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New Bennington owner.....Question

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Randall Barr

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Hello,
I am a new boat (Bennington) owner and have a question that I will keep brief and simple. Depending on the responses I get I will go into more detail explaining my experience. Are these welds on interior rails normal or acceptable Bennington fit and finish? Thank you.Ben2.jpegBen3.jpeg
 

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Welcome ! The welds on my Bennington look a lot better than those! Door alignment about he same. Wait on more responses. New boat ? Maybe contact your dealer and let them know also.
 
I wouldn't like them and as was stated, let your dealer know you're not happy. I would want the panels replaced.
 
OK, thanks for the replies. More information: These ARE replacement panels!!! I will now attach photos of the welds on the original panels. I made note of them to the dealer upon delivery and they were filed down, but this is not the quality I expected in a 40K + boat, especially my first boat. I contacted Bennington and they advised me it would be made right under warranty. The dealer provided excellent follow up and I got the boat back with the new panels yesterday. I want to be clear that this is not a slam against the manufacturer or the dealer, but I can't understand what is so difficult about finishing welds on a small seam. If the QC is this lax on the minor details, what other unseen issues could there be? Not sure what to do now. Really second guessing my decision (after much research) to purchase a Bennington. The catalog is beautiful and glossy; the boat not so much.
 

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I agree with all of the above. I am always amazed that someone from Bennington doesn’t weight in on some of these issues. These should include reactions on items such as reception issues with the KMC 10 and leaky pontoons. We love our Bennington other than the KMC 10 reception, that we are simply living with, have had no issues. They seem to be either engineering or QC related.
 
I am hesitant to contact Bennington again. How many times can they replace rails without causing other problems? And obviously there is no guarantee replacements will be any better. I've looked at many other boats and the welds are solid all the way around the joints. Thinking I got a boat made on Friday afternoon or Monday morning...lol.
 
I think they look horrible and totally unacceptable. I'm in the market or will be soon and I would not be happy at all, but especially because of these prices and the reputation of Bennington as a quality manufacturer.
 
The thing that is troublesome to me is, this was my retirement present to myself. It cost more than any other vehicle I have ever purchased....car, truck, etc. It actually cost about 1/3 of what I paid for my first house! Still considering a course of action but I shouldn't be dealing with this on a brand new boat.
 
Oh my! Thankfully, mine look nothing like that. I'd try again and ask to see the fencing before it's replaced again. Good luck!
 
Unacceptable welding. Someone had a really bad day, or if not, should not be welding!! Is it like that all around the boat or just by the doors/gates?
 
Rick....Most of the inside welds. Another thing is that the edges of the exposed metal are very sharp. I would not run my finger across one....it would cut. My wife suggested covering them with duct tape......might help but on a 40k+ boat??? Why??? Nobody should have to deal with this lack of QC at this price point. After seeing the comments here I contacted the dealer (who I really like) and voiced my displeasure. I realize it is no fault of theirs, but Bennington needs to step up. Really frustrating. Will see what happens.
 
Randall Barr said:
Rick....Most of the inside welds. Another thing is that the edges of the exposed metal are very sharp. I would not run my finger across one....it would cut. My wife suggested covering them with duct tape......might help but on a 40k+ boat??? Why??? Nobody should have to deal with this lack of QC at this price point. After seeing the comments here I contacted the dealer (who I really like) and voiced my displeasure. I realize it is no fault of theirs, but Bennington needs to step up. Really frustrating. Will see what happens.
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Agree 100% with you
 
I also have to agree this is not good. The welds on my $8,000 Klamath aluminum fishing boat were a thing of beauty. They call it stacking dimes when the welds are masterfully done. What I'm seeing in the pictures is not that.
 
Randall Barr said:
Rick....Most of the inside welds. Another thing is that the edges of the exposed metal are very sharp. I would not run my finger across one....it would cut. My wife suggested covering them with duct tape......might help but on a 40k+ boat??? Why??? Nobody should have to deal with this lack of QC at this price point. After seeing the comments here I contacted the dealer (who I really like) and voiced my displeasure. I realize it is no fault of theirs, but Bennington needs to step up. Really frustrating. Will see what happens.
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Keep us posted please ! This will get very interesting I'm sure
 
Good on you for not living with a problem. Your feedback to them and not accepting those welds will make it better for future buyers, I hope.
 
I agree with what has been said and also AGREE that it would be nice to have someone from Bennington on this forum to answer some of these questions that pertain to a company issue. Other forums have someone to monitor and to keep a pulse on what is being said about their product. The OP's issue makes me not want to order a boat but buy from one I can visually inspect on a dealers lot....Perhaps the cause is that since Bennington makes more pontoons than anyone else and that they are the only manufacturer who has not seen a dip in sales this past year that they are rushing boats through without adequate Quality Control..
 
Yikes! I have a boat on order and expecting delivery in the next six weeks. Thanks for posting as this will make we look at all the welds before I take delivery.
 
The thought did cross my mind considering that I HAD a brand new boat....it only has 28 hours on it, but now I have a boat that has been taken apart and rebuilt without the problem being resolved. Hard to describe but it doesn't feel "new" now. I'm guessing I will have to take this as a bad lesson learned, keep it for a year two, then sell and move on to a brand with better QC. It came down to this or Manitou. I went with Bennington because I like the dealer and I can drive the boat across the lake to get there. Next one will most likely be Manitou unless I find something else with more research. We will see what happens.
 
Randall Barr said:
The thought did cross my mind considering that I HAD a brand new boat....it only has 28 hours on it, but now I have a boat that has been taken apart and rebuilt without the problem being resolved. Hard to describe but it doesn't feel "new" now. I'm guessing I will have to take this as a bad lesson learned, keep it for a year two, then sell and move on to a brand with better QC. It came down to this or Manitou. I went with Bennington because I like the dealer and I can drive the boat across the lake to get there. Next one will most likely be Manitou unless I find something else with more research. We will see what happens.
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Your have to hope a Bennington site administrator is reading this. This is how brand reputation goes south quickly and the recovery is very difficult.
 
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