Boat service question....anyone have this issue?

Hi All,
We bought our boat up in Petaluma in May of 04' and we need a small repair addressed that is covered under warranty. I called the place where we bought the boat, and they informed me that there is an authorized dealer close to my house in San Ramon (although they said the would glady help us....I just don't feel like driving to Petaluma if I don't have to). I called San Ramon Boat Center and the service manager said they could not help me as I did not purchase the boat there. I pointed out that he is an authorized dealer and that I think he should take care of me. He told me owning a boat is nothing like a car and that you cannot simply take your boat to any authorized dealer for any type of repair. My questions is (without getting into any debate on which dealership is best, although it certainly can't be San Ramon boat center.....lol) have any of you ever encountered this problem or one similar to it. I will be the first to say that the service is great where we bought our boat.....I just don't feel like driving up there at this point in time. I'm curious to see if any of you have had this problem. Am I wrong for assuming that this dealer should help me out since they are an authorized dealer?

I bought my Nautique used in North Carolina and brought it back to Indianapolis. MD Boats has done the majority of my service. I have changed the oil, and impellar, and winterized this year. They have always galdly serviced my boat, though it is not under warranty, even though I did not buy it from them. I am not sure if I get serviced 2nd to boats that were purchased from them, but really have never had a reason to be concerned with that.

I would say San Ramon must have a full schedule with their customers who they are trying to take care of. They should have tried to fit you in, in my opinion, even if it were between customer boats. This is one area where boats are lagging behind the auto industry. At the very least, with good service they should hope to get a future sale from you.

Eric

Tim, you are not wrong in assuming that the dealer should help.. However. w/ that attitude I don't know that I would want him touching my boat. I purchased my recent boat from an individual and had a problem that was beyond my knowledge. I took it to the local MC dealer and they bent over backwards for me.. Actually was a problem that no mechanic there was a ware of, spent hours upon hrs and part after part. Ended up only charging me 2 hrs labor.. Super good group.. Not saying they should give you a hand out, but should be more than willing to service your boat.. I would steer away from hte dlr and advise others to do the same... my .02

Usually, the warranty company only pays a certain amount of money per hour for work, say $65 per hour. Dealerships tend to not like to do warranty work cause they don't get paid as much as for regular work which could be $85 or more per hour. If one of their customers comes in for warranty work, they feel obligated to service them. They don't feel obligated for those who didn't buy their boat there.

IMO, this is bad practice because had they chosen to service your warranty issue, you may be inclined to bring your boat there for non-warranty work. But then again, they may have more than enough work servicing their current customers. In addition, had they chosen to service you, you MAY have considered buying a boat there when/if the time comes around again.

So to answer your question, should they help you? Only, if they want your future business. Do they have to help you? I don't think so.

Good luck!

I heard about the less pay for the dealer if the boat wasn't purchased there, but have experienced it. I bought my boat in Cali and had warranty service done by the dealer here in WA with no problems. Maybe he ate the differance in pay. Don't know. In your case, I wouldn't want a dealer with that attitude working on my boat nor would I go buy another from him (which I GLADLY did with mine). Good luck with it.

I don't think they get less money if the boat wasn't purchased there, I think they get less pay for warranty work period. Which is why they get pissy about it.

A friend of mine took his boat back to the dealer for warranty work and they got put last in line for service. They had the attitude of, "We'll get to it when we get to it."

Looks like I'm driving up to Petaluma. Oh well. At least it's the slow season and I won't miss any time on the water. Thanks for the info.

There is a particular boat maker that pays less, or not at all for work done on NEW boats bought out of the dealer protected market. I have also heard that there are sometimes penalties for doing service to a boat not purchased at your dealer. It's not like you bought a GM product and can get it serviced at any GM dealer.

There must be exceptions to these "rules", like being on vacation or moving to a different area of the country.

Eric

Tim, I work for San Ramon Boat Center, but at our Rocklin store near Sac. Our Service department in San Ramon consists of a 2 bay service area able to hold a scant 4 boats. We have only 3 mechanics and about 300 new customers a year. It's hard to fit in our own customers let alone anyone else because we simply do not have the capacity. I would call your dealer and ask them if they would come out to your house to do the work. If they say no, say "San Ramon Boat Center does that for their customers, why don't you?" We are all about Customer Service, but we can't fit everyone in every time, if we aren't busy we will accept your boat in a heartbeat. If you ever have a problem again call San Ramon Boat Center and ask for Scott, he is in charge of Service for all of our stores and will do his best to make sure you are taken care of and that you are satisfied.

