Jack M
Moderator
The salesperson ,is still a representative of the dealership ,and ultimately the dealer is responsible for their employee's .
Love the Boat, Dealer is another story
- Thread starter SpartyKen
- Start date
Royo
Well-Known Member
The dealer definitely makes a difference. We knew we were going to buy a Bennington and which model, a 2012 2275 GCW. We just needed to find a dealer. I talked to several and the one I chose did not want to just sell us a boat, but he wanted to sell us our next 2 or 3, so it seemed that they made an extra effort to please us. We visited Sportsman Center (200 miles away) in January and when I called to say we were going to visit that afternoon, they brought the model we were interested in into the shop, swept off the snow and took the cover off so we could see, sit in and feel the boat. We bought it on the spot and they threw in several extras we asked for and by the time we picked it up in March we felt more like friends than customers.
I recommend Sportsman Center in Livingston, TN to anyone that is in driving distance. They are great to do business with.
Royo
I recommend Sportsman Center in Livingston, TN to anyone that is in driving distance. They are great to do business with.
Royo
Bamaman
Well-Known Member
I tried to buy a boat from your local Pickwick Lake dealership, however they only had small 2 toon boats and the big expensive boats in stock. I was impressed with them as an old, established boat dealership however. I ended up going to the next dealership east--up on I-40--as he had the exact mid line boat what we wanted.
My only issue buying out of town is having to get warranty work done, as 90 miles times 4 trips is what it's going to take me to get anything done. I hope your boat never requires any warranty work because 200 miles times 4 is a really a long way to get warranty work done.
Distance from the dealership is an important consideration to anyone buying a boat, especially since the Benningtons have such a long warranty. I still try to buy at home.
Sorry to say this dealer issue is becoming a problem. What don't they understand about leisure time activity and spending? To the many dealers that do a good job, thanks. To the rest, Bennington you better start to cull. If you don't you will be just another run of the mill boat mfg. I feel sorry for these people. They deserve better. Way better. Time to step up to the plate Bennington.
Along those lines, some dealers are very frustrated with the handling of options. They say they get no support. As an example, we ordered a 2013 2275 GL with Baja graphics and raised logo. Bennington sent the logos to the dealer in a box. The dealer said he had no idea where to put them because of the graphics. It was up to me. Are you kidding. How much did this boat cost? If you sell elite, customers expect elite. Nuff said.
Along those lines, some dealers are very frustrated with the handling of options. They say they get no support. As an example, we ordered a 2013 2275 GL with Baja graphics and raised logo. Bennington sent the logos to the dealer in a box. The dealer said he had no idea where to put them because of the graphics. It was up to me. Are you kidding. How much did this boat cost? If you sell elite, customers expect elite. Nuff said.
keithkz
Well-Known Member
I had my Bennington serviced two years ago at the same Wilson Marine there in Brighton, MI. Have to say I was VERY impressed with them. The guy who actually did the repairs even took a good amount of time over the phone with me to answer questions as well. Their service department is HUGE. I live in the Jackson, MI area and still trailered my Benny all the way their instead of going to the one here in Jackson (Thayer Marine)....do NOT ever go there. The owner and his sister are absolute rude jerks. The owner himself got down right rude with me because he didn't want to spend the time trying to order me a new Bennington flag pole part. His exact words: "I don't have time for this...for what....a $3 part? I just don't care." I couldn't believe myself. He walked off (which pissed me off right there) and said "Go to another Bennington dealership...there's plenty of them in the area." So I did....Wilson Marine. Not exactly super close to me but after how Thayer treated me no way in hell I'm ever going back to them. That was two years ago. My wife and I were there about 8 years ago to look for some stuff for a ski boat of ours and got the same rude treatment from their service department. I told Bennington about it after it happened two years ago but seriously doubt anything happened.
Ness3
Well-Known Member
OK we pick up our 2550 gbr with a 225 on it from this dealer in Howell Mi. monday 4/29 and we love it we took over 2 hours on pickup went over boat / motor/ trailer /test ride with 10 + gal dock lines anchor-anchor line 8 life vests fire extinguisher throwable flotation every thing we had on our build sheet is there and there was quite a bit on it. Now one seat had a pucker they took a pic of it so if it dont work out it will get fixed no big deal the prep shop forgot the muskrat shield got that put on took 15 min. Orderd on 2/1/13 came in on time as dealer said called our salesman so many times with ? and changes + seen him at 2 boat shows he knows my and my wifes cell # by hart. To Buy / order a boat is not easy its not like a car dealer ware you say O I like that red one what does it have on it ok ill take it we called our salesman at least 2 times a week after all we spent 55 + on her with out our trailer on the bill. So all in all I would say we had a good experance with this dealer but I try to stay on top of things as much as I can check out topics / pics of our 2013 2550 gbr came home today. Hope that everyone gets any and all issues taken care of and I wish all a fun & safe summer boating Ness3 
lakeliving
Well-Known Member
Glad you had a good experience Ness. I think it boils down to a salesman issue there. In your pics it looks like the sales guy is holding on for dear life!