Azimut / MarineMax Owner's Experience Video

Jack380AC

Member
Jan 28, 2008
877
West Chester, PA / North East, MD
Boat Info
2000 380 Aft Cabin
Engines
Twin 454 Mag MPI Horizon MerCruiser
http://youtu.be/msP-yHaU1Ts

This popped up on my LinkedIn account today. Its long but well worth the time. This guy does a great job explaining why (as is said by CEO of MarineMax at the end) I am sooooo glad I own a SeaRay.

Unfortunately, I also had similar experiences with MarineMax.
 
I saw this video yesterday. That guy had the patience of a saint. I wonder how many times he came unglued over that poor craftsmanship from Azimut. Really amazed at his problems. It sounded like the MM he had issues with was in NY but the SE Florida MM did OK? I know a master captain that personally picks these boats up when they are shipped in. He's been on every size they make. He was shocked as well. I have a freind who owns one as well and he hasn't experienced these kinds of problems. Maybe the boat was built on a Monday or Friday?
 
Every boat owner should watch this. I can't believe how calm this guy was.

A few take aways:
1- A good dealer and good dealer relationship is important.
2- Go over everything with a fine toothed comb. A survey even on a new boat is a GREAT idea.
3- Use your warranty

I have to say SeaRay is hardly perfect either. I've had two. A brand new 240 Sundance and my current 350 Sundancer, which I got with only 50 hours.

At deliver we put together a list of problems with the 350 that our surveyor found or that we found and they included:
1- Hole in the gelcoat near the transom door
2- A drain pipe junction that was leaking
3- A seacock on the port engine that was leaking **this took four attempts to fix**
4- AC system kept failing **It took more than a year to fix this problem**
5- VHF radio (same one in this video) failed and had to be replaced (this happened on my 240 as well)
6- We had a brand new Raymarine HD Raydome installed. Dead on arrival. Raymarine replaced it under warranty, but we had to PAY for the tech to replace it.
7- Water poured through the arch into the cockpit. A seal was missing where the radar and KVH wiring went into the arch.
8- Water poured into the cabin near the light above the galley sink. The skylight was leaking and this has since been re-bedded two times.

Since delivery we had a major water leak that was attributed to a break in the seal between the windshield and the haul. SeaRay had to replace part of the wood floor and the headliner.

Before the boat made it to my dealer it had an engine mount problem that came from the factory. My dealer had to take out both engines and replace their mounts to fix the problem.

I have found screws, pieces of wire, nuts, washers, etc in my engine compartment. My 240 was the same. The factory drops all sorts of things in there and never picks them up.

With all of this said, my dealer has been excellent to respond to issues. I've never had to WAIT weeks or months for them to address something. They have about 9-10 service techs. People give Prince William a hard time on this forum, but they always respond to their customers. Maybe this is why they won't touch other boats.
 
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Holy *** that guy HAD to be on valium or some other drug......my head would of exploded if all that happened to me....how many times did he say "be aware of this"? That's the most ridiculous example of workmanship I've ever seen.
 
I kept wondering why he was letting the Huntington MarineMax off the hook so lightly. Yes, he mentioned some issues in passing, and then showed the e-mails demonstrating their lack of responsiveness, but honestly their total lack of competence was glaring. I can only suspect that there is some type of negotiation going on which led him to not explicitly point out their ineptitude.
 
He's getting the word out about his situation while minimizing his exposure to claims of slander.

I noticed the author of the video is an LLC, I bet he formed it just to publish the video.
 
No comparison, but last year I removed my microwave to run some wiring behind it.
I was suprised to find it was still wrapped with the clear plastic covering the vents.
I can't imagine it was used much because it would have burnt itself up:smt101

Jeff
 
He's getting the word out about his situation while minimizing his exposure to claims of slander.

I noticed the author of the video is an LLC, I bet he formed it just to publish the video.

You hit the nail on the head. He didn't want to take a chance at being sued. I'm sure people lost their jobs in the NY MM. An email stating that they forget to order parts or check up on them after time is unacceptable. Who in their right mind would tell a customer that, especially one who just paid $1.5 million on a boat.
 
