Best time and place to buy new tritoon
 

Hello, I'm in the market for a ~24 tritoon w/200 horse. I've been casually looking since the summer and got some figures from a dealer last week. I'm wondering if I'd be getting the best deal now or should I wait until the boat shows early next year? What dealers should I visit? Any advice on makes to look at and which to avoid also appreciated. If any dealers are reading this, feel free to contact me, just be up front about pricing.

Thanks,
Tony

Winnisquam Marine / WOW
 

I'm sure you will get many different answers but for me my Marina of choice for my last three Tri-Toons has been Winnisquam Marine for the following reasons...

#1. Service after the sale has been stellar!

#2. When I traded in they offered a very fair price.

#3. They are very transparent with all cost, nothing hidden.

I cannot say enough good about how I have been treated over the years at Winnisquam / WOW Marine. They are a fantastic family run business that truly builds relationships with their customers. They will go out their way to help you when in need as they have with me many many times.

Good luck on your purchase!

Dan

Second what Dan said.. That's been my experience also. Plus Bennington makes a really good 'toon.

Also, a really nice way to get into a bigger toon for a smaller price is to buy a used rental. Dealer takes the first-year depreciation, and because you are the first 'owner' you still get all of the warranty on the boat/motor and they will fix anything you find wrong with the boat. Basically, price a new boat and chop about 15-20% off the cost for a 1-2 year old boat.

Questions to ask yourself are, trailer or no trailer? If no, choose Marina you have easy access to. Can your dock support that size boat? What about a lift? I have a 23’ tri with 200hp. Only thing I would add is power steering. Good luck


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I think it's totally dependent on you. For example, I never planned on buying a boat, but when I found out I could just pick it up at the marina in spring and drop it off in fall—no towing, trailer storage, maintenance, etc.—I was in!

So, for me, Melvin Village Marina, which is close by boat, was where I wanted to do business. Trexler's was second. MVM gave me a much better offer on trade-in and our new Harris (that has been flawless) than Trexler's, so it was an easy decision. I've been very happy with both since.

If I were to buy new again, probably the only other boat/dealer I would consider would be Winnisquam Marina. At my association, it is either MVM and Harris or WM and Bennington. Both have solid reputations and solid vessels, but access and cost would be the deciding factors.

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Storage ?
 

TonyK72
Welcome to the Forum.
If you need a summer slip, make that part of your purchase/plan. Many people are looking now for 2021 slips/valet. Don't imagine that you can buy a boat and then go looking for a slip. It just doesn't work that way right now. Lots of waiting lists, and dealers hold back because a slip will close a new boat deal.
Even if you have a summer slip, there are many pro's and con's about a trailer, especially when you come to sell, or for "free" winter storage.
I don't own a 'toon, but I've had good sales/service from Irwin Marine for decades. 3 Chris Craft, 4 Sea Rays.
Good Luck.

most years I would say now is the time to be looking, because left overs would still be available to be found. But this year most Marina's sold off all the current year models and are filling there show rooms back up with next years models now. So they aren't looking to sell off old inventory to make room for new models.

With that said, the season is over I wouldn't rush right now. I would look around and start to figure out what it is you really want, and believe you can afford. Once you have narrowed it down start calling various Marina's and get prices....

If you aren't getting a trailer, and need a Marina to take care of the boat your choices are limited. But if like me you are willing to travel Play the game and get prices for the exact same boat from different places and play the Marina's off each other. Most boats you buy in the lakes region of New Hampshire, you can find else where for considerably less else where.

Last does it need to be new? This time of year you find boats start to pop up all over the place for sale. Some have very few hours, because people bought them on a whim and realized they aren't using it as much as the thought they would. So you find a really good used boat for less money....

In the lakes regions, all Marina's have good and bad stories associated with them.. There have been several comments here about how great WOW/Winnisquam Marine is... but they have soured me on them over the last few years.... Unless your buying new boats from them they don't care.... and there used boat stock has gone way downhill...

Once again my recommendation is look away from the Marina's around winnipesaukee, even if you have to have it delivered to the lake, you can find a lot better prices outside of the lakes region of New Hampshire, especially if you are looking at new boats.

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions so far.

To answer a few more questions, I have my own dock and the boat would stay in the water all season.
I like the idea of having a marina deal with winterization, service and storage. But I also like the flexibility a trailer offers as I have the place to keep it over the winter and once out of warranty, I'd do as much of my own maintenance as possible. Also, if buying at a marina off Winni, I'm unsure if the dealer would make a house call for warranty work or trailer my boat on their dime? It would be a good question to ask.
I'm not opposed to a pre-owned boat, but I found that most asking prices are not too far off from new. Personally, I'd rather pay a slight premium on a new boat rather than save 5k on a 5 year old boat.

I bought from Parker Marine, real nice people and nice boats, they sell Bentley’s. After looking at some used boats with others, there was no dock space but Parker’s offered dock space and winter storage if buying a boat. Worked out perfect for me as it is the closest to me and I don’t have to do anything but park it. This is my first boat and everything worked out great.

WOW / Winnisquam The Best by Far
 

I'm with Ishoot308 & Patofnaud; They have it right...Bennington boats are absolutely the best built, best wired, best handling, best performing, most comfortable and best warranted.

Add to all this WOW's fabulous service team; Service Manager Chris Wilking can't do enough for you, Sadi-Lyn Cleveland is so customer friendly she makes every process a pleasure....just a great team and they do things right the first time!

You want a great boat and you definitely want great service after the sale.............Ed, Brian and family are pros and good honorable people, you can't go wrong at Winnisquam Marine!

We bought a Barletta from Irwin Marine back in May. 10 year bow to stern warranty and some great standard features that would have been upgrades/add ons for other makes of boats. We received so many compliments on our boat throughout the year. They really are good looking, well built boats.

We have a place on Paugus so buying from Irwin was a no brainer for us. Although there was a couple of mix ups with them throughout the busy summer months we were more then impressed with their after the sale service.