Manitou Prices

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SL7732
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Joined: Thu Jun 30, 2011 8:29 am
Location: Kennesaw, Georgia

Manitou Prices

#1 Post by SL7732 » Thu Jun 30, 2011 6:21 pm

I currently have a 2009 22ft 2 toon Oasis that I'm going to trade in for a new 25ft 3 toon SE VP Oasis with a 150 Evinrude. Problem is determining if the dealer is offering the new boat at a good price. Not many manufactures provide a "list or MSRP" price and not many dealers list the price in web adverts and we all know the dealers are out for the best interest of the customers.... I have looked at the NADA boat price guide but have the same problem, is the "list" price accurate.

Any words of wisdom from the experienced boat buyers?
2009 22ft Manitou Oasis 2 Toon
90HP Evinrude

Bamaman
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Joined: Fri May 06, 2011 1:44 pm
Location: NW Alabama--Tennessee River

Re: Manitou Prices

#2 Post by Bamaman » Thu Jun 30, 2011 7:26 pm

You may can figure out what the dealer paid for the new boat @ Dealercost.com. It doesn't include the time spent mounting the engine and assembly in most cases. That website may give you a better idea of how to approach the trade. It's always best to try to retail a late model boat, rather than trading it in--especially such a fine pontoon like you've got.

Note: The boat business generally sucks, with dealerships and manufacturers going out of business. Boat dealers have a 6 month selling season--but they also have day to day expenses for the full 12 months. They are not like car dealerships that can sell autos @ $100 over cost, and still operate at a profit on the manufacturer's dealer holdbacks. A dealer cannot remain in business without making a reasonable profit. But don't let any boat dealership convince you that business is good, as it's not.

The internet allows you to locate other Manitou dealers, and determine who is willing to "deal" for your business. It's also easy on the major boat sales websites to figure out who the dominant boat dealerships in your region are. I believe in buying local if they're willing to be competitive--and are close to the other dealer in price. But, sometimes it pays a lot to drive a little.

There are Manitou dealers on Lake Martin (N. of Auburn/Opelika), Bogart (Athens), GA, Greenville, SC and on Tims Ford Lake (1 hr. past Chattanooga). Of course, you also have the dealership in Kennesaw. All of these dealers are within 160 miles of the Atlanta metro area, and some of them probably wouldn't have the overhead that an Atlanta big city boat dealership would have.

I always have preferred to shop for boats in off season at big boat shows--Nashville, Atlanta, Birmingham, Miami. That's when dealers are the most competitive--when eyeshot and earshot of the competition. Of course, the shows are in Jan/Feb/Mar.

Good luck in your dealings!
'12 Bennington 24' SSLX Yamaha 150

SL7732
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Jun 30, 2011 8:29 am
Location: Kennesaw, Georgia

Re: Manitou Prices

#3 Post by SL7732 » Fri Jul 01, 2011 3:30 am

Thanks very much for the information, I did not know about dearlercost.com and will take a look there. I would very much like to keep my business local and fully appreciate a business has to make a profit, I just want to make sure I get the best price possible.

Just checked on the website you listed and as a correction it's www.seedealercost.com
2009 22ft Manitou Oasis 2 Toon
90HP Evinrude

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robster
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Location: Gastonia,NC

Re: Manitou Prices

#4 Post by robster » Sun Jul 10, 2011 6:09 am

Howdy-
we bought our Oasis 22-foot VP Tritoon with Yamaha 150HP 4-stroke with $1,900 Sea Star Power Assisted steering,a $1200 in center tube ski/locker storage, upgraded captains chair,SS prop,changing room ,ski tow bar, bimini top without trailer for $36K from Palmetto Boat Center in Greenville,SC this past April 2011. The co-owner Marty sold us the boat and he was WONDERFUL!. I emailed Greg VanWagenen VP of Manitou and asked Greg for MSRP on the boat we bought and he told me $39,600 ,that was without the center tube storage/ski locker, power assisted steering and upgraded captains chair and changing room and SS prop..The center tube storage/ ski locker ,changing room, upgraded captain's chair was already added and we bought a boat that was in stock.
It would be worth your while to contact Marty Walker at Palmetto Boat Center in Greenville,SC. he's a new dealer for Manitou and really goes the extra mile to make the customer happy,he sure made us happy and we live 1.5 hours away and his service tech drove to our boat for the 20 hour service. We've already put 85 hours on the boat with zero issues. Watch the Manitou Facebook page,they're going to post pictures soon of the 2012 models.
We really really love the power assisted steering!
Cheers,
Robert
2011 Manitou OasisVP Tritoon w/Yamaha 150

fasterplease
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Joined: Sun Jul 31, 2011 5:07 pm

Re: Manitou Prices

#5 Post by fasterplease » Tue Aug 02, 2011 3:44 pm

Hi, how fast can you get your boat going? Im looking to upgrade to a tri-toon with my 100 hp. Not sure it will be worth the effort. I get 26 every day, 29 in a pinch. Just lookig for info.
Thanks

