Were my expectations too high???

[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 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.

 

[Quint4]

You are understandably upset, but one post on a topic is sufficient.

 

[fc3]

Holy cow! This guy posted the same problem three times. 27% of his posts are redundant. Making matters worse, they're all new threads. Most people are satisfied with one posting per problem.

View attachment 5556

 

[Morpheus]

I didn't read the whole post but all I have to say is if you had all these problems with your searay imagin if you had bought a boat from a manufacture known for less quality.

 

[Scottzzzy]

I think I would haul it back and demand a replacement. In GA we have Lemon Laws for cars, but I wonder if they apply to boats as well?

Give them 1 more shot to rectify everything 100% or you will call the news or your goverment Consumer Protection Agency like we have in GA. They can not afford ANY bad press and that wil get someones attention REAL fast.

One thing on your side though, make sure you document everything that you have found and present it to the dealer to correct. This way they know ALL the issues you are having and they can address them to make you happy. Just a verbal rant will not assure your concerns are met. They probably dont read minds too well either. This way you make your demands very clear to them so they can make a good effort to wrap this up for you and get you back out on the water!

Good Luck!

 

[barryg]

check my answer in your post in Sports Cruisers...you posted in 3 places, so didn't know which to respond to...

good luck,

Barry

 

[berth control]

If you bought the boat new, you should have looked at it before taking delivery - punch list. From my experience, everyone has problems, but the people that always seem to have problems are the problem themselves.

 

[barryg]

Berth Control wrote..."If you bought the boat new, you should have looked at it before taking delivery - punch list. From my experience, everyone has problems, but the people that always seem to have problems are the problem themselves."

WOW...I thought this was a forum to help people...Yes he posted in 3 places, and that is annoying; but he probably didn't know which one to post in the first place, and the moderators can and should help condense it all into 1 post.

Let's not jump on someone just because of that. Things are tough enough without that...

My friend bought a brand new Rinker a few years ago from the Rinker dealer. Had nothing but problems from day one even with a "punch list", including a major leak that didn't show up right away. The dealer would not do anymore, and it wasn't until he hired an attorney that contacted Rinker that they made good, picked up his boat, gave him the choice of a new boat or his money back and he decided to take the money. About 6 months later, Rinker called and told him they took it all apart, fixed everything and sold it back to him for about .30 cents on the dollar...

If you can't make headway with your local MM dealer, go to the president of MM. If that doesn't work, go to the president of Sea Ray. I posted their names and numbers in one of your other posts.

Good luck and let us know how they resolved things!!

Barry
Barry

 

[At Ease]

What Barry said! Berth Control, if you can't reply with something constructive, why reply at all. I would like to see your post if this were your boat. Doesn't sound like any of this has to do with the owners expectations. One should expect better from Searay.

 

[mwph]

Im not going to look at the other posts but Ill put my 2 cents in here. This dealer should have NEVER let this boat see the light of day. Period. Holes in the seats and a door that dosent close properly? Gouges in the wood tabletop? Maybe they couldn't know about the leaks but holes in the seats? Are you freakin kidding me? That dealer should never be allowed to deliver a new Sea Ray again. All that being said, The purchaser should not accepted a boat in such poor condition. But this dealer clearly tried to sell a used/abused boat to a first time buyer.

Im so pissed now Im going to stop.

 

[Scottzzzy]

I dont think anyone is arguing that there is an obvious lack of diligence on the part of the dealer. Johnrb has every right to be upset. I think this thread is more aimed at once you identify they screwed up, how you then move to a resolution that addresses all of Johnrb's concerns. The dealer should be checking every system and giving everything a good once over before delivery, absolutely.

If Johnrb made a list of everything he has seen and had problems with, went back to the dealer and said fix it, and they did, then they save face and could keep a customer perhaps. If they hassle him, then he should go over their heads and let the mud slinging begin.

