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Maiden Voyage... Are we being overly picky?

Dandsconnelly

Dandsconnelly

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I'll try to make this as short as possible ... But warning, it's long. Lol

Husband and I picked up our boat Friday. About a week and a half after signing the initial paperwork because we negotiated in a second battery and also them mounting our Lowrance unit. They had to order a mount because where we originally agreed to mount it, they said it wouldn't work. Added a couple more days to delivery but Ok no biggie...

We arrive Friday at the dealership, go over manuals first, then the boat check. As we're going over everything, we double check the areas we had discussed with multiple people that needed attention.

Stern gate hangs up and rubs (nobody even looked at it and now it it won't even close)

Shoe scuffs on the helm storage door (still there)

2nd battery installed with 2 switches (nope, just one switch cause somebody we never even talked to directly told the installer we didn't want the 2nd switch ????)

I'm honestly not sure they even cleaned the interior at all. Just looked at it and said, yup looks good, because it WASN'T BAD.... just not to my standards on something that costs more than any vehicle we've ever bought! Marks on furniture, shoe scuffs, shavings under the gauges from where they cut thru the helm. Just annoying stuff mostly...

We go get some coffee so they can add the second battery switch (which one lady tried to charge us for), "clean" the areas they missed (I use that work loosely) and fix the stern gate. We return to find they basically just forced the gate into place, which bent the rail. So now they're ordering a new gate. After 2 hours, we finally hook up and pull out.

Cut to taking it on the water... The left gauge is set crooked, the digital trim gauge isn't working, the cabin led lights won't stay on.

We've found any time there's a problem and we have a dealership work on it, they usually cause more problems. So my husband fixes them himself when he can. He straightened the crooked gauge and found the trim wire was loose.

The cabin led lights still allude him so we'll be having the dealership fix that when the stern gate comes in (unless that's going to take months to come in?)
We spent a lot of money on this boat and just weren't expecting the problems we ran into. My husband builds houses for a living, so he understands nothing is ever perfect, but really? A crooked gauge? That's just quality control.

If you're still with me... We did have a nice (tho short) time on the water. It was our first time ever launching /driving/loading a boat. We've never even been on a pontoon before. But we both completed the safety course, read this amazing forum like fiends, and watched a ton of YouTube videos. So we actually felt pretty prepared!

Thank you all for contributing all of your valuable knowledge! It really did make a huge difference for us! 20180420_170601.jpg 20180420_183222.jpg 20180420_183556.jpg
 
Really sorry to read this. I have to say I will never figure out boat dealerships. Mine refuses every oportuinity to make more money for thing I read on this forum that most dealerships jump at. Hang in there.
 
There is good and bad in everything. Enjoy your boat.
 
Sorry to hear you've had such a bad experience starting off. On the bright side, you do have a beautiful new boat! She's gorgeous!!
 
Good looking boat, get over the initial hump with the dealer and move on. I can understand the frustration!
 
Ya just kinda took the wind out of our sails with it being our first boat and all...
 
I completely understand your frustrations!! I had a few Mishaps when our boat was delivered, the dealer was nonchalant about it until I stated my point very bluntly. In The end they were fantastic and went well above what was needed to make sure I was happy. I didn’t mean to sound like a jerk to “just get over it” so to speak but meaning stick it out and see where they’re headed, hopefully they get you where you need to be.
 
Oh I didn't take it that way, adk. Everyone has their own threshold and I'll admit I maybe have higher expectations than some. This is just a big investment, so I expect near perfection.

The dealership did a pretty good job of keeping us happy. They aren't aware of the problems we found once on the water yet. But I have no doubts they'll take care of anything we'll need taken care of. We just didn't expect to have these problems in the first place, ya know;)
 
You didn't buy a boat as much as you bought new memories. You didn't buy a boat to be frustrated with, you bought a boat to relax and escape with.

