Lagoon 52, think twice before purchasing it

[arsenelupiga]

Originally Posted by rabbi

+1, except for the last sentence. Older lagoons are great. Fresh from the factory maybe not so much sometimes

Its probably best to buy second hand from a french owner. From my experience the french treat their fellows differently than the rest of the world so a french boat might have more teething and quality issue fixed.

word of wisdom here.

i follwed that path although there was another boat better valued on market and could save 20-30k. No issues after 14 mths.

[SunnySky]

Years ago when I was at a boat show researching a number of different multihulls I was considering with my girlfriend at the time and I was very unimpressed with the PRE-PURCHASE customer service of Lagoon which went so far as to expect we prove to them that we were worthy of being invited on the Lagoon demo sail even though every other multihull company at the boat show was eager to schedule our demo sails and share the various reasons we should purchase one of their designs over the competition.
Best of luck getting your boat all sorted out and hopefully can at least be an opportunity to get more personally familiar about various aspects of boat maintenance which may be helpful sometime in the future..
Dave

[rabbi]

Originally Posted by SunnySky

...which went so far as to expect we prove to them that we were worthy of being invited on the Lagoon demo sail ...

At least they talked to you. They completely ignored me for 20min at the Düsseldorf boat show.

[rabbi]

For those interested: I see that the OP has entered the ARC+ and is half way across towards Cape Verde.

[tuskie]

Originally Posted by rabbi

For those interested: I see that the OP has entered the ARC+ and is half way across towards Cape Verde.

Very interesting. I wonder if all those major defects have been quickly rectified?
Actions speak louder than words.

[rabbi]

Originally Posted by tuskie

Very interesting. I wonder if all those major defects have been quickly rectified?
Actions speak louder than words.

I don't think many folks called these issues "major defects". Just low quality fittings and poor workmanship causing more minor problems than expected.


I wish him an uneventful and relaxing passage.

[transmitterdan]

Leaking at the hull/deck join is not a minor workmanship problem to me.

[alansmith]

What? After all of this ruckus he doesn't even check in with the motley crew. Could it be so?

[Muckle Flugga]

Gosh, all this has really changed my mind about Lagoons, in a "not at all" sort of way…

[Muckle Flugga]

Originally Posted by rabbi

I don't think many folks called these issues "major defects". Just low quality fittings and poor workmanship causing more minor problems than expected.


I wish him an uneventful and relaxing passage.

The OP called them pretty much exactly that.

[meirriba]

Originally Posted by Muckle Flugga

Gosh, all this has really changed my mind about Lagoons, in a "not at all" sort of way…

Before you decide such final decisions, you may want to read a thread here on CF titled "I love my Lagoon'.
And just to be clear - although I own an Lagoon I am not in love with it.
I just try to see things objectively.

[tuskie]

Originally Posted by Muckle Flugga

Gosh, all this has really changed my mind about Lagoons, in a "not at all" sort of way…

Quite so! I've definitely ruled out Gunboats and TAGs as well!

[udyy]

The phenomenon of "cognitive resonance" of current boat owners is amazing. Acceptance of improperly finished vessels seems to become the standard with some. Kind of where the automotive industry was 30 years ago. Whether the current buyer should brace himself and use his own means to rectify the problems and go on is a personal choice but irrelevant to this brand. Quite astonishing that in this time and age, when information is so quickly available to all, yet there are manufacturers which allow poor quality control to spoil the buying experience off goods which are specifically made for leisure and luxury. Even worse if they can disconnect themselves from the actual buyer offering poor after-sales service hence failing to mitigate their reputation risk. The most common thing for a potential buyer is to look for references and opinions and whether the provider likes it or not, the negative track will resonate with potential buyers and influence their choice either consciously or subconsciously. You can promote a brand for years and demote it in days.

[rabbi]

Originally Posted by udyy

TQuite astonishing that in this time and age, when information is so quickly available to all, yet there are manufacturers which allow poor quality control to spoil the buying experience off goods which are specifically made for leisure and luxury.

Many owners don't like to say much negatives about their boat. It's reducing the resale value. Sometimes you get a glimpse of it in a PM or when the boat is sold and the owner moved on.

Ask FP owners about osmosis problems...

[exitstrategy]

Here is my experience of buying a new Lagoon 450 four years ago:

I bought my boat the Miami boat show from a California-based dealer.

I took possession of the boat in La Rochelle and spent 2.5 months commissioning the boat as well as sorting problems.

*ALL* of my problems were caused by my dealer in California taking every shortcut he could to pocket extra cash.

For example, at Miami there was a special if you entered into contract at that time they would toss in the Highfield 3.5 + Honda 20HP for free. Upon delivery the dealer simply didn't order the dinghy and engine from Lagoon. Lagoon showed me the internal order paperwork with no dinghy specified. I confronted him and he tried for 2 weeks to convince me that what I want is a roll-up 3 person dink and a 2.5HP engine! That is one example, he shorted many of the vendors doing the commissioning.

At the end of the day I went to the big boat show in La Rochelle and politely but firmly stayed on the Lagoon 620 flagship and described my problems with the dealer to the senior marketing VP. To my amazement he gave me the Highfield 3.5 & 20 HP right off the Lagoon 620, and he sent additional crews over the next week to take care of all the other gaps of delivery from my dealer, and Lagoon took care of the subcontractors screwed by the dealer.

And as a result Lagoon terminated him as a dealer. (Later in Porto we ran into another ex-customer of his with similiar woes.)

I can understand why Lagoon insulates themselves from customers, a big catamaran is complex, and sure some cruisers are amazing and know their stuff and wouldn't waste the factory's time. But from hard experience, I bet Lagoon is happy to let the dealers make some money and buffer themselves so that they can focus on making the most luxurious cats they can at the lowest price.

That being said would I buy a Lagoon again? Yes, for sure. We have had no major system faults and we use the boat pretty hard. Would I buy new or used? Actually, I would be pretty attracted to used, not because I think Lagoon has bad QC, but because boats are complex and owners do add a lot of value in the first few years out of enthusiasm they add a lot of cool/useful bits. So I think used probably has the best value. However, *if* I was to buy new from Lagoon, I would only go one of two ways:

(1) Buy from a high-volume dealer in the Carib such as the one in St Martin. They are big enough that they are not struggling from raw cash flow and they have a reputation they want to protect, so they will take care of it.

(2) Buy it from a french dealer and remain in La Rochelle until happy (as I did)

PS> Anecdotally I have heard that the L52 does have relatively more fit and finish problems than the rest of the line. I don't know if the crew working that line are not as well resourced as the rest of the teams, or is it simply that the L52 is a new model and they are still learning how to build the boat?

-Erik

L450 161