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Bakes announcement


REHinH20

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I guess everyone that has done business with Bakes has received this also: Interesting! Have always enjoyed my experience with Bakes - wish it was a Bu dealer!

BAKES PARTNERS WITH NW INBOARDS!

Bakes Marine is proud to announce our partnership with Northwest Inboards. Darren Lamont, owner of Northwest Inboards will be bringing the boat sales component back to Bakes selling new Supra, Axis, and Moomba Boats. Northwest Inboards will also be providing certified pre-owned and consignment sales when available. Stay tuned to www.nwinboards.com for updates on available inventory.

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Aaahhh. Makes sense now. I think that business strategy of pushing more boat inventory onto the dealers is happening everywhere. Obviously, makes it much easier for Malibu to increase their inventory turns on WIP and level load the plant.

Custom watersport boat sales/service might look glamorous, but I think it is a pretty tuff business.

Bakes seems like a top notch dealership. I have had the pleasure of working with them on part and service questions and they really stand out with their level of knowledge and service. I am sure that Malibu and SC will benefit from the relationship.

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I called Seattle boats to enquire about a holdover that they had. They wanted to charge me almost $10k for a trailer!!! I just laughed and hung up the phone. I found them difficult to speak with too as the person on the end of the phone didn't know anything about malibus.

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The bigger question I would have is why would Skiers Choice allow them to carry Axis? They are usually reluctant to allow their dealers to grab Axis. There must be some great options there on budget boats. It would be awesome to walk in and bust their chops on Axis vs Moomba. I bet they sell for great prices since both manufacturers know that they have steep competition in the same showroom.

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Yup. Axis was not doing well up in that region.

The reason Bakes no longer has Malibu is all politics.

I wont get too much in depth, but Bakes was once one of the top West coast dealers. Something like 85 percent of their boat sales were custom order boats. They are positioned about a mile or less away from beautiful Lake Sammamish with million dollar + homes around 3 sides of the lake.

When Black Canyon reviewed and changed business models, they wanted Bakes to floor and order something like 27 boats for stock based on previous sales numbers. Knowing that the customer base was a pay-per-order type offering it didn't set well with Bill Baker. This began the parting of ways and the move of the franchise to Seattle boats.

Seattle boats......awkward to work with, parts support is terrible.... and they are extremely overpriced .This is all my personal experience, not someone else's. I can elaborate, but don't feel like getting into that right at this moment. They order all boats with no trailers. They want customer's to use and pay for their elobrate rack systems for boat storage and they will launch and store for the boat for you. Its just a different clientele and different mind set there.

Whatever brand they sell, I am pretty confident they will be a major asset to whatever line they sell. The location is prime, the service is down home , country good. Expertise is top notch with Paul heading up the service department and the pricing is reasonable and on par with reality.

Wow... very informative post. I was aware of some of the history, but not all of it. Thanks for sharing.

At one point Bakes (while it was still a Bu dealer) was for sale. The price was $900k (real estate not included, you'd have to do a lease back). I remember thinking that it would be a fun business to own... all that water, all those rich customers nearby, the location, the years of goodwill associated with the Bakes name, etc. Seemed like a dream dealership to own. Then Malibu pulled the franchise from them. I don't know a soul up there, but my heart sank for them knowing the long history they had selling Bu's.

Oh well... I'm glad to see they've survived as a business (maint, parts, online sales, canvas, etc.). It still feels like an ideal place to park a boat franchise. But what do I know?

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The bigger question I would have is why would Skiers Choice allow them to carry Axis? They are usually reluctant to allow their dealers to grab Axis. There must be some great options there on budget boats. It would be awesome to walk in and bust their chops on Axis vs Moomba. I bet they sell for great prices since both manufacturers know that they have steep competition in the same showroom.

Obviously this doesn't happen near you? Here in the Portland, OR. area our Malibu dealer AWS, sells well.....Malibu, Natique, Supra, Moomba and.......Wait for it.......AXIS.

Its no different than selling Ford and Mazda, Kia and Hyundai or Dodge and Chevrolet.

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The bigger question I would have is why would Skiers Choice allow them to carry Axis? They are usually reluctant to allow their dealers to grab Axis. There must be some great options there on budget boats. It would be awesome to walk in and bust their chops on Axis vs Moomba. I bet they sell for great prices since both manufacturers know that they have steep competition in the same showroom.

It's not unprecedented. Active Water Sports successfully manages all sorts of conflicts like that. They have the following premium brands: Malibu, Nautique, and Supra. They also have the following budget brands: Axis and Moomba. Up until a few years ago, they had MB too.

I'm sure the manufacturers don't love it, but what choice do they have? There are so few competent inboard boat dealers. I think they'd rather be at a top in a quality shop even if it means these sort of conflicts than the alone in a fly-by-night shop.

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I think in a lot of cases the dealers that sell multiple brands are ones that sell a lot of boats and the quota given to them by one manufacturer only is not enough to fill the demand.

