Reasons to Buy in the Fall
As October closes and November begins, and we see a lot of customers bring their boats in for end of season maintenance, the question I most often get asked is “do you actually sell anything over the winter?” The short answer is “heck yes”. In fact, winter time is our best selling months, specifically January – March, as we sit on our butts freezing and dreaming of warm weather to come, naturally we want to buy the boat and be ready for the spring/summer!
Instead, what our customers should be asking is “do you sell anything during the fall?” In September and October, we sure do – especially this year with the incredible stretch of weather we’ve had! But what about November and December? Those are traditionally the 2 slowest months for boat sales. Does anything sell then? Well, yes, boats still sell these “fall months”! I know, it sounds crazy. But it’s true! There’s 5 main reasons that boats will continue to sell in November and December:
1. Best pricing – most dealers still have some “leftover” inventory that they’re looking to get sold, to make room for the fresh 2025 inventory. Those “leftovers” are always sold at a discounted price, and often have significant manufacturers incentives. Traditionally, the manufacturers’ incentives are the greatest in the last quarter of the calendar year, which coincides with the slowest months for sales. A savvy shopper/buyer can buy in November and December and get the best incentives, and therefore the best deal. Even some of the “fresh” 2025 inventory will have some incentives on them in the fall.
2. Best selection – dealers spend all fall building up their inventory so that it’s at it’s max level by the end of January , at which point sales ramp up and inventories start to get depleted as the winter turns into spring and spring turns into summer. Boats are not like cars, where you can find hundreds of the cars w/in a small vicinity, with the exact colors and packages that you desire. Boats are the exact opposite, sometimes hours in between the next closest dealer selling the same brand, and sharing and trading inventory becomes a logistical challenge. Often times as summer approaches, dealers will be out of stock, or very limited, in certain models of boat. So if picking colors, features, and options is important to you, the fall is actually the best time to buy. Dealers have plenty of boats in stock to view, and if they don’t have the perfect boat for you, they could order it and have time for it to be produced and delivered over the winter time. You get the exact boat you want, just in time for the boating season!
3. Winterization and storage – so you found the boat you want, at the price you want, but you really don’t need it until spring. Not a problem! To help make our customer’s lives easier, Riverside offers to winterize, wrap, and store your purchase at no charge until you’re ready to come and get it in the spring. Even better, all of your manufacturer’s warranties don’t begin until you take delivery in the spring. Win-win-win!
4. Trade value – Trading your boat in the fall will save you money in the long run. After January 1st, your boat becomes a year older, which will be reflected in the book values. Trading now helps you capture this years book values. In addition, Riverside will trade your boat and take it off your hands “as-is”, which eliminates end of season maintenance, winterization, and storage. As a dealership we prefer trading boats in the fall, as it gives us time to perform any services and refurbishing needed, and have the boat in tip top shape for the next selling season. The further into the winter we get, the less time (and available cash resources) we have to trade-in boats.
5. Demo rides –Going for a test ride before buying is a very important part of the process! Even though its not 90 degrees, we are still doing demo rides on a daily basis. In fact, we do demo rides year round! But let’s be honest with ourselves, who wants to go on a test ride in January or February? Besides our dedicated (and crazy!) sales staff? So that’s our 5th and final reason why the fall is the best, you can get a test ride or 2 without freezing your buns off!