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My dealer stinks

Manitowish1

Manitowish1

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Location
Manitowish Waters, Wisconsin
Last week went to the dealer to see our new Benny. There were a couple of items that needed to be taken care of. First the Verado had 2 scratches 3 inches long in the cowling all the way through the gel coat. The dealer tells me he has a great painter I will never see the work. I tell him no way, it's a $25K motor. Ok he tells me they will get a new cowl. We had agreed upon a specific discount that the Bennington rep had authorized at the boat show. Upon reviewing the numbers the discount was not accounted for. The owner of the dealership doesn't have the stones to discuss it with me one on one, so he sends one of his pretty assistants to work it out with me. I tell her this is complete BS and she agrees to split it with me 50/50, I reluctantly agree so as not to make a scene in front of the wife and inlaws. Under water lighting not there as agreed upon. Dealer needs to add. Under bar lighting doesn't work for about 4 inches, boat delivered without it being fixed. Having a local dealer fix it, and billing the selling dealer. Then to cap it all off, selling dealer told to adjust custom trailer to fit the new boat, you guessed it, boat is delivered to my lake house, 5 hours away from selling dealer, and the trailer was not adjusted, tubes hanging 15 inches behind the bunks. The guy delivering the boat says no wonder the drive up was so hard, had to fight the trailer the entire ride up. All this crap and the only thing the dealer was concerned about was if I was going to give him a good report when Bennington sends out the questionnaire.

I won't name any names in such a public forum, but if anyone is looking to purchase a Bennington in Southern Wisconsin PM me and I will let you know who NOT to purchase from.

I love the boat, I am very disappointed in the dealer.
 
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Wow, that's rough. There are so many things I don't know where to start. Kinda scares me.
 
Me too... This is close to home... :/
 
I'm nervous and excited! My delivery date has finally come and I keep hearing "horror" stories. My dealer has held up his end of the expected delivery date and "thinks" that my boat will be ready tomorrow afternoon/night. The weather forecast is not ideal...58F and scattered showers. Regardless, I just want my boat safely moored in front of my cottage unblemished. Hoping for the best. I only post this here because I hear ya and feel your pain/anxiety. I will try to go to sleep hoping that all is well with mine and that your issues get resolved.
 
Hate to hear that... that's way too many issues for a new boat owner to have to deal with.... when I bought my Benny there was GM at the dealership that used to be my neighbor... he gave me a good deal.. and yeah, there were a few minor issues when the boat was delivered, but he took care of all of them... and I thought I had a dealership to be trusted......the next year I take her in for routine service ( by this time, my friend the GM has moved on to a different job and is no longer here ). Price for the service was a little on the ridiculous side if you ask me, but here's the thing that really ticked me off... when I dropped the boat off for service I noticed that one of the trailer tires was a little low and asked them if they would check the air pressure in the tires while they had it in the shop.... no problem, we'll take care of it.... come back and pick the boat up the next week and I see a charge of $25 to put air in a tire.... are you freaking kidding me.... I asked the service dept. manager to justify that charge to me... his answer was the labor rate was 100 per hour, minimum job is a quarter hour, thus there's your 25 dollar charge... I was livid....it wasn't the 25 bucks.. it was the principle.... needless to say that I never took the boat back there for service, and last I heard they don't sell benny's anymore.... gee, wonder why?
 
Damn, did they use fresh air, or pure oxygen ??

That's the difference between sales and service.

Sales typically gets the "first" chance, Service is what makes a dealer get the "second" chance.

I buy lots of vehicles, and some of my "best" deals came from the worst "service" dealers, so no more business. SERVICE AFTER THE SALE is what counts as much as the initial sale. Our one local car dealer still washes and vacs the car when you take it in for service. Now that's service !! If only some of these dealers only realized the power of the Internet, they might up their game !!!

And to think 20 years ago for $5 gas I would wash your windshield, check your oil, and your tires for free. Our gas was a couple cents more, but people came to us for the SERVICE !!!
 
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Being a little older than you Smitty, I remember cleaning the windshields with the blue paper towels and a spray bottle. That was before the days of the squeegee , and gas was $,29 9/10. My buddies used to come in to the Hess station where I was working and all pool their change so they could cruise around for a while.
 
Carl,

Yeah, today they make self cleaning glass ???

When I was 16, and would close for the night, I'd go around to every pump and empty the hoses. Prolly got 1/2 gallon or so. Good for a couple cruises around the "circuit" in town. We did the same thing, funny how everyone had no money till you "had no gas for your car" then they all miraculously found some cash in their pockets !!

Oh, the good old days.
 
14.9 was the lowest I ever paid at a Tulsa sation on 8 mile rd in Detroit .

