2023 R6 OB - Discount Target?

[chi_SH29]

Hi. Brand new to the forum. I'm a Midwest transplant and moved to Tampa FL last year and have been evaluating a boat purchase to better enjoy the FL lifestyle.

I've been researching for the past month, and have went around to various dealers. I still am not certain I'm ready to buy, but am leaning in that direction.

The Cobalt R6 OB is at the top of my list right now. They seem like the perfect combination of what I am looking for, and for the most part I see good stories in terms of reliability, workmanship, and resale value. All of those are important to me in making this very big purchasing decision.

I have looked around the forum here and am trying to get a good sense of what sort of discount I should be expecting. It seems like 25 to 30% is what I should be shooting for, but I also am not sure if that's truly achievable on an R6.

So my question is this...What should I be aiming for? It's a 2023 R6 OB with Yamaha 300hp Pearlescent White on the dealer's lot. MSRP with all the options and freight is $212k. They started at 18% discount, but that's not going to get the job done to make me move at this time. I will be financing some of the purchase - Exact amount is not certain but I'm guessing around 50%/50%. So, there is money to be made on that end for the dealer.

I am happy to provide more information if it would help to provide better guidance for me. I greatly appreciate learning from the forum and the guidance is most appreciated. I can only hope that if I move ahead and become a proud Cobalt owner, I can pay it forward one day!

[jac7788]

On a custom order in October on an r6 surf I was able to get 20% off and no fees (prep, freight, etc) just boat and tax. I think they prob would have done better on the r8 surf they had on the lot for a while.

[Krob1114]

Welcome. Most people here will advise you to get more than 300 hp as the R6 is a heavy boat.
18% is good for Covid times, but discounts should be going back up. Financing might not be good right now, but you can do like we did, re-finance when rates go down. We did the dealer 20 year loan, then later converted to a lower rate 12 year loan and hardly raised the payment. We took the dealer financing because we panicked, it was Memorial Day weekend, and we went almost 24 hours without owning a boat.

We had to change our Florida trip from early May to second week of October due to wife's work trip to Costa Rica.
If you order and get the boat by October, we'll be happy to assist you in learning nuisances of your Cobalt. We'll be staying just south of Clearwater.
Again, welcome. You most likely won't regret purchasing a Cobalt, but we're prejudiced here.

[chi_SH29]

Thank you for the advice so far. I have in my head to shoot for 22% to 24% for an in-stock boat assuming I do some level of financing through the dealer. I'm not going to press on the out the door price until I am 100% certain I am going to move forward - I don't want to waste their time or my own until I'm committed to going ahead.

There was another post on here suggesting the 350hp is the way to go, so I feel this is worth investigating. I am new to boating so I certainly apologize for the newbie question, but what are the reasons to pay the extra $7K for the Merc 350hp? I do see this is a heavy boat and a larger engine would provide added horsepower, faster to plane, better performance in choppy water, etc. However, my planned usage is in general going to be as a runabout to visit sandbars, restaurants/bars, etc along the intercoastal and Tampa Bay. I have no desire to head offshore, fishing, skiing, etc. (I don't think the R5 is made for these activities anyway, except of course the water sports). Yes, I know that may change over time but I just don't see it happening.

I'm at the top of my budget right now with the boats the dealer has on the lot or in their build pipeline within their network, and I don't believe any of them have the Merc 350 option. That means we'd have to look at swapping engines, or doing a custom build. A custom build is going to put me in a 2024 and that by itself would also add another ~$12k increase in MSRP as I assume that's going up 8% or more.

I want to make an informed decision, but given my planned usage I am trying to think through whether this is really something I would benefit from. I am here to be enlightened!

[dgangwer]

Tried to PM but messages are stuck in the Outbox.
I have a R6 Outboard in Delray Beach. If you want to come over, I'd be glad to take you out in the Intracoastal.
I have the Merc 300, am a power guy and have had no issues with being underpowered.
If you email me @ kdgangwer@gmail.com I'll reply with pictures.

