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Scratch on Pontoon

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Ainival

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My wife and I picked up our new pontoon on Saturday. 2275 RCW 150 Yamaha, pic's to follow. Really really nice boat! The salesman went through checklist. Couple of items I had issue with. Not anything I can't get over. But, 8 inch fairly deep scrath in the pontoon, I'm having a hard time with. When scratch was brought up, salesman just kinda shrugged off. Mentioned to him again just before leaving dealership, same reaction. First of all you guys and gals know how much we are spending on our boats. Can the scratch be fixed or should I move on.

Thanks for your thoughts.
 
First, congrats. The only way to fix a deep scratch on a tube is to replace it. Like you said, we spend a lot of $$$$$ on these top of the line pontoons and I would make them fix it or replace it. Make sure you get it in writing before you take the boat.
 
Ainival said:
My wife and I picked up our new pontoon on Saturday. 2275 RCW 150 Yamaha, pic's to follow. Really really nice boat! The salesman went through checklist. Couple of items I had issue with. Not anything I can't get over. But, 8 inch fairly deep scrath in the pontoon, I'm having a hard time with. When scratch was brought up, salesman just kinda shrugged off. Mentioned to him again just before leaving dealership, same reaction. First of all you guys and gals know how much we are spending on our boats. Can the scratch be fixed or should I move on.

Thanks for your thoughts.
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Congrats on the new boat and welcome! We have the same one so I know how you must feel after writing that check.

As usual, "it depends" on the nature of the damage but the dealer should not ignore your concern as that is not normal at delivery. Unfortunately with aluminum it's not so easy to just "rub it out" and there is no paint to repair like on a car. Sometimes in the worst of situations they replace the pontoon tube with another. There are cases discussed here where that has happened under warranty. Each situation is different though.

Go back to the dealer and escalate it if necessary and they'll take care of what to do from there through Bennington. They'll make it right.
 
Man, that's disappointing. First of all, how deep is deep? Some scratches can be ground and and redone, others cannot. I would certainly take some kind of action whether it be replacement or repair or a discount. Granted, your probably going to end up it yourself but then it's yours. Your exactly right, you spend that kind of money, it ought to be right. If I didn't do something about it now, I would regret it everytime I looked at it.

Good luck!
 
Agree with the others. It should perfect when it leaves the dealer to your house. I would email good old Mandy at Bennington (Waranty Administrator) if your dealer isn't doing their job on this.
 
Guys this exact thing happened to us this spring. The tube will be replaced in the fall under warranty. It took a little discussion but the dealer agreed to this solution.
 
I don't actually see it as a warranty issue, I'm going to take a wild guess that it didn't leave the factory that way. More than likely it was done by the dealer, therefore it is the dealers responsibility to take care of it. It would be like me cutting my toon open on a rock and then thinking Bennington should fix it. That's why we have insurance, and also why the dealer has insurance. It's up to you whether or not a discount would make you be able to look past it, but if not, see if the dealer can swap toons with another boat. I'm assuming it's an outside toon. You'll love the RCW, I loved all 25.8 hours on mine! :D
 
Oh, and if that doesn't work, I know where you can get a 2275RCW with a 200 Yamaha, with only 25.8 hours on it! Haha
 
And those 25.8 hours were put on it during one weekend. As for the scratched toon. Raise hell with the dealer, make sure you have photos to substantiate the damage prior to your accepting of delivery. Good luck and keep us updated.
 
If I read the first sentence correctly... "My wife and I picked up our new pontoon on Saturday." I assume you have possession of the boat? If so, do you have documented proof of the scratch before it left the lot? If not, it may take more than a discussion, but that is at least a start. If it has not left the dealership, get photos and send an email requesting it be rectified, continue to follow up daily for a few days, if no response continue up the chain of command. Sometimes there are kinks in the chain and you just need to find the right link.
 
Scratches are EXTREMELY hard to sand out. I can polish a scratch like a mirror but the scratch will still be there. I had what I thought were fairly light scratches on a used barge I bought. After sanding with a D.A. sander starting with 320, then 400, then 600, then 1000, then 1500, and finishing up with 2000 grit paper, the scratches are still there. They shine like mirrors but still are very visible. They are not what I would call readily visible but that is because of the mirror shine, which came after three steps of polishing after all the sanding, and yes, I am a glutton for punishment. Steve
 
BigKahuna said:
Includes free shipping???
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I'm sure something could be worked out!! I'd have to take my dealers new diesel, might cost me too much with the Cadillac!!
 
As someone (Carl?) eloquently said in another thread, tell them "that's just not acceptable".

You'll get dinged when it comes time to sell it (pardon the pun).
 
Really appreciate all who responded. Yes, we did pick up our boat on Saturday. Looking back, may have done things different. Should not have been so excited. I'm contacting the dealer tomorrow. Will keep all informed. Thanks again.
 
As others have stated, replace if at all possible, or see if they are willing to give you a fair discount. It's bound to get scratched again, but it's "your" scratch them not theirs.

It could be sanded and polished but like Steve said, but it's still there. At 8-9 hundreths of an inch thick, theres not a lot of meat to remove, and even if you could, you see the deformity (oil canning) afterwards.
 
Mine came with a scratch that sounds exactly like yours. I hated it but didn't make an issue about it mainly because I had traveled 130 miles to pick up my new boat and I didn't want to leave without it. But ..... I have been kicking myself in the ass ever since. I have since put other scratches on my toons but I didn't get to put the first one on them.
 
As I have gotten older, 62 now, I try to have the mind-set of " is it REALLY worth getting upset over." Has helped me alot because my old attitude couldn't have been good for my health. Pick your battles. Steve
 
lakebum said:
As I have gotten older, 62 now, I try to have the mind-set of " is it REALLY worth getting upset over." Has helped me alot because my old attitude couldn't have been good for my health. Pick your battles. Steve
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Exactly!!
 
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