I need help/Advice?????

[johnrb3]

So far I have to admit I'm very disappointed in my SeaRay. It has been one thing after another. I thought I was buying the BMW of boats and think I ended up with a Yugo. On delivery the arch had a crack in it, the A/C drip pan leaked and water was all in the rear of the cabin. I was up on the first night wet dry vacuuming water till 2am. The television antenna was broken and had no reception, the cockpit(rear) door would not latch(they had to drill new holes for the latch and fill the old holes which left small marks where the old screw holes were), the cockpit table had a 1/2in. strip of white gel coat almost all the way around it, the teak table had 2 large gouges on top in the wood, the cabin door still has a 2 inch gap at the top where it doesn't close correctly(they aren't sure how to fix), the remote spot didn't work, the cockpit windows leak water from the bottom that pours into the inside, and that was just the major stuff.
The bottom paint wasn't painted high enough up the side of the hull so it has to be pulled on Monday to add another 3 inches of paint, the carpet in the cockpit and cabin had to be steam cleaned because they had stains in them, and 2 of the cockpit cushions had tears/holes in them. Also, for some reason they replaced the transom shower nozzle and replaced it with the wrong one which split the inside clip. Oh yeah...you can't watch tv with the generator going because it has a high pitched squeal through the speakers.
Is this normal for a boat?? This is my first boat and I can't believe it. I was so excited about the boat and now it's just one additional stress in my life. I should have bought a used Larson/ Rinker/ Tahoe. What has the extra cash I paid for a SeaRay gotten me? Today they promised the A/C leak was fixed and of course it still is leaking. I was guaranteed it wouldn't leak anymore. They epoxied the whole thing together... Now how are they going to get the darn thing out?? I want my money back or a whole new boat. I've only been out in it twice now.

 

[Woody]

Was this boat on your dealers lot or was it brought in from elswhere? Did you see it before you bought it? What does the dealer say about the poor condition it was in? Certainly some of these problems should have been caught by him. Is this a new boat or used?

 

[johnrb3]

Brand new boat. Saw it, but didn't go over it as well as I should have because I'd heard such great things about SeaRay and since it was brand new. I agree Marine Max should have caught most of this. And SeaRay should have caught the 2 inch gap when the door is closed along with a lost of the other stuff.

 

[katricol]

There is someone on this site you could private message. chelepop. Works st searay. Also you should have spent time on this site BEFORE you bought a boat . On the home page if you scroll down there is a piece by Frank Webster about buying a new boat. On the top tight near faq hit search and type in keywords like new boat problems etc. Good luck

 

[Morpheus]

Brand new boat. Saw it, but didn't go over it as well as I should have because I'd heard such great things about SeaRay and since it was brand new. I agree Marine Max should have caught most of this. And SeaRay should have caught the 2 inch gap when the door is closed along with a lost of the other stuff.

Normally I would castrate you for posting your problem 3 times but I'll give you a hint to why you have so many problems and it's not cause of Sea Ray it's cause of where you bought it.

 

[wish2fish]

Brand new boat. Saw it, but didn't go over it as well as I should have because I'd heard such great things about SeaRay and since it was brand new. I agree Marine Max should have caught most of this. And SeaRay should have caught the 2 inch gap when the door is closed along with a lost of the other stuff.

:smt017

all the coin you dropped for a new 270 DA and you "didn't go over as well as you should have"!!! are you kidding me! I work hard for my money and don't spend $20 without thinking things through. Now you are whinning about everything.

The only advice I have for you is to keep a productive relationship with your dealer. If you go in bitching and whinning they probably will get tired of listening to you!

 

[comsnark]

Just curious . . .who is paying for the warrrenty repairs: SeaRay or the dealer?

I suspect the answer to this question will speak volumes.

 

[barryg]

This is one of the reasons I don't buy new...Slightly used will have the first owner getting all the bugs and problems out of the way, plus take a huge depreciation hit..New is not necessarily better.

That being said, I'd go up the chain at the dealership and if after speaking to the service manager and general manager that does nothing; I'd call and or get the email address or talk directly to William H. McGill, Jr., the President of Marine Max.
Marine Max
8167 Us Highway 19 North Suite 300
Clearwater, FL 33764-6569
(727) 531-1700
(727) 450-1160
You'll be amazed at how things get done starting at the top. If that does not work, then go to Sea Ray-again the President's office-Rick Stone.
SeaRay Boats
2600 Sea Ray Boulevard
Building 1
Knoxville, TN 37914
United States
Phone:
314-216-3333

Good luck, and let us know what happens .

Barry

 

[Kurt]

I had many small issues as well when I bought my 240 new last year. I just kept plugging away at each small issue until they were all fixed. I agree, a new boat should be trouble free. After 10 years of owning any boat I have realized there is no easy fix on any boat and if it is easy you still might have to stand on you're head to fix it.

To fix the speaker whining, you just need to install a inline RCA noise reduction filter. That is pretty common with any addition of a RCA's from an amp or TV.

 

[Stray Cat]

Johnrb3 - I understand where you are coming from, I too have lived the new boat blues....I expected my 300 to be perfect based on my experience from my 99 270DA that was puchased new. My cabin door was also screwed up from the factory, (it rubbed and had to be slammed to latch, plus the all the bearings had fallen out of the guide wheels). Needless to say, I was pissed and felt this should've been remedied at the factory, after all we went to the factory to see a portion of our boat built, our tour guide was the Quality Mgr for sport cruisers, we were shown the quality audit stations on the plant floor throughout boat build but yet this was one of many things that didn't make the grade.

