Something's bothering me

[Aaron Scott2]

I've attended a couple boat shows in my area over the past couple of months. The dealers come from as far as 100 miles to sale their boats. There are hardly any bass boat dealers in my area(except BPS-Tracker Marine in Hanover, MD which I really don't feel comfortable with) but there are some within an 85 mile range. Mostly around Delaware and Pa., area.



I've seen posts where members say the dealer is the most important decision when buying a boat because of service issues. One even said if thier dealer changed manufacturers he would stick with that dealer on future buys.



Now I can see another dealer maybe servicing the motor, but how about boat service issues? Do a lot of you tow your boat an hour or so to get these issues taken care of?It seems that all the new boats have some kind of set up are minor issues to tweek.



Recently a member posted he drove 2 1/2 hours to get his boat but it had all kinds of issues so he could not get it. Will he tow the boat back and forth for a 5 hr trip when other issues surface? Can't see me doing that.



What's your view on this?

 

[Mike Zechman]

For my Champ I dirve 50 minutes, because they are a Champion Dealer, and take care of me. I could take the Evinrude to ant dealer but they will not put you first if you didn't buy it there, so where you may wait a day or 2 for service, elsewhere you will wait a week or 2.

With my Nitro I'm about 40 minutes away, and as long as they treat me good, i'll go there. With a new boat/motor, you can go to any Merc dealer and they will award you with warranty work. I f you are so worried about driving far, pick a decent dealer, buy a boat, and only take that drive for boat warranty work. For motor warranty and normal service, go to any Merc dealer, most will be willing to get your work, but just be prepared for the,"Well you didn't buy it hear, so you'll have to wait longer" attitude.

 

[davetnitro]

i am one of those that tows the boat 2 hours, to the dealer, it is about 130 miles.

i chose this particular dealer, because he sponsors a bass fisherman, and they service

more bass boats than pleasure boats. i let the minor things go, until the 20 hour service,

and found a couple of issues later, that required another trip, but i think that i have pretty much worked out all of the warranty issues, so i am going to find a merc guy locally.

 

[Jim B]

Aaron

Currently i have to tow mine about 45 min to get to my dealership. It dosent bother me one but to do it because they give great service. I truly feel that the dealer is the most important part. Having bought a boat from both a great dealer and a crappy one in the past i know both sides of the fence pretty well.



Back when i bought my Champion the dealer i got it from had recently changed hands and the service was flat out terrible. At one point the Boat sat there for over a month and never got touched for small stuff like a bad fuel guage and seat that was coming apart( on a two month old boat btw). I ended up having to tow that boat over two hours to get that warranty work done by another dealer. Between that and having to fight with Champion over getting parts so i could fix small stuff myself it was a pretty bad ownership experience to say the least. Yea it sucked and i dont think i would do that again.



When i got my Nitro i got it form Marine USA in Worcester Mass. They are one of if not the biggest Nitro dealers in the country. I think there is a reason for that and its because they deliver service after the sale. Most little things that arent warranty related i fix myself but anything thats warranty related or i cant do it goes to the dealer. Overall i have had few issues with ny Nitro but when i have had problems Marine USA has taken care of them quickly and most importantly correctly. When i have needed a part they have gotten it quickly and ordered the right one. The service manager as helped me so mych in getting my boat dieled in prefect. Everything from advice on the phone to helping me play with the motor height. Last summer he even helped me tune the carbs on a friends motor over the phone while we were on the water because it wouldnt idle and was a bear to start. The sales person i bought the boat from always takes the time to talk to me and see how the boat is when i take a trip up there to get oil or drop off the boat to get it wrapped for the winter. Overall owning my Nitro has been a joy and I feel that having a dealer like the one i have is a BIG part of that.



I'm most likley the guy that posted if thier dealer changed manufacturers he would stick with that dealer on future buys. I truly feel that way because of the way they have treated me as a customer. I feel they have truly earned my repeat business when the time comes for a new boat and it wont really matter to me what the brand is more then it will the people who i will do business with.

 

[TrepMan]

Aaron - I don't have those problems here in north Atlanta, we have 2 tracker dealers within 40 minutes of the house and literaly dozen of other brands all over the place. As I posted a different time, I needed my used Nitro to have some work done, so I took it to a place that a friend recommended, Dalton Marine, who are a Stratos and Ranger dealer. Not only did they take my Nitro/Merc in but had the work done in less then 24 hours, helped me with something for FREE and gave me about a 30 minute Lesson on the motor, props and maintenance, all for a $115 bill for work they did. They have now earned my trust for used work most definetly, AND they "found" the Nitro that Dan Neville bought. Basicaly it was a trade in and the head dude called Dan offered him a few boats and the Nitro they didn't even make any money on, Dan ended up dealing directly (at the suggestion of the dealer) with the boat owner. They are a stand up shop, and luckily i've not yet dealt with the "sorry you didn't purchase it here, you are on the bottom of the list". Here there are too many boats, owners and Dealers for anyone to pull that kind of cr#p.