I took my 99 supra in for work to be done on the hull under warranty last season. I took it to a different dealer than it was purchased at. They were more than happy to help. Just like Joshua said they are to busy to take care of it now but if they were slow that's different. Joshua Tim is not asking you to go to his house like you claim to do. It sounds like he will bring it to you. That just sounds like you as a dealer don't care because he did not buy from you. Tim what they told you is BS. Just think about the people who buy boats and then move out of state. Do you think the manufacture is going to say go back to that state. I would call the manufacture and tell them what San Ramon Boat Center told you. If they told you some BS like that. What kind of work do you think they do? I think I would find another dealer!!!!!!!

The guy at San Ramon boat center told me that boat service is nothing like car service and that I cannot simply take it to any authorized dealer. I'm not sure how I feel about this. The service were I bought my boat is great... I just don't want to drive up to Petaluma if I don't have to. I even told the guy at San Ramon that I do not need the boat till March and if I could make an appointment for whenever is convenient for them. Answer : NOPE.

I know that at our Rocklin store we are accepting anybody right now, we just winterized a 1985 Nautique for a guy that called up and was in a hurry. We also figured out and fixed a starter problem for a 1996 Four Winns that was sold by one of our competitor dealers. I don't know exactly what kind of work you were looking to get done, it could be a warranty issue that is handled by some other company besides Mercury. Mercury has a warranty for 1 year, Cobalt has a 5 year powertrain warranty, 4 of those years are through Passport. It may be something along those lines for your boat's manufacturer.

Joshua, Read Tim's post again.

"the service manager said they could not help me as I did not purchase the boat there."

He wasn't told "hey we're booked," (which even if it were a lie it would have sounded better). He was turned away!

(note to self....."don't ever buy a boat at San Ramon boat center."

Too bad.... Tim may have purchased his next boat from you. He resides minutes from you.

Also, I'd like to add that Boat Dealers are not like car dealers in that there can be a few dealers for the same product in the same 10 mile radius, not true for boats. I assume that you bought a Ski Centurion from Hammer's Ski & Marine in Petaluma, CA. We are also dealers for Centurion, so now looking back on it, I'm not sure why we didn't accept you if you have a product that we deal with. I'm sorry for the inconvenience. It's sort of like a dealer competition issue. Hammer's may have sold a boat outside of their area, did we carry Centurion at the time you bought your boat?

Tim -

I'm personally not a big fan of San Ramon Boat Center...excuses are like a**holes...everybody has one and they all stink. SRBC always has an excuse for something. I won't even walk into that place anymore they've made me so angry over the years with they holier than "thou boat you didn't buy here" attitude. I personally like Boatmasters II in Dublin and I hear Liquid Wrenches in Livermore does a good job...but for warranty work I think you're pretty much stuck where you bought her. Good luck!

I have had work done at Boatmasters and I am very pleased with their service. It's right down the street from my house. I can have any engine work done there since they are an authorized Mercury dealer. Unfortunately, the work I need done must be done by a Centurion dealer. I'm taking the boat up to Petaluma this weekend.........unless Josh wants to cart his arse down to my house to do the work. Just kidding Josh.

Tim have you called Licquid Wrenches in Livermore. I believe that they can do warrenty work on quite a few MFGs. They are awsome and always seem to go the extra mile for me. Worth a shot since you are in San Ramon. 925-961-1670

I would call the manufacturer and let them know what the dealership in your area told you regarding warrany work. Ultimately, the manufacturer should know how the retailers in your area are treating the customer. Josh, this is not a rag on you, but if your dealership is selling 300+ boats a year, they should be investing in a bigger service area, IMHO.

(Message edited by byrd on January 31, 2006)

I could not wait for my warranty to run out on my 2000 BU VLX from Ultimate Water Sports! My boat got SO abused with every warranty service! Now, I have the luxury to take my boat to any service place that I want! And, BTW, Liquid Wrenches did a fine job on my boat the last time I had it serviced!