anyine had any warranty issues on a Merc Inflatable ?

[ski65nut]

Has anyone had any warranty issues with thier Mercury inflatable ?

I have a Merc 270 airdeck that after only 2 years of use the stern board is seperating from the pontoons. The staff over at Buster's Marine has been very helpful, but for some unknown reason Mercury is claiming that is is not covered under their wonderful "10 year warranty".

I would love to hear if anyone else has had to deal with Mercury on a warranty issue. Man do I wish I bought a Zodiac !!!!!!!

Paul

 

[Henry Boyd]

We had problems in the past (10+ years ago). It was the same deal, there wasn't a warranty issue even though the hull was disintegrating before our eyes (and the warranty period). Dealer did noting for us, Mercury/Quicksilver did nothing either and we replaced it before the second season was over with a Zodiac.

Henry

 

[ski65nut]

Henry

I have to say that I have been back and forth with the dealer I purchased the boat through and the latest info I was given was that the "senior" manager is back from vacation next week and that he will make the final decision.

Hopefully I'll post good news next week, if not I may need some advice on a new Zodiac !

Thanks, I may need all the horror stories I can compile if they shoot me down again !!

Paul

 

[fwebster]

No warranty issues, but the damned thing just self destructed the last year of the warranty. Every seam and glue joint on the boat came apart at one time or another.

I now have a Zodiac that is about 6 years old and is as good today as it was the day I unpacked it.

 

[Rocket]

Check out Proskipper marine, freeport - they sell achilles hypalon boats, full service shop. I bought an air floor, all hypalon for the same price as a PVC zodiac. they are a full service shop and excellant to deal with.

 

[ski65nut]

I'll check them out if Mercury comes back with a denial of my claim. It is just unreal when the largest Mercury distributor and authorized repair center (Buster's Marine) says that there is and I quote "no way thay can say that this isn't going to be covered under the warranty

So much for quality and their so called "10 year warranty". What a joke. I should have hit the boards before I wasted my hard earned gas money !!!!

thanks for the advise.....anybody else ever have an issue with Mercury ???? :smt021

 

[sr330daguy]

Has anyone had any warranty issues with thier Mercury inflatable ?

I have a Merc 270 airdeck that after only 2 years of use the stern board is seperating from the pontoons. The staff over at Buster's Marine has been very helpful, but for some unknown reason Mercury is claiming that is is not covered under their wonderful "10 year warranty".

I would love to hear if anyone else has had to deal with Mercury on a warranty issue. Man do I wish I bought a Zodiac !!!!!!!

Paul

No you don't ! I have Zodiac (5 Year warranty),going on year 6 ..used 2 months a year up here (short summer).Boat is kept covered and dry...transom has soft spots ,no help from Zodiac..I paid 2x as much as someone at my marina who bought Baltik,which he abuses (left full of water,dirty,ect)No rotted wood or problems! Internet search reveals I'm not alone.

 

[Newbie]

No you don't ! I have Zodiac (5 Year warranty),going on year 6 ..used 2 months a year up here (short summer).Boat is kept covered and dry...transom has soft spots ,no help from Zodiac..I paid 2x as much as someone at my marina who bought Baltik,which he abuses (left full of water,dirty,ect)No rotted wood or problems! Internet search reveals I'm not alone.

Me too. Never again will I buy a Zodiac brand dink. I was noticing a small leak somewhere at the stern, pulled it out of the water for 2 weeks. When I re-inflated it, I found the transom had a 3x5 area that was rotten because of another of many seam failures. I have never seen wood rot that fast and cannot believe Zodiac didnt use a marine grade or treated lumber for the transom. This was only weeks after paying 200 to have the floor seams re-glued that were falling apart. What a POS!!!

 

[ski65nut]

OH MAN....it looks like I'm going to be doomed to dingy hell !!!! Well, cross your fingers for me and hope Mercury redeems itself and sends me some good news !!!!!

2 weekends without a dink and counting !!!!!

 

[skolbe]

Do folks tear there dinghy's down each weekend? Because inevitably you get a little water under the floorboards. I do my best to drain the boat. But does this wood rot that fast? I have seen dinghy's sitting in the sun with no protection and full of the water and the wood looks fine. Just curious what others are doing.

 

[ski65nut]

Skolbe, most people never deflate their dinks until it's time to roll it up for the winter. It is a good idea to give it a good rinse and drain it out after every use (just my opinion)

Ok, just got a call from Dave at Buster's Marine and thanks to their "relationship" with Mercury I will be getting a replacement dink for the weekend !!! The only catch is they are charging me a $150 "deductible"......oh well, at least I'll have it for the weekend !!

I have to say the only affiliation I have with Buster's is that I bought my inflatable and outboard from them.......throughout this whole ordeal they took the time to update me almost daily on what was going on. It is refreshing to see a company that actually seems to watch out for their customers.......

 

[Rocket]

Skolbe - I had the wood floor with my achilles and found it to be a PITA. After pullign up the boards, i found it to be a mess underneath. I purchased the air floor and installed in the same boat, so much easier to maintain. Just deflate, wash down, inflate.

 

[Sea Ray Mark]

Just my two cents, I've had a Mercury 310 sport (wood floor) for five years now. It stays in the water all season and I keep a custom cover on it during the week. It's been a great little boat and trouble free since day 1. There are 6 Mercury inflatables on my dock and I don't believe anyone has had a problem with their boats except for one that needed to have the keel guard re glued. All of the boats came from Buster's. It ain't all bad. :smt038Mark

 

[osd9]

I just posted in another thread, but I might as well repost here....


I also bought a dinghy from Buster's . I bought a PVC Mercury 270 Airdeck in 2006 as a 2005 leftover. The first boat had some problems and Mercury replaced the entire boat for free.....valves had some leaks. That second boat sits outside all year long....winter through summer.....with the factory cover on it and it has been trouble free....still looks like the day it was born...even has the original air in the tubes...sans a few pumps in the spring.

 

[ski65nut]

on a side note I stumbled across an inflatabe cleaner called "Speed Clean" made by Aurora that did an amazing job turning my Hypalon dink from filthy back to like new.

Just wanted to share my find !

 

[tobnpr]

Is your 270 PVC or hypalon?

My 270 is hypalon, is three years old, never been deflated, never been covered, and the 8 hp Merc 4-stroke is always on the transom. It lives on a floating PWC dock next to my boat and has baked in the Florida sun every day of those three years. The hypalon is stained (probably from my total lack of cleaning it!), but I have had zero issues other than adding a little air every few months...

I wouldn't own a PVC inflatable.

 

[ski65nut]

Mine is hypalon....I just picked up the replacement yesterday, now all I need for the rain to stop so I can try it out !!!!!

The one that Mercury just replace was stored out on my marina's dingy rack all winter and did get pretty nasty looking, I used the Speed Clean on it and it came back like new.

All I need now is to get my davits put on and I'm good to go !

 

[Skuza]

I've had a Merc for about 3 years now and the wood floor and seat board rotted. Not to the point of being junk but the paint was starting to crack and that was only after the first year. Was disappointed. The dealer was able to get me new floor boards but that was it. Other than that it has been good. I keep it on a hoist without a cover. I know there is water under the boards all the time but havn't noticed any big issues yet. (fingers crossed). I know I asked about buying a Merc on here years ago and remember Frank W. telling me to get a Zodiac. Well I regret it a bit but not entirely since I've had good luck so far. Looking at them up close you do notice the difference in quality though.