Were my expectations too high???

Inland Canuck said:
This has been a very informative thread to read. I am presently considering my first Sea Ray purchase. This customer's reported purchase experience does nothing to encourage me to buy a new Sea Ray boat. Thank you very much for the public warning!

I find the comments that purchasing a boat is not the same as purchasing a new car interesting. Actually, thus far, I've found it very similar to buying a new car. I telephoned my local dealer to request a demo ride on the boat I am interested in buying-- a 21 foot Sport. I was told the dealership wasn't stocking this model this year. And if they were selling the boat, one would have to sign a purchase agreement before the dealer would give a test ride. WTF is up with that??? As the boat was not available locally, I visited the closest dealer 5 hours away who does have the boat, was unable to obtain a test drive due to scheduling issues on his part, and then received phone calls for two days asking me to put a down payment on the boat while I tried to find a rental boat locally to test drive. Sorry, no thanks Buddy. Actually, the poster who said buying a boat is not like buying a car is correct-- the reality is, it's way worse!

Like the original poster, I've bought new cars without having to inspect. My older car, a Toyota is 10 years old and except for oil changes and brake pads has needed zero work. I would expect a new boat to be similarly flawless. From the posted responses, this assumption is apparently incorrect and thus I'll take a pass on any new Sea Ray product.

Thanks again for the public service announcement. Caveat emptor!
Click to expand...

You may want to edit out “Sea Ray” and insert “All boats”

Best wishes to you.
 
Inland Canuck said:
I would expect a new boat to be similarly flawless. From the posted responses, this assumption is apparently incorrect and thus I'll take a pass on any new Sea Ray product.
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A) Good luck finding a flawless boat
B) Your experience has nothing to do with Sea Ray. It's the same, maybe worse, with other brands/dealers.

Don't blame your dealer experience on Sea Ray, they don't own the dealership. You might consider looking at Glastron or Bayliner. Good luck!

.
 
There are a whole lot of happy SeaRay owners here and you should read some of the happy stories instead of just one unhappy story before you make a decision on SeaRay. If you go to other makes you will find some of the same things, after all man built them all.
 
Before we even signed the paper work on our boat my wife and I went through it with a fine tooth comb. We made a punch list of all the visible items we found that we wanted fixed before we took delivery. That list became part of our contract and all of the items (about 10 in all) were fixed to our satisfaction before we took delivery.

The boat was still under warranty and in my first season with her I had several problems with the engines, fuel pump relays on both engines and a water pump failure. All of these items were repaired in a very timely matter at no cost to me. My dealer and I have an excellent relationship and they seem very committed to customer satisfaction. They know that I will be back in the future when upgrade time comes around.

For the kind of money I spent on my boat I demand perfection as well, but I realize that it is a boat and is subject to a lot more abuse than driving a BWM on the Autobahn. Knowing this I did my work up front, and came out I very satisfied customer. The end.
 
Inland Canuck said:
This has been a very informative thread to read. I am presently considering my first Sea Ray purchase. This customer's reported purchase experience does nothing to encourage me to buy a new Sea Ray boat. Thank you very much for the public warning!

I find the comments that purchasing a boat is not the same as purchasing a new car interesting. Actually, thus far, I've found it very similar to buying a new car. I telephoned my local dealer to request a demo ride on the boat I am interested in buying-- a 21 foot Sport. I was told the dealership wasn't stocking this model this year. And if they were selling the boat, one would have to sign a purchase agreement before the dealer would give a test ride. WTF is up with that??? As the boat was not available locally, I visited the closest dealer 5 hours away who does have the boat, was unable to obtain a test drive due to scheduling issues on his part, and then received phone calls for two days asking me to put a down payment on the boat while I tried to find a rental boat locally to test drive. Sorry, no thanks Buddy. Actually, the poster who said buying a boat is not like buying a car is correct-- the reality is, it's way worse!

