My new boat nightmare.....Resolved!

[ricohman]

Re: My new boat nightmare.....

Re: My new boat nightmare.....

Can I send them an email. Even way out here in BC I am fuming over your situation.

I would like to keep this between myself and them. Unless of course this goes downhill this week.

 

[j_k_bisson]

Re: My new boat nightmare.....

Re: My new boat nightmare.....

Well just for some information on that dealer. They are co-sponsoring a local, large Walleye tournoment on June 22 weekend. It is a $10k first prize.

Just thought you would like to know.... They are a big fish in the area....

 

[ricohman]

Re: My new boat nightmare.....

Re: My new boat nightmare.....

Ok. I called them again and spoke with the general manager or maybe the owner. I don't know what his position is but he is going to contact the manufacturer and sort this out. He seems genuine and concerned about customer service and wants to make this right.
But he wants me to talk with Starcraft. And that's the way it seems to be playing out. He bought the boat as new and he feels they should be covering this.
However, if they phone me and say my warranty is now valid, and I can have the boat repaired, I would be satisfied with that.
If they phone me a deny warranty what good is that? The dealer should be sorting this out then.

 

[spoilsofwar]

Re: My new boat nightmare.....

Re: My new boat nightmare.....

You bought the boat as new.
The dealer says they bought the boat as new.
Starcraft says they sold the boat as a factory second.

The issue is between the dealer and Starcraft. Or between you and the dealer. It can't be between you and Starcraft, because if it was, the dealer should be working on your behalf.

I for one would want to be on the line in a three-way call between the dealer and Starcraft to hear all this hashed out and get the facts first-hand. My assumption is that the dealer is playing both sides and a little bit of good cop/bad cop with you as well. Most likely they think they can just get you to give up if they drag this out long enough.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: My new boat nightmare.....

Re: My new boat nightmare.....

You bought the boat as new.
The dealer says they bought the boat as new.
Starcraft says they sold the boat as a factory second.

The issue is between the dealer and Starcraft. Or between you and the dealer. It can't be between you and Starcraft, because if it was, the dealer should be working on your behalf.

I for one would want to be on the line in a three-way call between the dealer and Starcraft to hear all this hashed out and get the facts first-hand. My assumption is that the dealer is playing both sides and a little bit of good cop/bad cop with you as well. Most likely they think they can just get you to give up if they drag this out long enough.

I started writing and noticed war wrote ^^^ which is exactly what I was thinking, so, x2!

As I see it you still have a dealer issue, and, the dealer still has yet to figure out which end is up. It's been a while too.

 

[r.j.dawg]

Re: My new boat nightmare.....

Re: My new boat nightmare.....

The RCMP , unless they are the police agency in Port Colborne, won't be investigating. I will file the original where I live (and I work in that office) and then we will forward it to the other agency for their consideration.

Looks like you will be dealing with the Niagara Regional Police Service. They are the ones with jurisdiction in Port Colborne.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: My new boat nightmare.....

Re: My new boat nightmare.....

Ok. I called them again and spoke with the general manager or maybe the owner. I don't know what his position is but he is going to contact the manufacturer and sort this out. He seems genuine and concerned about customer service and wants to make this right.
But he wants me to talk with Starcraft. And that's the way it seems to be playing out. He bought the boat as new and he feels they should be covering this.
However, if they phone me and say my warranty is now valid, and I can have the boat repaired, I would be satisfied with that.
If they phone me a deny warranty what good is that? The dealer should be sorting this out then.

of course he wants YOU to talk to Starcraft. That buys him another week. He's playing you, plain and simple. Has been all along. The three-way call is a great solution, though; I have done that in my line of work and seen all kinds of doors open.

Also, it's not a warranty issue! The more you call it that, the more they will string you along. It is a contract issue. It is not a warranty issue. A warranty issue would be if the boat started off fine and then started popping rivets and shedding paint. It is not a warranty issue. There is no warranty to "get." The only getting should be you getting a lawyer and him getting some action.

As an aside, a lesson about warranties: you usually have to return the boat to a dealer, maybe the dealer, to get warranty work done. So buy local. You never get the transportation cost and in your case, that's 3000km x 4 to get it fixed. So an offer to fix it doesn't do you much good.

You've been danced down the road for too long. You have the benefit of lots of advice-some good, some not so good--and lots of support. And you still have a boat you can't use in the driveway. Fish are biting. Time's a'wasting. Next post here should be "my lawyer did X" not "I think I'll see what they say."

 

[jasoutside]

Re: My new boat nightmare.....

Re: My new boat nightmare.....

