Why so much (outboards)

Andy Stevens · 23 August 2004, 11:31

Right a decent outboard costs around £8000

You can buy an entire car for that!

All you get on an outboard is an engine, a bit of drive train and some fibreglass. A car you even get AC for £8000!

Why so dear?

Rogue Wave · 23 August 2004, 11:39

Economies of scale have somethig to do with it i,e you can pretty much bank on selling and producing a million cars or more in that price range. But also there are a lot of mark ups before it gets to you and boating has always been expensive compared to motoring.

I bought my first RIB instead of a Mitsi evo if that puts the car thing into context

Put into context the Honda 225 is a marinised version of the NSX car engine How much d'ya think a spare lump is for one of them babies.

you are right however they are Fkkn expensive

Brian · 23 August 2004, 12:02

And why ?............

Florida Sportsman website: Honda 130 25" shaft US$6000 (circa £3750)
versus
Pacer Marine UK: £7695

Alan · 23 August 2004, 12:06

As Rouge Wave (that well known typign error) says its economy of scale mainly. Automotive vols are massively bigger than boating vols even allowing for greater sales in USA etc. Mind you I believe that the big manufacturers very closely monitor the market and price just what the market will bear rather than selling cheaply!

Alan · 23 August 2004, 12:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian

And why ?............

Florida Sportsman website: Honda 130 25" shaft US$6000 (circa £3750)
versus
Pacer Marine UK: £7695

Ah, thats a different question/reason. Another example would be Jeep Grand Cherokee now around Can$35k which equals about £15k!! Price differential driven by differing distribution costs & specs (according to the manufacturer) but really because its what the market will bear here!

Manos · 23 August 2004, 12:22

Is the public that drives the prices up. If you don't buy prices will drop. This ancient system of demand and supply mechanism actually works

But UNFORTUNATELY there too many people to start something like this. If it did though it will make life cheaper.

Brambles · 23 August 2004, 14:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rogue Wave

Put into context the Honda 225 is a marinised version of the NSX car engine How much d'ya think a spare lump is for one of them babies.

Rogue,

If only it was an NSX engine! Unfortunateley for your £12,699 you "only" get a marinised version of the USA Honda Accord 3.5lt V6 car engine.

Regards.

TQBoater · 23 August 2004, 15:21

I thought it was like everything else, if you mention it's for a boat then the price is tripled

Scary Des · 23 August 2004, 15:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by Manos

Is the public that drives the prices up. If you don't buy prices will drop. This ancient system of demand and supply mechanism actually works

But UNFORTUNATELY there too many people to start something like this. If it did though it will make life cheaper.

No, it’s the other way round, if more people bought outboards the price would go down, just look what happened to mobile phone prices. Still there is no excuse for the price differential across the Pond. Suppliers in the UK are complacent and happy to make large margins on low turn over, what is really needed is a ‘Tesco type’ operation to shack the market up. Just think of the sales they could achieve if they halved their prices.

Des

thorper · 23 August 2004, 15:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by TQBoater

I thought it was like everything else, if you mention it's for a boat then the price is tripled

Nope only doubled for marine use!! Triple is reserved for the aerospace industry

Ricky

Jonny Fuller · 23 August 2004, 15:54

I find myself in a rare and regretable situation of having to agree with Manos! at least about the supply and demand thing, oh and mebbe a bit of being so used to being ripped off in every other aspect of british life (taxation, taxation, taxation, etc) If you're in the 40% income tax bracket, have you ever considered the actual cost of a gallon of petrol? (which starts somewhere about £1 ) ie, how much you had to earn before tax to buy it....outrageous!

With the boats themselves, they're in most cases hand made, and I believe reasonably priced on the whole, but engines are a different matter altogether.

When Phantom built my boat, I saw the time, materials and effort that went in, I feel the price was very fair, and I'd had a small group of craftsmen working on what was effectively a 'one off'.

