Brand new boat listing to port!!

[swat'in flys]

Re: Brand new boat listing to port!!

Had a problem with a boat my father bought. Developed a crack in the hull, aluminum. Dealership tried to fix three times and each time it would re-crack. Finally after spending the entire summer in the shop and on the phone with the company rep, the manufacturer picked up the boat and sent us a new one. Did not get it until end of Sept and the dealership was to busy to prep for us. We had to put windsheild on and install depth finder. We were happy with the boat and still are but we will never buy anything from that dealer again.

 

[evin300]

Re: Brand new boat listing to port!!

Have you looked at the boat from the rear while sitting on the trailer? Its possible the the hull is twisted from bieng removed from the mold too soon. I had a boat like this once.

 

[Jack Shellac]

Re: Brand new boat listing to port!!

evin300's post reminded me of a friend who bought a new boat that they had trouble with in the mold and the boat came out with one side several inches lower than the other. They cobbled it up and delivered it. You may want to take several measurements from the keel to the gunwale on both sides to see if your boat is symmetrical. This would make it appear that the boat was listing.

 

[Ralph 123]

Re: Brand new boat listing to port!!

Tell them you either want your money back or a new boat by Wed or you gonna put this one on the trailer and park it in fromt of their office with big "Don't buy here" "Sold me a lemon" signs all over it! <br /><br />Does your state's lemon laws apply to boats? Worth looking in to.<br /><br />Call your State's AG/Consumer Affairs office and find out what your rights are.<br /><br />You have the right to be totally indignant with these people - The fact that they haven't taken care of this by now speaks badly of them and I would be a wild man! This in not YOUR problem this is THEIR problem!

 

[jim phillips]

Re: Brand new boat listing to port!!

Ralph<br />I love that idea. Your right it is there problem and they need to fix it

 

[wezie]

Re: Brand new boat listing to port!!

Built wrong,<br />Something installed wrong,<br />Or it is feminine and retaining water in some pocket. (Limber holes stopped up or not there.)<br />Whatever it is, is not right and will not heal itself.<br />Please begin to document everything, and without threatening, notify the dealer and manufacturer in writing. Not E-Mail, writing!! <br />All communications should be confirmed in writing. <br />"Hummm..." is not an answer; or is it?<br />Only the business owners and very upper management can do you any good now.<br />You are now building a case, just in case!<br />Good Luck!

 

[DJ]

Re: Brand new boat listing to port!!

Suds,<br /><br />I agree there is something wrong with it.<br /><br />Believe me, putting lemons all over it and making a spectacle is going to clam up everybody real fast. If you want a fight, that will get you one.<br /><br />The only person that will win is the lawyer, at your expense.<br /><br />Work it out. Be polite, but persistant. People do not react well to threats. They get unpredictable.

 

[Spidybot]

Re: Brand new boat listing to port!!

Agree with the idea of pushing. Little by litlle, pushing all the time. <br /><br />There is no doubt whatsoever, that this is their problem and all they should now is, that they will have to solve it.<br /><br />Plenty of good advice here.<br /><br />If anybody at Chaparral or the dealers visit this forum, they will know that this story has been published to at least 28502 boat enthusiasts. Within long someone at their end will figure out that 28000+ folks talking bad about them takes a pretty high pile of dollar bills in marketing, to make good - if at all possible.

 

[magster65]

Re: Brand new boat listing to port!!

Yeah, I agree with everyone else too. In my 22 SeaRay you'd have to get 2 people standing on one side to get that much list. That's definately more than the batteries weight.

 

[Ralph 123]

Re: Brand new boat listing to port!!