No comparison, but last year I removed my microwave to run some wiring behind it.
I was suprised to find it was still wrapped with the clear plastic covering the vents.
I can't imagine it was used much because it would have burnt itself up:smt101

Jeff

I think this proves my point. It's not just Azimut. Many boat makers get components from other vendors and they may not always know how to properly install them.

The AC issue on this guys Azimut was embarrassing.

Also, this guy mentioned near the end that there's no lemon law for boats. I'm sure he had his lawyer look into it. I'm sure he also considered a lawsuit and in the end decided this video was his best option.
 
Amazing how far behing the boating industry is when compared to the automotive industry. I can't imagine anybody buying a car with so many difects but, unfortunately, people already expect new boats to come with poor quality and defective parts that have to be fixed.
 
Just wow. I would be beside myself. Buying a brand new boat scares me. Finding a well maintained boat from a knowledgeable Owner appears it could minimize risk... Or maybe I've just been lucky with the two boats I've owned. I've had the normal issues to address, but nothing remotely close to this nightmare.
 
There's a 70' Azimut around the bend of my marina,

It's got Termites!
 
That was interesting. articulate, and to the point. My favorite part was the repair to the wrong engine in the yard. I always figured Azimut had a good product.They sell quite a few of these so cal. I have 2 within a couple hundred feet away.
 
Watching this video verified my stance on buying a new boat.....never ever again.
I bought a new Sea Ray (06), had as many issues as he did, and likely about the same results. I commend my dealer (Hall Marine) for having the patients and stamina to wade thru and fix everything with me. I say with me, because I fixed at least as much as they did on my own. You can read about alot of issues I had, right in the 240da section of this web site. I can't say how much Sea Ray helped Hall Marine, but they didn't help me personally. I called about some issues and didn't get much support. So I did it myself.

I have rebuilt an old 1978 Chris Craft, took everything apart, and rebuilt and replaced as I went along. I am super proud to say, not one failure of anything I replaced or rebuilt. Now the shop that did the motor rebuild....not so good. "We" are still chasing oil leaks on the rebuilt motor because they cut corners and reused gaskets, and just crappy workmanship. $6500.00 for crap! I expect at any time they will wash their hands and I'll take a bath on their bad work and have to fix it myself.
I wanted to do the rebuild myself, but didn't have the lifts necessary to remove the engine, and none of the shops would remove the engine and let me have the engine to rebuild. They couldn't make any money that way. So, I get to deal with poor craftsmanship.

It's sad really. How do shops sleep at night when they are stealing peoples hard earned money.

I feel so bad for this "rich guy" and the crap he has had to deal with, specially considering how much money he spent! I kept wondering to myself, how can any boat manafacturer not hire someone to oversee quality. An independent set of eyes holding themself to a higher standard. I would think the position would pay for itself easily by catching mistakes, and not having to do this work under warranty. It's a crying shame manafacturers use their customers as a test platform.

Tell me again why you would buy a brand new boat? My 06 240da is in better shape right now, than when I bought it brand new, and I will take the huge depreciation hit to give someone a great boat. Not me again......

I could see in this gentlemans eyes, and could hear the tightness in his voice the disappointment. I'm sure he will win his day......at least I hope so. I wish I could be that composed.
 
Someone (@dogsliemovie) who says they are an indie film director is distributing this video on Twitter and sending it to EVERY boat builder's Twitter account. It was sent to my travel blog Twitter account.

It will be interesting to see if there's any fallout.

If if I was in the market for a boat in this price range this video would make me seriously think of eliminating MarineMax and Azimut as possibilities. There are boat builders who deliver a quality product, but not all.
 
Makes me love my boat even more.
 
I love the guy! He made his point while staying calm and matter of fact. You know Azimuth and Marine Max received a copy first. I have talked to people that bought new Sea Ray boats with many, many issues as well. Just not quite like the mess this boat was.
 
Curious, the Sea Ray comments at the end... How does that tie into his story?
 
there is no way in hell that I would EVER consider buying a new boat.....just the ridiculous amount of money they want is enough to stop me.
 

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