[R6outboard]

chi- you are in the right place to get great info on these boats. Welcome.

Think I can add to the conversation. I custom ordered a 21 r6 outboard. Went with the then newly designed 300 merc. over the 350 I6. Long and short...Think it's a better engine and cheaper. Weights less by like 70 lbs, has almost double the alternator power, and is a good bit more efficient. Plus quiet beyond belief in normal operation and a good sound when hammering on it. HOWEVER now I think the all new 350 is available. There might be a case for the new v10 but in my opinion the 300 merc is enough scoot for the r6. Especially if comparing to the older 350 inline 6. Not sure what a 23 would come with if ordered with a 350 outboard. Dont think anyone has had one with the new v10. My r6 300 would gps 52 mph and felt plenty fast once on plane acceleration wise. I also had trim tabs so if needed could use to get on plane faster. Would grab the one in front of you and not look back.

For the discount. I purchased the 21 for 24% off an order I placed. Had the r6 about a year and put a little under 40 hours on it. Just bought an r4 stern I ordered for 18% off. Long and short my dealer was short on boats when I ordered it 8-9 months back. Now he has 2-3 in the show room. Said cobalt limited his ordering for 23 and that was a new thing for him. Wasn't happy about 18% but in my case averaged the two in my head to feel better. Plus I sold my r6 for an insane amount more than what I bought it for.

I feel you should be able to get about 22-25% off on a 23 boat in stock right now. See some 22s for 25-30% off. Mainly R8. Think also area and dealer dependent.

[AsLan7]

.
Hey chi....so glad you found us.

As you can see roughly 20-30% is fairly common depending on market conditions.

Be sure to post pics if you purchase.

And welcome aboard mate.

.

[Jeffrey262]

chi- you are in the right place to get great info on these boats. Welcome.

Think I can add to the conversation. I custom ordered a 21 r6 outboard. Went with the then newly designed 300 merc. over the 350 I6. Long and short...Think it's a better engine and cheaper. Weights less by like 70 lbs, has almost double the alternator power, and is a good bit more efficient. Plus quiet beyond belief in normal operation and a good sound when hammering on it. HOWEVER now I think the all new 350 is available. There might be a case for the new v10 but in my opinion the 300 merc is enough scoot for the r6. Especially if comparing to the older 350 inline 6. Not sure what a 23 would come with if ordered with a 350 outboard. Dont think anyone has had one with the new v10. My r6 300 would gps 52 mph and felt plenty fast once on plane acceleration wise. I also had trim tabs so if needed could use to get on plane faster. Would grab the one in front of you and not look back.

For the discount. I purchased the 21 for 24% off an order I placed. Had the r6 about a year and put a little under 40 hours on it. Just bought an r4 stern I ordered for 18% off. Long and short my dealer was short on boats when I ordered it 8-9 months back. Now he has 2-3 in the show room. Said cobalt limited his ordering for 23 and that was a new thing for him. Wasn't happy about 18% but in my case averaged the two in my head to feel better. Plus I sold my r6 for an insane amount more than what I bought it for.

I feel you should be able to get about 22-25% off on a 23 boat in stock right now. See some 22s for 25-30% off. Mainly R8. Think also area and dealer dependent.

Great questions and the responses have answered a number of questions. I sold my Formula 370ss and looking to drown size to some thing I can trailer - like the R8. I found a 2022 r8 w/twin OB300's. Seems pretty loaded. Not sure why its still sitting at the dealership. Lets assume, its been sitting since last year, do you think it might be possible to press for 25 to 30% discount? I've also been trying to find out what the top speed would be - 60+ would be ideal - coming from a Formula. What are your thoughts. I spoke to Formula directly and know they are offering 20% on in stock models.

[R6outboard]

chi- you are in the right place to get great info on these boats. Welcome.

