brand new regal, 5 problems already

Bob_VT

Moderator & Unofficial iBoats Historian
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26,046
Re: brand new regal, 5 problems already

Thanks for all the replies.

The service department at the dealer has been very helpful at repairing things, althought some of these issues are their fault for not properly PDI'ing the boat.

As far as oil "seepage" as they call it, a corrupt GPS, a cracked swim platform, and "wet" being visible in the gel coat - its all on the brand. Regal probably has a certain threshhold for QC problems, but it sounds like its pretty high. I would recommend NOT buying a Regal of any kind.

Yes, the dealer is repairing all the problems. But just like my friend that bought a Kia because of the great warranty, his car is useless because its always in the shop. (Not a knock on Kia, just an observation).

Boat manufacturers should be held to the same standards as other consumer products. There are virually no consumer advocacy groups for boats. Who, besides the powerless consumer, can hold boat manufacturers, such as Regal, accountable? How many problems can you have on a new boat before you throw your hands up and give up fighting?

Its all a very sad state of affairs.

+1 on the improper PDI

I wonder who the genius was that accepted the boat delivery and how long between the dealer receiving the boat and selling it.

Who ever prepped the boat for delivery and checked it should have picked up on the problems too.

Sorry, but the dealer is the first to receive the boat, inspect it, test it and prep it for delivery. I put 90% plus of the blame squarely in their lap. Make you wonder how many other's have slipped past the consumer in the past.

This is all indicative of a training problem at the dealer level. I had mny years in the new car business and I will tell you that NONE of the cars come through perfect and a boat is no different.
 

nosaj

Cadet
Joined
Jun 30, 2012
Messages
26
Re: brand new regal, 5 problems already

Agree that none are perfect, but JD Power does review of problems in the first year of ownership. Lexus just finished first, followed by Toyota and Honda. Ford was way down there due to the problems with the Microsoft Sync system.

I just wish my boat didn't have so many issues within 6 weeks :-(
 

Bob_VT

Moderator & Unofficial iBoats Historian
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Re: brand new regal, 5 problems already

It's all going to work out. It is hard to demonstrate/display patience when the season is upon us.
 

Philster

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Sep 15, 2009
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3,344
Re: brand new regal, 5 problems already

Boats are very different than cars. A good dealer sets a boat up, puts time on it, goes back inspects oil, drive fluids and gel work.

Boat builders did get caught with small staffs and some of the materials they use, including engines, paints, chemicals and such have been sitting around, not getting better with age. Small staff, inventory aging, sporadic production and the... BAM! A surge of orders!

I would never want to manage that workforce, inventory, workflow, schedule, etc. No way.
 

scoutabout

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Oct 14, 2006
Messages
1,568
Re: brand new regal, 5 problems already

That's appalling. No one gets off here. Regal deserves a slap as does the dealer.

Boats and other recreational items except for maybe one-off customs or high end yachts will never get anywhere near new car standards. Nowhere near the critical mass or pressure to make real QC realistic and/or sticker price isn't high enough. The average new boat is built about as well as a Yugo when you really look at fit and finish.

As for consumer advocacy. These are toys, not vital transportation for the masses where quality and safety are critical or your industry dies. Look how long it took the North American car industry to wake up to the Japanese eating their lunch and stop making crap. Now I'd happily buy a Ford when you couldn't give me one 20 years ago thanks to that revolution. No such pressure on Regal, Searay or any of a dozen other toy makers we can all name.

Very few will cry in their beer along with us. Even those of us that buy used, fix our own stuff, and save the extra pennies for time on the water are the smallest of priviedged minority groups. 90 percent of the world's population are worrying about food on the table and a roof over their heads.

That said, tho, keep on hammering them til they make it right. It's a really nice looking boat.

Me - I'm going to look at the alcohol content of that bottle of red Lady Scoutabout just opened. Not sure where this is coming from...:D
 

fat fanny

Lieutenant Commander
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Feb 9, 2006
Messages
1,935
Re: brand new regal, 5 problems already

Fort boat those of us that would plan on buying a new rig should learn a very valuable leason from this and other stories as of late and end up with a very big check list to go by before ever taking possesion of something so exspensive that you look forward to having. It just blows my mind that not even 2 yrs ago we all were talking boat manufactures shutting down and some going out of buisness all together and for some of the higher end names putting out even one unit with a small problem but multiple issues is insane in my opinion they really need to realize thier reputations and future employment are at stake. New boats are genraly a one time purchase for a majority of consumers and the word of mouth from an instance like this could lead to unreversable sales declines out of people just being parenoid of being screwed.I for one would be one of them! I do hope things work in our guys favor.
 

catfishcarl99

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Apr 25, 2012
Messages
723
Re: brand new regal, 5 problems already

well i hope they make it right. and they should. i am poor. i buy used and fix it up.:(
 

Restless22

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jun 6, 2012
Messages
136
Re: brand new regal, 5 problems already

Dumb question...

But what is the Toyota Corolla or Honda Civic of boats? Does one even exist?
 

spoilsofwar

Lieutenant Junior Grade
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Jun 29, 2011
Messages
1,124
Re: brand new regal, 5 problems already

Dumb question...

But what is the Toyota Corolla or Honda Civic of boats? Does one even exist?

So, small, relatively inexpensive, and reliable?

Sounds like an aluminum bowrider with an outboard to me. Pick your brand.
 

Restless22

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jun 6, 2012
Messages
136
Re: brand new regal, 5 problems already

So, small, relatively inexpensive, and reliable?

Sounds like an aluminum bowrider with an outboard to me. Pick your brand.

I mean, in the general sense of overall reliability.
 

Philster

Captain
Joined
Sep 15, 2009
Messages
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Re: brand new regal, 5 problems already

I mean, in the general sense of overall reliability.

