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New purchased question/opinion

bskill3t

bskill3t

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Round Lake, IL
Hey Guys

So i'm going to try and keep this short. I need some input/advise.

3 weeks ago, we purchased a 2018 Benny 25SSBXP. It's our first boat. I'm not a fan of purchasing used things. We looked, but ultimately decided to buy brand new. Tonight, i get home and i'm going through my mail and i received a envelope from the dealership. The letter contained the certificate of Origin for my motor. The manufactured date of the engine is listed at 9/01/2016. Immediately, my blood started to boil. I went and pulled my paperwork, and see on the paperwork that they have a 2018 Hull listed and a 2017 engine listed. I must have missed that when signing the papers, because the finance guy was just going through the numbers, taxes real quick, sign here, next page... etc..

But now come to find out the engine isn't even a 2017, it's a 2016! The engine was purchased by the dealer 11/15/2016. That puts it at 19 months they have had this engine sitting in a warehouse. This is a very big dealership that pushes a LOT of boats out the door.

I have started to type a email to the salesperson i bought the boat from, but haven't hit send yet. Thinking i should calm down before i hit send.

The biggest issues i have with this is, when i go to sell this boat someday, the next buyer is going to wonder why the heck is the engine 2 yrs older than the hull.
It's going to hurt the resell. Why would they not say, "hey all we have is a 2016 new engine, would you be ok with that? We could offer some additional savings taking this older engine off our shelf. It's still new and has the same warranty, but will show 2 yrs older than the boat"

Boats tend to loose value quicker than anything else in my opinion... and now i'm adding to that by having a 16' engine on a 18' hull!

How would you handle yourself in this situation????
 
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This is actually common. Engines, at least the Yamahas, don't necessarily have a year attached to them like boats do. My first Benny was a 2013 and the dealer said I was getting a 2015 engine. When I sold it the buyer discovered something similar to what you're saying so I asked the dealer who sold me the boat and they said Yamaha doesn't assign years. If two engines are identical in every way but manufactured a year apart, they will grab one off the shelf, bolt it on your boat and you might never know and it doesn't really matter. They don't even ship the engines with the boats. They only pre-rig them for a brand and a HP range and the rest is . . . well you know that expression about making sausage? You don't want to know? Besides, an engine made in late 2016 would have been stamped a 2017 anyway. Take a look at the build date on your car.

Bottom line is I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. As long as your warranty date starts when it's supposed to, you'll be fine. It's not like it's milk! :D

I am a little surprised though, since there is a system wide engine shortage. How did that one slip through the cracks? THAT would be my only question in this case.
 
Yes they should have told you about the engine being a 2016 model. Is there a big difference between the 2 years whether its cosmetic or internal! Do you think that they were trying to intentionally deceive you! Did you order/build this boat or was it in the showroon or lot? Bennington boats actually retain their value rather well. I would have a cordial sit down discussion with the dealer. What exactly do you want to get out of this situation! A 2018 engine! I wouldn't blame you. Would any other concession satisfy you??? You spent alot of money on that boat. Get what you deserve. ...
 
I'm sure they are going to say its a 2017 model engine even though it was manufactured in 2016. Just as I bought my 2018 model boat in 8/17. I've read that some of the 2019 model Bennys are coming out in June already, which is ridiculous..The auto manufacturers do the same thing as the 2019 models will be out in near future, if not already out. Having said that, I hope they gave you a decent discount on that year old engine. If not, you might ask for one or some credit for maintenance in the future.
 
I’m agreeable with the above statements, not the end of the world that’s it’s a different year or sat in crate for awhile, still a new motor with the same warranty, boat value won’t be an issue. The bummer is they tried to slide it thru without telling you or being very clear about the situation. Approach is 9/10 of the game but I for sure would not that slide by!
 
I tend to agree with Nautical on this. Our boat is a 2006. After doing some research, because that’s what I do, research everything, I found out that the Honda motor is a 2004. When I took the boat back to the original dealer, which by the way is no longer a Bennington dealer although they are an authorized Honda dealer, they told me that this is a common practice. It sounds like they must buy motors and store them and use them as boat come in. I too was not happy to hear this or find out about this but it sounds like it may be industry standard. I believe they should bring this to your attention when selling the boat but since it’s in the paperwork I’m sure they take the position that they provided full disclosure.

As others have already said I would certainly go back to the dealer and question him about it. However, I would also suggest trying to focus on the positive and enjoy your brand new boat.
 
Thanks everyone for the advice! I’ve been talking to my brother this morning about this too.. he agrees with you guys. I’m going to say something to the dealer, but ultimately go and enjoy this nice purchase with the wife and kids and not worry about it. Hopefully everyone gets out and enjoys their Benny’s this weekend!!
 
chalk it up to "water under your boat"...;) All great advise and boat wisdom. You figure out one thing from this august collection of sea faring pontoon captains. They have great advise from experience and they can help you spend your money on "options and add-ons"! And we all love spending someone else money!! My boat was the same same. And yes I did the same thing as you....I was like "WAAAA"??? how can this be??? And yes, I found out it is common practice with pretty much all boat engines. And yes I finally chalked it up to numbers on a piece of paper. (Don't get me wrong. I want the numbers correct! We all pay lots of money for these boats.) I ended up having incorrect trailer serial numbers to the trailer I was given. So I had to go through all the title paperwork hoo-haa again. Just a pain. But you know what, in the future...my next Benny. (next season) I will double check the trailer serial numbers. Compare paperwork to actual trailer. It's how you respond to the situations of life. Especially boat life! Now go enjoy that Bennington with your family and take lots of pics! It's a Benny summertime!
 
Exactly! Water under the bridge... we talked this morning. Now I know for future purchases. Summer time!!! Doesn’t get much better than spending time on the Benny!


TexAgg56 said:
chalk it up to "water under your boat"...;) All great advise and boat wisdom. You figure out one thing from this august collection of sea faring pontoon captains. They have great advise from experience and they can help you spend your money on "options and add-ons"! And we all love spending someone else money!! My boat was the same same. And yes I did the same thing as you....I was like "WAAAA"??? how can this be??? And yes, I found out it is common practice with pretty much all boat engines. And yes I finally chalked it up to numbers on a piece of paper. (Don't get me wrong. I want the numbers correct! We all pay lots of money for these boats.) I ended up having incorrect trailer serial numbers to the trailer I was given. So I had to go through all the title paperwork hoo-haa again. Just a pain. But you know what, in the future...my next Benny. (next season) I will double check the trailer serial numbers. Compare paperwork to actual trailer. It's how you respond to the situations of life. Especially boat life! Now go enjoy that Bennington with your family and take lots of pics! It's a Benny summertime!
Click to expand...
 
This happens a lot in the RV world too. The chassis under the motorhome or trailer may registered by the manufacturer as a 2017 and the box on top of the chassis may be registered by that manufacturer as a 2018. It's pretty common but kind of surprising when you find this stuff out after the fact.
 
That would have thrown me off too, but as always, some great advice and insights from different perspectives above. The one common denominator in the advice, enjoy the boat.

I was like you last year; I made the assumption and didn’t really check it too closely. I was ordering a new boat, so I just assumed both the boat and engine were new. I still think both my boat and motor are 2017, but I’ll have to double check out of curiosity.

On the positive side, lots of people have had big delays on getting boats due to the backlog in motors. You were at least able to avoid the backlog, which means you get on the water for the entire summer in 2018. That’s a big positive in this situation!
 
Our boat is a 2007 and our Honda 150 is a 2006. We purchased it on June 30th in 2006.
 
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