Parts available for new and old sea ray boats

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fwebster said:
R
Also, your Sea Ray experience was with mid 90's boats wasn't it? (I forget) and Sea Ray firmed their approach to territories in the '99-2000 time frame.
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My SR parts buying experience ended in 2004. Never heard of the territory issue before this post. It simply did not come up in my experience. It does seem to be much more difficult to boat on the east coast than in Michigan. I still have occassional warranty issues handled by the marina where I store and it does not even sell Tiaras or SRs. There is much more emphasis on customer service than bickering about legalities.
 
First Born said:
:huh:You still own a Sea Ray or are you talking about your current boat? :huh:
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I bought the last SR at Eldeans in Holland. The Tiara came from Harbor Springs and is serviced in the Holland area. Have not run into any of the territory issues people seem to enjoy on the east coast.
 
fwebster said:
Sea Ray does and will enforce their franchise agreements relative to dealer's territories on boat sales, but I haven't heard whether or not they will on parts sales, which is why I asked the question.

I just know when our dealer gets a call from a customer out of town the first question he is asked is where do you live and where do you use your boat?
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I know for a fact dealers can sell parts anywhere. Only their boat sales are region separated and even then someone can Buy a boat at any dealer and have it shipped whereever they want.
 
I ran into this crap when shopping boats. I was told "if you don't by it from us we won't work on it". I mentioned I saw a certain model at one dealership, to another dealer. Within a day the first dealership refused to even price the boat. I called SR and asked if they supported this. They said yes. I said to the rep "your telling me that if I want a SR I'll be buying from the nearest dealer and pay whatever price he chooses to charge?" He answered with "Yes, but of course it's always your decision as to wether you buy or not".

I don't know about parts but can't wait to find out. This stuff makes me mad.
 
I ran into the same problem when shopping for a boat. Every dealership I walked into, the first thing they did was ask my name. Entered it into a computer and up popped a profile of me. They were happy enough to show me some boats but refused to quote a price.

what you can do is shop for a boat anywhere if it's a MM dealer. If it's in the MM inventory, you can buy it, you just have to do the deal through your local dealer. Where it gets a little grey is when there are about 5 dealers in your area, like with me. Is it where I live? where I boated last season? where i'm boating next season? Is it the one I pass by in my boat on the way to where I anchor? is it the one I almost did a deal with but it fell through? that's just NY state with an hour of me. Then there's Conn, NJ, RI, all places I boat.
 
I think that's a great idea, they should take a percentage of the sale and throw it into a pot for all dealers to share. Maybe that will make it easier for someone to get their boat serviced at a dealer they didn't buy from.
 
Marine Max has every right to operate the way they do. And, because they operate the way they do, they don't have me for a customer. Imagine buying a car that way... You can only get a price from one dealer, and that dealer is the only one that will perform warranty work on it (which may take 10 weeks or more to start), and don't even think about buying parts from another dealer.

Brunswick recently anounced that new boat sales reached their lowest level since 1965. Their dealer tactics won't help that improve.
 
I went to a dealer out of area to see, crawl around in and discuss larger boats. My local dealer never has boats of the size I'm interested in. When pushing the out of area dealer on price at one point he said he can't do any better and still has to "take care of my local dealer".

The local dealer apparently is supposed to make money off me even though I haven't set foot on his lot. I don't see how this could be acceptable to anyone.
 
keokie said:
Marine Max has every right to operate the way they do. And, because they operate the way they do, they don't have me for a customer. Imagine buying a car that way... You can only get a price from one dealer, and that dealer is the only one that will perform warranty work on it (which may take 10 weeks or more to start), and don't even think about buying parts from another dealer.

Brunswick recently anounced that new boat sales reached their lowest level since 1965. Their dealer tactics won't help that improve.
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It's interesting you mention cars. To me the SR experience is often reminicent of the auto industry 40 years ago.
 
I'm glad my region doesn't have a MM nearby. Sounds very Mob~like to me.
Like I said though fellas, you can buy parts anywhere. If you need to know my dealers name contact # let me know. They'll ship it to you.
 
Don't even try to compare the marine industry to automobiles. They are very different animals whether we, as buyers, like it or not. You have multiple auto dealerships of the same brand in many towns and the manufacturers do not impose or grant exclusivity. Boat dealeships do have franchised territories that are protected.