Interesting reading here.

 

[BTMCB]

Re: My new boat nightmare.....

Re: My new boat nightmare.....

Agree 100% with HC ^^^^^^.

This is not a "warranty" issue. It is a "fraud" issue. You thought you bought, and paid for, a "new" boat but they sold you a "factory second" (for lack of a better term). They knew what they were getting and received the appropriate discount from the OEM; you on the other hand didn't know or receive a similar discount.

Good luck and while I admire, and respect, your patience - that tactic regrettably will not get you what you paid for.....a NEW boat.

 

[dvtran]

Re: My new boat nightmare.....

Re: My new boat nightmare.....

Any new updates on your current situation? You need an answer by tomorrow morning or it's going to be on. June and the warm weather is just around the corner. I could not imagine staring at my brand new (supposed to be) boat in the driveway rather than out on a dock ready for take off.

 

[island mike]

Re: My new boat nightmare.....

Re: My new boat nightmare.....

Thats true. Starcraft owes nothing in this regard. I think they are going to send paint anyway. I'm not painting this boat though. The dealer should call me today. They are going to see the email I sent them anyway.
Hopefully I will hear something today. It should not take them a week to sort this out.

The issue is not who is sending you the paint.The issue is that once you touch the boat nobodys liable anymore.

 

[salty87]

Re: My new boat nightmare.....

Re: My new boat nightmare.....

the dealer has financial incentive to hose you over (worked that one in for you canucks, eh) or stall until you cave. Starcraft has no dog in the transaction but hopefully they won't like to hear of the mis-representation in their dealer network.

The issue is not who is sending you the paint.The issue is that once you touch the boat nobodys liable anymore.

agreed...don't drop it in the water either. you have possession now but if you alter or use it you've really taken possession.

 

[CatTwentyTwo]

Re: My new boat nightmare.....

Re: My new boat nightmare.....

Maybe I'm missing something but on the dealers website I don't see where they list themselves as an authorized dealer for Starcraft Boats. What's up with that?

 

[MTboatguy]

Re: My new boat nightmare.....

Re: My new boat nightmare.....

I don't know how it is in Canada, but I do know in the US, the warranty is between the purchaser and the manufacture, the dealer is just the servicing agent of the manufacture, I know this as in my wife's family there are a car dealer and a boat dealer, when they sign up with the manufacture, they agree to service on the behalf of the manufacture for factory defects in manufacturing.. You don't have to be a servicing dealer to sell a manufactures product, there are a few in the states that sell vehicles and boats with out being a warranty servicing dealer. The manufacture owns the warranty until such time as the vehicle is transferred to the end purchaser and if the dealer is not a servicing dealer.

Obviously most dealers want to and will honor a manufactures warranty, but ultimately manufacturing defects(which this is) needs to be serviced by the manufacture. You need to see if Starcraft will set up with a dealer that is closer to your location.

Also DO NOT paint the boat, DO NOT put it in the water, DO NOT put your numbers on it, in fact I would get a hold of your Dept Of Motor Vehicles and let them know what is going on, and request they put a hold on the title of this boat until such time as this is settled.

 

[ricohman]

Re: My new boat nightmare.....

Re: My new boat nightmare.....

Maybe I'm missing something but on the dealers website I don't see where they list themselves as an authorized dealer for Starcraft Boats. What's up with that?

They deal with Smokercraft. Same company.

 

[scoutabout]

Re: My new boat nightmare.....

Re: My new boat nightmare.....

Interesting they are now playing the we said, they said game with the factory on the condition it was in.

Unless the guy wrapping that boat for transport was doing it by braille, there's no way that dealer didn't know what they had accepted from the factory and what they were in the process of foisting off on an unsuspecting customer.

You have documentation that the factory shipped a blemished boat to the dealer. You have documentation that the dealer sold it to you as new. Pretty hard to argue that I'd say.

I'm just mystified at the short-sightedness here. Maybe not at the employee level but any business owner with the wherewithall to build a going concern the likes of that dealership has got to look at the PR nightmare this has the potential to become and decide eating a few thousand dollars to avoid it (and - gasp - actually do the integrity thing) is the way to go.

Good luck - we're all busting a collective gut hoping it works out for you.

 

[ricohman]

Re: My new boat nightmare.....

Re: My new boat nightmare.....

