We Finally Took the Big Step

For the past couple years I have had a dream of getting a fishing boat. A boat that I can go out in and fish for pike and bass, a boat that I can take out on the lake and troll for lake trout and salmon. I looked at various models and contemplated my needs but it seemed that every time we got close to the big purchase, something came up that required that we postpone the event.

Last year Linda took a leave of absence from work and we practiced for our retirement. One income equaled our base pay and then we supplemented each month which gave us a good reading on our retirement. We had to wait.

So now that we are back to our usual situation we felt it was the time to make the dream come true. Fall came and we spotted a boat that I really liked. It fit all the criteria I had for the boat. Linda and I looked at it and actually went to Qdoba to talk it over and make a final decision. We decided that we couldn't finalize the deal until we replaced the roof on the house.

Last weekend we went to the Spokane boat show and looked at what was offered. There wasn't a great selection of fishing boats, very expensive and mostly to big. We returned disappointed. As we drove north of Coeur d'Alene to do some shopping I suggested to Linda that we head out to Tobler's Marina. Tobler's was having a sale, their own boat show.

We arrived and went into the show room. Boats were all over the place. Again, most were too big or too expensive. Our exploration lead us outside to the exact boat we were looking at in the fall.

The boat is a Crestliner Canadian 1650. It was fitted with a 60 hp Merc four stroke. We started the negotiations and began adding the extras that I felt made up my retirement boat. We added a Minn Kota motor for the front. A Merc 7 hp kicker for the back. Full canvas. Two electric downriggers and a fish finder.

Linda and I have always hated negotiations on vehicles, campers and anything you have to dicker on. This started out about the same as other deals. We got all the pricing and were talking about the additions when the manager of the place, Brent, came in to where we sat. Immediately Linda lit up and his smile widened. Turns out that they knew each other from the fitness center they had both attended. After a few minutes of talking, he took our order sheet and walked to his office. He returned and told us he had taken $489 off the price. That was very nice and it made our decision a little easier.

We had to think about the deal so we gave them a deposit to hold the boat and went home. Over the week I visited the boat twice, climbing all over it, talking about the pros and cons. On Saturday we went back out to finalize the deal. I had decided that this was the boat I wanted.

When we arrived, we met with Lois, their financial person. She explained that they reworked the offer and found that they had made a $250 mistake in our favor. We filled out the loan paperwork and then headed into town to wait for it to be accepted by the bank.

About two hours later we got the call that everything was ready, Lois also said that they found another little mistake. We met in the office and she explained they had made a $400 mistake on the rebate. So at this point we were $460 better then when we first walked in. It made us feel a bit better about the deal.

Lois went over all the paper work and showed us the work order for the shop. Linda stopped her and had a question. On this paperwork and the final sales papers, there was no mention of the Minn Kota. We showed her the paperwork that stated our first offer and it clearly showed the Minn Kota. So, she wrote it in without changing the bottom line. A free Minn Kota!

This made us feel a lot better about the price of the boat Of course I looked up the retail price on the web when we got home. Retail price for that motor was $689. Our deal now sat at $1300. We were feeling a lot better about our deal. All the dealings, mistakes and successes really was stressful. By the end of the day we were beat. It was all worth it in the end. I pick up my boat in a few weeks and then you will have to read about all my fishing trips. You might be the losers in this deal.