Nitro 288

[Sean Stansberry]

Good Morning All!



I just found the website here, looks good! I was searching because I'm looking for a platform to vent about my boat. I bought a 2002 Nitro 288 (new, but second owner) in 2003. I have had nothing but troubles with that boat, and with Tracker and my dealer every since!



Problem #1 - The boat just seems to be cheaply made and is falling apart. From plastic stuff breaking, to screws falling out, to stress cracks, to windshield tweaking, to the ladder breaking, to fiberglass flaws, to electrical components falling apart, etc....



Problem #2 - No assistance from either Tracker Marine or my dealer, Marine Max. It all started when my dealer said he would get the warranty transferred, but it never happened. Then Tracker said they would take care of it, but it still never happened. Now of course, I have no warranty for what I think may be a major hull issue and I'm very upset about it!



The story goes on and on and on.... I just don't know where to turn now. If anyone has some suggestions on people to contact who might be able to help, I would sure appreciate the information. My last resort will be to contact an attorney, but we all know who will be the only one to make out then.



Thanks and have a great day!

 

[Mike Zechman]

Nitro, glad to see you made it here from BBM site. These guys are real helpfull. Have you tried talking to Steve or Dan from Tracker yet?

 

[Greg Meyer]

Sean,



I suppose that the first question that comes to my mind is did you get the "transfer" of the warranty specified between you and the dealer anywhere in writing?



Next, chronologically, when did the "major hull issue" appear?



And, I am not clear on wjhat you mean by "new", when you also state you are the second owner... was the boat a repo... never delivered, never titled... more information and a clarification is needed for me (and others, I am sure) to understand this...



Finally, this is an excellent place to get information and suggestions (helpful, usually, except they never tell me where to really find the fish... it's always a secret, then). However, you will quickly lose any "audience" if it becomes anything less than businesslike. So, rather than "vent".... let's get to work on helping you as much as possible to get something clarified and resolved.

 

[Eric Aasen]

As far as the boat goes, here are my views being the owner of a 188 which I've compared extensively with a Ranger Riata. Lets discuss cheaply made first. I bought my boat brand new in 2004 for around 25K. A new Riata at the same time was near 35K. So yes Nitro does do something to produce a boat that is more affordable. A lower quality of carpet, less finishing detail, and some of the smaller items like lift assist on the hatches. I'm not saying you don't have valid complaints but hey, you bought an entry level boat. You can't expect it to have the same quality of boats costing 10's of thousand of dollars more. Now haveing got that off my chest, I will say, I love my boat and have had only two problems with it. The forward livewell leaked into the front dry compartment and one of the locks in a hatch lid broke. My dealer fixed them under warrently, while I waited.......that day. The dealer you purchase critical to your happiness with a boat. If you purchase used try to use the same dealer the boat was purchased from. A boat dealer will preferentially give service to the person who bought a boat from him. Makes sense. You may get service but you'll be in the back of the line if you didn't buy your boat from him.



I've not had any of the types of problems you mention. I take very good care of my boat and use it nearly every weekend. Heck, the speedometer still works........according to it, I can get 47 mph, ha ha. I am sorry you are having problems with your boat and if there truely is a structural issue, that should be covered under the lifetime hull warrenty. If they are not covering something, then yes you may need a lawyer. I wish there was a happy way to get everything we want with our boats but it all comes down to $$. Nitro bass boats have raised their quality considerably but the Sport boats have not come up as much. There are some problems with them. Unless the boat is structurally damaged or it appears the company was negligent in construction, I think you need to live with the little cosmetic things. As for gel coat cracks, I've never had a problem with that. The outside finish on my boat is immaculate. Stress cracks come from stress. What do you know about any previous history of the boat?



NoCAL

 

[Sean Stansberry]

I'm just glad to be able to talk to someone! Thanks for the feedback!



No, there is nothing in writing that the dealer would transfer it. Just verbal communication. I did follow up with Tracker who said they didn't get a request to transfer, but that I could just fax my bill of sale, etc. to them and they would take care of it. I did this and have that documentation from 2003. Today they claim that no one transferred the warranty and it's too late as it had to be done in the first 30 days of purchase.



