Seems dealers have set territories that are assigned by Baja. When a customer buys a boat out of territory, the selling dealer has to then pay the proper territory dealer a fee. If I'm not mistaken, the selling dealer has to pay the rebate or interest buydown if the incentives were given: around $2500 either way.
It was explained by a Rep, and I'm sure its a good thing to protect dealers from having one dealer undercut all prices.

That being said, it still makes no sense that a customer cannot pick a different color scheme from a competing dealer and theoretically have to pay more. I'm all for helping the dealers so we can all have dealerships that stick around for years. But when it costs the CUSTOMER instead of the Company, it becomes self defeating.

It would be much the same as me driving 20 miles for a different colored Ford or Chevy and having to pay more, because the manufacturers were not offering rebates to anyone leaving the area of their local dealership.

I think Baja needs to rethink their strategy a bit.

As for the blue theme, I'm definitely going to look at it before making any decisions. Problem is, blue has never been my color of choice. I have always been a red, deep violet, lime, etc. I took a look at yours Tony and I do like it. But yours has the silver (dove) in the front of the graphics, were this one is in the back.
Colors are as follows:1.white 2. brilliant blue 3. dove 4. E. blue

[luxy60]

The only other option is to see if your local dealer could work a swap or buy the boat from the other dealer. It's a small dealer community and maybe they could work something out between them so you get the boat you want and a fair deal for everyone. Just something to try and incent them if you might otherwise walk away and buy a different manufacturers boat. You'll probably pay a bit more than a straight deal but it's worth it if you get the boat you want. My dealer had to locate a 2000 at another dealer because I just wouldn't pay what he wanted for the 2001 he had in his inventory. I saved approx. 10K and he sold a boat and got a satisfied customer (I use the dealership for service & storage).

[ckmansell]

Ok, let me get this straight. I have read all the posts above. The biggest difference I saw was the Hawkeye dealer where you were $3500 apart. All the others appeared to read a thousand or two. If you can't close the deal when you are only a couple thousand apart, then I would say either the dealer did not want to sell the boat very bad or the customer doen't want it very bad. Even at the $3500, at 0% that is only $19 bucks to your payment. Big whoop!! Let me give you a piece of advise before you go jet setting across the country to buy a boat. I do not know where you live or boat. But it is were you boat that counts. Buy your boat there! I read the above post that says all Baja dealers must honor the warranty and that is true. But lets say it is Memorial day weekend and you break on Sat morning. Reality is, even though he will fix your boat under warranty, his customers will come first!! Even if they got there after you! This leaves you setting at he dock. I know this seems unfair, but think about it. Who should he be taking care of first? There are also hidden advantages. For instance, after your boat is out of warranty and something breaks, they are more likely to trouble shoot it with you in casual conversation since you are such a loyal customer. They may even give you info that allows you to fix it yourself, saving you money. Here is an example, my 272 broke few years back. They couldn't get it fixed right away, so the dealership gave me and my family a new 342 to use for the weekend. The next weekend, the parts still were not in, so I got a 302 to use. I am not the only customer they have done this for. I don't know about you, but I feel that kind of service is worth a few bucks extra on my payment. Just my 2 cents.

[TeamBajaMarine]

ck,
good post, makes sense. I dont know of any dealers that would offer the boat loaner around here in New York, for that matter I dont know of anyy dealers that would do that. I would say you have an exception to the rule dealer.

[Ric 232]

I agree. My local dealer would give me a crappy deal and then follow-up with crappy service.

[ckmansell]

Yea, I am finding out that the boat loaner deal is very uncommon. But I am glad he does it. You have another member on here, Joe Lino with a 40 outlaw (WetZone). As an example, Joe and I have the same dealer. His 40 went down last summer and had to be sent back to the factory for repairs. The dealer and Baja worked out a deal where Joe got a .38 Special to use all summer. I am sure he will testify that he his glad he bought his boat from his local dealer.
Curt

[Bajaman81190TC]

I'm going to have to chime in here and give my story about the two baja dealers in our area. Highway 61 marine which is an hour away and Hawkeye Marine which is 3 1/2 hour away.

I have three boating friends that have bought new Baja from 61 based purely on the fact that they could buy them cheaper than at Hawkeye. Even though they where sugested to go buy at Hawkeye by happy Hawkeye customer. All three have had warrantee issues and have had exptremely poor service if any at all from 61. All three have now turned to Hawkeye for help. They where more than happy to help and extremely helpfull about it. I don't believe they are giving the level of service that they would be if the boats where boat there. But a thousand times better than the dealer these boats where bought from. That's what I call taking care of people. I've never bought a boat from them yet they still treat me like family ever time I'm there.

