More bad news!

[Mikel Stephens]

Well I got word today that Tracker Marine will not cover any of the repair costs for my 1996 Savage. As some of you may recall: the wood has rotted beneath the rear pedestal.

So now not only will I be stuck with paying for a new powerhead on my Merc but I will also have to pay for the boat to be repaired.

The new boat I get in 2 years will probably not be a Nitro.

 

[Michael Snow]

What's the warranty on the boat? Tracker doesn't seem to be much on helping with non-warranty items*. If it's part of the warranty, take 'em to the mat.



*Disclaimer - A person has no more right to expect a manufacturer to cover a defect on a warranty that expired yesterday, than the manufacturer has to deny coverage because the warranty will expire tomorrow.

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

WHY won't they cover it? Is it not a warranty item? Out of warranty? Did they claim it was your fault? Natural wear and tear? Give some more details.



TOXIC

 

[Larry Harp]

What reason did they give? I was under the impression that the wood decks had a limited lifetime warranty from Tracker. I have always been a little skittish about the amount of wood on my boat. I'm in the countertop business and I see what water does to wood on a regular basis. I realize that the wood on boat is exterior grade and much more water resistant, but it's STILL wood.



Harpo

 

[Mikel Stephens]

This is what i have so far:



"There would not be any warranty left on this boat. I would suggest contacting a local dealer for them to evaluate and make suggestions for repairs.



Thank You

Customer Relation Coordinator"

TRACKER MARINE GROUP

This message from the Corporate Headquarters of Tracker Marine Group contains information, which is privileged and confidential and is solely for the use of the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient, be aware that any review, disclosure, copying, distribution, or the use of the contents of this message is strictly prohibited. If you have received this in error, please destroy it immediately, and please notify us immediately.





-----Original Message-----

From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]

Sent: Monday, November 10, 2003 11:56 AM

To: Tracker Customer Service

Subject: NITRO® E-mail - Warranty/Customer Service Inquiries







Date: 11/10/2003

Subject: Warranty/Customer Service Inquiries

Boat Category: Nitro Boats

ID/Serial #: BUJ19569J596



Name: Mikel D Stephens

Address: 1557 E. Wm. J. Bryan PKWY

:

City: Bryan TX 77803

Country: USA



Phone: 979-220-6367

Email: [email protected]



Message: I have rotten wood between the fiberglass layers under my rear pedestal base. I need to know what the warranty is on this and where I should take it.

1996 Nitro 896 Savage

 

[Mikel Stephens]

Even if the warranty does not cover it (I have no idea what the warranty actually is: I asked BPS service guy and a different dealer's service guy and neither could tell me) The design is really shabby-the livewell is directly underneath and there are 4 small bolts (but 6 bolt holes interestingly enough) going completely through. Only a matter of time b4 problems would arise. I wonder why the other 2 bolts weren't installed??? My next step is to decide on a place to take it fo rthe engine repair and hope they can make a suggestion for the deck as well. I hope my wife doesn't divorce me over this...hehe The repair bill is gonna be outrageous.

 

[Mikel Stephens]

Sorry I double posted

 

[Michael Snow]

Issue #1, don't email them. CALL them. Have your serial number handy. Also, I'm sure they'll ask if you're the original owner, etc. Call the Bass Pro in Grapevine and ask for Scott in Service. He is the warranty guru there. He should know what the warranty is.



Of course, this may be as simple as the warranty being non-transferrable, or that you simply aren't the owner of record and therefore, they won't talk to you about fixing the boat. I had to get the warranty transferred to me before BPS would do warranty work on it.

 

[Mikel Stephens]

Thanks Mike. But Grapevine is a hual. How about Waco. I can be ther in an hour and a half whereas Grapevine would take 3 and a half-4 hours.

 

[Texas Transplant]

I'm certainly not an expert here, though I will venture a guess.



1 Year on overall boat.

5 years on hull.



Why would Tracker Marine be responsible for deck rottage after 7 years? I know that we all at some times want the manufacturer to be responsible, but that seems to be a pretty fair stretch to expect that a manufacturer be held responbile for something long after the warranty expired.



Tex

 

[Michael Snow]

Mikel, CALL the Grapevine store to ask about the warranty -- what the warranty is. That's the only reason to call Scott.. no need to drag it way out there.

 

[Craig Roberts]

Tracker warranties the wood decking on the 896 for 5 years from the original date of purchase.



