Boat Warranty

[Musky_Madness]

My dad bought a bought from a respectable company and the boat hull cracked in several places last summer. We dealt with the dealer and they claimed to have "fixed" the problem while having the boat all winter. Upon inspecting the boat this spring when picking it up, the dealer ground the cracks out and welded over them. All of the cracks occured at stress points where the ribs meet the hull inside. Last weekend we leave the boat access and notice an unusual amount of water being bilged out. Go home and fill up the boat while in the driveway with water and water begins to seep out of the same cracks that were "fixed". At this point we are going back to the dealer to obviously rid ourselves of this lemon boat. What is the best course of action? Ask for a new one, ask for a check, ask for a new one and an upgrade after all this trouble? Any thoughts or similar experiences? Please do not name names of dealers or boat manufacturers.

Thanks

Disgruntled Boat Owner

[BoxMN]

My only advice would be to talk to the boat manufacturer directly. Good luck, and I hope this will well for you, but it often does not. Be nice to all people you talk to front the start, but firm. I doubt you will get a new boat or your money back, but hopefulyl you can get it repaired properly.

[harvey lee]

If the boat is under warranty, I would go back to the dealer and show him that the work they did was not working. If they cannot come up with a cure for the boat, I would ask for a new one if the boat is not 2-3 years old. They need to either fix the boat or replace it with like boat.

If you cannot get anywhere with your dealer, I would go to another dealer or call the boat company and explain. If that doesnt work, then you only have one option left, legal actions.

One question I do have is, was any of the original damage from something like a accident?

[Rost]

Do yourself a favor and get a lawyer right now. I know what boat company your talking about because I know a guy that went through the exact same thing. They dickered for almost a year on before he hired someone to get things done.

I think he got a refund for his boat.

Email me and I'll try to put you in contact with him...

[Musky_Madness]

The boat was bought brand new in 2005 and it has never been in any sort of collision. The boat is always stored indoors in the garage unless we're on an overnight fishing trip somewhere at the hotel parking lot. We were figuring that an attorney would be needed to get anything moving after the difficulty of it even getting ground down the first time. Was not a good experience with the dealer and when contacting the corporate boat manufacturer, they told us to go through the dealer and tried to explain ourselves and just ran into a dead end. Too bad nobody backs up a "Lifetime Warranty" anymore. We the consumer were blamed for neglect and abuse and the boat wasn't made for "big water" and they wouldn't fix it? It's a sad thing what the world is coming to.

[harvey lee]

Lawyer.

[Rost]

Musky, I just got your email and it's the same boat company (just as I suspected). I left you the number to the guy that had the exact same problem. Give him a call.

Good luck!

[MinnesotaMongo]

As a man in the market for a new/newer boat, I would be interested in knowing who/what to avoid. I know it's probably not kosher, but.....

[Musky_Madness]

Leave your e-mail address and I can fill you in with all the details

[Musky_Madness]

The dealer will be looking over the boat in the AM and will take pictures of the damage and submit them to the boat manufacturer for them to make a decision on what to do. The guy on the phone tonight said they sell 100's of these boats and only 6 were repaired over the winter and ours is the first to be back twice now. The long road is upon us...

[Rost]

Mongo,

Slamming companies or their products is against forum policy. However, if you are looking at a Lund, Alumacraft, Polarcraft, G3, Crestliner, Triton, Lowe, or Starcraft you won't have to worry about the problems Muski is having.

I was talking to my buddy that had his hull split tonight and he told me a few funny stories about what boat maker "X" told him on the phone. The customer service rep told him, "You obviously abused this boat. Boats are not meant to be banged around in such rough water!"

[JohnMickish]

Quote:

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The guy on the phone tonight said they sell 100's of these boats and only 6 were repaired over the winter and ours is the first to be back twice now.

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If you ask me 6 out of a few hundred is way to many. Can I guess this is the number one selling boat in the country? I bet I can even guess the dealer network. If they are the same good luck and get a lawyer.

