Local Mercruiser dealer won't warranty?

[ricohman]

I may have a slight dilema. I bought a new 2011 Starcraft Islander 221 last fall. I bought it 2700km away as there were none available where I live and my local dealer only sells Crestliner.
Anyway, I called down asking about fitting my new boat with everything it needs. I need an anchor, ropes, fenders, oars, fish finder, GPS, compass and he could even order me a cover. All seemed good until I asked about the warranty on the new 4.3 Merc.
He said if I didn't buy it here they would refuse to do warranty work on it.
And they would put it at the end of their list every time I needed any type of non-warranty work.
This pisses me off for two reasons.
1). I spent my hard earned money there buying things for my other boat. I bought parts, fluids ect at dealer prices because I always believed keeping your local dealer in business was a good thing. Then they blow me off.
2). Doesn't a Mercruiser dealer have to honor warranty? Why does it matter if the boat wasn't bought there? If they would have sold the boat I wanted I would have bought it there. But they didn't and tried to talk me into something that didn't fit the needs of me and my family. Not that I don't like Crestliner.
As a mechanic I figure I should be able to do nearly all of my maintenace. But I hadn't counted on doing any warranty work with me buying the parts.
Thoughts?

 

[Don S]

Re: Local Mercuiser dealer won't warranty?

Re: Local Mercuiser dealer won't warranty?

Sure, Merc requires it's dealers to do warranty work, no matter where it was bought. But I would bet you will be on the longest of long lists of last to be worked on if you take it to them. Merc dealers DO NOT make money on warranty work, 90% of the time they loose big time. The other 10% they break even, no profit.
If you want, you can contact Mercruiser directly, there really isn't anything anyone on a forum can do that will help.
At least they were up front about it. Find another Merc dealer is your best advise.

 

[NYBo]

Re: Local Mercuiser dealer won't warranty?

Re: Local Mercuiser dealer won't warranty?

"I always believed keeping your local dealer in business was a good thing."

A good rule in general, but perhaps not in this particular case. I can't fathom a dealer treating a customer so rudely in the current economy.

I would ccontact Mercury Marine's customer service before you need work to clarify who is required to provide warranty work. But I don't think I'd let your local dealer touch my boat; nor would I spend any more money there.

 

[oops!]

Re: Local Mercuiser dealer won't warranty?

Re: Local Mercuiser dealer won't warranty?

I can't fathom a dealer treating a customer so rudely in the current economy.

I would ccontact Mercury Marine's customer service before you need work to clarify who is required to provide warranty work. But I don't think I'd let your local dealer touch my boat; nor would I spend any more money there.

ditto

 

[roscoe]

Re: Local Mercuiser dealer won't warranty?

Re: Local Mercuiser dealer won't warranty?

If you purchased the boat in the US, they may not be required to do warranty work.

I don't know about Mercury's policy, but other companies I have dealt with won't/can't honor warranty claims from across the border.

 

[sschefer]

Re: Local Mercuiser dealer won't warranty?

Re: Local Mercuiser dealer won't warranty?

Agree with Roscoe,

Your dealer is probably trying to tell you that he wouldn't know if he was going to be paid or not and can't afford to take the risk in this economy. Not sure why he doesn't just tell you that.

 

[ricohman]

Re: Local Mercuiser dealer won't warranty?

Re: Local Mercuiser dealer won't warranty?

I guess not having any warranty isn't the end of the world. And I kind of knew that boat warranties were sketchy at best.
I didn't buy new because I absolutely needed warranty. I live in Canada and bought my boat from a Canadian dealer so this isn't a question of out of country warranty.
I will not be outfitting my new boat with anything from the dealer. I will buy all of it online and have it shipped. I will spend considerably less money. Probably half. If they don't want my business I guess that's not my decision to make. I have already talked to them about a bow buddy for my trailer. I will call and tell them not to bother ordering it.
And I would never, ever buy a new boat there. Nor would I recommend it to anyone.

 

[bonz_d]

Re: Local Mercuiser dealer won't warranty?

Re: Local Mercuiser dealer won't warranty?

Sad situation for you. I find it hard for a Merc dealer to be able to do that.

2 years ago my wife bought a new car at a dealer 50 miles away. We were originally there to look at a used car they had. It was going out the drive as we got there, too bad for us. Sense we have had this car we have been taking it to a more local dealer for all service work and they have been treating us so well that the next new one will most likely be purchased from them. I mean one can't argue with the way this dealer has treated us!

 

[Don S]

Re: Local Mercuiser dealer won't warranty?

Re: Local Mercuiser dealer won't warranty?

Sad situation for you. I find it hard for a Merc dealer to be able to do that.

2 years ago my wife bought a new car at a dealer 50 miles away.

It is sad, and in fact, Merc dealers are not supposed to be like that. Fact is, this is boats, not cars, without the dealer support and usually without a year around job. It will also take the dealer 30 to 90 days to get paid for labor from Merc.
The good news is the dealer told him up front and he has a chance to search for other options.
That dealer could loose his dealer status doing that.
So let's just not compare marine to automotive, it just doesn't work like that here in the real world.

 

[M9.9]

Re: Local Mercruiser dealer won't warranty?

Hi all, well that's a sad state of affairs and as others have hinted Merc Warranty Policy by Mercury Marine Canada should probably apply here. That's to say if the warranty is covered under mercury marine or the marine where the boat and engine were purchased?
I agree there will probably be clarification through Mercury Marine, Mississauga, Customer Service as to Mercury Marine Warranty Policy between itself and its franchises or contract arrangements between MMarine and resellers. The end transaction, for warranty repairs performed by a mercury recognized dealer/repair centre maybe between that repair facility and the retailer holding the warranty (where you purchased your boat).