The topic if this thread is parts......not boats, but since you brought up boats, kick-backs, etc., there are no kickbacks on boats sold out of territory. Sea Ray does require that the sale be handled by your local dealer so even if you entice an out of town dealer to sell you a boat, Sea Ray is going to require that the local dealer get credit for and something for the sale. So why shop out of town in the first place?....it has to cost you more since 2 dealers are in the profit picture and you will surely have problems with local service during peak service times.

We see this come up every year right about boat show season and it seems to me that those who insist on shopping out of town for some reason resist the negotiating process and just ask "What is your best price on this one? (like a salesman is going to tell you!) Keep in mind that in a negotiated transaction, there are 2 sides and you represent 1/2 the deal and a sale the dealer doesn't have. You will never get the best price until you 1.)convince the dealer that you are a qualified buyer ready to spend money 2.)put the ball in their court and make them either take or refuse a deal. The only way to do that is to make the dealer an offer that is "in the money" and write a big deposit check. Asking "What's the best you can do?" and trying to slide by without a deposit just tells the dealer you are just kicking tires or are not willing to negotiate.

Don't fight the system.........learn how the system works and play by the rules. If you do, you will be the guy who steals a boat while others pay to much.......if the industry average margin is 15%, then be the 5% guy and let somebdy else be the 25% one.
 
I don't know what all SR requires of its franchises. What I do know is what 3 different sales people at 3 different franchises, unrelated except that they sell SR, told me. I also know that a boat can be purchased out of area without the local dealer handling the paperwork. These things I attempted to share with the forum.

I know the thread initially was about parts but when you brought up boats I thought it would be ok if I commented on them also. My new guy mistake I guess.
 
Yes sir, they will.

Glad to give the best possible parts service to any and all of our world-wide customer base.

Happy New Year and a long safe boating season to all!
 
Do you have owners manual 1978 300 srv fb, salon table for same boat or any parts that might fit


1978 300 srv Fb
 
PlayDate said:
They just became a Sea Ray dealer 23 months ago by picking up the assets of another dealer. I like that the family has been in the business for 70 years. They just appear to be new to Sea Ray and ........probably more to the point Brunswick's way of policing it's dealers territories.

-John
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Brunswick, I don't think, gives a darn. Just look at the "support" Mercury gives. Sea Ray on the other hand, does. There was a Sea Ray dealer here who gave poor customer service. This guy has an obnoxious and irritating personality. Everyone I know who has had dealings with him hates him. Sea Ray yanked their franchise after a few years of problems and sold it to Clark's Landing, who did well with it. Now the jerk is selling Cruisers, Crown Line, and something else.

Here's another good story about them. Last summer, my wife and I stopped because we heard that they had a new 42' diesel boat that was pretty cheap since it was an 06 leftover. She didn't want to go and deal with them, but a 6 figure discount is six figures. We talked to the sales guy, but my wife didn't like the boat, she also started to dislike the sales guy. So we go. Later, another dealer called and asked me about my interest in Carver. I said I wasn't really into bridge boats, but signed up on the Carver web site since that was the only way to get some info. He told me that he was also a Cruisers dealer and offered me tickets to the NYC boat show, which I accepted. So we go to the show and the D&R sales guy sees us with the other dealer and blows his top. "These are my customers! You're taking food out of my families mouth. Etc." Excuse me. It is my purchase and I'll buy from whom I damn well please. And it does not please me to have to buy from D&R and if Cruisers insists, then I'll something else. Which is why we have the Sea Ray because D&R P Oed my wife back in 1999, too.

Some boat builders don't care if a**holes sells their boats, but Sea Ray does not play the game like that. Good for Sea Ray! I also know that Regal has pulled franchises from dealers with bad CSI ratings. Seems like common sense, no?

Best regards,
Frank
 
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Looking to replace the dash and gauges on a 76 30' weekender
 
audiobill5 said:
Hello,
Happy Holidays!
Just in: various rolls of OEM SeaRay boot stripe tape from another a long standing dealer, now closed.
Various colors, widths and lenghts, 1/4 in to 5 inches wide, $1.00 to $8.00/ft. plus shipping.
Buy this new/old stock striping while we still have it. Many, but not all colors/widths.
Could your SeaRay use a hull/deck stripe facelift?
Replace with the same color or create a new look for your vessel !!
bbrownlow@russomarine.com
Thanks.
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I am looking for the deck striping (OEM) for a 1989 Sea Ray 300 DA. Do you have that?
 
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