Would you do that? Drive 450 miles to save a few grand?

[talltigeguy]

So I am at the boat ramp the other day, and I see a guy with a nice new 24Ve pulling out of the water. There are certainly a few around my little neck of the woods, but this one is obviously different because there is an Explosion tower. I have been itching to get a close up look at that tower, so I wandered over to strike up a conversation. The tower was very cool, BTW.

It was the rare day that I actually went to meet some friends and go on their boat, instead of mine, so he looked skeptical when I told him I had a 2005 Tige 24V. I asked where he got the boat and he says he bought it in California. I asked why - he told me he shopped around at Salt Lake, Vegas and California, and ended up buying it in California because it was 20-30 thousand dollars cheaper. I think he meant 2-3K, but regardless, I think that is ballsy to buy a boat from a dealer that far away.

I know the best boat repair shop in town seems to have been a little frigid when it comes to servicing my boat once I turned them down on a new purchase. I find it hard to get my boat 110 miles down the road, let alone 450 miles. Warranty issues could be a nightmare if you have to trailer the boat 450 miles for service. What do you guys think?

[talltigeguy]

Forgive the cell phone pic, but this is the boat.

The red and black was very clean looking. I love the Explosion. Looked nice and solid. The red on the tower was extremely clean looking, looked better than powder coat, might be actually the color of the metal in it.

[da.bell]

I really don't know if I would have done that. I am very happy with mine boat and would do it again.

[yearroundboarder]

What I'd like to know is how he pulled it off. Must have been an '06 or someone's used 2007. According to Tige', dealers have the exclusive right of sale in their area. The only way to purchase a boat from a dealer in another area/state is to have a residence in that state and/or register the boat in that state. To my knowledge, the only loop hole is if the boat is used or last year's model.

[wannabewakeboarder]

Thats a few grand for boards, jackets, wetsuits, GAS MONEY!!!...My dad would have drove that to save, he's a smart shopper

[svlperry]

u registered the boat in the state of primary use

[chpthril]

On a 70k purchase, 2-3 grand is pocket change, I don't think it would be worth a 900 mile round trip to me. Now, if he did save 20-30K I'm putting in my order right now, I'll drive to CA for that. He may have saved $$$ on the front end but it will probably cost him his time and aggravation as well as some gas money over the warranty period of the boat.

[Original Wing Nut]

To start my reply I would say go with the service that will treat you best. Over years of boat ownership that will save you thousands in grief and pain. My dealer used to suck at this and I would have driven 1000 miles to have a dealer that would take care of things. My local dealer realized he had a problem and fixed it with a new service manager and they now have a whole new attitude about service. Over the last six months they have made great improvements from several people I have talked to, as well as from my own experience. Back to how much for how far. If gas is at $4 a gallon and you have to go round trip a 1000 miles a couple times a year how long will it take to eat up your savings. Then figure what your time is worth. 20 to 30 grand definately worth the road trip. As far as buying out of your region, I think anyone will sell you a boat if you are will to travel to their region. I don't think they will persue sales outside of thei area, but if you do the chasing I think dealer will take anyones money.

[talltigeguy]

He said 'Salt Lake was the worst', BTW.

With my diesel pulling the boat I get about 13 MPG. 900 miles divided by 13 = 69.2 gallons. Suppose you get a good deal on gas - $3 = about $210 per round trip, not to mention you would have to be very aggressive to get down there, get service and get back all in the same day. So you might need a place to stay + food.

Frankly, my time is worth more than that.

I have not heard that Tige has restrictive territory rules. Certainly, I have seen Tiges here from both Salt Lake and Vegas.

I wonder what Tige's policy is for warranty work...Could the local shop do it? I usually take my Tige to my dealer because I think that he is going to be much more aware of the quirks in my boat, and is much more likely to spot a small problem before it becomes a big one.

[Moki]

SLC prices are listed very high. I wonder if they are playing the sales game of I will cut $10k off today if you buy? I would think that a dealer would want to make the money off of the service, regardless of where the boat was bought. They would probably give preferential treatment in terms of scheduling to their customers. I would do it if it was over $2K, but you are talking with a guy who drove to Oregon to buy his boat and California to get his tower.

[G-MONEY]

We saved around $6000+!!!!!

[evil0ne]

He should still be able to take it to his closest dealer. The dealer has the right to put someone else that purchased from him in front of the buyer , but he has to honor the warranty on the boat. It is similar to a car dealership or if you lived in CA and then moved to GA, the GA dealership will take care of you.

[ragboy]

I went 150 miles.

I went 150 miles. May seem a lot less, but too far to get serviced. I live out in the mountains, and the dealer is in the heart of Sacramento area, so its easy a 3 hour drive. 2 hours+ at 3am maybe.

I have tons of dealers around me. Redding, CA is a boat dealer menagerie. With shasta so close, tons of dealers. Supra, MC, Malibu, Centurion, Moomba, Natique, just about all I was interested in. But no Tige. Their wasn't even a dealer in Sacramento until last year. So we considered driving even farther last year, to check out the Tiges. We saw the boat tests and reviews, and knew we couldn't buy a boat, until we saw the Tige. So in late April we made the drive, and had a 24Ve by the end of the week.

As far as servicing, I have got the 20hr service done at the local marine service place that I trust. I talked to Tige and my dealer, and they both said that was fine, and I download the service PDFs and have my mechanic fill them out and sign. I am sure if I have a major warranty issue, I may have to make the drive, but so far so good.

[G-MONEY]

He should still be able to take it to his closest dealer. The dealer has the right to put someone else that purchased from him in front of the buyer , but he has to honor the warranty on the boat. It is similar to a car dealership or if you lived in CA and then moved to GA, the GA dealership will take care of you.

^^^^ What he said....

They honor the warranty at any tige dealer!!!!

[ddmracing05]

i bought our boat about 300 Miles away in Ga...