SeaRay Closed?

[trit21]

I just watched some boat test videos from genmars big wig (can't remember his name)and he's betting big on it. In fact in his videos, he outright named Sea Ray, and issued a challenge.

Of course he named and challenges SeaRay. You don't challenge someone at the bottom of the pile, you always challenge the top dog. Image if he challenges Rinker.

All boat companies are in the same boat, no pun intended, but no one is selling boat and all are laying off. Even Tiara. The boating industry has changed and it will take sometime for the dust to clear to see who remains and who folds.

If you own a company, any type of company, in this economy you have to agree that what you are after is attention...look at me philosophy. If you make a video and challenge the top dog, that is attention. Whether you make good on the challenger or not does not matter, you got some attention at a time when you wanted consumers eyes to look in your direction.

My point is, don't put a lot into the 'challenge', it is just an advertising gimmick. If you own your own business, you have probably done gimmicks very similar. Haven't you every watched the news, that is full of companies trying gimmick advertising and it is big business.

 

[Turtlesboat]

Well I see it completely the opposite, I couldn't stand my dealer, so much so that I wouldn't even buy a boat from them. But I did buy a sea ray. I went out of my way to buy one and i'm glad I did. It's an awesome boat!!! I have a question or a problem with it, I email sea ray and they answer it. If it's not a sea ray item, I email the manufacturer and they answer it. Is boat ownership complicated? a little, but no more than owning a house or apt. If my refrigerator breaks, I don't call the home builder and complain, I call GE. If the light bulb in my home depot lamp burns out, I don't call home depot and complain. If you think of a boat like a Ford, you'll be disappointed with all boat builders. If you think of it like a floating apt that gets the poo beat out of it, you'll be happy you own a Sea Ray.

 

[Woody]

I agree with you Mike, but wouldn't you expect Sea Ray to respond in a better more compassionate manner. I would expect "they would at lest help, or contact mercury for them, and act as an laison between the two. Relationships between companies aren't allways understood by the general public. I think it's in Sea Ray's best interest to be very helpfull, specially now when times are tough, and they will need the loyal following to help them make it thru these trying times. These times will end and people will go back to buying boats. Do you think the people whom are being tread on now will buy Sea Ray in the future?

I think this was where the dealer should have stepped up. Wouldn't they be the right ones to contact Mercruiser on a warranty claim if it was still under warranty. If it was a close call and warranty ran out not too far in the past, wouldn't they be the ones that could/should contact Mercruiser? Wouldn't they be the frontline that explains to the customer what is covered and why after talking to Mercruiser. Even if it's as simple as saying...gee, this would have been covered last year but now your warranty has run out.

 

[Turtlesboat]

I think this was where the dealer should have stepped up. Wouldn't they be the right ones to contact Mercruiser on a warranty claim if it was still under warranty. If it was a close call and warranty ran out not too far in the past, wouldn't they be the ones that could/should contact Mercruiser? Wouldn't they be the frontline that explains to the customer what is covered and why after talking to Mercruiser. Even if it's as simple as saying...gee, this would have been covered last year but now your warranty has run out.

Read the post... that's exactly what happened.

 

[islandhopper00]

Well I see it completely the opposite, I couldn't stand my dealer, so much so that I wouldn't even buy a boat from them. But I did buy a sea ray. I went out of my way to buy one and i'm glad I did. It's an awesome boat!!! I have a question or a problem with it, I email sea ray and they answer it. If it's not a sea ray item, I email the manufacturer and they answer it. Is boat ownership complicated? a little, but no more than owning a house or apt. If my refrigerator breaks, I don't call the home builder and complain, I call GE. If the light bulb in my home depot lamp burns out, I don't call home depot and complain. If you think of a boat like a Ford, you'll be disappointed with all boat builders. If you think of it like a floating apt that gets the poo beat out of it, you'll be happy you own a Sea Ray.

I don't want to be to arguemenatitive but, in your analogy. If the dry wall cracks in your fairly new house, do you hunt down the guy who did the dry wall, or call your builder? I called my builder. He handled it for me.
But I understand your thinking, and even agree.

 

[islandhopper00]

Read the post... that's exactly what happened.

The way I read the post, sea ray washed their hands and basically said your on your own, it's not our problem. You can call Mercury, but they won't help either.
I'm just saying.


I went back and read the post again. This time I noticed that after being undignified by telling him to read his manual, she began pushing and extended warranty. What? She just told him it wouldn't be covered by sea ray or mercury, but if you buy an extended policy, "maybe" you might have a chance. Maybe I just read to literal.

 

[Woody]

Read the post... that's exactly what happened.

All I see when I read it is that they're pestering SR. SR doesn't warranty Mercruisers product. Did they contact Mercruiser with no results and then go to SR.

 

[Turtlesboat]

If my drywall cracks, you bet I would call the builder. If my AC fan belt breaks a year out of warranty, I would expect the builder to tell me to go buy a new one.

