https://www.yachtforums.com/threads...ets-7-sales-following-flibs.30906/#navigation I found this interesting. Glad for O A but did not know of a relationship with Marine Max. Some of you already know I personally am not impressed with MM. Also in the noted thread a comment " They also are very attractive to entry-level buyers." Not what I wanted to read about O A but a standard line for BayLiners and SeaRays. I read that as a MM quote. Thoughts??
They've been doing it a while. They are pushing the 70 which is made in the US and even have a couple of those in inventory. I wonder if perhaps the tariffs led to some export cancellations. The problem I see is such a prejudice within Marine Max toward Azimut, how much attention will OA get. I don't see the point of selling a Yacht at a dealership vs. letting brokers handle it. Normally it would create less margin or higher prices. The entry level buyer comment makes sense if they're pushing the 70 against Hatteras' 75.
I just ran into a new OA 70' built in Merritt Island. The paint had A LOT of fish eyes in it and the O in A on the arch fell off and looked to only be glued on with silicon despite being a larger piece . The buyers took delivery a month ago and went from a Searay 52-55' that they had lots of issues with and only kept 4 months. MM gave them a good price on their used Searay and pushed them into the OA. They seemed to love the OA, it has pods. They were in the Exumas when I ran into them and they took delivery in Merritt Island I believe. The a/c discharge is above water and a mailbox opening type drain on the port side right by the aft deck. The noise it made annoyed the hell out of me and I was on a yacht across the finger pier from them, that must be noticeable on their own aft deck.
From what I was looking at with the OA 70 and the Hat 75 there is no compassion. The OA is much lighter, has IPS pods and costs 1.6mil less. Now the OE 75 is a closer comparison. Still not built as well as the M75. I personally would stay clear of any purchase from MM. All fro what I have read about MM not personal experience, though would like to here from others that have purchased from MM, from their listings there over priced. I did read that the tariffs have made Azimuth costs go up and are building less.