I had to forget about this for the rest of the day as it was our anniversary.
So back on this tomorrow. I didn't get any calls today but the point raised about the warranty is interesting. Maybe thats why he wants me to deal directly with Starcraft? Maybe the dealer can wash his hands of this?
However if this particular boat was being sold without any warranty for the cosmetics, I should have been advised of this. If I was advised of this point I wouldn't have bought it regardless.
If I still wanted the boat after being advised I would have cut the wrap off and inspected it, then negotiated from there.
I haven't put the numbers on and all I have done is put a cover on.

 

[ricohman]

Re: My new boat nightmare.....

Re: My new boat nightmare.....

Interesting they are now playing the we said, they said game with the factory on the condition it was in.

Unless the guy wrapping that boat for transport was doing it by braille, there's no way that dealer didn't know what they had accepted from the factory and what they were in the process of foisting off on an unsuspecting customer.

You have documentation that the factory shipped a blemished boat to the dealer. You have documentation that the dealer sold it to you as new. Pretty hard to argue that I'd say.

Good luck - we're all busting a collective gut hoping it works out for you.

I'm not going to post the email but the message given to me was that the boat was bought at a discount with no warranty for the cosmetics. The true meaning of that can be open to some interpretation but the bottom line is no cosmetic warranty. The fellow I spoke with today said they bought the lot of Islanders at a discount however he believes there should be warranty. He sounded sincere and my gut reaction was to believe what he said. It makes no sense for a well known dealer who is well established to try and pawn off a suspect boat and risk his entire reputation on one sale.
I am going to see how this plays out in the next day or two. I have no idea what Starcraft is going to say. But I don't have to talk with Ford when my new truck has trouble. The dealer does that for me.

 

[MTboatguy]

Re: My new boat nightmare.....

Re: My new boat nightmare.....

I'm not going to post the email but the message given to me was that the boat was bought at a discount with no warranty for the cosmetics. The true meaning of that can be open to some interpretation but the bottom line is no cosmetic warranty. The fellow I spoke with today said they bought the lot of Islanders at a discount however he believes there should be warranty. He sounded sincere and my gut reaction was to believe what he said. It makes no sense for a well know dealer who is well established to try and pawn off a suspect boat and risk his entire reputation on one sale.
I am going to see how this plays out in the next day or two. I have no idea what Starcraft is going to say. But I don't have to talk with Ford when my new truck has trouble. The dealer does that for me.

ricohman,

I am 110% on your side, you didn't have the information to make an informed choice, the dealer bought a factory second and didn't inform you, he should be in your corner fighting tooth and nail to make this right. I would be near tears if this happened to me. You need to remind them, that one bad apple can ruin the bushel, and right now you are the bad apple with a sour taste. There is complicity at all levels in this, but yours is the least, you are a trusting soul, and unfortunately were taken advantage of! The dealer should do what it takes to make sure your happy, and ultimately the manufacture should be doing back flips to ensure you are happy.

This is a large bushel we belong to and if I were the manufacture, I would be doing back flips to make sure it turn out in a manner that you are happy. As another posted said, it sounds as if a bit of fraud is going on here, at the least the dealer needed to disclose this was a factory second and gave you the power to make an informed choice.

Good luck.

Dp

PS, your Ford dealer is a servicing dealer and has an agreement with Ford to work on your behalf, that is why you don't need to contact the manufacture. Both parties the dealer AND the manufacture need to step up and get this solved, or they could be liable for not only the boat, but loss of use.

 

[Pony]

Re: My new boat nightmare.....

Re: My new boat nightmare.....

I just don't understand why you keep bringing up the warranty and whether or not the boat should/should not have one. This doesn't even matter in the slightest bit, and the more you bring this up to the dealer the longer this is going to take to get resolved......it is just making it more messy than it has to be. If it was a factory 2nd, Starcraft isn't going to give you one, and you probably just need to accept that.

1. Your contract says this is a NEW boat. They clearly sold you (per Starcraft) a factory 2nd with cosmetic damage (which the dealer recieved a discount on)
2. You did not (at least from what I have read) recieve a discount.
3. You were misled. The contract should be VOID.

The way I see it, if I was the manager I would handle this in the following ways, and give you the choice.

1. Write you a new contract stating that this was a factory 2nd, and then offer to fix the boat at my service shop at my cost and warranty my work.
2. I would offer you a discount on the boat in hopes that the discount is enough $ to appease you. Even taking a slight loss hoping that I am handling it in a way to earn future business.

I really hope that you get this resolved. Don't let the Dealer try to pass the buck, and don't let them make you talk to Starcraft. That is their problem. If they don't understand that (and it appears that they don't and may never) then you need to get some legal counsel involved ASAP before this gets further out of hand. Any business that is worth a grain of salt would have had this figured out already. Good Luck!!