Lund Dealer hit my boat with a fork lift.. help!

[bigtree]

Hi all, this is my first time here and I double posted because I couldn't find the new thread button until now..

I just bought a pre owned 2007 Lund 1750 Tyee with only 38 hours on it ( privately); its beautiful. I needed some tweaking done to it today, so I brought it to the local Lund dealer for warranty work.

Well, later today I was told that the yard guy who towed it into the shop hit the corner of the transom with a fork lift. Its a 3 inch gash. The transom corner is pushed in and, outside skin and side wall of the boat are both buckled from the blow. I'm so sad my boat is damaged.

The service manager says it can be fixed. He says that it will need to be opened up though. That the rivets will need to be drilled out and some metal work, new paint etc... No big deal, but sorry it happened.

My question is this: I don't want a patched new boat for starters, however, I also don't want to be unreasonable. What you you do?

My concerns are: If the transom needs to have this work done to it, opened up, does this effect the boat in any way?
Does this effect warranty?

Does this pose future issues from stress or aging well?


What should I do?

The boat is still in the shop waiting for me to pick it up tomorrow.

Help...

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Dealer hit my boat with a fork lift.. help!

Re: Dealer hit my boat with a fork lift.. help!

Sorry to here this.

I would voice my concerns to the dealer and ask all the questions you can about the repair. Is the dealer doing the work, or are they sending it out to be done? If they send it out, go to that shop and talk with the repair people as much as possible, don't bug or hassle them, be very friendly and get them on your side, but let them know you expect a good job.

Nobody wants a damaged and then repaired boat, but If they do a good job it won't be a structural issue, but it still may be a cosmetic issue in the future. Sometimes a repair will age differently than the rest of the boat and over time you it may become more noticable, especially since you'll know exactly where to look.

This type of thing happens in the boat manufacturing plants at times and the boats are repaired and shipped, every now and then it becomes a cosmetic issue at a later date, but for the most part it works out fine.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Dealer hit my boat with a fork lift.. help!

Re: Dealer hit my boat with a fork lift.. help!

it appears the dealer is a stand up guy.

 

[gcboat]

Re: Dealer hit my boat with a fork lift.. help!

Re: Dealer hit my boat with a fork lift.. help!

Shame about the damage however you do have one thing in your favor - an honest dealer. Some other's would of said they didn't do it. Then the real fun starts.
Completely agree with ondarvr. I really do feel your pain for having a 'wounded' boat but there should be no issues with structural integrity. As far as being able to see the repairs - of course you will - . It is just that - a repair, not a restoration.
I know it doesn't make you feel any better about the whole situation but as I mentioned at least they stood up to their mistake. Gotta' give em' credit for that. :redface:

 

[bigtree]

Re: Dealer hit my boat with a fork lift.. help!

Re: Dealer hit my boat with a fork lift.. help!

Thanks for chiming in .

How important is the corner of the transom?

For resale, how would this effect my asking price now?

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: Dealer hit my boat with a fork lift.. help!

Re: Dealer hit my boat with a fork lift.. help!

Been there, done that, have the T-Shirt! I bought a super clean, low mileage Chevy Astrovan 4 years ago, and one of the guys at work backed a tractor trailer power unit into it one night. The car had never been hit before and I was sitting in my office working late when I heard the crunch! Man, that "inhales!"

Anyway, I suggest that you go take a photo or two of the damage and, as others suggested, find out who is going to do the work and what their experience is. If you have insurance on the boat, you might want to talk to them because you may be able to make your own choice as to repair facilities. In fact, you may even have that choice if you are going just going to let the dealer's insurance cover the work.

Like the guys said, at least the marine dealer is honest and "fessed up!"

 

[bigtree]

Re: Dealer hit my boat with a fork lift.. help!

Re: Dealer hit my boat with a fork lift.. help!

Bummer,
Just finished talking to Lund. They say that our long term warranty (The double rivets area where the damage is located and needs to be opened up now) is void in that area of the boat now.

 

[HeavyObject]

Re: Dealer hit my boat with a fork lift.. help!

Re: Dealer hit my boat with a fork lift.. help!

Bummer,
Just finished talking to Lund. They say that our long term warranty (The double rivets area where the damage is located and needs to be opened up now) is void in that area of the boat now.

Sounds like the dealers insurance needs to be giving you a check for the replacement cost of the boat.....

 

[SnappingTurtle]

Re: Dealer hit my boat with a fork lift.. help!

Re: Dealer hit my boat with a fork lift.. help!

Sorry to hear your story. Brings back bad memories.

Bought a new VW once and got a lemon. Motor blew before the first inspection. Had to wait six months for a new block to come from Germany.

While it was sitting on the dealer lot waiting for the motor block to come, there was a wind storm and a piece of their roof blew off and landed on my car. Caved the roof in.

My insurance said it was the auto dealers problem. When the auto dealers insurance investigator came to investigate, he found the roof had already been crushed and repainted. They didn't want to cover the cost of repairing a already repaired roof. It was VW's problem now, not theirs. VW said they had no record of the roof being damaged in transit.

Attorney time!

Lawsuit against VW, court ordered delivery documents from the car, it had been damaged at the docks while being unloaded. Sold me a wrecked car as new. Won. Got a small rebate.

Lawsuit against dealer. Won. Repainted and repaired the roof.

Still no new car. Motor block comes after 6 months. Picked up the car, blows up again on the way home.

Dealer won't honor guarantee now, they fixed it, I broke it again, my problem. Independent investigator says oil cooler line was installed wrong, and the warning lights had not been hooked up. VW says it is a dealer problem, not a VW problem.

Lawsuit against dealer. Dealer goes bankrupt.