Having said that, the dealer should have prepped your boat better, this means more than just sucking the sawdust and dirt left in it from the factory and polishing it. The dealer is the link to owner satisfaction. Running the generator and checking all of the systems for propper operation should also have been completed. In my opinion, your boat saw little prep time, and now awaits your punch list of things to fix.

Like you, I vented here. As baryg mentions, work your avenues up the MM mgmt chain leave your temper and emotions in the car. Be as professional as you can, and get dates to when things will be completed and hold them to it. I used "would you settle for this if it were your boat?" with my dealer and S/R several times. I took a ton of patience (which I am short of) and a lot of verbal finese (thanks to FW Webster) to get my 300 to where it is today. The last item on my punch list was resolved last year, 1 year out of warranty, and I didn't purchase extended warranty either...

Good luck, be patient, and work the system. The brochures always show all smiles, gluiding along the water with a warm breeze in our face....unfortunately these things can be part of the new owner experience.....and a Sea Ray is far, far, from a Beemer!

Hang in there, and good luck with your punch list.

 

[johnrb3]

Thanks all! I've been all smiles with the dealer, but needed to vent to someone
I actually spent countless hours on this site and others before buying this boat. Most issues here seemed to be questions around boats that were a couple of years old. Everything I saw was how great SeaRay was and don't even consider another boat. I even did a wet test, but in that time the A/C didn't run long enough to leak, it wasn't raining, didn't even think to check table for paint, etc...etc.... Sounds like this is normal stuff for boats.

 

[Stray Cat]

Sounds like this is normal stuff for boats.

Sort of but not always....in your case, this would've been the right time for a survey on a new boat prior to accepting delivery. Hind sight is always 20/20

 

[Loneranger]

I have never bought a new boat. All of mine have been used; however, if I had that many problems I agree that it would be time to return the boat for a refund or exchange to another boat. I wonder if this is a lemon or is Sea Ray sliding in quality in general or is it a dealer issue? I am not sure what items are factory applied and what is dealer applied.

While I agree that research and reading are important before a major purchase, your problems as described are terrible no matter how much research you perform.

Even had you gone over the boat carefully prior to purchase and found all of those problems, I would still be upset about the quality. Sounds like a terrible experience.

John

 

[boatmailster]

For me looks like Sea Rays are fabricated using cheaper components than years ago. There had to be some changes at their design team because some of "latest" upgrades are so stupid that even first time boat buyers can't believe that someone could manufacture boat this way. It looks like slow economy took a toll on them too and they are trying to cut corners wherever is possible. I think in last couple years they lost a "BMW status" (at least smaller boats) but they are still much better than Bayliners:smt001
Warranty claims are being paid by SeaRay but at SR approved rates and dealer usually losing money on that deal.

 

[Hampton]

I bought my 250Da new in 1997. My punch list was long and distinguished. I kept the boat for 10 years, and after the first year's worth of trouble-shooting, it was pretty much painless. After 10 years, I sold it for about 1/2 what I paid for the boat, trailer, tax, and license. Overall, a painful first year, but no complaints otherwise.

 

[dsteele1]

Thanks all! I've been all smiles with the dealer, but needed to vent to someone
I actually spent countless hours on this site and others before buying this boat. Most issues here seemed to be questions around boats that were a couple of years old. Everything I saw was how great SeaRay was and don't even consider another boat. I even did a wet test, but in that time the A/C didn't run long enough to leak, it wasn't raining, didn't even think to check table for paint, etc...etc.... Sounds like this is normal stuff for boats.

Speak to the Lewisville General Manger if you have any more problems: Harry Hait. He's new but should help you out like the previous manger did for us. You're going through nothing new... sorry to say. We bought our boat on brokerage through Marinemax. Highly recommend you learn to do as much of the maintenance and service as you can (after warranty is up) to save you a lot of frustration. If you are slipped at Texoma - Highport Marina has a top notch service department on site. If you are at Lewisville Lake - MarineMax is your only option...

 

[islandhopper00]

It will always amaze me how some people will blame the buyer for not looking hard enough, and not catching problems in a boat that the manafacturer, and/or dealer should be held liable for.
Crap, is this what boat buying has turned into? If you don't catch the problems with your "NEW" boat, ha, ha on you not our problem. Jeeze.
I can understand a "used" boat, buyer beware. Don't "we" buy a new boat for the warranty?

 

[Woody]

You have pics of the cabin door, cracked arch, torn seats, gouged tables, etc? It would be interesting to actually see your complaints. Post away I wanna see.

 

[Presentation]

I’m wondering if this boat was a demo boat, used at boat shows.

I was looking at a left over, previous year Sundancer.

The dealer did disclose that the boat had been shown in boat shows. Several items were broken. My assumption is people broke things as the boat was shown.

 

[islandhopper00]

I’m wondering if this boat was a demo boat, used at boat shows.

I was looking at a left over, previous year Sundancer.

The dealer did disclose that the boat had been shown in boat shows. Several items were broken. My assumption is people broke things as the boat was shown.

This is what happened to me when I bought my boat. After some research I found it was sitting in the dealership as a demo boat! That wasn't disclosed to me at the time of the sale.