Dealers embrace used-boat certification
Tiara hopes to emulate luxury automakers with its certified pre-owned program
By Melanie Winters / Associate Editor
m.winters@tradeonlytoday.com
RICH ARMSTRONG
Taking a page from the playbook of
automobile manufacturers, Tiara Yachts
launched a certified pre-owned program to capture more of the used-boat
market and give the company an edge
over its leading competitor — pre-owned models of its own brand.
“It ensures repeat customers, and it en-
sures more consistent values of certified
pre-owned Tiaras,” says Nick Bischoff,
vice president of sales and marketing for
the Holland, Mich., boatbuilder.
“The dealer will give more value to
certified pre-owned boats,” he says.
Tiara dealers are enthusiastic about
the new program.
“I was excited about it from Day
One,” says Brian Dekkinga, Tiara brand
manager for Florida-based Galati Yacht
Sales. “I see a lot of benefit [from this
program] in selling a new boat. It’s
going to keep people in the fold by giving them more value for their trade-ins.”
Rob McCarthy, general manager of
Lakeside Marine Group, agrees: “We think
it’s going to be a differentiating factor.”
He says a conversation with a fellow
passenger on a recent flight to Las Vegas
reinforced that view. McCarthy was sitting next to a man who was looking
through a car magazine, and he asked
the man which car he would buy. Without hesitation, the man pointed to a new
Lincoln and said he would buy that in
two years as a certified pre-owned car.
“I think it means the certified pre-owned concept is here to stay, and I
think it’s great that Tiara has emulated
its program after the high-end luxury
car market,” says McCarthy.
An industry first
Tiara unveiled the CPO program at
the Fort Lauderdale International Boat
Show in October. The company is
billing it as the marine industry’s first
factory sponsored and endorsed certified pre-owned program.
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Tiara Yachts, touted the company’s
new certified pre-owned program at
the Fort Lauderdale International Boat
Show last October.
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“This is not a service contract like
other boatbuilders,” Bischoff explains.
“With us, the warranty is included in the
price of the boat. Others sell a service
contract that’s separate from the price of
the boat, and it’s not as comprehensive.”
The Tiara program is for late-model
Tiara yachts — less than five years (or
seven model years) old — that are taken
in trade toward a new model. But not all
Tiara yachts may qualify; they first must
undergo a 214-point inspection by the
dealer’s service manager. The inspection
includes safety, engine and mechanical
equipment, instrumentation and electronics, exterior and interior compo-nents/parts and overall appearance.
The yachts that pass inspection are
backed by authorized CPO dealers with
an exclusive comprehensive limited
warranty that provides an additional
one-year warranty on engines, engine
components and all major accessories,
and also retains the remainder of the
original manufacturer’s warranties.
The typical warranty for components
on a new boat is one year, and Tiara offers its own five-year structural warranty
See Pre-owned, Page 22