I don't want to beat the point to death, I have vodka to drink and steak to eat, but parts that wear out on a boat that's out of warranty, isn't my idea of bad customer service if they don't replace it under a warranty that doesn't exist on an item that they don't make.

 

[techmitch]

Just a thought /question, i understand that the boat is out of warranty but how do they figure a pressure sensor and an iac valve are maintenance items.

 

[Turtlesboat]

Just a thought /question, i understand that the boat is out of warranty but how do they figure a pressure sensor and an iac valve are maintenance items.

IAC regularly wear out and fail. I have a 2003 and they've been replaced twice already on both engines. They have a lifespan of about 2 years. I also keep a spare on board.

 

[fc3]

IAC regularly wear out and fail. I have a 2003 and they've been replaced twice already on both engines. They have a lifespan of about 2 years. I also keep a spare on board.

Must be a Merc part. I don't see the regular GM parts failing so frequently

 

[Dancin Dave]

Robski wrote "I had broken dog legs on my hatches. not a searay item. They gave me the company that made them Bomar and I called bomar. My frig t stat crapped out . After asking who makes it they sent me a phone #."

Did you actually call CSR for this? A visit to the parts counter would have sufficed.

 

[Turtlesboat]

Must be a Merc part. I don't see the regular GM parts failing so frequently

who knows... It's a cheap little motor with a plastic push valve that sits right on top of a hot engine. I'm surprised it lasts a season.

 

[islandhopper00]

Mike, I think I figured out where our disconnect is. I'm not saying out of waranty parts should be covered, that's....maintenance.? I'm talking about customer service. If a person spends his hard earned money on a product, (boat, sea ray), it has problems, then I think the manafacturer should provide some "customer service" and help the guy or gal, solve his/her problem. Not tell him, "... it's not our problem", call someone else. After all, Sea Ray will want him to trade up later in the future. And depending on how they were treated will determine if they buy SR again or not. As in my case, NOT.

I owe a big thanks to the fine folks on this forum for all the help, and feedback that was provided by them, for me, that helped me fix my boat. And Hall marine that went a step further when it was not required (with no help from Sea Ray). All I got from Sea Ray was the same old, "not our problem" call someone else, so I did, and never did I want something for nothing, and never did I want out of waranty parts covered.

 

[Robski97]

Dave,
U have never visited Marine Max NY . There so bad I actually had to call a FL searay dealer for some parts thats I couldnt buy direct from the manufacturer.

Rob

 

[Dancin Dave]

I always had good luck at MM Norwalk, however the great guy they had was recently let go.

 

[water rat]

I'm not sure I see the point. You're upset because a regular maint. Item failed on your engine and they won't fix it under warranty? That's like complaining that you have to pay for an oil change even though your car is 5 months old.

Should a water pressure sensor be a regular maintenance item at 110 hours? That was my real question to Sea Ray. Was I "upset" with Sea Ray? Well, I wasn't happy that my 2 year old boat died on the water.

How long should a water pressure sensors last?

Our last boat was a Rinker. It 3yrs old when we bought it, we kept it for 3 seasons - I never had to do anything to it other than change the oil and the zincs. I guess my expectations for a water pressure sensor life are too high. I really sent the note to Sea Ray to see what they would say about the issue. Sometimes when cars are just out of warranty, the dealer will go in with you on the cost of repairs. I thought I'd throw it out to Sea Ray to see if they would rebate back few bucks. You'll never get anything if you dont' ask.

 

[Robski97]

Water Rat,
Its a merc issue. Nada to do with searay . Just like tires on car I guess would be the best parallel. I got bubble in my tire after a year ... Dealer sent me to a tire guy. Its just the way it is ...

Rob

 

[water rat]

I think this was where the dealer should have stepped up. Wouldn't they be the right ones to contact Mercruiser on a warranty claim if it was still under warranty. If it was a close call and warranty ran out not too far in the past, wouldn't they be the ones that could/should contact Mercruiser? Wouldn't they be the frontline that explains to the customer what is covered and why after talking to Mercruiser. Even if it's as simple as saying...gee, this would have been covered last year but now your warranty has run out.

Actually, when we were talking to MM about the situation and the boat only having 110 hours on it, they suggested we contact Sea Ray customer service and see what they say. That's why we contacted them and not Mercruiser. And yes, since Mercruiser is Sea Ray's supplier, you'd think they would have contacted them, or given us (nicer) direction to contact them.

Reality is that when you purchase a product, you contact the manufacturer for it, not the supplier. If you buy a GM car and the electric seats don't work, you aren't going to call Johnson Controls about it, right.

Anyway, we contacted sea ray because mm suggested we go that route.

 

[Woody]

Water Rat, what was the length of your Mercruiser warranty and how long before this event did it expire?