Just this weekend I met some new Baja owners at the beach. First thing I asked was "did you buy it at 61 or Hawkeye". The guy immediatly starts bitching about how mad he is at 61 and what a crock they are. I just smiled and said you should have bought it at Hawkeye.

Don't be scared off by a little higher price if the dealer will take care of you after the sale. The cut through price isn't always the best.

Brian

[DCH1]

Saleen:

Have been where you are. I found that I could and DID get the incentives by finding ONE dealer with a great boat and a great price and sticking with him. I did this through the net. If the "local" dealer knows you shopped him and then moved out of his territory, he will skwawk to Baja and force the other dealer to reimburse the dealer share of the incentive. This tends to cool the ardor of dealers to put in for Baja incentives for out-of-area customers. It ain't good, but it's the way it works!

On service, Baja WILL work with non-Baja certified Merc shops on warranty issues. But they want to pre-approve the work. It isn't a perfect arrangement because the emchanic needs to take apart and trouble-shoot twice! And Baja wants your dealer to order the parts and then send it to the tech you're using. Also not perfect, but workable.

On the other hand, a two grand difference on a $60 grand boat is really about NO difference. Have the dealer throw in a bunch of small extras and close your deal! Get it in writing. I did! Like getting a pile of free life jackets, changes in instrumentation, new mooring covers, custom bimini top, discount on extended warranties, a better trailer, etc. Only a crazy dealer will refuse to work with you over two grand.

DCH

[saleen367]

:D Well, we finally got Baja to agree to allow us the 0% program from a dealer out of our area. This happened on Wed. and we picked up our 25 Outlaw last night.

Thanks to everyone who has helped us locate a graphics pkg and price to our liking.

[TeamBajaMarine]

Saleen,
Lets hear about the deal you got. Dealer recommendations and such.

[saleen367]

Ok, I'll do my best to address the questions from past posters as well as telling what happened.

1st and foremost, I wasn't hung up on the deal based on $2k or any amount of money. Hawkeye actually gave the better deal, money wise by $100.
The problem and only problem was this:
The 25 that was coming into 61 was a color I did not care for at all. If it was one I liked I would have chosen 61 for the convienence of being 70 miles versus 200. The dealers would not do a dealer trade/swap; I asked them and the Baja Rep.
I was actually asked by the Rep if I would wait till the boat at 61 marine arrived so I could see it in person and make up my mind that way instead of using the design studio online. I did. And I also waited through Memorial Day weekend because the transporter broke down an hour away from 61 Marine on the Thursday before.
I didn't like the colors and only then would the Baja Rep approve the deal for me getting the 0% money. So it wasn't about a difference of $19 in a payment. It was about a difference of $170/mo.
Even after the deal was final, the finance person at Hawkeye was still trying to sell me on their in house finance rate with taking the rebate saying it would save me $100 overall. I figured it on the computer and it would cost me $700 more and I would lose all the buydown power of 0%.
Anyhow, in the end we got the color we wanted. We paid a fair price and got home at 3:15AM Saturday morning from Dubuque towing it home. What a haul North on US Hwy 52 out of Dubuque at midnight!
Scott at Hawkeye called me while we were on the river yesterday to make sure things were OK and I don't expect service to stop there.
Jeff from 61 Marine has always been very good to me, yet I can't remember a time when anyone that sold me anything stuck around till 11PM on a Friday night to deliver it - Scott at Hawkeye was obviously a great guy.

[TeamBajaMarine]

Good story,
I have heard nothing but good things about Hawkeye. Good Luck with the new boat.

[Bajaman81190TC]

You must be pretty close to me. Where do you live and boat?

Glad Hawkeye came through for you. like I said customer service is second to none there.

Leave me your email. Where putting on a big poker run on the Upper Mississippi on pools 4 and 5.

Brian

[saleen367]

Brian,

I live in Rochester and boat from the Wabasha/Lake City area.

I was thinking of going to the Poker Run put on by Hawkeye this coming weekend, but I couldn't get away from work on Friday.

Let me know what you have coming up. I know of a few others that may be interested as well.

Jeff
JSaleen367@charter.net

[missouri]

People shopping on the net is what busted My River Home Baja just outside of St.Louis.....that and they couldn't compete with Big Thunder....

I personally would go for the best price, thats like paying 3-4 grand up front for service and it's not like they don't get paid for warrantee work....

I wonder how come Baja didn't worry about MRH customers going to BT since they are so concerned about out of area!

[Bajaman81190TC]

There are a bunch of us from Roch. and the surrounding areas that boat out of Great River Harbor in Alma, WI.

Wish I'd have know you where here in town. My buddy that's selling his 25 outlaw lives right in County club manor.

We are putting on a big poker run on pools 4 and 5. It will be aug 16th. Leave me your email and I'll send you all the info.

Brian
Caincando1