Hi Ernie,

I think there are too many boat dealers today that have very poor service
and parts departments. Their energy is spent more on promotion and sales of
large boats.

Everyone needs to find a dealership that has a strong service and parts
department if they buy a new boat and need any warranty work.

If the boat manufacturers let some weak dealers make many sales by giving
bigger discounts then the good boat dealers will suffer.

Also, that is why some boats are more expensive than others. They have fewer
problems.

These are hard times in many small businesses, especially the boat business.

--
Bill Kiene


"Ernie" wrote in message
.. .


Bought a new white 17' Trophy, a 90HP Merc engine and a new trailer last
June. Since it's for ocean fishing I had them paint the bottom. In July
the paint was coming off at the water line and the switch that controls
the
ups of the engine died. I could bring it down but I couldn't bring it up.
Called the dealer, which is located some 45 minutes away, and told him
about
my problems. I got a song and dance about the bottom paint. Remarks such
as "bottom isn't suppose to last forever, it does come off". If you know
others that can do it a better job have them do it. etc. He finally
agreed
to repaint, and they did.

I called the dealer, spoke to the maintenance people regarding a bad
switch
in the single handle trim control and was told to bring it over and they
would fix it.

When I got there, while the maintenance people were attempting to replace
the switch, the sales representative showed up and told me that I
shouldn't
bring the boat without first making an appointment and that he would have
to
check with the owner if this could be done and he left. Keep in mind they
are already working on removing the switch. He then came back with the
owner's permission. After some thirty minutes or so the maintenance
people
were unable to remove the cap that covers the switch and notified the
owner.
The owner tackled the job. He removed it, inserted a new switch, and had
to
glue the cap back on because he broke whatever was supposed to hold it
place. When I got the boat in the water, I discovered that the switch was
inserted in reverse. Whenever I up the switch the motor went down and
vise
versa. It's no big deal though this shouldn't be - especially on a new
boat.

I notified the owner and was told that if I can live with it, I could wait
and bring it in at the end of the season. I wasn't about to loose another
day of fishing and chose to wait. In the meantime I uncovered another
problem. The water wouldn't drain out of the anchor well. I tried a
snake,
and it appeared to go some 15' or so and still the water wouldn't drain.
I
then removed popup cover in the console's storage compartment to find it
full of water and that's where the snake curled itself. I tried inserting
the snake in storage compartment's drainage channel and it wouldn't go but
a
few inches. It was blocked and so was its bilge exit. I couldn't drive a
snake from either end.

I also uncovered another problem. Whenever it rained or when I washed
down
the boat all my supplied stored in my console compartment were getting wet
and it appeared to be dripping around the throttle's remote control
mounting. The dealer was also notified of this problem.



At the end of the season I brought the boat back to the dealer hoping he
would fix all my problems. He then delivered the boat to my home as
promised and told me that it took them seven hours to unplug the draining
channel and also drew insulation while fishing through the channel. This
is
something I am definitely concerned about and don't quite know what to do
about. How does one check this out? After he left, I noticed that the
prop and the stern popup covers were damaged. It looks like they dropped
something on the prop and tried to pry the popups with a screwdriver or
something else and gouged the covers. Prior to bringing the boat to the
dealer, for fear of damaging the popup covers I made myself a tool to
remove
the console's popup cover, and all this took me ten minutes. The only
cover
that isn't damaged is the one in the console which I had removed and left
it
open because I knew they would be working there. I wished I had removed
all
the others. Evidently, whoever worked on the boat was never properly
instructed, never furnished the proper tool or didn't give a hoot.

The dealer delivered the boat to my home and guess what? He switched the
wires rather than repairing the switch and water is still dripping in the
console. It was too late in the season to go on with this, and truthfully
I
don't ever want to return to this dealer. I will be checking with others
come May of next year.

Please give me some feedback.

For your information, this was the Panther Run Mariner located in Raymond,
Maine.












--
Ernie

Everyone dies, but not everyone lives.
A. Sachs