U.S. Tariffs and Prices?

[snowfever27]

That makes me smile as I'm now 62! My first new sled in 1978 was 1,600 bucks but a 440 was closer to 2,000. It was 400 fan cooled twin with a 136 inch with about a 3/4 inch lug. most where 1/2 inch till then! A new car was 6 to 8 thousand. Now we will jump to 1998 ( got out of sledding to raise a family) and my sled cost 12,000 bucks and a new car was 20 to 30,000 In 2005 my new sled was 15,500 and my new truck was 50,000 in 2003 Now in 2018 a new sled is 20,000 and a new car is 40,000 to 60,000 and a new truck is 50,000 to 70,000!

So sleds have never really been cheap and you could have bought cheaper cars but you could have also bought cheaper sleds. I tried to keep the cars upscale like the sleds. I think the problem comes is we want cutting edge tech and that comes with a price. My buddy bought a 2016 Cat with the 1100 twin four stroke brand new for under 9,000 bucks! You can still buy sleds for under 10,000 but they don't have a 180hp rated motor and are not top of the line tech!

I do like you wonder where this sport will be in the future (my future is shorter then yours) but looking back the jump from 1965 to 78 was a large step but mostly a jump in hp handling lacked alot! The jump from 78 to 98 for me was wild, hp out the ying yang and now they would handle! From 98 till now its all about refinements and seating position trying to get that perfect sled to handle perfectly as a on trail, off trail, steep and deep combo! In reality and I'll get blasted for this since 1998 sleds are the same they tweaked and move things around including the rider but they are the same! Cutting edge real change has not happened yet to main stream sled design! Its been dabbled in all over the place but not mainstream yet! The key is yet! Unlike me you have 30 years to wait and watch it come out!

I think your future for sledding will be fine but only if you have a good job will you be buying top of the line sleds, cars. raising baby's ect! Tariffs and crap will effect me more then you as its a short term deal that future government will change! If I learned anything in the last 50 or so years of throwing up at the stupidity of government BS, its that government concern is here today and forgotten tomorrow! What one finds important the next does not! They are self serving and you are not as important as they try to make you feel so they can feed off your dollar!

If you are patient you can find nice sleds cheap. I purchased my 2015 AC XF7000 for $8199 brand new (leftover) in the spring of 2016. I had to wait all summer to ride it. My first choice was a leftover 2014 Yamaha Viper LTX for $8699.

I had to drive 4 hours one way to get it but it sure beat paying the MSRP of $13,000.

If you buy a brand new, state of the art sled, the first year it comes out, you will pay premium $$$$$$. If you wait and watch, there will always be a good deals.

 

[Rich Kay]

Wont jump in and think I have the answer … but times have changed and I feel VERY lucky to have lived and snowmobiled during the glory years of the sports history ( there was bad times too ) But as I have said before sleds were getting too costly own and operate way before any concern about tariffs and cost of aluminum ect. Also....I don't make 5 times more than I did in the 80's either!

 

[Deeppow16]

If you are patient you can find nice sleds cheap. I purchased my 2015 AC XF7000 for $8199 brand new (leftover) in the spring of 2016. I had to wait all summer to ride it. My first choice was a leftover 2014 Yamaha Viper LTX for $8699.

I had to drive 4 hours one way to get it but it sure beat paying the MSRP of $13,000.

If you buy a brand new, state of the art sled, the first year it comes out, you will pay premium $$$$$$. If you wait and watch, there will always be a good deals.

I bought a new 2016 M8000 back in march. The out the door price was $8500. Hard to beat that price for a brand new mountain sled. Its amazing how much the price will drop in a year or 2 from MSRP price.

 

[blueironranger]

Leftovers are the sweet spot for me, every new Sled or ATV I've purchased was a left over, even my F150!
My last 3 "new" sleds
2001 SX600R - 5500$ in 2002
2009 Phazer mtx - 5700$ in 2010
2014 Viper XTX - 5800$ in 2017 (demo sled with 300 miles on it, full warranty)

I really don't expect tariffs to effect sleds much at all, Even if Steel and Aluminum prices were to double it wouldn't cost more than 100$ extra to build the sled. A doubling of Steel prices would only add ~500$ to an average family car. As a disclaimer, I work for USSteel so you know what side I'm on! I'm just glad someone had guts to finally do more than slap China on the wrist for dumping excessive product on the US.