We also used to get " Bulk Oil ' for 20 cents a quart .They had a rack and drained all the cans after THEY added your oil ,sold all the drippings .
 
My dad went for a trip through Montana one time, probably 12-13 years ago, and he pulled up to get gas and that's what happened. Two guys with vacuum cleaners came out, asked them to lift their feet and did the front and back of their truck! Another guy did the windows. My parents were just in awe and gave them a nice tip! A hardworking person could probably make a good buck that way! Most kids these days it's a challenge to get them to put their cell phones away and ask the customer how much fuel they want. That was the hardest thing when we had the fuel station, trying to teach kids common sense and work ethic. The younger generation, for the most part, has none.
 
Derrick,

I agree 100%. The young generation has been brainwashed into thinking they "deserve" things, not taught to "earn" things. Growing up, other than holidays, I NEVER GOT ANYTHING !!! I EARNED EVERYTHING. My mom bought me a new Lawn Boy mower back round 78. Deal was I could earn money mowing, but I mow our yard for free !! She was paying $3 per mow at that time. I think mower cost almost $200 back then, BUT I MADE TONS of money. Lived in trailer courts with 100 plus yards n mowed prolly 20. Good money for 12 year old !!! Also delivered papers, and mowed farm field at $20 weekend.

Oh, if I wanted NIKE sneakers, she gave me money for Converse, and I had to pay difference .... Jeans ..... She gave KMart brand money, I added for Levi's !!!!! SHE TAUGHT ME WELL !!
 
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SEMPERFI8387 said:
Oh, if I wanted NIKE sneakers, she gave me money for Converse, and I had to pay difference .... Jeans ..... She gave KMart brand money, I added for Levi's !!!!! SHE TAUGHT ME WELL !!
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Hey Semper - Did she give you money for a Sun Tracker???
 
Just had to pay the difference for the Bennington
 
Manitowish, I'll PM the name of a great Bennington Dealer in Central Wisconsin.
 
SEMPERFI8387 said:
Derrick,

I agree 100%. The young generation has been brainwashed into thinking they "deserve" things, not taught to "earn" things. Growing up, other than holidays, I NEVER GOT ANYTHING !!! I EARNED EVERYTHING. My mom bought me a new Lawn Boy mower back round 78. Deal was I could earn money mowing, but I mow our yard for free !! She was paying $3 per mow at that time. I think mower cost almost $200 back then, BUT I MADE TONS of money. Lived in trailer courts with 100 plus yards n mowed prolly 20. Good money for 12 year old !!! Also delivered papers, and mowed farm field at $20 weekend.

Oh, if I wanted NIKE sneakers, she gave me money for Converse, and I had to pay difference .... Jeans ..... She gave KMart brand money, I added for Levi's !!!!! SHE TAUGHT ME WELL !!
Click to expand...
I'm beginning to think we came from the same mother. I had great parents who provided for what they decided were all my needs, but for "wants" I was free to earn on my own. I've worked ever since a 4am daily paper route at age 10 and loved being able to make my own choices about how to spend it. I learned to be a cheerful giver too.

Manitowish 1,

Sorry to hear they can't make this the good experience it should be and often is with most of the dealers. At the end of the day you have a great boat so hopefully you can work out the differences and enjoy it. I noticed the boat hanging off the back of the trailer and wondered if the winch stand hadn't been adjusted. It's about a 10 minute job for them with a socket wrench.
 
I live in central Wi would be curios of good and bad dealers names. If not comfortable telling on public PM me please
 
Just picked up our new Bennington yesterday. It was in perfect condition (since we looked at it 2 weeks ago) and our dealer took us out to our local lake for a 2.5 hour orientation to the boat. I've heard from others who have purchased from our dealer that they go to the lake before severe weather comes in to inspect the mooring lines on all their customers' boats. Now that's real support. If you are anywhere near south central PA I'd go to F&S Marine to look at the Benningtons. B)
 
That's where Semperfi will be next weekend as our ambassador. :rolleyes:
 
richmill3215 said:
Just picked up our new Bennington yesterday. It was in perfect condition (since we looked at it 2 weeks ago) and our dealer took us out to our local lake for a 2.5 hour orientation to the boat. I've heard from others who have purchased from our dealer that they go to the lake before severe weather comes in to inspect the mooring lines on all their customers' boats. Now that's real support. If you are anywhere near south central PA I'd go to F&S Marine to look at the Benningtons. B)
Click to expand...
Sweet !!!! Come see me next weekend !!!!

Nice to see another Benni owner owner from the lake.

Did you get a slip ??

Oh yeah, PICS !!!!!!!
 
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