SoCal Jet Boats
Discussion => The No Wake Zone => Topic started by: marceldawson70 on August 21, 2008, 08:23:02 AM
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WOW, yesterday Olimpic boat sales closed their 4th store up here! 4 other shops have folded up in the last 4 months! We techs are falling left and right! doors are closing all over! This is SCARY!! I have been a marine tech for 15years and I dont know how to do any thing else! theres enough of us starving that the pay scales and benifits are being dropped! I rember starting saleries of 50k a year. Is any one else feeling this pain? hows it out there? hows it any where else? :'( :'( :screwy:
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Things are slow out here also. More people seem to be buying used boats or keeping thier existing ones.
The $ involved in an "eggbeater" repair is sobering.Same with I/O. Gas does not seem to be an issue as much as maintiance. If it breaks it usually gets sold as is.
Not an expert , just my O2.
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with the gas prices the way they are, the traffic along the colorado river is down.....though i havent seen it, i have been told that lake havasu is pretty dead, and the channel is packed. people launch their boats then putt over to the channel then park it all day, then putt back to the ramp.
that means not many people are drivin their boats, thus arent breaking them as much, which hurts you guys in the end.
it sucks, but it will bounce back soon, i hope.
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Normally shops at this time of year have 3 or 4 techs, Im the only one here! Tech,parts man, service writer,you name it! I'v been @ church prayin for an increase in work and $$$. see no relief yet, The stress is makin me sick! wife, 4 kids,2 dogs and a dam cat! Man if it gets worse I'll have to start hoing or somthin!! LOL!! dont know how long that would last! getting old!! 40!!
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In the paper today AZ discount marine closed it's store in Phoenix and one in Tucson and has one left and filed Chap 11...says they can't sell the smaller boats 4 shizznit...Guess since equity loans have stopped so have boat sales since no one is ****** rich anymore...
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I'll have to run by the Olimpic boat dealer in San Bernardino and see if they have closed.
I'm a service advisor for a truck and RV shop. We've seen the same problems with RVs. The entry level coaches have stopped selling and mostly stopped coming in for service. But we got lucky and got our name out there through rv rallies and web sites and now we're getting more of the upper end diesel pusher owners coming in. At lease we are keeping my guys busy.
I keep hearing from several of our suppliers that many of the shops they deliver to are empty and that we are the only one that looks busy.
Good luck out there, it doesn't look like it going to turn around as soon as we would like.
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Yeah we went to Havafew 3x this summer. The channel was always packed but the lake had little traffic on it. By the way- WTF is the deal with that paddle wheeler??? He got right up on my ass in the channel two different days. I'm talking with 20 feet and closing!!! :o Doesn't he have to do 5 mph like everybody else? sorry for rant and hijack. Times are tough and it is interesting to see who has been building a "rainy day" reserve for the last 5 or 6 years when times were so very very good for the manufacturers and who blew it on bigger more$$$ buildings and such. Seems like a lot of the mfgs are a lot like short sighted home owners and never worried about a downturn in the economy.
Good mechanics are worth their weight in gold, you guys will land sunnyside up somewhere soon I'm sure. Sooner or later everything breaks. :(
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Sad to see the "second mortgage boat" and OEMs dropping off the way it did but it was predictable and always possible ,similar circumstances whacked the car and boat market in the mid 70's (My first home loan was 17%) , I used to look across the canyon at some of my neighbors in the New Building areas with thier 4000 sq ft house and a Mercedes Suv and BMR in the drive way and wonder what would happen if the had a "down month or two"? Re the Dealers ,the car dealers I call on are a mix some are slammed some are dead , Makes you wonder if customer service is king? Always better to be a Big fish in a Small pond than vice /vs ,make due with your older facility and watch your budget . Theres a new Roll bar boat dealer in a "Taj Majal" looking place a couple blocks from my home loaded with new boats ,just waiting to see how long they last. We've enjoyed a pretty good year and feel very blessed ,folks are fixing and repairing thier boats and weve actually sold 3 boats this month (unusual fo this time of year) . For you younger guys alot of this is "cyclical" IMO ,sort of "adjusment period" things in the finacial market are actually looking up a bit . Tom
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I run a speed shop in San Diego , And we are slammed right now with people fixing up their current rides insted of buying a new one. According to the owner this has been his best year in the five years he has owned it!
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my cousin works at wingstuff (honda gold wing motorcycle accessories) ...their sales have doubled since last summer.
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my cousin works at wingstuff (honda gold wing motorcycle accessories) ...their sales have doubled since last summer.
I don't have to drive very far for work but according to my wife she says the number of motorcycles on the road is crazy. And you can tell a lot of them are very green.
The only bad part is there will be a bunch of wrecks due to inexperience and the stats dont reflect newbie vs experienced riders when it comes to accidents (looks bad on the industry)
Be safe out there.