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Are the recession and gas prices affecting Malibu?


funkcity

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Are the recession and gas prices affecting Malibu?

I see some of the dealers like Tilly's selling 07 boats.

I don't recall them ever selling last year's models at this time of the year.

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Most likely.

Generally this year the entire boat industry is hurting. High performance makers, in particular, have been hurting. Baja is one such example. It's unlikely situation is going to improve anytime soon. Gas prices certainly don't help.

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Marinas around me have been up to/more than 20 boats behind where they were last year (Sales wise)

Edited by hco
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If you are looking to buy, now is the time. I have two friends switching from other brands that are getting incredible deals on Bu's right now. I mean INCREDIBLE!

The dealers and Bu are motivated.

That said, the 'season' isn't in full force yet. There's only been one weekend here that was boat worthy. Once we have two in a row, the boating fever will hit and prices will jump back up - IMO. Not to where they were last year, but up from where they were at the boat show a fwe months ago.

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I think everybody has been effected by gas prices, but the ones effected more are in transportation. The costs are just being passed along and it's scary to think what it could be like in a year Whistling.gif

Edited by 68Slalom
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The dealer in Rancho said the other day they haven't sold an 08 yet. They are moving 07's at incredible prices.

Norcal MC sent me a flyer saying up to $20k in incentives on 08's and blowouts on 07's. Once Copes unloads there MC's there will be even some better deals.

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Are the recession and gas prices affecting Malibu?

In a word, yes. The slowing economy combined with oil's high price & its relative ties to nearly everything (think of the resins that are used in fiberglass) have hit Malibu just like everyone else. I've heard that production at Merced has slowed to the point of closing every other Friday. Smoothwaterman made a comment in one post that now is a good time to "write to our politicians" (I think that's how he put it), & I think that he meant that Malibu is listening hard right now to what we as consumers want. For those of you that, say, want the return of the Sportster or a more back to basics approach in general now is the time to make your voices heard. Write to Amy & tell them what you want.

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I bet a bunch of people refinanced their homes to by boats in 04-06. I'm pretty sure thats not happening too much any more and there might be a bunch of used 04-06 for sale this year that can be had for a good price.That will slow the new boat purchases down a bit also.

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thats what worrys me about boating in general , i am worryed that i will buy it and a year later the new ones will be 4 to 5 grand cheaper then what i payed.

that happened to me when i bought a new nissan murano, now they are 7g cheaper for the same model as mine, so i actually lost around 14000 on it

but thats the risk we take to buy it , its not a big deal ,but i am trying to keep this type of loss to a minimum , i am just being very careful and waiting till the right deal comes around, which sucks cause summer is coming

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Boat sales are way down. Malibu's probably doing ok, but I wouldn't want to be Correct Craft with the new plant. Talk about bad timing.

Edited by 88Skier
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My old neighbor from back home owns a powertoys dealership. In talking to him at his daughter's wedding this last weekend, he said PWC, Boat, and ATV sales are WAY down, but they're having their second record year in a row on the strength of motorcycle sales. They can barely keep a showroom stocked they're selling so many bikes. The allure of 50+ MPG is strong... Which kindof surprised me since just last week Harley announced layoffs and production slowdowns. But Harleys are gas pigs next to the competition.

It's affecting the whole powersports industry.

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It's not just boat sales and Malibu that is hurting. Almost all businesses and self employed are in a serious pinch right now. Real estate business is definitely down since last year. I also now that truckers and farmers here in the mid-south are hurting pretty bad too. I was hoping to sale my boat towards the end of season but I think boat sales will be marginal at best this year. I hope the economy will turn around soon but I don't see it happening with gas prices going the way they are. Between gas prices and an election year it doesn't look to sporty for 08. I'm still going to stay optimistic though and not gonna quit enjoying life just because of tough times but I will put more thought into where I spend my money. Looking forward to a great lake season!

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Boat sales are way down. Malibu's probably doing ok, but I wouldn't want to be Correct Craft with the new plant. Talk about bad timing.

Yeah, the nautique dealer in my area isn't moving anything, but it could be because of the 100k price tags on mediocre wake boats (Especially in comparison to bu's).

The Tige dealer in my area seems to have only sold about 4 boats in a year in a half (that I have seen on the two local lakes).

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Are the recession and gas prices affecting Malibu?

In a word, yes. The slowing economy combined with oil's high price & its relative ties to nearly everything (think of the resins that are used in fiberglass) have hit Malibu just like everyone else. I've heard that production at Merced has slowed to the point of closing every other Friday. Smoothwaterman made a comment in one post that now is a good time to "write to our politicians" (I think that's how he put it), & I think that he meant that Malibu is listening hard right now to what we as consumers want. For those of you that, say, want the return of the Sportster or a more back to basics approach in general now is the time to make your voices heard. Write to Amy & tell them what you want.

The snowmobile industry went through this recently after a string of poor winters. Prices were getting out of control and a lot of riders wanted the manufacturers to step up with no-frills, basic sleds that still performed well but didn't require a home refinance. Polaris came out with a pair of models for '08 that were stripped down with basic shocks, basic gauges, no graphics, etc... They sold like crazy! They've expanded the philosophy to their entire model line for '09 and have enjoyed great success with their spring order program this year.

If Malibu can find a way to expand their economy offerings (say, offer de-blinged 20 LSV, RLXi with limited graphics options) and hold the rest of their prices steady, I think they would sell quite well.

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$3.69 for 87 at most places here. Saw $3.79 on my way home from work today. It's going well over $4 at this rate of climb.

It's much worse up here in BC:

$4.79 US for 87.

$5.06 US for diesel.

Its shaping up to be an expensive summer.

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$3.69 for 87 at most places here. Saw $3.79 on my way home from work today. It's going well over $4 at this rate of climb.

It's much worse up here in BC:

$4.79 US for 87.

$5.06 US for diesel.

Its shaping up to be an expensive summer.

OUCH! That's hella bad considering the dollar is weaker than Canadian money! Or at least it was.

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One other thing I'd like to see: E85-safe fuel systems. Even though the economy of E85 isn't as good, it's about $0.90/gal cheaper than the 89 octane we normally run.

E85 is a bit of a farce though. It produces less HP per gallon, so you need to burn more fuel to get the equivilent HP out of it. EG, a Tahoe on petrol might get 16 MPG (maybe, downhill in a tailwind) , on E85 more like 12 MPG, so you just end up burning more "cheaper" fuel and spend more.

Edited by TheBlackPearl
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E85 isn't quite what it can be. They definitely need to get better at making it, lots of it. BioDiesel, WVO, whatever it takes. This countries relying on terrorist oil is just stupid. And we all need to burn whatever it takes to get off their oil as much as possible.

You can check out stations & prices in your area here: http://www.e85prices.com/

They also have a calculator to help figure out when it makes sense to use E85 over gas.

I bought an 05 Chevy Avalanche recently, with the flexfuel 5.3 liter. It pulls the boat great. And I've been told the E85 will give it more power due to it being higher octane. Too bad it doesn't deliver better mileage too. The problem is there is only one station that sells it & their on the other side of town from where I live/ride/work. Seems stupid to burn 2 or 3 gallons to get it. Someday I'll end up over there for some reason & I'll gas up.

Wonder how long it'll be to see these alternative fuels in boats too.

Edited by Bill_AirJunky
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