Factory blemishes?

[Stick in Mud]

Hello all,

I'm thinking about buying a new factory-blemished Minnesota II from Wenonah. It's not ideal to drive to the seller just to see the canoe, so I'd like to get a bit of advice before I do actually make the drive to check it out. For what it's worth, the canoes are in Wisconsin and I'm in central MN, about a three and a half hour drive away.

The blemished canoes are selling for about $1800, which is a lot of money, of course. I can find used ones for about $1400, give or take, depending on condition. What counts as a blemish? Do I need to worry about the long-term prospects for these blemished canoes? Or are they mostly cosmetic? Or is it too hard to know without actually seeing the canoe?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Carmike

[leech~~]

I would contact them and ask them what the blems are? I would not mind a color issue or maybe some scratches but I would not buy one with structure damage for that price even if they said it was repairable or offered a repair kit with it.

[titelines]

Can't speak to your specific situation, but I can relate our story.

We wanted a Souris River Quetico 17 carbon-tec. Looked all around, and found that Red Rock in Ely had a "blemish" model, which would save us about 20%. We inquired about the blemish and they said "it's hardly noticeable". So, we went up to check it out.

Long story short, the "blemish" was the result of the carbon material getting slightly wrinkled when they applied it, so it wasn't completely smooth. It was about a dime-sized thing, and we didn't even notice it until they pointed it out. It also helps that it's a black canoe.

Can't tell you what to do, but I'd take another blemish like ours in a heartbeat. Going on 10 years and it's still great.

[Brian-Mn]

If this is a "NEW" factory blem I wouldn't worry to much. No factory is going to let anything out that has structural issues. The liability just isn't worth it to them.

Hop in the car and go take a look. Better yet have them e-mail a photo of the affected area first.

Good luck and enjoy your savings! Remember your new canoe is only new until it hits the water for the first time.

[deerminator]

Ditto on what's been shared above. If I was buying a new car or truck, you'd better believe that thing would need to be flawless or dang near or I'd have them fix it. But for a kayak, that thing's gonna take some beatings anyway. So long as the blemish is cosmetic and doesn't bug you, go for it. I bought a pair of angling/leisure kayaks a few years ago and one was discolored some and the other almost perfect. I favor the discolored one. Looks more worn in. : )

[Stick in Mud]

Well I pulled the trigger on a factory blem but new MNII from Wenonah. $1800. Below are pics of the two blemishes....well worth the $850 discount from retail, at least for me. Now we just need some warm weather...wait, wait, we've already got it!