 

[Sasquatch]

Leftovers are the sweet spot for me, every new Sled or ATV I've purchased was a left over, even my F150!
My last 3 "new" sleds
2001 SX600R - 5500$ in 2002
2009 Phazer mtx - 5700$ in 2010
2014 Viper XTX - 5800$ in 2017 (demo sled with 300 miles on it, full warranty)

I really don't expect tariffs to effect sleds much at all, Even if Steel and Aluminum prices were to double it wouldn't cost more than 100$ extra to build the sled. A doubling of Steel prices would only add ~500$ to an average family car. As a disclaimer, I work for USSteel so you know what side I'm on! I'm just glad someone had guts to finally do more than slap China on the wrist for dumping excessive product on the US.

Yet the US wants free reign on dumping cheaper dairy products on Canada! Citing Canada's tariffs and their dairy board as being unfair to US suppliers who over produce and need a market to flood thier products too! That is why Canada has a board that controls just that problem! I agree that China is a problem but years ago the US drove out all their manufactures to China and Mexico! Unlike China, Canada buys almost as much steel and aluminum as it sells to the US yet it became a target like China!

As I said earlier in a trade war both sides lose and jobs are the first to go! Yet China does not seem to be affected by the US tariffs one bit! No I don't see any jobs increasing either side of the border from this but on the Up Side Canadian Whiskey is plentiful along with fish meat bread and cheese! I'll do just fine!

 

[Rich Kay]

Yet the US wants free reign on dumping cheaper dairy products on Canada! Citing Canada's tariffs and their dairy board as being unfair to US suppliers who over produce and need a market to flood thier products too! That is why Canada has a board that controls just that problem! I agree that China is a problem but years ago the US drove out all their manufactures to China and Mexico! Unlike China, Canada buys almost as much steel and aluminum as it sells to the US yet it became a target like China!

As I said earlier in a trade war both sides lose and jobs are the first to go! Yet China does not seem to be affected by the US tariffs one bit! No I don't see any jobs increasing either side of the border from this but on the Up Side Canadian Whiskey is plentiful along with fish meat bread and cheese! I'll do just fine!

How did the US "drive" out all there manufactures...…..?

 

[Stormbringer]

How did the US "drive" out all there manufactures...…..?

They did not drive them out. They were enticed by the lucrative trade deals with Nafta and Cafta and other trade deals. Good for the businesses and the politicians but not good for us. The good news for someone getting into the sport, is used sleds are dirt cheap and there dependable! When I got into the sport we pushed them more then rode them!

 

[Rich Kay]

They did not drive them out. They were enticed by the lucrative trade deals with Nafta and Cafta and other trade deals. Good for the businesses and the politicians but not good for us. The good news for someone getting into the sport, is used sleds are dirt cheap and there dependable! When I got into the sport we pushed them more then rode them!

Yep … NAFTA. put to together by good ole Billy Clinton and signed by him. It gave big corporate American companies the green light to set up shop over seas as long as they dropped big money on the steps of Washington … great deal for all the fat that lives at the top! It was the beginning of the slide of our economy way back. And now you see a president trying to turn that buss around and people don't get it.. Our prior leadership has been running around spineless with this issue as well as many other issues that have suck the life out of this country all for political gain for the few.

 

[Stormbringer]

I could not agree more! I worked in the steel mills 30+ years ago and they were dumping steel in the country illegally. And today they are still dumping steel into the country! At least one guy in Washington is trying his heart out to stop it!

 

[kinger]

This won't happen long term, its not healthy for anyone so a deal will be made but we have to swing our big nuts around first. I am a manufacturer that consumes Steel and Aluminum and most of the % increases I have seen flying around are fake news.

 

[Deeppow16]

To bring this topic back up, I just read an article yesterday saying that the snowmobile industry is going to be the next industry hit hard by these tariffs. Has anyone heard from dealers talking about what they think is going to happen? It might be worth talking to the MFG's at haydays and hearing what there thoughts are on it all.