This summer I noticed that there was a strange sound under the floor when the boat went across bumps. It was kind of a grinding fiberglass type sound. My first concern was that it was a stringer or something. My thought now is that it is where the floor meets the sub floor or hull. There are some stress cracks now appearing in the floor over the area of the noise. Marine Max thinks that to truly find out what it is we would have to remove the top cap, which would cost a fortune. They are telling me that if it were under warranty, Tracker would probably pick it up and take it back to their shop.



I purchased the boat from a private party in LA. Great guy. Prior trainer for the New Orleans Saints. He bought the boat new in 2002 to use with his grandkids when they came out to see him. He had it on the water once and decided they weren't coming, so he sold it. It was in perfect condition when I bought it. No stress cracks, no damage of any kind. It didn't make it home before the bow roller fell off causing damage to the bow of the boat. When I got it home I contacted Tracker about repairs and they said everything must go through their dealers even if I didn't buy it from the dealer. I contacted my dealer who made the repairs and was suppose to transfer the warranty for me. It was just over 1 year old, so the smaller problems I was having were said to be under the 1 year warranty, and not the full lifetime hull warranty. I have a few thousand dollars into repairs and parts that were not considered under the warranty.



I do understand the correlation between price and quality. However, Tracker is a large reputable company and I would expect that I should at least be able to get correct parts. I have not been able to find the correct ladder or storage compartment latch. Again, Tracker refers all parts request to their dealer and my dealer tells me these parts can't be found. I won't list all the problems I have had with it, but it just appears to me that I should expect a little better product and service for the money.



Thanks for any feedback you can give!

 

[Mike Zechman]

no offense Sean, but if the roller fell off on the way home as you say, it sounds like the dude may not have kept up with it.....may had problems and knew it, and decided to dump it to you....it sounds like only part of the story here, like others have said, My Dad has a 185 sport, a 99, and it is emaculate, no probs, stress cracks, broken plastic pieces ect.....so I find it hard to believe that a boat has so many problems such as yours does, not that I don't believe YOU, but I mean come on here, I have read complaints about Nitro b4, mostly dealer probs, or a stress crack here and there, but yours sounds like the whole boat is done.....I have an 06 189 Sport, and have had minor issues, but thats it, I've owned other boats including Champion Bassboats, and had similar problems with stress cracks ect....but haven't heard of any as bad as yours

 

[Sean Stansberry]

If I'm the only Nitro 288 owner who has had problems, then that answers one of my questions. I just have a lemon, either from the factory or the prior owner. I truly believe the boat was only used once by the prior owner. It was inspected and it was obvious that it hadn't been used and it was kept in a garage. In either event, there should be a warranty in place, but there isn't. And I should be able to order original manufacture parts, but I can't.



I'm not looking to just complain or "vent" here. I will continue to try to work with Tracker and Marine Max to resolve the problems. I only wanted to see if anyone else has experienced similar problems with either Tracker or Marine Max, and if anyone has any advice, suggestions, names, numbers, etc. that can help me.

 

[Mike Zechman]

ALL boats can and do have problems, there just aren't many like yours I guess, as far as advice, names numbers, have you talked to Steve or Dan with tracker yet??? Again

 

[Greg Meyer]

Excuse me... But, what kind of "documentation" do you have concerning the transfer of the warranty... If you can "prove" to Tracker that you sent it and they got it... the warranty issue should be resolved in your favor.... Let's start there... desacribe the warranty transfer "documentation" in detail. You can also do so privately... my e-mail address is posted on my profile... so I don't mind giving it to you ...LOL [email protected]..



Even better if you can scan it and send it along...

 

[chris hidalgo]

sean,



try contacting tracker parts at the denver bass pro shop location. they will need the hull serial number and should be able to order your original parts. maybe you could try taking your service concerns there as well. of course explain the whole situation leaving nothing out. im also intrested in knowing how long the guy had the boat before he sold it to you. even though it has not much to do with your concerns only with why he sold you the boat just curious how much? a 2002 bought in 03 could have been almost 2 years old or he could have bought it a couple days before he sold it to you. again just curious? was the deal possibly to good to be true maybe he had recked the boat and left that info out, i think thats what im tring to get to.

 

[Sean Stansberry]

Greg, I sent you and email with more information.



The first owner purchased the boat in June of 2002. I purchased it from him in July of 2003. There is always the possibility that he crashed it into a wall. As far as anyone else is concerned, there is always a possibility that I crashed it into a wall. I would be happy if someone wanted to just take a look at it to see if there is any evidence of this.