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robster
Posts: 407
Joined: Wed May 12, 2010 3:51 am
Location: Gastonia,NC

Re: Manitou Prices

#6 Post by robster » Tue Aug 02, 2011 5:27 pm

well when I keep the toons clean top speed with 2 adults on board is 40mph,when the toons have algae on them from sitting in our wet slip top speed is around 34 mph.
2011 Manitou OasisVP Tritoon w/Yamaha 150

bassn386
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Location: Lake of the Ozarks, MO

Re: Manitou Prices

#7 Post by bassn386 » Wed Aug 03, 2011 2:10 pm

Please understand that what I'm going to say is just a rule of thumb, but it was pretty close on my Bennington. If the dealer gives you the MSRP (and that can be subjective), for example $70,000 and your price out the door is $49,000 that would be a 30% discount from the MSRP and that was pretty close to what I experienced. I have to also say that we ordered in November, which is a very slow time here in Missouri for boat sales. We alsogot some additional spiffs from Yamaha for ordering before a certain date, but with the chaos in Japan I don't know if Yamaha is doing anything like that now.
I've heard the 30% figure for some time and I think it's close, at least in my experience.
Good luck!
2011 Bennington 2575RCW w/ ESP
F225 Yamaha

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Friar
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Location: Fort Worth, TX

Re: Manitou Prices

#8 Post by Friar » Wed Aug 03, 2011 4:27 pm

+1 on "bassn386" comments exactly.
2010 Bennington 2275 GFI custom fisher/cruiser
32" ellipitical logs, Yamaha F90
US Army retired (71-96)
Fort Worth, Texas

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playcat
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Re: Manitou Prices

#9 Post by playcat » Fri Aug 05, 2011 8:17 am

bassn386 sounds right on, from my dealer days back in 1998. we had a 30% markup to make expenses, our "MSRP" was whatever the owner decided it was! we sold a LOT of boats at shows, but we were a volume dealer - we often bought older, but still new inventory from other dealers that could not sell it, then sold it at a big discount over current year model boats. Everybody won on those deals!
playcat
Boatless for now
Never another I/O
Kerr Reservoir, VA

Nautical
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Location: Colorado moving to Charlotte

Re: Manitou Prices

#10 Post by Nautical » Thu Aug 15, 2013 7:04 am

Woah . . . TWO YEAR post "dredge" here.

Any updates on dealer costs or typical discounts on Manitous? It seems their markup may not be at all similar to Bennington's. I've been lightly negotiating with a dealer that has what's fast becoming a leftover yet he's only taking 2 to 3 grand off the "msrp" and wants $4500 for a trailer and this is on a fully loaded SES, priced in the low $60s. Other dealers won't talk much about discounts and just try and get you to come in (which isn't easy when doing online, distance shopping). That dealer cost site doesn't seem to have any Manitou info on it either.

I want the dealers to remain financially healthy but I'm not paying MSRP either. I'd like to meet somewhere in the middle but I need some intel to do this right! Thanks!

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rob28
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Location: Dryden, Ontario. In the wilderness.

Re: Manitou Prices

#11 Post by rob28 » Thu Aug 15, 2013 7:20 am

That's the type of problems I was having with most dealers. Didn't want to talk about discounts at all, and even if they did it was a minuscule amount.
There was a 2011 Bennington 22SS we were looking at with a 75 Yammy on the back. This was back in May this year and the boat was an unsold model so you'd think they would want to shift it - but no. No negotiation at all. At least make me feel good about getting a deal.......
The Sylvan dealer was willing to budge a little bit but still not by a huge margin. Hence why we headed south of the border to find a good deal at a good boat show price.
Maybe I was expecting too much after our truck buying experience where you can get a lot off the MSRP but boat dealers seem a lot more tightly controlled.
Used to be a 2013 Sylvan Mirage Cruise 8520 LE powered by a Merc 50 Bigfoot.
Now we have a 2019 Sylvan Mirage 8522 DLZ LE powered by a Yamaha VF150..
2010 F-150 4.6L to haul it around.
You'll find us enjoying life on the Wabigoon.

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tms0425
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Location: NE Indiana

Re: Manitou Prices

#12 Post by tms0425 » Thu Aug 15, 2013 7:32 am

Perhaps some of it has to do with the fact that pontoon sales are the only ones growing whereas other types of boats are still falling or at best flat since the disaster of 2009. The dealers who survived have to make money somewhere so make it up on pontoons which are actually moving day to day. It's similar to why car dealers want to sell trucks and suv's since there is a lot of inventory turn and more margin to work with.

I heard that during the peak season in July discounts were hard to come by at all, not like the ~20% people talked about in the spring. I ordered mine over last winter for spring delivery and was able to negotiate a very fair deal after working with 3 dealers.
2013 Bennington 2275RCWL ESP w/Mercury Verado 250 Pro
Mid-America PT24T tandem trailer

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