Like the original poster, I've bought new cars without having to inspect. My older car, a Toyota is 10 years old and except for oil changes and brake pads has needed zero work. I would expect a new boat to be similarly flawless. From the posted responses, this assumption is apparently incorrect and thus I'll take a pass on any new Sea Ray product.

Thanks again for the public service announcement. Caveat emptor!
Click to expand...

Well, maybe you should reconsider your decision to buy a boat at this point and get more information on boating. It looks like you may get a lot of frustrations....Based on my experience (bought 15 cars and 3 boats in my life) , I also believe you cannot compare the experience of boating with the car business, two different things.
 
Inland Canuck said:
This has been a very informative thread to read. I am presently considering my first Sea Ray purchase. This customer's reported purchase experience does nothing to encourage me to buy a new Sea Ray boat. Thank you very much for the public warning!

...Caveat emptor!
Click to expand...

I am thinking that in the long run, the Sea Ray dealer is lucky to not have this sale.

It isn't that boats couldn't be made perfectly...it is that you couldn't afford it...especially in a runabout. The price competition is BRUTAL. Boats are inherently driven by compromises between price, power, performance and features but are made is such small numbers that there aren't the economies of scale available to something like a Toyota. Boats are also subject to horrific environmental stresses that strain every system to the point that boaters sort of expect there to be minor problems that you just deal with. The reason there IS a dedicated Sea Ray following is that overall, the balance is positive, the company is supportive and the major problems seem to be kept to a minimum.

I suspect your buying experience was also tempered by the boat size you were shopping...with such little margin available, there are probably only so many hoops the dealer would jump before he has lost so much money in the deal that it simply isn't worth it. The level of butt kissing is directly related to the margin available on the deal.

I have bought several expensive cars and now three new boats and respectfully suggest that the buying experience of boats is more parallel to houses...you can get craftsman perfect if you are prepared to pay $300/sf and the fact is...you simply aren't. I have to underscore the suggestion that you find yourself a good Bayliner to get introduced to the sport.
 
Inland Canuck said:
Like the original poster, I've bought new cars without having to inspect. My older car, a Toyota is 10 years old and except for oil changes and brake pads has needed zero work. I would expect a new boat to be similarly flawless. From the posted responses, this assumption is apparently incorrect and thus I'll take a pass on any new Sea Ray product.

Thanks again for the public service announcement. Caveat emptor!
Click to expand...

Comparing a boat and all of it issues whether good or bad can not be compared to a car or a house. I can remember my trip back from Annapolis in May, running that thing in 4 to 6 foot waves for almost 2 hours. I would love to see how the Toyota would fair after that. It’s a boat and they, or at least some, are made to take a tremendous amount of abuse. The difference would be some will get you back home to talk about your experience on a website forum, some will not.

Nice first post by the way, very insightful observations.
 
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Cars are better built than boats.
My cars windlass has never jammed.
My cars head system has never had a clog.
My car never needs its bellows replaced.
My car never has a prop hub fail nor had a propeller blade bent.
Yep, cars are way better built.
 
Presentation said:
Cars are better built than boats.
My cars windlass has never jammed.
My cars head system has never had a clog.
My car never needs its bellows replaced.
My car never has a prop hub fail nor had a propeller blade bent.
Yep, cars are way better built.
Click to expand...

I have yet to get my car horn full of water :thumbsup:
 
JediJD said:
I have bought several expensive cars and now three new boats and respectfully suggest that the buying experience of boats is more parallel to houses....
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I agree with that statement that a home purchase is closer to buying a boat than the auto industry comparison...