I take my almost never driven new car to a friend who was a factory race mechanic for Porsche to install the third motor, in my already twice wrecked car. Motor runs like a top.

VW won't honor the autos guarantee because a non-qualified mechanic installed the new motor. Only professional VW mechanics are trained to properly install VW motors. Entire warranty is voided.

MORAL OF THE STORY, DON'T TRUST A AUTO COMPANY CALLED ...

Accidents happen, even to good dealers.

They are honest, and you are lucky to have such a dealer.

You don't want to burn bridges with them, you might just need them on your side later.

Be nice as long as you can, but be firm if they start to blow you off.

Good luck!

 

[dimock44]

Re: Dealer hit my boat with a fork lift.. help!

Re: Dealer hit my boat with a fork lift.. help!

Bummer, but s**t happens. The important thing is what happens next. Try to be as reasonable as possible and know the dealer is not there to drive customers away. It can never be undone but should come out of the shop like it never happened. Had a couple of cars that I had appraised after being done and the appraiser couldn't tell they were wrecked even after I told him. Your boat should look as good as it did before. As mentioned before the paint will age differently so ask them to paint the whole side and back. Good luck with that. At least it sounds like you got an honest dealer and maybe they will finish the repairs before he goes to jail for what he's going to do to his service tech

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: Dealer hit my boat with a fork lift.. help!

Re: Dealer hit my boat with a fork lift.. help!

This is a 2007 model and Lund has voided the hull warranty? The dealer should replace the boat! Do NOT accept the boat back from this dealer without having a lawyer! I would not want a patched,painted boat!

 

[iwombat]

Re: Dealer hit my boat with a fork lift.. help!

Re: Dealer hit my boat with a fork lift.. help!

I kind of agree with the above post. The dealer needs to replace your boat, that's what they buy insurance for. They're then free to repair and sell the damaged one to recoup costs.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Dealer hit my boat with a fork lift.. help!

Re: Dealer hit my boat with a fork lift.. help!

It would interesting to see a pic of the damage. I don't know if they owe you a new boat, but since part of the warranty is now void, they do owe you something more than just a repair.

 

[jonesg]

Re: Dealer hit my boat with a fork lift.. help!

Re: Dealer hit my boat with a fork lift.. help!

I would explain what Lund told you.
Ask what the dealer now recommends .

Is it possible for the dealer to buy you a new warranty,
from a bonded 3rd party?

Or would he like to repair yours, give you a new one and sell yours at discount.

Maybe he could work something out with Lund so the repair satisfies them and keeps the warranty alive.

He's got a few options but no leg to stand on.

 

[redfury]

Re: Dealer hit my boat with a fork lift.. help!

Re: Dealer hit my boat with a fork lift.. help!

It would interesting to see a pic of the damage. I don't know if they owe you a new boat, but since part of the warranty is now void, they do owe you something more than just a repair.

I'd have to agree with that. I would go back to the dealer and tell them that you value their honesty and that you'd like to give them the chance to show you why they should continue to be your dealer and explain to them that you are unhappy with having a barely year old boat with a voided warranty issue because of this. Lund may not warranty the repair, but the dealer can...in writing. Ask them for a structural warranty that the repair will be done properly and be done in a manner that you won't be able to tell the difference in that part of the boat in a certain time frame from the end of the repair ( 2 seasons perhaps ). If they will agree to that, and you are comfortable with it, let them repair it and be your best friend in the boating world. If they aren't willing to give you piece of mind, then suggest that they replace the hull with something that has not been damaged.

Really, it comes down to what kind of customer you are as to what they are going to be willing to do. I certainly have not given cranky customers any reason to call me back, because my sanity is saved by not having to deal with them. I may lose some face to their friends whom they may have referred to me, but they may be just as bad of a customer to deal with anyway. My point being, that if you are a tremendous PITA, you are going to be dealt with by the dealer in a fashion that will get you out of their shop as fast as possible and hope you never return.

 

[Coors]

Re: Dealer hit my boat with a fork lift.. help!

Re: Dealer hit my boat with a fork lift.. help!

The dealer caused Lund to void the warranty-dealer owes you a new boat.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Dealer hit my boat with a fork lift.. help!

Re: Dealer hit my boat with a fork lift.. help!

He said the warranty is only void on the repaired area, not the whole boat. There may be a case for a new boat, but again, like the other thread similar to this one, we don't even know what the damage actually is yet, not even a pic in this case, just a couple sentances describing it. I do think this is a very unfortunate situation for both parties and bigtree should be made whole. That means if it's repaired, he should be compensated for the loss in value of the boat.

 

[Tail_Gunner]

Re: Dealer hit my boat with a fork lift.. help!

Re: Dealer hit my boat with a fork lift.. help!

The dealer caused Lund to void the warranty-dealer owes you a new boat.

Fury is right here, alought it sound's like malice.you must protect yourself with Lund. That is you paid for a hull warranty in the purchase price of the boat maybe not to the dealer but to Lund you did....believe me mfg's factor in the price of warranty to either a boat or car.

Get a new hull with warranty......if you damaged the dealer as much you or your ins company would be paying. It's just business nothing personl.

Umm that's not a opinion. but your milage will vary.

 

[oops!]

Re: Dealer hit my boat with a fork lift.. help!

Re: Dealer hit my boat with a fork lift.. help!

wow.....not fun.....
read both ondarvrs posts.....

talk to the dealer....try to work with him......

but somthing needs to be done besides a repair.....

btw...a repair can be better than new

 

[oops!]

Re: Dealer hit my boat with a fork lift.. help!

Re: Dealer hit my boat with a fork lift.. help!

btw....bigtree....where are ya and who hit it?