I thought it was interesting, anyhow. Especially since Charles told me they used an entire tank of gas on the 288. That means they were out on the water a LOT!!!
Perhaps more dealers will try this tactic. It seems to make sense - who the Hell wants to plunk down $100K plus for a boat without driving it? Oh I know, we'll take out "pre-qualified" buyers. That means you have to put an App in, so you're pretty much stuck into getting that boat unless you find fault with the sea trial. That seems silly to me. I would much prefer the opportunity to compare some boats by riding each one and picking the best...
Case in point: today I got to borrow a 20' Bayliner bow rider. Nice perk, since I work at a marina, right??? Well I found out that (a) it rode a lot better than I thought it would, and was very very peppy to come up on plane, and (b) were I in the market I could NEVER, EVER buy this boat because the seating position is horrible and extremely uncomfortable, at least to me. Plus the gauges point in all sorts of directions and are difficult to read when standing up. This is not something I would have realized just standing in the boat, but upon my "sea trial" I learned it all very quickly. Now suppose I'm "Joe Customer" and have a credit app in on this boat - what do I do now, after going on a sea trial and finding out there are things about it I don't like compared to other boats? How would I even know there are other boats that ride better, unless I had an opportunity to drive them too? It seems I have an edge in that department, working for a boat dealer. Or having lots of friends with small runabouts...
Perhaps more dealers will try this tactic. It seems to make sense - who the Hell wants to plunk down $100K plus for a boat without driving it? Oh I know, we'll take out "pre-qualified" buyers. That means you have to put an App in, so you're pretty much stuck into getting that boat unless you find fault with the sea trial. That seems silly to me. I would much prefer the opportunity to compare some boats by riding each one and picking the best...
Case in point: today I got to borrow a 20' Bayliner bow rider. Nice perk, since I work at a marina, right??? Well I found out that (a) it rode a lot better than I thought it would, and was very very peppy to come up on plane, and (b) were I in the market I could NEVER, EVER buy this boat because the seating position is horrible and extremely uncomfortable, at least to me. Plus the gauges point in all sorts of directions and are difficult to read when standing up. This is not something I would have realized just standing in the boat, but upon my "sea trial" I learned it all very quickly. Now suppose I'm "Joe Customer" and have a credit app in on this boat - what do I do now, after going on a sea trial and finding out there are things about it I don't like compared to other boats? How would I even know there are other boats that ride better, unless I had an opportunity to drive them too? It seems I have an edge in that department, working for a boat dealer. Or having lots of friends with small runabouts...