djohns19 - With all due respect I disagree - if they are smart, telling them you are going to crush their business will get them to act real fast. They need an incentive to solve the problem. Right now they have none. Give them one.<br /><br />How many boats do you think they are going to sell or service with you parked out front like that? I've seen this approach work ;-) Again, you don't have to do it, just tell them that is what you prepared to do. Only a suicidal business man would fight that fight. T<br /><br />If you bought a TV at the store and got it home and it didn't work would you accept anything less than your money back or a replacement immediately? And, a TV is a couple of hundred bucks - what did that boat cost? To make it even worse you only have a limited season to use it.<br /><br />Think of it this way, they just stole tens of thousands of dollars from him! Then, they want him to risk his life using an unsafe boat! You know why they want hom to use it? So they can say "well it must have been ok, he used it!" Then they want to tell him it is the battery? PLEASE! That is an insult to his intelligence and a clear sign of unethical behavior. Is this the first one of these they ever sold? Please! they know what the problem is.<br /><br />The first few conversations should be polite but the minute it's clear they aren't going to solve the problem he better let them know he is going to fight like hell.<br /><br />Being polite has gotten him a boat he can't use and no attempt to solve the problem. <br /><br />The squeeky wheel get the oil!<br /><br />As always, JMHO

 

[Ralph 123]

Re: Brand new boat listing to port!!

Suds, How about an update. How are you making out?

 

[DJ]

Re: Brand new boat listing to port!!

Ralph,<br /><br />We'll agree to disagree.<br /><br />I am a customer service agent representing VERY high ticket items. When someone threatens me, I clam up-period. You mention lawyer, conversation over-period. Because, at that point anything I say can and will be used against me-period.<br /><br />When someone wants to talk about the options, we get the problems settled to everyones satisfaction.<br /><br />Sometimes it involves a replacement, sometimes not. If it's a safety issue, no questions asked.<br /><br />We're playing judge, jury and executioner out here and WE HAVEN'T EVEN SEEN THE BOAT!!!

 

[suds]

Re: Brand new boat listing to port!!

Here's the latest update. Dealer called and told us to pick up the boat on Saturday. He moved the battery to the other side of the boat and it listed less, but still listed. So he put an additional battery in. Tried to tell us this was to our advantage because we were getting a second battery. Boat was then almost level, not quite, but almost. We took the boat back to our marina and stored it. Yesterday (monday) we tried to get Chaparral on the phone, all we got was voice mail. Called again today and got a real person. Told them the battery deal was just treating the symptom, but there is still something wrong with boat and it hasn't been fixed. The main gist of the conversation was, we want a new boat period. The guy said he didn't blame us and gave us a number of someone who talk to us about that. Of course, he wasn't available, but is suppose to call us back tomorrow. Well, I guess we'll see what happens. I'd very much rather not bring a lawyer into it and have tried going through all the proper channels. If we get nowhere with our request, I guess we'll have no choice but to bring a lawyer in, but I really hope that's not the case. I'll let you all know. Thanks for your help.

 

[DJ]

Re: Brand new boat listing to port!!

Suds,<br /><br />I'm sitting out here in cyber space and cannot see your concern. I have no doubt it is real and adding a battery is not the answer.<br /><br />There is no way a 40# battery is going to change the attitude of a boat that size by 3-4 inches. Something else is going on.<br /><br />I do have some questions though.<br /><br />1. Do you see anything unusual in the bilges, etc? <br /><br />2. Any water standing around?<br /><br />3. Musty smells?<br /><br />4. Does the boat "track" straight, at planing speeds? (forget displacement,(idle), speeds, most v-hulls "wander").<br /><br />5. Are there considerably more components installed on the side of the list? (sink, water tank, holding tank(s), electronic equipment, etc.)<br /><br />I would advise, and this is an advisement only. Do not be so bent on a new boat. There may be something VERY simple that someone has overlooked and the correction is just as simple.<br /><br />On the other hand, I think you have made your point with the dealer. Something is not right and you expect, and deserve, to get the situation remedied.<br /><br />Be very polite, but persistant. By your actions, we will all see what this boat builder is made of. They will either satisfy you, or they will ignore you. <br /><br />In the "ignore" case, you take them to court. In the "discovery" stage, you may be surprised at the findings.<br /><br />All in all, "embarrassing" a dealer and/or the builder, will get you nowhere-fast. And, as I said earlier, only the lawyers win.<br /><br />Keep a steady head and a calm demeanor.<br /><br />I ALWAYS put myself on the other side of the fence and ask myself if this is the way I would like to be treated.<br /><br />Good luck.

 

[ob]

Re: Brand new boat listing to port!!

