I regret my Q5i purchase

[boughtthewrongboat]

Anyone else in the same boat as me? I have a long list of fit, finish and quality issues, and that's with 1.5 hrs on the engine.

Would like to hear of other's problems to look out for ... should have kept the old 91 Stingray!

 

[BamaAlum97]

Re: I regret my Q5i purchase

I love my Tahoe and I am sorry to hear that you are having issues with yours. Have you given the dealer an opportunity to address your issues? Are there issues on your boat that you did not see at the shop or during the water test?

 

[boughtthewrongboat]

Re: I regret my Q5i purchase

Hey Bama,

Just returned from the dealer, and I must say, they have always been responsive and receptive.

My issues are with Tahoe quality, and unfortunately some of them are fit and finish items one doesn't really identify until the "kid like awe" wears off once you're home and had the boat for a few months.

Major problems:
1st day out--bilge pumps inop and some gauges do not work. And the best--the "Tahoe" emblem and silver trim on the steering wheel fell off!
2nd day out (Fathers Day)--can't get the engine to run past 1200 rpms, after several restarts ... head home.

Other items of concern:
- I don't like the finish or unfinish in the engine bay where the two molds are placed together, screws and cut of hull is inconsistent and looks cheap.
- Latches on seats are poor--my girls can sit on the edge of the bow seats and the seats will pop out of position and dump them. All seat latches are misaligned and poorly engineered.
- Walk through window doesn't close tightly
- My Q5 recessed seat (for walk through)--the plastic capsule the seats pushes back into did not any relief holes in rear for water to escape --- drilled my own
- The drink holders have access caulk around top edge and there is minor caulk around on finish
- The rear exhaust vents will not stay on long
- The right side trim screws are in at an angle
- Sitting in the rear and looking directly straight, the light holder, seat center and "T" emblem do not line up
- Right front bow seat back is crooked
- Carpet is coming loose in sides
- I think it's the burgundy seat dye, although the dealer maintenance said it's the wood inside the seats --- the water that runs out of the seating after being wet, is burgundy in color ...
- Numerous light white paint only visible in shade--not enough paint
- Blemishes hear and there in overall paint

I think that's it ... I'm not hear to bash, just get my 23K worth, far too many people cutting corners on products these days. Yes, some of these I pointed out on the initial walk around and was told they would be repaired at the 20 hr point ... OK .... but after the engine problem yesterday, I exploded!

 

[Tahoe 55]

Re: I regret my Q5i purchase

As said above, sorry you're having so many complaints about your new boat. We've had a few complaints as well, but ours have mainly been due to the fact that our boat had been sitting on the dealer lot for almost a year before we bought it. We saved a considerable amount of money and were promised the boat would be fixed. It has been, but not with out some aggravation. Was it worth it? I'd say yes at this point, but there was a time in the process, I'd have said no!

We love our 8i and always have people looking and asking questions about it (that can get a little aggravating). It's more boat than we planned on buying (for a 1st boat)but I'm glad we did.

If your dealer can't get the boat "right" maybe you can lemon law it. Probably have to get an attorney to do all that though....

Maybe try an keep in mind that Tahoe's are not "top of the line" boats and the fit and finish isn't going to be perfect. I've had to remind myself the same thing and ours in the so called "flagship" model. Don't get me wrong, I love my boat, but it's not a Cobalt....

 

[psimon1909]

Re: I regret my Q5i purchase

I bought a 2009 Q5i 3 weeks ago. It had a few problems but they were easy to take care of. The speedometer and trim guage were non functional the carburator needed cleaning (Mercury rebuilt it under warranty with only 20 hours on it). Everything else was very minor cosmetic issues I tool care of. This was my first boat and I am not that good with mechanical issues but I replaced all the seat closures with real hinges, changed the closures on the windshield so they close tighter and dont rattle. I also replaced the am/fm radio with a marine radio (that fit right in), added a table which i disassemble and store in the under deck area and a few other items. The boat runs great and has everything I need now. Boat has been out every day since we got it.