Think I can add to the conversation. I custom ordered a 21 r6 outboard. Went with the then newly designed 300 merc. over the 350 I6. Long and short...Think it's a better engine and cheaper. Weights less by like 70 lbs, has almost double the alternator power, and is a good bit more efficient. Plus quiet beyond belief in normal operation and a good sound when hammering on it. HOWEVER now I think the all new 350 is available. There might be a case for the new v10 but in my opinion the 300 merc is enough scoot for the r6. Especially if comparing to the older 350 inline 6. Not sure what a 23 would come with if ordered with a 350 outboard. Dont think anyone has had one with the new v10. My r6 300 would gps 52 mph and felt plenty fast once on plane acceleration wise. I also had trim tabs so if needed could use to get on plane faster. Would grab the one in front of you and not look back.

For the discount. I purchased the 21 for 24% off an order I placed. Had the r6 about a year and put a little under 40 hours on it. Just bought an r4 stern I ordered for 18% off. Long and short my dealer was short on boats when I ordered it 8-9 months back. Now he has 2-3 in the show room. Said cobalt limited his ordering for 23 and that was a new thing for him. Wasn't happy about 18% but in my case averaged the two in my head to feel better. Plus I sold my r6 for an insane amount more than what I bought it for.

I feel you should be able to get about 22-25% off on a 23 boat in stock right now. See some 22s for 25-30% off. Mainly R8. Think also area and dealer dependent.

Great questions and the responses have answered a number of questions. I sold my Formula 370ss and looking to drown size to some thing I can trailer - like the R8. I found a 2022 r8 w/twin OB300's. Seems pretty loaded. Not sure why its still sitting at the dealership. Lets assume, its been sitting since last year, do you think it might be possible to press for 25 to 30% discount? I've also been trying to find out what the top speed would be - 60+ would be ideal - coming from a Formula. What are your thoughts. I spoke to Formula directly and know they are offering 20% on in stock models.

I was considering a formula 270 or 240 before ultimately deciding on a 23 r4. Feel cobalt has the best 22-28ft boats right now. About the r8 outboard you found; sounds like a great way to go. Saw or read somewhere they top out at 68 with the 2x 300s. Also found a video (linked below) that shows one in action. They are claiming 67 mph in the video. Note my r6 outboard with a 300 merc topped at 52. On the discount, I think that is doable especially on a 22 and one that is loaded. My guess is over 300k msrp. But again think you can hit your target. Offer 200k go from there.

[Jeffrey262]

Thanks R6Outboard. Much appreciate you tracking down the video. Formula v Cobalt is you had to do it again, do you feel
cobalt has better value but both have top quality?

[R6outboard]

Thanks R6Outboard. Much appreciate you tracking down the video. Formula v Cobalt is you had to do it again, do you feel
cobalt has better value but both have top quality?

In the models I was looking at... Formula 240 and 270, felt the interior design and features were very dated. Significant issue for me were the chart plotter screen size (its small and only one), lighting around the boat is one color, materials and interior design seemed 15-20 years old, and the stereo is too middle of the road for a premium boat. My current 23 r4 has the larger screens (10" each I think), and the platinum sound. Also was a little concerned with the Ilmor power the dealership I was looking at was stocking... it's great no doubt but just worried about parts and part costs long run. I have no issues with the exterior design of the formula and really like their extended swim platform option. I feel their best exterior design is the 270 of the entire BR range. Also really like how few boats they make a year compared to Cobalt and many others.

Formula has seemed to focus on their 35+ boats the last 5 years. Also on equipping their larger boats with outboards. The interior on those boats are so much more current and would prob. buy a formula next go round if they redesign the interior on the smaller boats. Did notice the 310 and 290 did get a larger screen(s) but not like the 35+ boats. Time will tell... and really love my r4 so unless I need more room will not go larger. Currently seem to boat 80% solo.

Haven't owned a Formula so cants speak to their quality. Looked very high when I looked at 2 different models. Did notice one issue with a hatch when I opened it so not perfect. But can say my 2 Cobalts have each had a minor item here and there to address.

[FirstStar]

Holy speed batman... 67mph on an R8 with twin mercs... that would be my choice!