Engines, even in the limited numbers made for marine, compared to automotive, roll off a production line in japan or mexico or wherever, by the hundred, all the same. And just like toasters, or lawnmowers or whatever, they should be the cheaper part of putting a rig together, or at least that's how I see it.

One always expects to pay through the nose for any one off, or craftsman built products, not the other way round.

As was said earlier in this thread, why half the price in the US?

Manos · 23 August 2004, 16:20

I'm honoured and thanks Mr F

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jonny Fuller

As was said earlier in this thread, why half the price in the US?

May be becuse the Americans will not pay as much as the Europeans (or the Brits) and they will wait for the prices to drop? Hence the manufatcurers know this and instead to wait for sales, special offers, special packages and all that rubbish they drop the prices at first.

It is true why the same engine or the same VHF or the same anything costs 2 or even 3 and 4 times more in Europe than in the US, Canada, Australia or SAfrica?

I suppose, if you exlude SAfrica where life is cheap (zar 3,000-4,000 i.e. Pounds 230-300/month for a foreman or a manager) the other 3 have similar costs to Europe.

By the way in a research done by one of the European news papers published in a Greek news paper looking at consumer goods and consumer service prices (ex petrol) the UK is THE MOST EXPENSSIVE country in Europe to live and the cheapest is Portugal. Greece, believe it or not, is the 4th most expenssive place

Hightower · 23 August 2004, 16:34

Just good old rip off Britain again.

Jonny Fuller · 23 August 2004, 18:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hightower

Just good old rip off Britain again.

Love it!

Andy Stevens · 23 August 2004, 18:48

I've had a thought. Peugeot make about £100 a car yet 99.9% profit on all the parts that are fitted to the car later like headlights, wing mirrors etc. Cars are bashed all the time, serviced more often needing more parts. I suppose the profit margin on the parts is more per car.

Still a rip off though

codprawn · 23 August 2004, 20:42

What everyone seems to forget is the exchange rate is really good at the moment - $1.80 to the pound! Recalculate at a more normal rate and things don't look so good.

Rip off Britain only really exists on things that are taxed - ie petrol, booze and cigs!

just come back from a round Europe trip including Andorra and Gibraltar - consumer goods are no cheaper and usually more expensive - an Ipaq that in the UK cost about £300 was nearer £500 in Gib and Andorra.

Petrol was 42p a litre and whiskey £4.99 for a litre of Johhny Walker!

Biggles · 23 August 2004, 20:56

I agree with Codprawn.

the UK government seems to like taxing the necessities in life. Guess they get used more so they get more TAX.

White goods, ie DVDs, TVs, Washing Machines etc are more expensive in Europe. Also clothes are more expensive. Beer in a pub is the same price as UK in Northern Europe, Petrol is generally the same.

Booze is cheaper, fags are cheaper.

Cars aren't always cheaper.

For some reason a recent loophole in Customs and Taxing seems to have been exploited in DVDs, CDs, computer games, printer inks etc that come from Guernsey. I know they don't pay tax but surely it should taxed when it comes to the mainland. I think the customs have been a bit slow there.

Maybe we could buy RIBs in the channel islands tax free and bring them back to the UK.

I won't tell anyone if you don't........

By the way wasn't there a guy called Charles from the Channel Islands who used to do good deals on RIBs !!!

Keith Hart · 24 August 2004, 07:10

Ripoff Britain! Try shopping in Italy...

Keith Hart

Manos · 24 August 2004, 07:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keith Hart

Ripoff Britain! Try shopping in Italy...Keith Hart

In Italy like in Greece you should have hagled the price. You never take a price shown for granted

Hightower · 24 August 2004, 09:30

Well we should really say..........................Rip off Europe then!!

I travel to the States often and I can tell you, it's cheaper shopping across the board there. Income Tax is set higher though, but the wages people earn offset that. That's why the yanks eat out every night and buy on HP everywhere and pay the intrest rates.

Even credit cards are better there as well. I have American Express and gives me 1.3% cashback. Over there they get 5% cashback for the same CC.

Its a real tale of two stories I can tell you.

Andy