Honda Civic of boats: 14-17' boat with small outboard power of any type (Merc/Mariner, Yamaha, Suzuki, Johnson/Evinrude).
 

ricohman

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Jul 30, 2011
Messages
1,631
Re: brand new regal, 5 problems already

If you are talking I/O, it will have a Volvo Penta drive. If outboard it will have a JonnyRude.

After seeing the problems a friends dad had with his volvo penta I dont want to own one.
From brand new that drive caused him endless grief.
 

hostage

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May 4, 2010
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1,291
Re: brand new regal, 5 problems already

Lemons and bad luck can go together and that happens in every business. My folks got a new regal in 1.5 years ago and it is running well and they are enjoying it. I haven't heard of any complaints. Though they did have issue with the jet dock they had, which after some frustation the manufacture set it right.

On the topic of Toyota quality. My fiance got a used Toyota Avalon that was only 3-4 years old and had 68k miles on it. She was driving home and w/o warning a high pressure oil line ruptured and seized her engine. Toyota didn't want to have anything to do with us. Even after I found a lot of complaints about the issue on carcomplaints.com. We ended up dropping $5k on a used engine installed and a couple months of frustation. A few months later we got a letter from Toyota issueing a recall on the part that caused the oil seizure. A month after that we got a check for about 90% of what we had to spend to get it back on the road again. At that time I hated Toyota. A customer should not be able to identify the exact part that failed w/o even opening the engine compartment, which was in this case the VVTI oil return line. They cheaped out and put two metal tubes w/ a rubber coupler that ruptured. A month after this happen a family member found a lot of oil on the ground in his garage coming from his Avalon. The point is that a company that is large enough with enough customers will have someone fall between the cracks. It is just worst when a few things happen at the same time. What usually happens is the customer gets pissed and goes with another company, while a customer from that company goes to the company you delt with because the had a similar issue with their company.
 

Home Cookin'

Fleet Admiral
Joined
May 26, 2009
Messages
9,715
Re: brand new regal, 5 problems already

Sorry about your problems. Lots of people buy new and are willing to pay extra only to find a long list of problems and down time, usually at the height of the boating season. At least the dealers will usually fix yours first.

The Honda Civic/Toyota corolla of the boating world is the Carolina Skiff/Yamaha OB package. Inexpensive (relatively) well built and reliable.

One reason to buy a boat that is about 2 years old is that the previous owner took the hit on the price and dealing with the kinks, but can't do much damage to it in 2 years.

New cars are just as bad. Seems like new anything is just as bad nowadays.

For future buyers:
--don't buy from a dealer who is not close to home, even if you save money. You will understand when (that's when, not if) you go back a few times. Buy from someone close by and you have a resource. He'll take care of little stuff; migth even send someone out to look at it; easier for in the water testing. He has his local reputation at stake plus there's a personal connection. The dealer across the state never wants to see you again.

--Plan on not using the boat much during the first month or six weeks after you buy it. First, it takes longer than you think to get delivered and rigged. Then there's the paperwork. Then the long boring break-in, then the post-break-in return to the shop. Not to mention the inevitable problems. So if you want to be boating Memorial Day, you better have the boat in hand no later than May 1.

--inspect and reject.

--be ready to live with small problems that don't affect the boat's purpose. None of them are perfect. Not everything works or was done correctly. that's just reality. Sad reality, but reality.
 

sickwilly

Lieutenant Junior Grade
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Jul 9, 2007
Messages
1,089
Re: brand new regal, 5 problems already

The Honda Civic / Toyota Carola of boats is a good barely used, barely broken in, loaded with gear boat some guy bought at a boat show on a whim and used just long enough to figure out they are not a boater.
 

babbot

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
May 9, 2011
Messages
112
Re: brand new regal, 5 problems already

Home Cookin - That is great advise!
I bought a new Glastron last year relativly far, about 1.5 hours away(closest Glastron dealer) and I am still dealing with problems from the very first week. Gel coat cracks were fixed but still waiting for decal which had to be costom made. Along with other issues that I think are cheap construction. I know Glastrons are top teir but I would like to not find loose screws rolling around the floor.

I don't think I am going new next time. Going to restore an older boat to "new" condition. Same headaches but MUCH cheaper only more time involved fixing them....
 

nosaj

Cadet
Joined
Jun 30, 2012
Messages
26
Re: brand new regal, 5 problems already

The regal reputation in my mind is ruined.

I learned years ago in marketing that a typical happy customer tells 1-2 people about their experience, whereas an unhappy one tells 14+ people. You would think they would try their best to have a quality - quality control program.
 

nosaj

Cadet
Joined
Jun 30, 2012
Messages
26
Re: brand new regal, 5 problems already

I posted the original comments on the Regal owners forum also on Friday last week. It got censored and not posted.

No foul language or anything like that. I guess they don't want anyone to know about my piece.
 

babbot

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
May 9, 2011
Messages
112
Re: brand new regal, 5 problems already

Man that is horrible. Sorry to hear about your experience.

You spend all that money and just end up with a big headache. Most people buy new to avoid headaches....
 

greekfreek

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jul 5, 2010
Messages
145
Re: brand new regal, 5 problems already

Really, I would repost. My "88 4 cyl Volvo Penta, the engine or drive never gave me any problems (except for the lack of knowledge about the electro-mechanical tilt) for the many years of ownership. This Merc I have now, just not too thrilled about it. I should have bought new from a closer dealer (Stingray), I ended up taking my New boat to them anyways to calibrate the tach (lack of PDI) and for service bulletins on shift cable and wire harness. They tried to get Larson to cover it, Larson said it should have been done before delivery.. Lesson learned I guess....... Keep us posted...
 
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