Tom
Administrator
- Joined
- Jan 13, 2005
- Posts
- 51,921
Chris has been making noises for some time about buying a pontoon boat to toodle around the neighborhood. Whenever I've looked online (Craig's list, etc), there are either none locally or they get snapped up in a hurry. Tracker Marine has a small pontoon that would fit Chris' needs very well, but it would mean buying new.
Separately, my Tracker bass boat is getting a little long in the tooth, and I've salivated over their newer models/designs for several years. The nearest Tracker dealership is Bass Pro Shops (they're part of the same company). So, yesterday we made the trek to Bass Pro in Manteca, CA.
Unlike prior visits, they now have most of their boats outdoors in a secure compound, and the only way to get there is to stand in line at the boat sales counter, and wait for the salesman to unlock the exit door. A few pontoon boats were visible/boardable, but all their fishing boats were shrink wrapped "to keep out the bag men" ??? Eventually, someone called a salesman for us.
Explaining to this guy that we'd potentially buy two boats didn't seem to motivate him. He showed us one pontoon, never did show us a fishing boat, and complained that his computer didn't show the same inventory as his printed version. We don't need a trailer, and the guy quoted $500 to deliver a pontoon boat 33 miles to our local launch ramp, claiming it was because they have to pay an employee; Heck, I'd deliver boats for $250/hour. His alternative was that we drive 90+ miles to their store in Rocklin, CA and hope the store would deliver a boat.
We eventually left the store, believing they (or at least this salesman) didn't want to sell a boat (or two). I'm sure glad we've not had this experience when shopping for RVs, cars, or other boats over the years. Back to Craig's list to find used boats.
Separately, my Tracker bass boat is getting a little long in the tooth, and I've salivated over their newer models/designs for several years. The nearest Tracker dealership is Bass Pro Shops (they're part of the same company). So, yesterday we made the trek to Bass Pro in Manteca, CA.
Unlike prior visits, they now have most of their boats outdoors in a secure compound, and the only way to get there is to stand in line at the boat sales counter, and wait for the salesman to unlock the exit door. A few pontoon boats were visible/boardable, but all their fishing boats were shrink wrapped "to keep out the bag men" ??? Eventually, someone called a salesman for us.
Explaining to this guy that we'd potentially buy two boats didn't seem to motivate him. He showed us one pontoon, never did show us a fishing boat, and complained that his computer didn't show the same inventory as his printed version. We don't need a trailer, and the guy quoted $500 to deliver a pontoon boat 33 miles to our local launch ramp, claiming it was because they have to pay an employee; Heck, I'd deliver boats for $250/hour. His alternative was that we drive 90+ miles to their store in Rocklin, CA and hope the store would deliver a boat.
We eventually left the store, believing they (or at least this salesman) didn't want to sell a boat (or two). I'm sure glad we've not had this experience when shopping for RVs, cars, or other boats over the years. Back to Craig's list to find used boats.
