Vern Eide Marine opens to eager boat buyers

Jan. 15, 2021

It took only 30 minutes after opening the doors Monday for the first boat to sell at the new Vern Eide Marine.

A customer from out of town who’d been looking for a boat all summer saw a used boat on the Vern Eide Marine website, came in and said, “I’ll take it,” according to co-manager Jason Hone.

Vern Eide Marine is a division of longtime auto dealer Vern Eide Motorcars, located as part of its new east-side complex at 4501 E. Arrowhead Parkway.

Boats became a particularly hot commodity amid the coronavirus pandemic as more people looked for ways to get outside. That has made amassing inventory a bit tricky for Vern Eide Marine, but the dealership has about a dozen new boats in stock with more on the way, Hone said.

“A lot of people, we’re going to just take orders and have them by late spring,” Hone said, adding that in the first few days he has already seen a lot of interest from customers.

Buying a boat isn’t all that different from buying a car, he added. Customers come into the 20,000-square-foot showroom, look at what’s on the floor and decide on features. Eventually, the hope is to have enough inventory that taking a boat home the same day it’s purchased is the norm.

“The goal is to have 30 boats on the show floor,” Hone said.

The dealership will carry a wide range of inventory, including brand names such as Bennington pontoon boats, Skeeter fiberglass fishing boats, Crestliner aluminum fishing boats and Bayliner pleasure boats.

Vern Eide Marine’s regular hours are 9 a.m to 6 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. The marine dealership is part of a 100,000-square-foot facility that also includes Vern Eide’s new Mitsubishi location, a used-vehicle supercenter and a service facility.

Want to stay in the know?

Get our free business news delivered to your inbox.



Vern Eide Marine opens to eager boat buyers

There’s officially a new boat dealer in town.

News Tip

Have a business news item to share with us?

Scroll to top