[dkf]

Quote:

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My dad bought a bought from a respectable company and the boat hull cracked in several places last summer. We dealt with the dealer and they claimed to have "fixed" the problem while having the boat all winter. Upon inspecting the boat this spring when picking it up, the dealer ground the cracks out and welded over them. All of the cracks occured at stress points where the ribs meet the hull inside. Last weekend we leave the boat access and notice an unusual amount of water being bilged out. Go home and fill up the boat while in the driveway with water and water begins to seep out of the same cracks that were "fixed". At this point we are going back to the dealer to obviously rid ourselves of this lemon boat. What is the best course of action? Ask for a new one, ask for a check, ask for a new one and an upgrade after all this trouble? Any thoughts or similar experiences? Please do not name names of dealers or boat manufacturers.

Thanks

Disgruntled Boat Owner

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Man that sucks.

I have done quite a bit of aluminum repairing hairline cracks and etc. Just welding over the crack will NOT even remotely fix the problem. You have to find where the crack starts and ends and drill a hole on each point straight through the hull to stop the crack permantly. After thats done the crack has to be completly ground out and then welded up with a TIG welder. Very time consuming work to do right. The problem I see when putting heat to the aluminum to weld it your going to take the temper out of the aluminum at the weld and possibly a foot or more around the weld making a weak point. Not good.

I would contact the better business bureau in your area. On another forum a guy got his 06'F-350 replaced with a brand new 08' F-350 after going to and following the advise from the better business bureau.

Lawyers are very expensive, I would check there first.

I'm interested in what boat it is. My grandfather has a sort of "Off Brand" boat and I'd like to know if yours is from the same company.

Good Luck.

[zachp]

I too am curious of the manufacturer...I think my brother may have one. If you'd let me know i'd appreciate it, thanks.

[email protected]

[Musky_Madness]

Again, if you want to know any more information about the specific dealer or manufacturer in question, shoot me an e-mail at [YouNeedAuthorization]@hotmail.com

Thanks

[AaronM]

I'm actually surprised a big name boat like this has problems this big..Is it really this common with them?

[Musky_Madness]

I did some researching on the internet about brand "X" and similar problems and I found multiple horror stories on the web about this same sort of deal. This sounds like it might be either poor help, poor design, poor quality control or a combination of all.

[Musky_Madness]

We contacted the dealer on Friday to see what the status was as we have not heard a thing so far. Phone call was placed at 9AM and are still awaiting a response now on Monday... We left a message with the manager via his secretary. HMMMMMMMM...I'm seeing the same story play out again this year. What a joke!

[Musky_Madness]

After calling the boat dealer again, they informed us that the boat manufacturer was going to take the boat back to the factory. We are suppsoed to call them when we are done using it for the season and then strip the boat of all our personal affects and they will send it down to the factory for repair. Hopefully this will solve the problem at last! After the fix, it's time to sell it and find a new boat!

[HutchBucks]

Hmmm...must be the same make of boat I bought and from the same dealership. Just make sure they send it to the manufacturer and not out to somewhere in Wisconsin.

Shoot me an email with details... [email protected] If it's the same brand I might have a few phone numbers of regional manager and ceo's for you.

As most on this site prolly remember...I went through heck with Tracker and LR in SC the last few years...only took 2 1/2 years to get things fixed right.

BTW...I have an 18' 2005 Tracker Tundra DC with 115 Merc optimax

[Musky_Madness]

The boat was dropped off at the dealer for "repair". We'll see what happens from here...not holding our breath!

[Musky_Madness]

Well it's March and we haven't heard anything all winter. I suppose we should give the wonderful dealer a call in the next week and find out what the status is on the "repaired" volume 2 boat!

[bassNspear]

well i wish you the best of luck.

What was it that you are getting repaired to the boat that went wrong?

[EricD]

I'm in Moorhead too, Musky Madness, and I'm about to buy a boat. If it's not out of line, I'd like to learn more about your situation so I don't go down that road with brand and dealer. I emailed you at [YouNeedAuthorization] to get more info if you're willing to share. Thanks. These kinds of forums can be really helpful!

[Musky_Madness]

It is a design flaw that is from having an all welded hull. It has been repaired once already in winter of 06-07 and again this winter 07-08 for welds breaking open and parts of the stringer system inside the hull is pushing out of the aluminum from the inside to the outside on the bottom of the hull. I'll attach a picture on here if I can get it figured out.