Trep

 

[VA Chris]

Dont know where you are in MD but I take my mercury equipped Fisher F/S boat to Bowers Marine (Tracker Dealer) in Hagerstown MD. They have always treated me well and have done good honest work for a fair price. I drive about an hour to get there bypassing two dealers within 10 minutes of me. I think it is worth it.

 

[Gerry Gerry]

The dealership is everything. Minor problems can be as problematic as sinking if you can't get them fixed. It is 45 miles one way for me. I have to make this trip several times a year trying to get minor issues fixed. When you get a warranty with a dealership unable to make repairs, the warranty is useless. I go to a different dealership for repairs if I have to spend money. Since my Nitro has a continous problem with crazes due to a factory defect, I take it back about two times a year for fiberglass repairs. I have put thousands of miles on my rig just trying to get problems fixed. So I would say talk to everybody you can and ask on the internet about the dealerships by name. You will get responses from people that have done business specifically with those dealerships.

 

[TritonGlenn]

My dealer is everything I want in a dealer, and it takes me an hour to get there when I need to go. It's worth every minute of the drive. Pop's Marine in Toano Virginia is one of the best dealerships you will ever have the pleasure of dealing with. From buying a new boat, to getting service / warranty issues taken care of, the entire staff is highly professional and extremely knowledgable. Nobody else touches my boat. If they were 3 hours away, I'd still drive there.... because I don't trust anyone else to take care of my ride. I could take it local - heck, 10 minutes.... but I'd probably be back again, and again, and again. I'll just get it done right the first time, and not have to worry about bringing it back.

All the best,

Glenn

 

[Aaron Scott2]

All good suggestions. Except no way will I go 130 miles. No offense Dave, you gave valid reasons. It would be nice to see reports on more dealer's than there are in the Dealer Report Card link. Trep, if I end up with a used boat out of warranty I'll find a shop around here that doesn't have the keep it at the back of the line attitude. I think my limit will be about 1hr drive. I think that is reasonable. Maybe someone will chime in on some good dealerships around the Maryland, Delaware, Pa. corridor. Sorry about your problems Nitrobassin, that would not sit well with me. Or maybe I'll buy a used boat off one of our distinguished board members that has all the bugs worked out.



Anyway, I do appreciate the time you guys gave this post and if I buy new will take Nitrobassin's advice and ask here about the dealership. I do plan on going to the Eastern fishing and Outdoors expo in Harrisburg. Who knows what might happen there.

 

[Mike Newman]

I drive right past the Tracker dealer 20 minutes from my house on the way to the dealer I bought mine new from which is a little over an hour away. Why? Because I don't trust the local guy at all. I won't even buy parts there unless I have to. Sad part about it is that the one I bypass is one of the larger dealers in the midwest I think. I also drive past local Jeep dealers to have mine serviced 40 minutes away. No matter where I buy my jeep it will be serviced at the same dealer. One reason. TRUST/VALUE. I have never regretted either decision.

 

[C C]

I learned a valuable lesson with my Ranger purchase, the boat and manufacture are awesome but the dealer I bought it from was terrible from the get go the only thing good about the dealer was I got a great deal. I noticed last year that this dealer no longer sells Rangers. One thing I can say from my own experience is that Ranger cares about customer service and doing everything to satisfy the customer. I know guys that have delt with Ranger and they were the 3rd owner of a boat and were treated the same as if they had just bought it brand new.



I agree with Nitrobassin in that if ya can't get warranty work done then you

 

[Brian Feist]

Well I drove to BPS Gurnee, IL from PA in 1998 to buy my Tracker. I originally had some problems and Tracker Corporate stepped up to the plate to make sure that I was happy. Other than that, I didn't have any more warranty issues other than a lower unit problem that my Merc extended warranty covered. As for BPS in Hanover MD, I drove from western PA to there, about three hours, to buy a new/larger motor for my Tracker. I was more than happy with how they treated me. I went there because none of the dealers around me seemed to be interested in selling me a motor and BPS beat everyone else's pants off on price.