But I must admit, the expectation that everything is going to be absolutely perfect seems a little unrealistic to me. A little thing here or there along with a dealers willingness to correct them to keep a customer seems pretty normal in my experience with new cars, etc. These boats are loaded, shipped, unloaded, knocked, banged, drooled over by kids and adults on the lot, rained on, moved around, all prior to being sold.

I get customers with these expectations and you just can not win. I can finish 2000 sqft of new living space for them and they will find a nail pop in the ceiling of a unlit closet and they act like my license should be revoked. A 15 minute fix for me with a smile of course and they forget about the other 1,999.9 sqft of perfection i just finished for them!

 

[berth control]

Maybe I was hard on the guy, and maybe he has done everything right and is just getting screwed. It just seems to me that there is more going on here. If not, I hope his dealer steps up and takes care of the problems.

 

[Dancin Dave]

This is the thing that has occurred with the other brands for so long, sell sell sell, and not grow service in alignment to sales. This is why everyone wanted a searay, because thats not how they operated. I guess its a new day, (this isn't the first guy to have this done to. A friend of mine had the same nightmare.) No boat sales, lay everyone off and sell to stay in business, and skimp on the closing Q.C. Something they need to work out.

Keep after them, they will do the right thing. If not start singing.

 

[mwph]

1.) "Drooled on by kids" is one thing. We are talking holes in the seats here.

2.) "But to have the expectation that everything on the boat is going to function perfectly right out of the box is unreasonable at best, and very naive at worst." Like I said the leaks in the windows - OK, Lets get it fixed next week or so, but delivering & charging a man for A "new" boat with a damaged wood table top?

The more I read, not just here on CSR, the more can't believe how shet like this is acceptable.

 

[fwebster]

I have not and don't plan to chase this topic all over 3 threads, but it seems that everyone assumes Sea Ray delivered this boat to the dealer with defects galore on it. Well, Sea Ray isn't in the habit of selling boats to dealers with holes in the upholstery and damaged wood table surfaces. Furthermore, they are not in the business of knowingly passing on quality problems to the dealers. However, these are not mass produced items like widgets or even autos, so nearly every new boat has some issues that turn up, some that happen during transit, some during initial run -in and, some that just happen due to human error.

It seems really obvious to me that before this particular boat was sold, it was subjected to something like boat shows, unmanned mall displays, demo-days, demo rides, cruise club use by dealer personnel, etc.

In one or more of the threads and responses, I've seen recommendations that you demand your money back and a new boat......well, nothing I've read indicates a structural problem, so don't waste anyone's time asking for a new boat - that ain't gonna happen.

I have also seen suggestions of writing the president or executive VP of Sea Ray about the problems. While it may eventually come to that, the boat's owner needs to realize that his dealer is contractually bound to handle all warranty repairs needed to boats that he sells. The first communication must be with the dealer....go to Sea Ray customer service or management too early, and you'll just get referred back to the dealer, who then thinks you tried to go around him to Sea Ray. Keep your relationship with the dealer as non- adversarial as you can because it will be his personnel who eventually fix the problems.

Sea Ray really wants you to be happy with your boat. That is why they have a customer service department. If you cannot get resolution to your problems in a reasonable time period by working with your selling dealer, then by all means, call Customer Service. However, corresponding with forum members who happen to work in the factory or who are just names somewhere in the SR system is probably not going to help you much since it is going to take a Customer Service person in the factory/location where your boat was made to do anything for you since the others either have no authority work with customers or work in different locations making different products.

Hope you get it worked out................

 

[keokie]

I would suggest you begin communicating with your dealer politely and through email. Ask for verification of the problems, and the course of action the dealer will take along with the expected timetable. This will provide documentation with dates in the event you are not able to get satisfactory results. Require the dealer to communicate back to you via email as well.

