why should i buy another sea ray?

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ehaze

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Mar 16, 2007
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Purchased a new 220 select four or five months ago and we are now looking for a larger boat. We went by the dealer the other day to take a look at the 250 SLX but we are now thinking a 270 SLX or larger will be a better idea.

When our boat was purchased our dealer preached to us about the superior build quality or the Sea Ray. Over the course of the summer we have encountered more than our share of small problems with the boat. From the finish on the dash speakers coming off, Corsa making a rattling noise, cracking on all of the gauge faces, transom and dash audio remotes failing, replacing the transom walkthrough seat twice, fiberglass under transom walkthrough cracking, and a few more minor issues. In my book this is far from superior build quality.

What bugs me is that we purchased a small 18’ Sea Swirl for our lake house three years ago and haven’t had any real issues with it at all. To date this little boat that cost less than twenty grand has been to the dealer once compared to the numerous times our Sea Ray has been to the deal in one summer.

Don’t get me wrong, I love our Sea Ray but I don’t want to go down this road of random issues again.
 
While I won't minimize the problems you have had, were they fixed under warranty by the dealer? And if so were they fixed promptly and to your satisfaction? Keep in mind that several of the things you mentioned, such as your Corsa, stereo, and speakers are also used on many other brands of boats too, not just Sea Rays. And what problems might you face if you switch to "brand X"? Since boats are largely hand made, there are bound to be some issues from time to time with any brand of boat.
 
Just a not to ehaze. Looked the 270slx at the lake havasu aquapalooza and wow what a boat. Really love the hard top, radar arch with built in wake tower and all the other ugrades for a deck boat. Great free board for when the weather turns. :thumbsup:
 
A wise eye ...

The reason Sea Ray is the BIG DOG in recreational boating isn't because they are cheap, or over the top faddish, or even good salesmen.

The reason Sea Ray is the King of the Hill is because on balance they build a quality attractive relevant product, sold through an extensive servicing dealer network, and have solid warranties programs. They have an extensive line up so that newbies beginning with a 18" footer cans stick with Sea Ray right up to 60+ feet as they get fourfootitis. They keep customers long term.

Next because of the above, their products hold their value better than other brands, when properly maintained, because there is a relative strong demand in the resale market.

I've owned several different boats in my life and on balance SR does it the best so far. I live and boat in the largest boating market in America and know owners and their boats from all over the world owning recognized and not so recognized brands. When I compare my experience as an owner to that of many others, SR weighs in very well.

I think sometimes boaters as boat consumers mentally attempt to project their experiences as a car buyer onto their boats and that can't be done successfully. Boats quickly become floating self sustaining environments. A boat sports all the creature comforts necessary to sustain its occupants comfortably for hour or days without going ashore. Sanitation systems, Power generation and distribution, locomotion, safety, anchoring and docking, HVAC, cooking refrigeration, storage, entertainment fuel supplies, water supplies or processing all on a moving platform designed to operate on unpredictable stability.

Sea Ray does it good.

IMHO
 
ehaze, sorry to hear about your problems, we have owned over 12 boats in the past 35 years of boating, 3 being Sea Rays and all the Sea Rays were excellent.
When we move to the Lake Lanier area we are planning on buying a used 30ft dancer because we have a lot of faith in them.
Stick with the Ray you will be happier.
Ken
 
Chad hit the nail on the head. I'll add that Sea Ray's are by far not the best, and certainly aren't the worst. They are somewhat in the middle. You will have problems with almost any brand boat you buy. Someone here had this as their signature and I think it sums up boats in general...."everything on your boat is broken, you just don't know it yet" :smt009 I hope your problems are corrected to your satisfaction and you stay with the Sea Ray family.
 
Bridog said:
Chad hit the nail on the head. I'll add that Sea Ray's are by far not the best, and certainly aren't the worst. They are somewhat in the middle. You will have problems with almost any brand boat you buy. Someone here had this as their signature and I think it sums up boats in general...."everything on your boat is broken, you just don't know it yet" :smt009 I hope your problems are corrected to your satisfaction and you stay with the Sea Ray family.
Click to expand...

According to J.D. Powers it is the best of the mainstream boat companies in the express cruiser class
 
I am becoming convinced that the "issue" of boat quality has little to do with the brand, but more to do with the people maintaining the boat.

If you are getting good service out of your dealer. . then I would continue the relationship. If they are a pain. . look elsewhere for service. (and if you are buying new, that means switching brands!)
 
Sounds like you already got some good answer, I'll just put in my 2 cents worth. It has a lot to do with the company wanting to make sure the customer is taken care of. This past weekend I spent a couple hours at the Riverview plant looking over the new 290 SD. Since they are only making a couple at a time and they did not have a 100% finished 290SD at the plant with the options I was interested in. That night some of us were with the Sea Ray Customer service VP at the marine and he had one of the people on the boat take me over to another dock that had a finished 290 SD with all the options I was looking for to check out a finished product. Now that is customer service for me. Only meet him for a couple minutes early in the day at the SeaRay Luncheon and he remembered I was interested in a 290SD and know I really wanted to see a finished product and got it taken care of.
 
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