 

[shaftedbybasspro]

Re: I regret my Q5i purchase

Anyone else in the same boat as me? I have a long list of fit, finish and quality issues, and that's with 1.5 hrs on the engine.

Would like to hear of other's problems to look out for ... should have kept the old 91 Stingray!

We are also regretful for our purchase of our 2010 Tahoe QSF7, it is a piece of junk, and also has a very bad factory defect involving the hull support stringers, we were told a whole shipment of boats went all over the country with this problem which makes a loud whacking noise in the front inside of the hull, sounds like something is beating on the boat. Plus a cracked floor, broken seat pedastools, broken threads in cushions, compartment tops warped and won't close. This was all found within a couple of days of purchase, we have been fighting since and hired a lemon law lawyer, they have had our boat for over 160 days now. They have offered now to replace it, but we just want our money back. It looks doubtful that we will get what we want though. Big Company walking over the little guy that has given them what they have. Agree about the stingray, good luck. Call the customer service number in Springfield, MO. It wont help, but it is worth a try and start documenting every call, visit and pictures of the boat.

 

[lllegenddd]

Re: I regret my Q5i purchase

I bought a 2010 Q5I from bass pro this year and have put 50+hrs on it, there were a few minor things that I saw and were taken care of right away by the dealer. The boat has a small beam so rough waters will toss it around some but I live by Lake Granby in Colorado at 8300' and this boat hauls *** with a 17 prop it goes 45 @ 4k RPMs and does it without any problem with the 4.3 MPI. As for the quality, every boat mfg has them. My friends have other brands and paid almost double and have problems as well. The boat is nothing more than a fiberglass tub, the powertrain is all Merc so it doesnt matter what mfg you buy if it has a Merc powertrain. Our lake has 45mi of shore line, how much boat do I really need to hang on the lake My friend has a 22' Chapparal loaded and we both did the same in the heavy chop one day back to dock, the difference was I was able to land the boat first shot to the dock and he had to circle around a few times. Im taking out the extended warranty from Merc for 3 years giving me a 5 year complete coverage on everything except the fiberglass. If you want a Mercedes you can pay the money and get one but remember they have a service dept filled with cars just like KIA does.

 

[kailec00]

Re: I regret my Q5i purchase

We love our boat. Have only had it for about 2 months, but we take it out around 4 times a week. We run it during the weekday for at least 3 hours and then Saturday and Sunay we run it for 7 to 9 hours. We stop for lunch and that is all. Mostly pulling kids on the tube, kneeboard or wakeboard. We have not had any big issue with it. The snap on carpet is very poor and appears not to have enough snaps on it, contacted the tracker dealer and they are going to take care of that in the winter for me, other issue was a recall by Merc, not Tahoe.

I would buy another one tomorrow if I replaced the boat. Nothing but great for me and my family.

 

[etransfer]

Re: I regret my Q5i purchase

I've had a Q6 for 4 summers now and the first 20 hours were a little depressing with warranty issues but the past 3 summers it has been great with zero problems.

I took it as part of the break in process but it was a pain to take back to the dealer 3-4 times the first summer.

Once I got through the first summer everything has been great and the boat runs like it is brand new still.

 

[yourboatmyboat]

Re: I regret my Q5i purchase

If you have been keeping up with the news as mentioned earlier about compairing your boat to a Mercedes, Well Mercedes, 85,000 2010 cars recalled,Lexus ,1.4 million cars recalled, plus now Honda.Even the high end high price products are not exempt. Compair your boat to a higher end boat re problems

 

[Hashi]

Re: I regret my Q5i purchase

This is an old post.

One out of a million ain't bad. Bound to have one or two bad ones leave the factory when producing that many boats. Glad I didn't buy one of those.

 

[splicer]

Re: I regret my Q5i purchase

I love my '08 Q6. Haven't had any problems that aren't common with all boats.

 

[marcoalza]

Re: I regret my Q5i purchase

I bet I love my boat more than you all love yours....