Craig

 

[Mikel Stephens]

Thanks Craig. At least I know for sure where I stand. The good news is that I have found out from a guy at the Grapevine BPS (Scott was off today)that the 9-seies boats no longer have any wood in the hull and the 898 has a 10-year warranty. Maybe my next boat will be a 9-seies if it is a Nitro.

Now: do I put $6500 into a boat that I owe $7500 on?

Or sell the hull, part-out the motor, take my loss, and buy a Ranger

 

[Rich Stern]

Mikel, sorry to hear of all your troubles.



You may not want to hear it now, but for those who are looking at a used boat, here's a few things to do before you buy a used boat.



- Do your homework on the boat's history: Call the manufacturer with the serial number, and ask for the warranty status and warranty repair history for the boat. Be clear that you want to know what rights you have as a 2nd (or 3rd etc.) owner. Ask for a copy of the warranty. If a manufacturer won't help you with these questions, you should move on and consider other brands.



- Ditto above for the motor.



- If possible, find out from other owners of the same make/model what problems they have experienced. If there are any design flaws (all boats have them, usually minor, but sometmes more than that) contributing to common problems, knowing what to look for increases your chances of finding the problem before the purchase.



- If you REALLY know boats and how easily things can go wrong, make a careful inpection of the transom, hull/deck joint, stringers, decking, etc.



- Most people don't have enough experience to find hull and laminate problems. As part of the purchase conditions, get the seller to agree to a marine survey. Hire a marine surveyor after you have agreed to purchase the boat, with the purchase conditional on a successful survey. A couple of hundred bucks invested in a survey might save you thousands of dollars in headaches.

 

[Dan J.]

Great job Rich!! All boat buyers should take heed of Rich's above statement. It is wonderful advice!

 

[Bryan McDonough]

I feel bad for you Mikel, never would want to wish this on anyone. But this is why we have insurance. Your engine could be insurance related and the structural failure, or rotted wood, should be an insurance claim.



Talk to your insurance agent. Sometimes you just gotta claim it.



Let me know if i can help.

 

[Michael Snow]

I disagree with Brian... If a powerhead blows from non-impact, it's not insurance. Rotten wood is a wear item, and unless directly caused by an impact, isn't covered either. *Note: I'm speaking from what I believe to be "right", not necessarily what IS, just how *I* see it.



The good news is that the wood should be a pretty inexpensive fix. The motor's a whole other beast.

 

[Bryan McDonough]

How do you know that Mike, I'm sure he hit something. Whose to say one of those impacts in the past did not cause it to fail, either way it's an assumption. Fiberglass issues are covered by insurance structural failure will be too. I agree the motor might be a stretch but don't count it out. Talk to your agent.



Just my Thoughts



BrYan

 

[Mikel Stephens]

Thanks to all for your input. I did hit something the previous time out. I was running around 3000 rpm's and the impact turned the engine off. It then restarted just fine and ran back to the boat ramp just fine. It went out on the very next run. The only person to be able to tell this would probably be a mechanic. The wood rotting is the result, IMHO, of a poor design. I doubt the powerhead was the result from impact so I'm gonna be prepared top pay it. It also looks like Nitro has since addressed the wood issue although I'm not sure on the smaller 8-series boats.

BMCD sold me the boat and I feel he was extremely honest about it. We checked the compression on the cylinders and he made sure I was aware of every little nick and scratch. He gave me access to the mechanic that had done the servicing of the engine. Things just do not work out perfectly in some cases.

I hope this will help other people in the future though. Good points Rich. Brian you were a good seller, not your fault!!! But thanks for posting anyways.

 

[Michael Snow]

If you hit something hard enough to stop the motor (I've NEVER done that), you may have something there. Hopefully you have a dented skeg or prop to help your argument? If not, maybe a local prop shop can help you with an "unfixable" one they'd sell cheap .



And Brian, don't go getting all pithy with me cuz your parents misspelled your name .

 

[Mikel Stephens]

LOL, Sorry about the spelling Bryan. I know what it's like for most people to misspell your name.



Mikel

 

[Staci Matheis]

Ya know..... I've kept silent on this section until now..... But I sure do wish someone at Tracker would take a lesson from Sue at Guest Chargers.....



.....yeah.....I know the deck is out of warranty..... but it just isn't right that it would rot out in only seven years.....



Please, Tracker, if you're monitoring these posts..... Which I'm sure you are..... PLEASE step up to the plate and help Mikel out! Please!



Thanks!

me!



(Spelled: lower case "m"; lower case "e"; BIG Exclamation Point!)