Are NEW boat prices getting out of hand?

[Not So Fast]

What amazes me is the prices for Mercury (Mercruiser) engine and drive packages, for example the new HP700 SCi. It lists for $83,210!!!! For this amount you can buy a very nice COMPLETE SUV or Truck or new Corvette ect. and have money left over. These have motors, transmissions, A/C, power windows, doorlocks, disc brakes, nav systems, sound systems, doors, upholstery (leather), well you get the idea, a lot of product other than an engine/drive package. Are they using some special materials? Seems a little out of whack to me, even the HP 525/XR package is over priced by a long shot when you use these comparisons. JMO :frown: NSF

[Magic34]

What amazes me is the prices for Mercury (Mercruiser) engine and drive packages, for example the new HP700 SCi. It lists for $83,210!!!! For this amount you can buy a very nice COMPLETE SUV or Truck or new Corvette ect. and have money left over. These have motors, transmissions, A/C, power windows, doorlocks, disc brakes, nav systems, sound systems, doors, upholstery (leather), well you get the idea, a lot of product other than an engine/drive package. Are they using some special materials? Seems a little out of whack to me, even the HP 525/XR package is over priced by a long shot when you use these comparisons. JMO :frown: NSF
Just to add. I have learned a lot about racing motors over the past months and the Nascar motors in the Cup series and Busch average about 800-850 HP and cost about $40k.

[GunninGopher]

I think that's why they are all building larger boats...there's more profit in it.
My boat is 22'8" long, but a how much more really goes into building a 27 or 28' boat with a single engine? 5-6 more feet of glass and wood, and a little more interior. All the spendy stuff - engine, hardware, drive, gauges, all the same, unless you upgrade the engine of course - but you can do that at any length. I thinks there's got to be a lot more profit in the 27-28' single engine boats than in 21-22' boats.
RTJas
I'm not in the industry, but I think you hit the nail on the head with that one.
Look at the reviews in Hot Boat (The Magazine). Yes, there is a magazine. Why would a builder shell out 10 plus thousand dollars to have a $20,000 boat reviewed, when the same $ will get a $100,000 boat reviewed? I'm not sure of the figures, but it would take a lot of convincing to get me to believe that HB does not charge heavily for getting a review.
So the big boats get all the press, wouldn't seem to be much more expensive to build, and folks can get a loan for it on their home, so they don't have to shell out for the insurance when they buy them.
Hopefully as interest rates continue to rise, and people either spend or lose equity, we'll see prices come down. Hopefully the builders will start competing on the smaller ones, too.

[Say10]

Funny I was just thinking about this the other day. What do you think the profit is in a $100,00 boat? I know there is alot of factors such big biulder, small builder, assembly line, custom. But if you are only building 20-30 boats a year. Living in Ca. profits gotta be good.

[Phat Matt]

Not neccessarily. I see a lot of builders now that are in proper financial situations. Prior to the upward correction many were in pretty bad shape.
I can tell you one thing... the prices of materials, labor, cost of living, rent, shipping and parts have all gone through the roof from a builders perspective. There is no slack in the prices I am seeing people selling for. Most are selling "base models" for lower than our cost to build. Arguably... they are totally different boats with completely different levels of refinement and rigging, but the facts are the facts, and material and equipment cost is through the roof. Not to mention liability insurance (our single biggest cost other than rent), workmans comp, labor etc...
There is less margin than you might imagine.
I am sure the pirce of building a boat has risen over the years. My point was if it was just due to demand, why would they hurt if prices dropped. They wouldn't.

[socalmofo]

I would say 20-30k profit per 100k boat. Just a guess.
If the same builder builds a 24' with a 496ho and a 27cat with a 496HO and all the same Gauges, controls, upholstery, etc. why the HUGE jump in cost? I know 5 feet and another wheel on the Extreme trailer dont add 40k??????
Ultra has a 24' with an HO for $64800 and a 27'cat with a HO for $94900
$25,000 - $30,000+ in extra cost????????

[wsuwrhr]

Just to add. I have learned a lot about racing motors over the past months and the Nascar motors in the Cup series and Busch average about 800-850 HP and cost about $40k.
Could you imagine the uproar of replacing the engine every single time you took the boat out?
Very little of the powertrain is reused untouched again in a Cup car. Many of the components are gone through and/or replaced every race. That is if it didn't go against the wall, or another car during the race.
Too much riding on the outcome.
I do think the 80k is out there though. But mercruiser stuff is pretty bulletproof isnt it?
I have always built my own motors
Brian

[wsuwrhr]

SD told me that all the fluid HOSES and fittings are replaced on a cup car every race. Now that surprised me.
Brian

[wsuwrhr]

I think this thread will get interesting

[Dawn Patrol]

I believe that materials for boats are going up. But I believe that alot of the boat manufacturer's are dumping money back into their companies and creating new molds, stronger materials, faster hulls etc. Look at how many companies have come out with a deck boat. Shockwave, Howard. Nordic came out with a cat and now a 40' vee. This cant be cheap. The process of tooling, design and eventually a boat is very expensive. I just think that the top boat manufactueres are reinvesting their money into R&D.