I agree with Djohns.In an earlier post you stated that a 200 lb person standing on the opposite side of the boat didn't level out the list.I also doubt that a battery alone would correct it.Take a closer look at the hull inside and out and keep us apprised of what transpires.

 

[Ralph 123]

Re: Brand new boat listing to port!!

If a dealer ever put another battery in a boat to level it off that would tell me all I need to know about that dealer. That is such a crazy, idiotic answer to the problem that it can only be explained as unethical. <br /><br />Let's see, the boats brand new, the factrory did not design the boat with 2 batteries to make the boat level but the dealer in his great engineering wisdom is fixing the problem with a battery. PLEASE!!!! They are trying to rip you off on a brand new boat.<br /><br />If you don't get an satisfaction with the manufacturer, and I mean quick, I would go into 100% fight mode. That would be the day I let an unethical dealer rip me off tens of thousands of dollars. <br /><br />Just my 2 cents. When you demonstrate you are prepared to make their lives miserable you'd be surprised at how quickly things get solved.<br /><br />If it were me, I never would have even picked the boat back up once I found out his "solution"

 

[suds]

Re: Brand new boat listing to port!!

djohns,<br /> I do see your point, but after waiting days for call backs on all contacts and being told by both the dealer and the manufacturer that they have no idea what is wrong with the boat, I see no point in discussing it further. We were told after moving the battery and adding another that they have no other solution. The dealer was told by the manufacturer to do the battery change. I know little about designing or building a boat and am incapable of figuring out what the problem is, therefore additional conversations with them seems to be a waste of my time and a stall on their part. They seem to feel the boat is fixed, end of story. We have been polite and very calm with them all and received the same from them, but the problem still exists. Asking them for a new boat in a nonconfrontational way seemed correct to me. Afterall, they have told us that they do not know what to do with the boat. At this point we either say okay, accept their position or ask for a new boat. They have stopped looking for the problem. If they don't know what is wrong, I sure don't and don't feel that it is up to me to figure it out. As you can see from the time of day, I am losing sleep over this. Crazy I know, but that's what comes from all this politeness when rage is what is inside.

 

[Ralph 123]

Re: Brand new boat listing to port!!

You got it dead right Suds. The people are trying to take advantage of you IMHO. Their actions as you have described them border on unethical and an insult to your intellenge (Look how lucky you are, we gave you an extra battery to correct a serious defect). Great! You should be so greatful - NOT! <br /><br />Trust me, they do this sort of thing to you only when they think they have a chance to get away with it. When you're too nice for too long they misread it as weakness. Unfortunately I've been in this situation before personally and vicariously many times. Getting tough is the only thing that seems to work when you get this far down the road.<br /><br />Unfortunately again, not many dealers are as accommodating and ethical as DJ is... sad truth.<br /><br />I say again, if you bought a TV, got it home and it did not work as advertised, would you accept this sort of crap? No way!<br /><br />There is a tenant in the law of an item being suited for the purpose for which it was sold. This boat is not fit for the purpose for which it was sold. End of story. Get your money back and never deal wit that manufacturer or dealer ever again.<br /><br />If you are uncomfortable getting tough with these guys, call a good lawyer ASAP and get him in the loop and let him do your fighting.<br /><br />Wanna see it work? Just find the post here about the guy with the bad brand new engine. He had his lawyer call the mechanic and all of a suddent thhings seem to be getting done.<br /><br />As always, JMO

 

[sea wolf]

Re: Brand new boat listing to port!!

suds, are u a member of boatus? if not i would join. then bring this problem to their attention. there are thousands of fellow boaters in this organisation & believe me they have clout with boat manufacturers. if this is a manufacturer defect they will look into it for u & assist u in getting the problem resolved. the membership fee is very reasonable & well worth it. they have a web site. i would also consider posting you're problem on their forum. i would not hire a lawyer yet. if u do they will dig in their heels & it will end up being a long drawn out process. like i said, contact boatus. good luck.

 

[mellowyellow]

Re: Brand new boat listing to port!!

really sorry about your problem suds!<br />lesson here? always water test a boat b4 putting<br />down a penny! try sending letters certified mail.<br />contact state consumer agencies and find out<br />exactly what your rights are and include this in<br />letter.<br />good luck!<br />M.Y.