How would you handle this? Dealer issue

I upgraded to a tandem axle trailer. I bought it new from my local dealer. I was told by him that my boat color (a 2003 sante) that was seen by him, in person a few different times was Patriot red. I proceded to order the trailer in the matching custom color of patriot red by his word. He orders it under a 2005 Patriot red. The traier comes and it is not the same color as my boat at all. I was then told that they have a standard color palet thay they use so red is red. Skeptical, I close on the trailer and go home and do some homework.

It turns out that my boat being a 2003, was available in 2 reds, Patriot red and Dark red. I apparently have the Dark red. My trailer looks like absolute A$$ against my boat. I expected when it was a custom paint to match, it would. I went throught the manufacturer brochure and it said "infinate color for perfect hull match" So not only was I fed a line about the color palet, he was wrong on the color and the year.

I spent 5000 dollars and went out of my way to get him the sale on this trailer because he is the local dealer for me and has treated me good in the past. I have a feeling that this will end up being a real issue. The question is how do I deal with this diplomatically and get him to fis his mistake? Even though it was on the contract for the wrong color for my boat, I dont see it to be my job to make sure the color is correct, especially when it is his product.

Looks like your dealer made the mistake in assuming it was Patriot red.

They told you the colors would match, then they should match.

If they dont want to work with you tell them to keep the trailer and cancel your check.

You can work it out later in court if they decide to go that way, which they probably wont.

It will be cheaper for them to eat the mistake and repaint it.

He would also be in possesion of a check that I wrote for 1/2 the amount that has been cashed about 3 months ago. He would not be fully out anything. I have had a great relationship with this guy for 8 years. I got a quote from another dealer for a little cheaper than him. I made sure I went out of my way to support him. Now I am getting the runaround probably because buisness is so bad that he cannot absorb the cost of a change. Not really my problem. I just want to get what I was promised.

That sucks. Hopefully you can figure it out. The majority of the cost was the trailer not to paint it so how much could it possibly cost him to have it repainted. Seems like the right for him to do here. Let him know everything about you going out of your way to use him and that you won't come back. Business men don't like to lose steady customers. Good Luck!

Sorry you did that.

I make it a habit not to pay anyone until services are rendered. If the company cannot do this, then they are not worthy of my business. At most a very small payment(500 or less on large purchases/services), but NEVER half.

You now have given the seller all the cards. Unless in your contract there are words containing color "match". If not, they can tell you to pound sand if you dont like it. In which they will have half your money and a trailer they will sell later, or all your money and you own a trailer you hate.

In the future, make sure to get what you were "promised", in writing. At least, even when paying half, you will have a leg to stand on.

I hate to say it, but if it's posted online, it's been escalated to the next level.

Get it painted. If you like him that much, tell him you'll split the difference. If you want to stick to your guns, then tell us how you really feel about how the situation has been handled. Then take him to small claims court for the cost of the paint job.

The situation sucks all the way around. And now that it's been online, I don't know how to do it tactfully.

This is his mistake

Before you go down the road of having it repainted or get overly aggressive on anything, I'd suggest calling him (or better yet go down there) and have a rational discussion. Bring your boat and trailer to show him how crappy they look (though it sounds like he's already seen it). Tell him you've done a little homework, and you've discovered that the trailer can be ordered in a matching color, you're really unhappy, and how can we get this addressed.

I would start with this approach vs. going in with "guns blazing", as this has been your guy for 8 years. If he's not willing to work with you on getting the trailer exchanged or painted, you can let himn know that you'll be swallowing the $1k charge (or whatever it is to have it painted) on your own due to his mistake, and that his unwillingness to work with you has cost him a very dedicated customer, one that bought the trailer from him at a higher price due to your dedication.

At the end of the day, you can't sweat something too much that absolutely wasn't your fault. Even if you have to swallow the cost. Appeal to his sense of rationality; if he's really a dealer worth giving your business, he'll work with you on a fix. Good luck man, totally blows.

Agree with Tommy G!! If the guy cares about his reputation and wants your next boat purchase to be from him, he will make it right. If he doesn't, he loses a good customer that can help him sell boats vs.steering people away via "word of mouth". I would think the dealer could either get the trailer re-painted the correct color, or just order you a new one and consider this one for sale as new.

PS I think it's very cool that you did NOT list the name of the dealer at this point and are just looking for guidance.

Agree with Tommy G. At this point the 8 year custermer relationship is his to loose. I hope he is the stand up guy you thought he was. If not contact the trailer company and explain the situation they might be able to work something out with you. Then take the dealer to small claims court for the cost of the repaint. Its very likely he will loose the courts frown on businesses that do things like this.

Nothing has been escilated to any level because I did not imply or tell what dealer I bought this from. In my area, there are litterally hundreds of dealers to purchace from. Nothing has been done in this situation yet, so, no poop slinging had occured. I am just looking fro some advice at this point.

I was told to get a quote for paint, very reluctantly, and we both want to point fingers at each other, of course. Being the professional in this situation, I believe it is his responsibility to match my boat to the traier as promised. His defence was that he saw the boat once and cant make a color judgement call on that. I dont see where that is my responsibility to hold his hand when he told me what color it was. I dont know where the estimate will go from there but I guess I will figure it out and see what happens.

