Great Experience with my new Bennington Purchase!

SnakeByte

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Madison, WI
WARNING: May consume too much time to read!

So, I'm at 2 weeks as a new Bennington owner and I just wanted to throw a shout out to Bennington, my dealer, and most of all this forum.

First off, I'm new to boating; never owned a boat, barely had piloted a boat.  Now, I'm lucky enough to own what many consider to be one of the nicest family boats on the water, a Bennington Pontoon.

Bennington -

I've had a super experience with my Bennington purchase.  The quality has been great, the fit and finish has been near perfect and overall I got a pontoon boat that turns heads...who would have thought?  These aren't your Father's pontoons!!  Given we purchased our pontoon going right into the busiest part of the season, Bennington did a great job at getting our pontoon out the door with great quality as well.  I had the opportunity to call Bennington once before they shipped my pontoon and they were super helpful.  Love.  Love.  Love. being a Bennington owner.  Definitely something to be proud of as you motor on the lake.

My Dealer - 

Quam's Motorsports is based right here in the Madison, WI area.  They are a family owned dealership and John Quam has been there since I first realized he was a Bennington dealer and called him on the phone to see one of the new Bennington Pontoons.  Although this is his first year as a Bennington dealer, he has gone out of his way to understand the ins and outs of being one of their dealers in order to serve me the best he could.

I'm not sure about you other forum heads, but he had to just love me, constantly asking all these specific question, bugging him about build dates, asking about prep times and prop pitch, changing my order...etc, etc.  Likely something only those of us on the forum do to this extent.  He was a trooper through it all :)

Then John personally delivered our pontoon to our lake, on his truck (segue: love his license plate, "I SEL FUN").  Now that's service!  He put it in the water and took us out on the lake for nearly an hour, showing us all the ins and outs of our new pontoon.  Oh, did I mention this was on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend?  And did I mention that he just got the boat from Bennington three days before?  Has to be one, if not THE busiest weekend for him, yet his guys pulled it all together for us for the big weekend and he kept me in the loop the whole time.  I even got an email from him the night before, 3.5 hours after they were closed saying the shop had just completed everything and it would be ready for the detailers tomorrow.  Now that's service!

Lastly, I had a motor alarm going off.  Obviously, I'm clueless and wouldn't know the problem if it was right in front of me.  So John sends one of his service guys out to my slip to take a look, we take it out and find nothing.  Dumb alarm didn't even go off...typical.  I was thrilled that he took one of his busy techs and sent him right to our dock; once again, that's how you deliver great service.  The next day, we experience the alarm again, so John once again, personally comes to our slip and picks up the boat and takes it back to the shop.  They take care of all the issues and he drops it back off.  Needless to say I'm thrilled to have such an awesome dealer.  Someone that I know is going to take care of me and ensure I have a great experience.  Kudos to John for providing great customer service!  You just don't find this kind of service like you used to.

Bennington Owners Forum -

I'll try not to get too slobbery on you guys.  But what a great group of people, everyone on this forum has been has been so friendly and helpful.  This has made my buying experience so much more fun.  You've made my wait exciting and I feel like I've found a whole new set of friends.  I look forward to reading the forums each day and am just as anxious to read about everyone else's experiences;  from those buying a new boat, or those getting back into the water after a harsh Winter.  You all have helped ensure I've made a purchase that I'll be happy with for years to come (or at least until next year... ***PADS symptoms commercial plays***).  In addition to buying the right boat, I feel like I'm coming into this experience so much more prepared with gear, books, and tons of knowledge.  A special thanks to Carl (cwag911) for referring me to this forum from the pontoonforum.  Thanks to everyone for all the help, hopefully I can help others in the future as I learn more about our pontoon.  

I've posted this photo before...but this about sums up our first two weeks of boat ownership...

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Cheers!

Jason
 
I think I'm going to cry... What a post. I read it twice! I think most of us here share your thoughts and feelings. I'm guessing your post will sell a few boats too... What others posted here when I first joined had a huge impact on my decision to buy a Bennington as well. A true testament to the forum.
 
Awesome write up Jason. It's nice to read something so positive as of late. It's also nice to read about a dealer that also spent the time "showing you the ropes". Congrats and post up pics of the happiness !!!
 
We love you too Jason.           :wub:
 
Very nice write up and thanks for taking the time!

Fortunately, I think this more typically represents the Bennington experience, where carefully choosing a good dealer (not just on price) and working closely with them to resolve any issues that inevitably come up makes it so much more satisfying. Hopefully you'll get many years of enjoyment from your new boat (or at least until PADS sets in).
 
Great write up. I agree whole heartedly. Very similar experience with our dealer and Bennington AND everybody on the forum, all of the info made easier work out of making the best choices. Nothing but fun left.
 
Welcome Jason. Funny how your thread gets fewer views than those similar to "I'm not happy about....."

Thanks for reminding us why a Bennington purchase trumps all!
 
Congrats on the new boat.  It sounds like you've found a good bit of happiness!  ENJOY!
 
Great write up. I agree whole heartedly. Very similar experience with our dealer and Bennington AND everybody on the forum, all of the info made easier work out of making the best choices. Nothing but fun left.
Nuttin but fun left....
 
Congrats on the new boat and thanks for sharing your experience!

Looking forward to hearing more of your stories. Like others have stated it's so nice to hear positive reviews and stories!
 
Congrats on your new boat - enjoy it!

Jack
 
Hey Jason,

Congrats and thanks for sharing your experience with us. I was getting so blubbery that I had to go get a bib so I wouldn't short out my keyboard!!!!!!!

Enjoy the ride!

Later,

Marc
 
Great write up Jason! And thanks for recruiting him to the dark side Carl! Bennington does make a great product and my dealer has been great working through the bugs with me. Looking forward to seeing many more photos and stories from your water adventures.
 
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