Try to take the emotion out of this. I know that is difficult, and I would be upset in your shoes as well. But emotion is usually not recognized by third parties like Sea Ray, or the court system. Best of luck. Even though this seems bad, I believe if you handle this correctly, it will be resolved succesfully. Iknow you shouldn't have to do any of this. But look at this situation for what it is, rather than what it should be.

 

[skibum]

I am not bashing or anything, but just how did these items ever get past you while you were buying the boat? Were you looking at one in the showroom, and the dealer promised "one just like it"? Was it shipped in from another location? Did you order it from the fatory? It sounds as though the first time you ever looked at the boat was after you bought it and had it in your slip.

I heve never purchased a new boat, but when I do I'll be asking for a couple of hours on land to crawl around in and examine the actual boat that I am purchasing before putting pen to paper. I know you can't catch everything, but you should certainly have noticed gouged woodwork, cracked arches, and obviously broken stuff while you were looking at it at the time of sale.

There must be something to the story that you haven't told us.

 

[Vince_nj1]

I have never purchased a new boat, but when I do I'll be asking for a couple of hours on land to crawl around in and examine the actual boat that I am purchasing before putting pen to paper. I know you can't catch everything, but you should certainly have noticed gouged woodwork, cracked arches, and obviously broken stuff while you were looking at it at the time of sale.

+1 for me. You pay a premium for a "new" boat and you should expect everything to be pristine and in working order at delivery. If after delivery, something breaks, it should be fixed under warranty.

If you are comfortable taking delivery of a boat with extensive problems, you might as well buy a used boat and save the money. At least you won't feel ripped off.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[skolbe]

Sounds like primarily dealer issues. I agree with Frank this boat has been used a lot by the dealer. This is purely a dealer issue and should be handled as such - I would ask the dealer to order a new table, a new seat, fix the gel coat. Trust me Sea Ray does not send boats out this way - but dealers often transfer boats from one dealership to another very sloppy. My boat came from another dealership and they wanted me to close prior to seeing the boat in St. Louis and I refused. When it got here the canvas was torn, Isenglass was scratched. They ended up upgrading the Isenglass to Strataglass

 

[mawyatt]

I have not and don't plan to chase this topic all over 3 threads, but it seems that everyone assumes Sea Ray delivered this boat to the dealer with defects galore on it. Well, Sea Ray isn't in the habit of selling boats to dealers with holes in the upholstery and damaged wood table surfaces. Furthermore, they are not in the business of knowingly passing on quality problems to the dealers. However, these are not mass produced items like widgets or even autos, so nearly every new boat has some issues that turn up, some that happen during transit, some during initial run -in and, some that just happen due to human error.

It seems really obvious to me that before this particular boat was sold, it was subjected to something like boat shows, unmanned mall displays, demo-days, demo rides, cruise club use by dealer personnel, etc.

In one or more of the threads and responses, I've seen recommendations that you demand your money back and a new boat......well, nothing I've read indicates a structural problem, so don't waste anyone's time asking for a new boat - that ain't gonna happen.

I have also seen suggestions of writing the president or executive VP of Sea Ray about the problems. While it may eventually come to that, the boat's owner needs to realize that his dealer is contractually bound to handle all warranty repairs needed to boats that he sells. The first communication must be with the dealer....go to Sea Ray customer service or management too early, and you'll just get referred back to the dealer, who then thinks you tried to go around him to Sea Ray. Keep your relationship with the dealer as non- adversarial as you can because it will be his personnel who eventually fix the problems.

Sea Ray really wants you to be happy with your boat. That is why they have a customer service department. If you cannot get resolution to your problems in a reasonable time period by working with your selling dealer, then by all means, call Customer Service. However, corresponding with forum members who happen to work in the factory or who are just names somewhere in the SR system is probably not going to help you much since it is going to take a Customer Service person in the factory/location where your boat was made to do anything for you since the others either have no authority work with customers or work in different locations making different products.

Hope you get it worked out................

Great advise Frank.....as usual!!