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Damaged tube before taking delivery

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Todd

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I'm supposed to take delivery of my new 2017 R23 Swingback in two days. I went by the dealer today and the salesman pointed out there was an 8"-10" gouge in the rear of the left tube that was caused when moving the boat with a forklift. He said it would not compromise the integrity of the tube, and I fully trust him. I paid for the boat in full a month ago and it's already registered to me. He offered to replace the tube at the end of the season or give me a $1000 refund to compensate. Will this kind of deep scratch hurt my future resale, or are scratches like this inevitable and I should just take the cash? What would you do?


This is my first pontoon boat following owning several surf boats and I don't know how this will effect value.


Post edited to attach 2 pictures of the scratch. Now what do you think?

Scratch 1.jpg

Scratch 2.jpg
 
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Todd said:
I'm supposed to take delivery of my new 2017 R23 Swingback in two days. I went by the dealer today and the salesman pointed out there was an 8"-10" gouge in the rear of the left tube that was caused when moving the boat with a forklift. He said it would not compromise the integrity of the tube, and I fully trust him. I paid for the boat in full a month ago and it's already registered to me. He offered to replace the tube at the end of the season or give me a $1000 refund to compensate. Will this kind of deep scratch hurt my future resale, or are scratches like this inevitable and I should just take the cash? What would you do?


This is my first pontoon boat following owning several surf boats and I don't know how this will effect value.
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ABSOLUTELY replace the pontoon!  It will definitely affect the value.  A new pontoon costs $3,000 ($4,000 if it's a center pontoon.  Ask me how I know  :huh: ).  Don't take the money.  You'll kick yourself every time you look at that gouge.


welcome aboard.
 
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+1 on replacing the tube. He is right that it won't impact performance, but you just bought the BMW/Lexus/Mercedes of pontoons and I would want that replaced. Tcpip is right you will look at that forever and be bothered by it.
 
 I agree on replacing the pontoon tube. Kudos to your salesman for being honest and pointing it out. If I bought a new Cadillac, and there was a huge scratch or gouge under the hood, yeah I might not see it but I know it's there and I didn't cause it.  A thousand dollars would not be enough for me to accept it. A couple grand, I might consider it. Note: I had one under my last toon, wasn't noticeable from outside boat, but I cringed every time I saw it when I scrubbed toons. 
 
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$3500 to replace my port side 2 years ago 
 
You should enjoy the boat this summer. And then have the dealer replace the toon. Everyone is absolutely spot on with their s
 
Absolutely have the tube replaced at the end of the season.  Although it may  not effect performance you would know it was there and resale would be impacted.
 
+1 Replace
 
REPLACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Mine was a 2 day job ,getting the replacement from Bennington is what took the time . I had to wait for it  had to be shipped on a load .That is why I waited until after the season for the install .
 
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First the obvious - NEVER EVER pay for something this expensive in full until your have seen it complete and can take immediate possession.


You didn't state how the damage occurred - specifically did the boat ship damaged?, did the transported damage it? did the dealer damage it in his shop?


If it shipped damaged, its a Bennington warranty issue.


If it arrived damaged, its a transport claim. Dealer and Bennington need to be involved.


If dealer damaged it, he has stupid operator insurance that will cover the claim. Since you paid way in advance, did you insure the boat immediately? Hopefully. If so and its a dealer issue, call your insurance company, report the damage, file a claim and pay the deductible. They will replace the pontoon and subrogate the claim to the dealers insurance and you will get your deductible back. Sometime just the threat of this will make it happen.


Regarding my opening comment, a few years ago a friend bought a new Ford F450 pickup for his house building business. They called him when it arrived from factory and when he went to pick it up it was leaking oil. He looked at the salesman as he turned away and said "call me when the leak is fixed and we'll sign paperwork" and walked away. They diagnosed the problem, had parts overnighted from Dearborn, and had it repaired in 48hours. Why? They hadn't been paid!!!. 
 
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Sounds like the dealer did it with a fork lift .


" the salesman pointed out there was an 8"-10" gouge in the rear of the left tube that was caused when moving the boat with a forklift "
 
Thank you to everyone for the thoughtful posts.


Guardrail22, I purchased the boat off the showroom floor when it was off the trailer. The damage is on the lower level of the pontoon below the water line and wasn't visible to me until they got it on the trailer. I intended to take delivery sooner, but the local lakes were being lowered to make room for all the snow runoff we have here in California. 


Another question I have is will replacing the tube weaken any structures or is it simply a bolt on procedure?


Im leaning toward the replacement and will be sure to have the dealer issue me a Due Bill to document the future work.
 
Mine was a bolt on .My selling dealer changed mine .With a Bennington replacement .Mine was an insurance claim due to being hit in my slip 
 
Todd said:
Thank you to everyone for the thoughtful posts.


Guardrail22, I purchased the boat off the showroom floor when it was off the trailer. The damage is on the lower level of the pontoon below the water line and wasn't visible to me until they got it on the trailer. I intended to take delivery sooner, but the local lakes were being lowered to make room for all the snow runoff we have here in California. 


Another question I have is will replacing the tube weaken any structures or is it simply a bolt on procedure?


Im leaning toward the replacement and will be sure to have the dealer issue me a Due Bill to document the future work.
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It's just a bolt-on procedure.  Will not have any impact on structural integrity.  You'll be good to go.
 
Defintiely replace it. Especially if its below water line or close.


I would let insurance company know and make sure they can file a claim if needed. That would document the replacement because closing the claim would require work to be done. They could order the pontoon and likely change it in a day.


Personally I would not trust the dealer unless they issued me a notarized letter or bill of sale indicating that the repair was required.


Keep in mind they are insured for this as well. Might have a larger deductible than you but they are covered.
 
As an insurance professional I would hold off on notifying your insurance company. You don't want something on your policy history if it doesn't need to be there.


Instead I would get something in writing from the dealer stating they are replacing the toon in the fall for $0 dollars to you. If they don't do that, lawyer time.
 
^^^^ I agree with Lakeliving 100%^^^^


dealers change hands & sales people or store managers leave. You don't want the end of the season to come around and the people that said they would "fix it for free are gone" and then your trying to convince a stranger they need to do $3500 in work for free. 


A simple letter stating the facts will keep everyone honest, as I recommend on the other "damaged toon thread"  get your toon replaced ASAP.  I'm my opinion the longer you wait the less motivated the dealer is to fix a oops'!   And it takes months to get a toon built and shipped.
 
I posted some pictures after you all commented. Please look at them and let me know if you think it is bad enough to require replacement, or am I destined to have more like this?
 
Todd said:
I posted some pictures after you all commented. Please look at them and let me know if you think it is bad enough to require replacement, or am I destined to have more like this?
Click to expand...

Can you post a link to the pictures?  I can't navigate the photo album on this site to save my life.  Your gallery is empty, so don't know where they are...
 
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