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There is definitely a lot of history on how this all turned out the way it did, but thankfully that is history and now us NW locals have a top notch boat dealer to work with once again. Darren, the new owner of NorthWest Inboards, is a great guy and has been in the industry for over 20 years. He is one of those few sales guys that really understands what these boats mean to those of us who frequent these forums and really value time on the water. The team of Paul on the service side and Darren on the sales side will make for a great boat buying and continued service/support experience.

On a side note, now that I'm in an Axis, I don't consider it a price point or budget boat. I've truly been blown away with the first 17 hours I've got on my A24 and can't wait to spend many more hours to come in it! Coming from a fully loaded 22MXZ I thought I would feel like I downgraded, and I honestly couldn't be more stoked on the new Axis boats :) Derailment over-

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Obviously this doesn't happen near you? Here in the Portland, OR. area our Malibu dealer AWS, sells well.....Malibu, Natique, Supra, Moomba and.......Wait for it.......AXIS.

Its no different than selling Ford and Mazda, Kia and Hyundai or Dodge and Chevrolet.

Sorry, B.... didn't see you had replied already. Great minds think alike. :-)

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From what I understand, they will still be offering all the same parts and service for Malibu's still also.

Wanted to clear the air on this forum since we are getting the question if Bakes can do Malibu warranty. The answer is Bakes cannot, Seattle Boat Company will remain the authorized Malibu Boats dealership for the Seattle area. Northwest Inboards / Bakes will be the authorized dealership warranty center for Axis, Supra, & Moomba.

Bakes always has and always will do maintenance, service, and repairs ALL inboards makes and model boats, we do not discriminate boat brands and has been a huge key to our success turning loyal happy service customers into new boat owners. Operating on the motto that a sales person can sell the first boat but service will sell the rest. Bakes was the Malibu Boats dealership for 23 years (13 years that I personally have been at Bakes) but Bakes passed that torch to Seattle Boat Company in 2010 as most of you all ready know. Since then we have not been selling any other boat lines and had moved to a more towards being a Marine Service Center.

This partnership with Northwest Inboards is different than most conventional "dealerships" but the team we have created has me very excited of whats to come from our A-Team roster right now.

Hope any of you (OR ALL OF YOU!) can make it to our open house on May 3rd or the Demo Day May 10th, all the details are up on www.nwinboards.com

Sincerely,

Paul Gregoire

President - Bakes Marine

How come they carry Axis and not Malibu?

Seattle Boat is holding it down for Malibu Boats as the Seattle area dealer. Territories are big for boat dealerships, most states only have one dealership and in our case Seattle Boat is the Malibu Boats dealer.

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Excited for this partnership too!

On the service tip, I would just assume cut off my middle leg before going to downtown Seattle to have my boat repaired under warranty there.

If i didn't live closer to AWS I would almost just fix my stuff myself, or drive it up to Bake's and just pay rather than go there. You might just end up with a whole new outdrive on your new inboard of your not careful.

Edited by Bobby Bright
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There is definitely a lot of history on how this all turned out the way it did, but thankfully that is history and now us NW locals have a top notch boat dealer to work with once again. Darren, the new owner of NorthWest Inboards, is a great guy and has been in the industry for over 20 years. He is one of those few sales guys that really understands what these boats mean to those of us who frequent these forums and really value time on the water. The team of Paul on the service side and Darren on the sales side will make for a great boat buying and continued service/support experience.

On a side note, now that I'm in an Axis, I don't consider it a price point or budget boat. I've truly been blown away with the first 17 hours I've got on my A24 and can't wait to spend many more hours to come in it! Coming from a fully loaded 22MXZ I thought I would feel like I downgraded, and I honestly couldn't be more stoked on the new Axis boats :) Derailment over-

Already 17 hrs with the weather we've had so far this year??? Man alive, I need to start living more... I'm only half finished waxing my boat to get it ready for the season. My first lake time will probably be the May 10th weekend, if the weather is nice.

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I called Seattle boats to enquire about a holdover that they had. They wanted to charge me almost $10k for a trailer!!! I just laughed and hung up the phone. I found them difficult to speak with too as the person on the end of the phone didn't know anything about malibus.

There's a lot of price gouging going on. A completely blinged out double axle Boatmate can be had for $5k or less.

Edited by nyryan2001
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There's a lot of price gouging going on. A completely blinged out double axle Boatmate can be had for $5k or less.

The wakeboat bubble might be getting ready to burst? $10k for a trailer is rediculous. Although my dealer orders Sport Boat because its about $3k more for a boatmate trailer... maybe 8-10k is where its heading now.

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There's a lot of price gouging going on. A completely blinged out double axle Boatmate can be had for $5k or less.

Not sure what your idea of blinged out but I know for a fact my blinged out trailer was over $5k dealer cost. (Wheels, transom steps, spare tire mount, and spare). It's also fully rhino lined but I'm not counting that.

Edited by tjklein
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Just wanted to give everyone a little reminder to stop by this Saturday May 3rd for our "Grand Opening". See you there!!

Thanks for the shindig on Saturday, the place is looking great, as are the boats you've got for sale. Man, those Supras are beasty!!

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