JD Power... Regal upsets SeaRay

[Alex D]

Sorry maybe I took things out of context. I do like Regal, even though not their cockpit design. It is a family operation with the highest level of integrity from the owners and management. They treat theri employees like family and are community benefactors. An exemplary organization. You ought to read the Regal story sometime How the Kucks stated building boats from nothin in the late 60s and how they became who they are against all that multi-national conglomerate cut throat competition.

 

[islandhopper00]

I think the big difference is the Regal Dealers are working a lot harder to please their customers than maybe Marine Max is. The big corporate dealership is less personal than the smaller Regal dealers - hence better customer service.

I agree - I can't help but wonder if these latest ratings are not as much a reflection of Marine Max as of Sea Ray. In all the postings here and on SRO I cannot remember seeing anyone citing any improvements at their dealership after being swallowed up by MM. OTO, I've seen plenty of comments to the contrary.

I'm still new to the CSR, bought my boat in Nov. 06 from a Hall Marine Group Sea Ray dealer. I've had my share of waranty issues, goes with new boat ownership, I purchased a 240 DA. Now I know this is an entry level boat and exceptions have to be made but no bow roller? I didn't think it would be a problem, slap on an aftermarket roller done. Well the aftermarket doesn't make an acceptable roller to install. Sea Ray now has an approved roller which I bought, It looks like an after thought. So I thought custom, my dealer wouldn't touch my idea. So I contacted the Marine Max in Little River SC,(closes dealer to me) a great bunch. Not only did we come up with a great idea, Take the bow roller from the 270 select ex, graft it into the 240. Wow thats going to look great. I talked to my home dealer and all I received from them is you'll void your hull waranty, trade up to the 260. Long story short Marine Max was helping, Hall marine holding me back. I don't think a bow roller should cost me $20,000 in the form of an upgrade to a 260. Not for a bow roller that should be there in the first place. Sorry I'll climb down off my soap box. In all the Sea Ray seems to be a great boat, my point is why would Sea Ray pass on bad engineering to it's customers. Will I trade up to a 260? I'm not sure. I'll have to wait and see if the bad taste rinses from my mouth.

 

[Skip]

We looked at, crawled under, around, over, and through, and demo'd a 2005 Regal 3560 with Volvo Penta 8.1s and Ocean Series drives. That boat was a rocket, and nicely finished. The dealer set up was lousy though, and on the demo ride (rainy day on the Chesapeake) we got soaked due to poorly fitted canvas. We pounded through some 2-3' and the squeaks and rattles in a new boat were a little unnerving. All due to dealer set up, I think. Regal makes a nice boat. We almost bought a 3560, but my wife and I just could not get around the very small galley and the cockpit layout.

We prefer the Sea Ray layout and styling.

Sure, the Regal 4460 with 480 Volvos is faster than my 420 with 450 Cummins, but I am not interested in running 15 tons of boat at 35 knots.

I do hope that the JD Power results, for what they are worth, compels Sea Ray to redouble their quality control efforts.

I occasionally stop by the Regal Owners website, and their are some knowledgeable, agreeable folks over there. I still like my Sea Ray, I loved what what was SRO, and what is now CSR. Best boating site on the web.

regards
Skip

 

[First Born]

I'm still new to the CSR, bought my boat in Nov. 06 from a Hall Marine Group Sea Ray dealer. I've had my share of waranty issues, goes with new boat ownership, I purchased a 240 DA. Now I know this is an entry level boat and exceptions have to be made but no bow roller? I didn't think it would be a problem, slap on an aftermarket roller done. Well the aftermarket doesn't make an acceptable roller to install...talked to my home dealer and all I received from them is you'll void your hull waranty, trade up to the 260.

Islandhopper, sorry to hear about your concerns with Hall Marine Group. That is where we purchased our boat and I will tell you they have gone above and beyond to make us satisfied with our new purchase. Is your home dealer the Lake Wylie store? Just curious did you check with Sea Ray to see if what they told you about the hull waranty is correct. If they are correct it could be they are not holding you back but actually helping you from having future problems down the road. If they are not correct you could simply tell them that you checked with Sea Ray and they have told you it would not affect your warrenty. Just my opinion...

Wesley

 

[BrentJones]

We looked at, crawled under, around, over, and through, and demo'd a 2005 Regal 3560 with Volvo Penta 8.1s and Ocean Series drives.

Sure, the Regal 4460 with 480 Volvos is faster than my 420 with 450 Cummins, but I am not interested in running 15 tons of boat at 35 knots.

I've really only looked at their sport cruisers from the 3060 and down, but after reading your post, I thought I'd look again. The 3560 looks great, along with the 4460. Just from the photos, I like the design of their larger cruisers far more than their smaller cruisers. I would definately take a look at the 3560 if I was in the market for that size cruiser.

 

[islandhopper00]

Wes, I agree with you on the sales side. You can't find a better bunch of people that will help or go beyond normal to help you. If you deal with the service dept. and you want something done that doesn't fit text book then your out of luck. I've heard more of what they can't do verses what they can do. I'm sure that's why the service manager job turned over. In my message I said Marine Max would be doing the job, they are Sea Ray aren't they? Now they (MM)doesn't want to play the middle, and they have nothing but good things to say about Lake Wylie. Marine Max says Sea Ray won't warranty "their" custom work but the hull warranty will still be good. Lake Wylie I feel doesn't want egg on their face because they don't have the people or expertise or whatever the deal is to provide the service I want. (Marine Max will do the job I want.) So I'll put the approved anchor roller on that Hall Sea Ray approves and they can keep the hull warranty work. It's sad you pay as much money as we do for boats and still you can't get what you want. That said I'm not trying to fit something from Regal to a Sea Ray, It's Sea Ray to Sea Ray, same engineering same company same idea different boat.

 

[islandhopper00]

Dang, I didn't mean to hyjack the thread I was trying to point out that Marine Max "is" helpful and trying to live up to the Sea Ray name. I got caught up with my problem. Sorry to the original poster.

 

[Cap10Pat]

I think the JD Powers rankings only deal with experience and customer service. I don't think they try to rate style or sales. So mostly they tell you how a manufacturer is handling customer problems.

 

[Alex D]

I think the JD Powers rankings only deal with experience and customer service. I don't think they try to rate style or sales. So mostly they tell you how a manufacturer is handling customer problems.

They also rank manufacturing quality