When repairs become necessary deemed as a under warranty, you might consider having that repair done at a certified Merc repair centre and reference the warranty registration number on the bill, pre-advising their service centre of it being under warranty. This may allow you to file your claim with the merc sales centre you purchased the boat. Lack of satisfaction there leads to either Mercury Marine, Mississauga resolving the problem or small claims court.

Either way, and if I'm reading your problem correctly, I believe the key is learning what Mercury Marine, Mississauga's contractual obligations are between itself and the merc store you purchased the boat and engine for warranty repair service. Good Luck.

 

[bonz_d]

Re: Local Mercuiser dealer won't warranty?

Re: Local Mercuiser dealer won't warranty?

So let's just not compare marine to automotive, it just doesn't work like that here in the real world.

Sorry Don you misunderstood my point. I was not trying to compare different industries just different service. Could have used a computer as a comperision also or anything else for that matter.

My point was that when one finds a service that takes care of the customer one tends to go back and use them again. Sure the dealer was upfront with him but that really doesn't solve anything does it? Actually I thought the dealers attitude was rather snotty and rude seeing as this person had been an regular customer before. He might have just as well told him to take it back to where he bought it!

Same industry. Awhile back I had an older Evirude outboard that I needed some parts for. Went to the local dealer to inquire. I knew the parts were still available. Parts manager told me right away we do not deal in any parts/engines more than 20 years old. Know what I did? Went to another dealer 25 miles away, got the parts needed including the ones he had to order and also purchased other items that were not on my list! So who won out and who lost?

 

[greenbush future]

Re: Local Mercuiser dealer won't warranty?

Re: Local Mercuiser dealer won't warranty?

Regardless of what "rules" Merc is or isn't obligated too, the customer seems to be on the losing end, which IMO is what should be a priority. If I were on the receiving end of that kind of customer service, I would walk away and never return. Obviously they are not anxious to build a relationship that will pay dividends down the road. It's a choice, and like anything, customers have choices too, walk away and never come back. The industry defines level of service, not some corporate or dealer policy. And after being treated that way, I wouldn't buy anything from them, nor could I recommend them to anyone either.

 

[ricohman]

Re: Local Mercuiser dealer won't warranty?

Re: Local Mercuiser dealer won't warranty?

I emailed Mercruiser at the link that was provided above and they left me a voice mail today. By the sounds of it, they want the dealers name and they will find a dealer within reasonable distance that will work on the engine/drive if needed. I am going to give them a call tomorrow and see what they have to say. I have no trouble providing them with the local dealers name since I will never spend any of my money there again. I still don't understand how a dealer can refuse to work on a warranty product that he is licensed to sell. But I'm not familiar with this type of law.
This seems like a lot of trouble for a boat I have never even started yet. To bad the dealer I bought it from is 2800km away. They knew the boat and motor and had boats from all over in for service. I used to work at a large GM dealer as a mechanic. The money the service dept made was at least 4x what the sales floor did. But I know you can't compare car sales to boat/rv sales.
It still bugs me that I paid double for the parts I bought last year thinking it was good to build a relationship with my local dealer. I should have ordered my merc parts online and saved the $. I even bought 2 stroke oil there that was triple the price of our local Canadian Tire.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Local Mercuiser dealer won't warranty?

Re: Local Mercuiser dealer won't warranty?

I still don't understand how a dealer can refuse to work on a warranty product that he is licensed to sell. But I'm not familiar with this type of law.

They can't, well, they can't if they are going to remain a merc dealer for much longer.

 

[Don S]

Re: Local Mercuiser dealer won't warranty?

Re: Local Mercuiser dealer won't warranty?

What you are doing is a good thing for everyone. Reports like that is what prevents dealers with that type of attitude from staying in business as a Merc dealer.

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: Local Mercuiser dealer won't warranty?

Re: Local Mercuiser dealer won't warranty?

And that is why boat dealerships are dropping like flys.

 

[ewenm]

Re: Local Mercuiser dealer won't warranty?

Re: Local Mercuiser dealer won't warranty?

same in Australia, if i import a boat from the US and it is still in Warranty, that warranty IS NOT recognised here, they only do wty on motors sold in the local market

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Local Mercuiser dealer won't warranty?

Re: Local Mercuiser dealer won't warranty?

same in Australia, if i import a boat from the US and it is still in Warranty, that warranty IS NOT recognised here, they only do wty on motors sold in the local market

That is actually pretty common and legal... I'm guessing merc is like auto mfg's, so lets say you buy a GM vehicle in the US, that is not the same GM company in Australia. Two different companies, all under one parent company. Complicating the matter is that techs only have training and tools for a vehicle for their market. An imported vehicle/engine MIGHT be the same, or it might be entirely different.

 

[ricohman]

Re: Local Mercuiser dealer won't warranty?

Re: Local Mercuiser dealer won't warranty?

Maybe this was missed but.......
I live in Canada.
I bought my boat in Canada.
I bought the boat new, from a Canadian dealer.
This isn't a question about an out of country purchase.

 

[ricohman]

Re: Local Mercuiser dealer won't warranty?

Re: Local Mercuiser dealer won't warranty?

And that is why boat dealerships are dropping like flys.

Are you saying I shouldn't give up the name of the dealer in question to Mercruiser? I had thought about this but if they aren't going to work on my boat, what's the point?