Poor parts support from Sea Ray

[geriksen]

As a yard owner we have many years of frustrating experience trying to get parts from boat builders. Most boats are built in such small quantities that the builders don't keep much of an inventory of small parts. I understand the economics of this. However......
It is the summer of 2010 and in our yard we have a 2004 320 Sundancer that is missing the molded plastic top section on the engine intake vent. This is a large and very visible body part on the outside of the boat. We are fortunate to have the #1 boat dealer in the country right here in our town. They tell us that Sea Ray does not have any, and can't/won't get us one. :-(
A 2004 boat and the owner is on his own to make his own parts. Really? Yes, really.
This is not the first time I have seen this and to be fair, it is not just Sea Ray that has this problem. The 320 Sundancer was a hot selling boat for Sea Ray in 2004. There are lots of them out there. So at 6years old, parts support ceases?
CSI programs, Dealer certifications, JD power ratings, etc. etc. I guess those only count for the first 5 yrs. I usually tell people to buy a Sea Ray because the resale value is better than most other brands.
I guess now, you should buy one because of "Aquapalooza"
Jeez......
Love ya Sea Ray but someone up there might want to take another look at this situation.
I'm just sayin.....

 

[Dave S]

There is a new sponsor on the CSR site that may be able to help you out with that vent cover. Here is his web site and he says what they don't have they can make. http://www.boatventguy.com/

I would also consider contacting Rob Parmentier (Sea Ray's President) directly with your concerns. I would think with reduced production of new boats, Sea Ray might be better served (and for sure the customer would be also) carrying more parts inventory on certain boats or at the very least be willing to make parts on a custom order basis.

Dave

 

[geriksen]

Called boat vent guy and sent him pics last week.......
I guess he doesn't have a mold for this one.
Also already tried Flounder Pounder and Great lakes skipper, plus scoured e-bay for hours....
I just got news that they sent a diver down and he found what is left of the old one. At least we can probably repair that.
If you have one of these boats and someone knocks your vent out, you better dive in after it!
(at your own risk of course) ;-)
same goes for a bowrail, windshield, dash panel, hatch, etc. etc...

 

[skolbe]

On a side not how does that vent attach is - it glued or bolted? Is it part of the gunwale? Kinda scary my 2007 can't get any parts.

 

[OldSkool]

If this is a Sea Ray made part then there should be no excuse to have this part produced. If the part number is still active in the parts system they should be able to get it for you. If it is a part vended by an outside contractor then you have a very different issue.

The vendor will want a order run of so many before they will produce them. Usualy the parts department will cause a back order log to occur then, when the volume is enough, they will order the part. This may take awhile.

In either case it is never exceptable to tell the customer he is SOL on a part if the part number is still a good working number in the system.

 

[tobnpr]

I agree, it's ridiculous.
A forum member had to TOTAL his boat (I forget the age, but I believe it was about the same, or newer) because the arch got trashed when a shed roof collapsed from snow load. SR had apparently destroyed the molds..WHY???

So, you end up with a worthless boat over a couple of thousand $$ worth of fiberglass that can't be reproduced.

 

[geriksen]

If this is a Sea Ray made part then there should be no excuse to have this part produced. If the part number is still active in the parts system they should be able to get it for you. If it is a part vended by an outside contractor then you have a very different issue.

The vendor will want a order run of so many before they will produce them. Usualy the parts department will cause a back order log to occur then, when the volume is enough, they will order the part. This may take awhile.

In either case it is never exceptable to tell the customer he is SOL on a part if the part number is still a good working number in the system.

It is a three foot long molded fiberglass piece that bolts on. If you look at the the white boat at the top right of this page you can see the slightly curved piece that goes across the top of the large side vent. My guess is that they made them "in house". Sometime a boat company will tell you who the vendor is and you can try to get it from them but of course the vendor is under no obligation to any boat owners.
The builder should be......
Can you imagine Ford telling you that there are no fenders available for your 2004 Mustang? You will need to make your own...
Yes, they do have larger production numbers at FORD but Sea Ray is the FORD/GM of the boating world.

 

[fc3]

Can you imagine Ford telling you that there are no fenders available for your 2004 Mustang? You will need to make your own...
Yes, they do have larger production numbers at FORD but Sea Ray is the FORD/GM of the boating world.

Car manufacturers are required by law to supply parts for ten years after the end of production. Sometimes they have a lot of parts on hand after that time period and sometimes they don't. For example, I needed a HID lamp for the Mark VIII. The Mark VIII was the first car made with HID lamps and Sylvania made an application specific module for the car. Ford's stock ran out, so they had to order a lot from Sylvania. Took a little while, but I eventually received it. On the other hand, they had far too many Mark VIII independent rear suspensions on hand, so they modified one of the (former generation) Mustangs giving the highest performance one an independent rear suspension using leftover Mark VIII parts.

There's no such requirement for boat builders to offer parts for any period of time after they stop producing a model. And since the CSI rating are only taken during the warranty period, the company doesn't really care that much what you think in year two.

Best regards,
Frank

 

[Creekwood]

And if a boat gets written off because an arch is destroyed, Sea Ray may be able to sell another boat. That is why the auto makers had to be legislated into making spare parts.

 

[OldSkool]

I wasn't aware this was happening in the boating industry. If that's the case, no wonder lesser quality boats are sent to the bone yard sooner.

If this happened in the heavy equipment business we would be out of business. We are still making parts for machine produced in the 70's and older.

 

[tdschafer]

I had the same problem. My port vent cover got destroyed last labor day. I researched and Sea Ray gave me the vendors name & number. I contacted him and he said Sea Ray had already cancelled production and took back the molds!! C'mon , Really?? So after fruitless efforts for about 6 MONTHS my fiberglass guy finally got a customer of his to lend him one to make a mold. I am supposed to be getting it next week. I had posted here several times even offering to pay a fellow member to lend me one but never got a reply.:smt089 I hope people have better luck in the future. Todd