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malibu response question
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? |