You will have to make the decision to let things go in order to make your boat your favorite place on earth. The marina staff sideswiped a dumpster with ours. It left a huge gouge and dent in one of the pontoons. I know they did it because the day before we thought it had water in a pontoon. They went back and forth with it on the trailer trying to slosh it around while I listened on both sides. I would have seen the dent had it been there. The next time I took it out, they had it in a slip. I noticed the dent while on the lake. They denied it of course. But I had to decide whether I was going to let it eat at me every time I went out, or let it go.

Your decision.
 
We're enjoying our boat so far... But it'll be nice when it's all working properly.

Still having issues with the trim. Gauge only reads up to 3...shouldn't it go to 10?
 
Dandsconnelly said:
Oh I didn't take it that way, adk. Everyone has their own threshold and I'll admit I maybe have higher expectations than some. This is just a big investment, so I expect near perfection.

The dealership did a pretty good job of keeping us happy. They aren't aware of the problems we found once on the water yet. But I have no doubts they'll take care of anything we'll need taken care of. We just didn't expect to have these problems in the first place, ya know;)
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It is a HUGE investment, and you're right to expect things to be nearly perfect. As long as the dealer makes things right, a few minor defects are to be expected. There are a lot of working parts on a new boat, and undoubtably something is not going to be just right. We had the dealer come out the first weekend on the boat to replace a stuck ball valve on the bilge pump and defective radio. Dealer fixed it and all was good!! Enjoy that boat!!
 
So sorry to hear of your experiences with your dealer. Sounds like you have given the dealership every opportunity to make things right and they failed you. In addition to a thorough walk through with my salesman and the service manager they offered to take it out on the water. I couldn’t go but they took it out on the water for a “test run.” I didn’t buy a trailer so they delivered to me on the lake and spent as much time as I needed going over the boat. I agree with you, you spent a tidy sum and it should meet your expectations. Personally I would write about your experiences to the corporate offices. Then I would put this all behind me and enjoy your new boat.
 
Like you, I expect things done right, and if not, politely and promptly addressed. I don’t call it in on my job, and I don’t expect others to either.

I’d be frustrated with some of what you mentioned, but give them a shot at fixing their quality control oversights. However, its an expensive toy, and they have an obligation to not half-ass it. I wouldn’t accept anything short of every concern addressed satisfactorily. Simple as that.

In the meantime, try to enjoy the boat until its all taken care of. Once it is, you are going to enjoy a number of great years on it. It’s a beauty!!!

And yes...trim gauge should go well past 3. Ours goes up to something like 15-20. Sad how I forget that detail after a winter off the boat...lol
 
Well we're on our way out for our second cruise of the day. It's such as nice evening and we thought we'd put our dining table to use and have dinner on the boat.

We actually had to rescue a family of boaters earlier as they hit bottom and destroyed their prop. That was interesting as it was our second outing so towing a boat and trying to get them to a busy dock was. . challenging for us, to say the least. But we gotter done!

We'll be making a call to the dealership tomorrow to go over the problems. They've been in business for as long as I can remember, so I have no doubt they'll fix the issues. We just hope it's a simple fix and we'll be on the water with little time wasted.
 
Dandsconnelly said:
We actually had to rescue a family of boaters
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A boat buddy of mine believes in "lake karma" points, ;). Job well done helping out, you're earning points.
 
Congrats on the new boat and sorry to hear about the issues. My pet peeve is when dealers are all sales and no support. Funny I had to tow another boat when ours had 4 hours on it!
 
No you're NOT being picky! You spent a lot of money on that boat. Quality control should have been better. Doesn't anybody check it before it leaves the factory? Does the dealer check it when they receive it from the factory? A lot of people had to see that boat before you saw it. Unacceptable......
 
mattb said:
A boat buddy of mine believes in "lake karma" points, ;). Job well done helping out, you're earning points.
Click to expand...

Thank you! It's kinda funny because we're out on the Snake River ....there are a few boats coming up and down the river here and there and we're just floating about 100 yards from these people (husband, wife and 2 small kids) and they're just sitting there quietly with their orange flag up.

Then he busts out the paddle and tries to push the boat somewhere and my husband says... I think they're in trouble. We had to yell at them to ask if they needed help. They never made a sound!

Makes me wonder how long they were going to sit there. Lol
 
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