dealer/manufacturer issue.
At least one manufacturer seems to do it "top down".
I received a fedex overnight package describing the problem and explaining
that parts were in short supply due to... list of items; need to replace
parts on boats still in production, new boats in distributor and dealer
stock, etc.
The next day I received a mail from my dealer to say that the parts for
my boat would be in "shortly", please be patient, etc.
Two days after that another message from the dealer saying my parts were
in and they would be happy (note that, "happy") to schedule the repair
at my earliest convenience, more apologies, etc.
The next day another message from the manufacturer, apologies for the delay,
etc.
About a week after the repair a follow-up from the manufacturer asking if the
repair
was to my satisfaction.

The manufacturer has the option to drive repairs and retrofits for design
and manufacturing problems - or to let customers drive it "bottom up".
In the short term it might be cheaper to only repair what has to be repaired
and to only do it for the customers that insist on having the repair.
Denial may be a useful tool for saving the warranty budget, in the short term.
Support costs can be viewed as an investment in repeat business and the goal
of staying in business for the long term. BTW, Chryco halved their warranty
expense last year - supposedly due to improved product quality.

From what little I know about this I regard it as a design problem,
but I think that way (-: i.e. if it can't be produced simply and consistently
then it wasn't designed for manufacturability (horrid word, but production
engineers use it a lot).

\R



"J.W. Frank" wrote:

1 - The Dealer's name is "Sun and Snow" in Utica NY. There seems to be a
whole seperate dealer/manufacturer issue here that needs to be addressed by
someone other than myself (i.e. Malibu).

2 - Thanks for the confirmation that someone other than myself might have
had this problem. It seems like a rediculous design, especially for a
northern climate. It would seem that if any moisture remains in this area
during off season strorage, our cold winter temperatures might make it worse
(trust me, it was much worse this spring).

3 - Guy may be a real nice guy (pun intended) but that is not helping my
problem. I am completely disgusted with this problem and how it was handled
from the local level on up. Like I said, I was even willing to foot the
bill to give Malibu one more shot but they wouldn't even work with me.
Malibu should take customer satisfaction more seriously. Additionally,
maybe they should consider competing with someone like Bayliner and forget
about the competition ski boat area.

4 - Have they changed the design on this "common problem"? The idea is
sound but the implementation sucks. How about a closed system that is oil
filled or something? Then it wouldn't leak (or the environmental people
would be all over them worse than I am!).

5 - Truth of the matter... I want my Mastercraft back. It was a quality
product from a quality company.

--

Doug Meredith wrote:

"J.W. Frank" wrote in message
...
Just a quick question: if you recently handed over close to 30k for a
new Malibu Response LX and it keeps taking on excessive water, what
would you do?
They seem to think it is a minor problem (the hydrobox is leaking and
needs fiberglass repair). I think it is a major problem... a
"manufacturing defect", if you will.
Mastercraft and Correct Craft never treated me this way. "Guy" (the
customer service manager) at Malibu told me to go ahead and write
this... that people would understand Malibu's position. I hope he is
right......

This was a common problem with Malibu's. The hydo damping box leaked.
If your boat is new, I'm surprised that you are having this problem.
Its an easy fix if the dealer has a clue. They have to find what part
of the box is leakings, grind out the old Plexus, and replace with new.
I've never seen one that leaked so bad that the bilgh pump even came
on. Guy Coward is a good guy, and should take care of your problem for
you. This is a dealer issue to get fixed. I'd be screaming at the
dealer, or talking to Malibu to have the dealer get it fixed NOW. What
dealer did you buy it from?