As a dealer, I would repaint the trailer. Keep you as a customer because you never know when you'll want to upgrade that boat.

that's unfortunate. It sounds like either way he's likely to have lost your business, as his defense is extremely weak at best. The idea of talking to someone at the trailer company is a good idea too. If you explain your situation and the grief it's caused, someone there might have a solution that would make you happy, especially if you're open to other standard color options (i.e. black or white)...who knows, worth a try at least.

Darren, I dont know why he isnt thinking that way. I am 29, and on my 3rd boat. I have meny more in my future. Less than 4 figures for paint seems to be a small sacrafice fro being a friend of the dealer who voulenteers for working on things, shop help, boat demos, ect. We dont have a bad relationship now and I told him that. Nobody has had the opportunity to make it right yet. Only after that can I judge our relationship and figure out where I can go from there.

The only problem with contacting the trailer manufacturer is the product is flawless and delivered as promised. Color and everything are correct as stated on the order sheet. I see it costing more money to ship it back and have them respray it and send it back than it would be to have it sprayed at a body shop locally.

Don,

I'd say bring it up with your dealer, I'm sure you guys can work things out. FWIW shipping tends to be an issue with sending something back to the manf. one way you might be able to meet halfway is if you are flexible on when the trailer gets repainted. What I am getting is that, if your trailer is available for pickup when a load of trailers gets dropped off (driver is headed back to manf. anyway) it helps defer some of the hit for the dealer.

I've never had to resort to sample colors being sent from the manf. usually a digital (insert GOOD digital) photo sent to the Manf. will suffice. You might be able to pull your boat color from Spectrum too. I happen to know who built your trailer and he does a lot of CC trailers so chances are if you tell him the CC color he can match it right off the bat, I know he's been spot on with MC trailers.

Best of luck and keep your fingers crossed for open water!

His defence is that he saw the boat once and ordered it without looking again. It was his responsibility to make sure the order was correct. If he guessed what engine you had and ordered the wrong one would you have to buy it? His argument is ridiculous. If he doesn't man up post his name and business.

he did end up sending me an email and called me from his home later in the day. We were both very curtious towards each other and he said he understood where I was coming from and is going to do what it takes to make it right with a "ceiling amount" whatever that may be. No amount was given. I am taking it to a friend who is an auto body guy that I trust to match it and he will be shootimg me a price on monday. He did say sight unseen that if we (me and the dealer) stripped it down of the hardware and diamond plate, that it could be done for around 500. Give or take, that seems fair to me. I guess we will see where we go from there, but this is seeming pretty promising. It was figured out that the color was ordered wrong and there was no effort to make sure there were multiple reds available. 50/50 shot and we failed.

Thanks for the good thoughts Corey

No worries man, I'm sure it will all work out in the end. I've got nothing but good things to say about "your dealer" believe it or not the first boat I ever owned was a 78' Ski Tique and he always treated me well.

Another thing to consider is that all boats look good on a black trailer and gloss black is pretty easy to match down the road should you ever get some rust poking through. That being said a color matched trailer looks AWESOME!

Bottom line is, the dealer screwed up, he should fix it.

If I was ordering a custom color matched trailer for someone, I would be ABSOLUTELY sure I knew exactly what color their boat was before I put an order in!! Ordering the wrong color trailer was a result of his laziness. He should take care of it!

Dealers fault. In a perfect world he would get it repainted. But I assume that will be difficult. Good luck.

Originally Posted by snowboardcorey

No worries man, I'm sure it will all work out in the end. I've got nothing but good things to say about "your dealer" believe it or not the first boat I ever owned was a 78' Ski Tique and he always treated me well.

Another thing to consider is that all boats look good on a black trailer and gloss black is pretty easy to match down the road should you ever get some rust poking through. That being said a color matched trailer looks AWESOME!

X2 on the black trailer but, color match looks great when it matches.

post a picture of the boat on the trailer and let us (wakeworld people) be the judge and jury!!!:d:d:d:d:d

I talked to my dealer today and there were much better feelings on the situation. We both wished it didnt happen like that but it did so we move on. In the meantime I was made the offer of trailer repainting, or trailer replacement. He said he valued our relationship above all else and wanted to make sure I was totally satisfied and had a good conclusion from this experience. I said I would think about it and let him know tomorrow.

I couldnt be happier with how he handled this. Thgings were a little heated on saturday, but after we both simmered down, I am actually quite shocked this was a scinerio laid out by him. It is really awesome that he is willing to do that, so I will keep you posted but I believe I am going to take him up on his offer.

Glad to hear it man, I knew you guys would work it out!

If he only did that to begin with you would be posting about the great custermer service and what a stand up guy he was. Its too bad you have to fight just to get him to fix his own mistake.

It was handled well by the dealer once he came to his senses. Sometimes it takes a while to realize you need to do the right thing. Good for him stepping up and good for you getting the trailer you wanted. Also good for your friend getting paid to paint it. Mistakes keep the economic wheels turning.