The production of boats is low volume add to that fact that almost every system on a boat is out sourced...everything from the engine to the toilet to the grommets come from another supplier which is supplying those components in low volume quantities. So the opportunity for one of those systems/components to fail is higher than a high production component, also the low volume supplier that got awarded the order is also many times the cheapest. This is where as someone mentioned the differance between a Searay and another model is.... at the end of the day you are going to have a lot less problems with a Searay because those components are a better quality from a supplier who is not the cheapest and can invest in the design and quality... maybe not the best but certainly way above average. Which is the reason you are paying a bit more
 
aHoy.I see your post did not state ever looking at the boat at time of sale.I also take photos (insurance):smt009
 
hack4alivin said:
I have yet to get my car horn full of water :thumbsup:
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Oh, now for a legitimate grip….my car horn does not sound like it’s a duck with a frog stuck in this throat yelling for help.

136836.jpg
 
Maybe he should dunk his Toyota in Salt water once and week and see how long it lasts.
 
My take on this is that we have two "new members" that seem a little unwilling to do some homework. When I bought this boat( 7 years old when I bought it) I did a ton of research, not only here, but with every piece of info I could get my hands on. When reading and asking and analyzing the information I knew that I would have several different systems that would be completely new to me compared to the boat I was coming from (a 230OV). The only systems on that boat were the engine, outdrive, batteries, vhf and porta-potty.

Upgrading to this boat, only 3' longer, I added, Vacu-flush, heater, water tank, hot water tank, plumbing, microwave, shore power, battery charger, shower, sump pump, etc.

The point is if the OP(JohnRB3) had done some more research including asking a few members here prior to buying he may have learned what to expect.

The Inland Canuck member also is jumping to conclusions that the "SeaRay" brand is a poorly built piece of plastic based on the bad Transaction that JohnrB3 had and that started this thread.

Yes, JohnRB3 has some legitimate gripes it sounds like, but they may have all been avoided had he handled that purchase differently or had come here for advice prior to the purchase?

Inland Canuck, if you are interested in buying a SeaRay, ask a few owners here about there 21' Sport what you would like to know, then you can make a offer to your dealer, including deposit, subject to a survey/seatrial. No-one's in business to steal your money if you end up not liking the boat, but they also can't be expected to stock every model. Do they have the 52 Sedan Bridge in stock?

Anyway, it's ridiculous to take one bad experience (and again all boat manufacturers are going to have issues) and think it's a pattern. If it is that's when brands get bad reputations and in my opinion, SeaRay has a pretty good reputation.

So JohnRB3, you can take Fwebster's advice, make your punchlist and have a meeting with your Service Manager, then in a reasonable amount of time expect to be satisfied or continue to pout over something you have more control over than you think. SeaRay or your dealer don't benefit by abandoning you at this point.
.......and Inland Canuck, read on brother, there is much, much more information on this site to help raise your confidence that SeaRay is the right boat for you in that size/class.
 
Great... I'm about to buy a new Sundancer 330 tomorrow! Horror stories like this scare the crap out of me (this will be my first Sea Ray). I went with Sea Ray because of their reputation. They cost more, but I thought they were worth it. Definately doing a thorough inspection BEFORE signing the paperwork!

Bill R.

2009 Sundancer 330 (buying tomorrow)
VD 8.1S HRZ DTS

PREV: 1988 40' Silverton AC
 
JustUs2 said:
Great... I'm about to buy a new Sundancer 330 tomorrow! Horror stories like this scare the crap out of me (this will be my first Sea Ray). I went with Sea Ray because of their reputation. They cost more, but I thought they were worth it. Definately doing a thorough inspection BEFORE signing the paperwork!

Bill R.

2009 Sundancer 330 (buying tomorrow)
VD 8.1S HRZ DTS

PREV: 1988 40' Silverton AC
Click to expand...

See here is the issue. This is a great time for you. Now that you've read this you can go into your signing knowing that "yes" you'll need to inspect it. I would even recommend having a surveyor comb through it prior to signing and just like a "new house" you'll have a blue tape punchlist of items to address, all systems tested and checked. You'll want them to commit to a timeline to correct all the issues that you will find.

All boats have issues. Keep your standards high and they (dealer and SeaRay) will meet them.

You're in a great position. Congrats on your soon to be your new boat. Those 330's are really nice.
 
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