Returning a New Boat

[Vasco]

Marlow Acquisitions, LLC Completes Sale of Hunter Marine Corporation. Marlowe builds some beautiful (and expensive) motor yachts. Lets hope there's new life at Hunter.

Marlow Acquisitions, LLC Completes Sale of Hunter Marine Corporation

[knottygurl]

if the dealership is that bad then having them repair and damage more is a loss, sounds like you may just have to roll up your selves and buy some good manuals and spend the summer doing a complete teardown and repair yourself. If you have the money to get it done at another marina do so, if not..... One thing for sure at the end of your investigative repair/replace survey you will know the boat intimately which will be to your advantage. New or used everything breaks, builders be it boats or houses all have bad workers, remember minimum wage = minimum effort, and in tough times this is more prevalent.
I feel bad your dream is wavering and wish an easy solution but we both know there is no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. determination, true grit and keeping your dream as the goal will make this opportunity one for a gain in knowledge that will last you a life time that can be passed along to others, and that's always a good thing.

[David M]

I don't know how you feel about lawsuits but you may want to hire an attorney and sue the dealer, Hunter or both asking for a full refund, or threaten to do this. My guess is that you have had enough problems for a judge to rule on a full refund or to receive close to a full refund. Be sure to keep a written record of all your problems.

It's understandable that there will always be a few bugs to take care of with a new boat but your problems extend far beyond just a few bugs.

[Cheechako]

You might write a nicely worded letter to the new owners of Hunter explaining your problem. If there is any time they will be willing to resolve issues... it is likely now. However, unless the boat has a major defect making it unsafe.... you just need to get your hands dirty and fix this stuff yourself.... you need to learn all there is to know about your boat anyway.... How hard is it to re rig that in mast furler properly? What engine is this?

[David M]

Because it is a new boat, the problems are the dealers and Hunters to take care of. I don't see the problems as your responsibility to take care of. If they were doing their job, they would be all over this trying to keep you happy and keeping you out of forums giving them a bad reputation.

It's a good thing to know your boats systems but you will learn its systems better as you do maintenance, upgrades and repair or replace things that wear out or break.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by David M

I don't know how you feel about lawsuits but you may want to hire an attorney and sue the dealer...

The only thing you know for sure about going to court is that attorneys are going to make money. Everything else is a crap shoot. And, in the big scheme of things, the amount of money required to resolve the problems you have encountered is probably relatively small. Unless there are a couple of commas in the number, going to court is rarely worthwhile in the end.

Did you have a sales contract? Hopefully so, have your attorney review the details with you. You might discuss this issue with an attorney and get him to draft up a letter to the dealer for you. I've seen this bring people to the table in the past. And, it is way more cost effective than going to court.

Otherwise you are probably just going to have to suck it up. I've never heard of anyone in the industry accepting the return of a boat -- resolving warranty claims "yes", but full refund and return never.

[GreggL]

Thank you all for the replies and allowing me to vent a little.

I did heed some of your advice and hired a professional captain to sail with me today. We inspected all systems and fixed a lot of the more worrisome problems. Still much work to do but I'm going to push through it with a better outlook. After some clear headed thought I've come to the conclusion that retuning a boat will be more of a headache than any of these problems.

I agree that I get what I paid for, and yes I know there's always problems with boats even new ones. Just getting frustrated because these problems are somewhat major and the customer service for both hunter and the dealer is very tough to work with.

I've had luck dealing with the component manufacturers directly so will continue to do that, it seems hunter will not take responsibility. All in all, I enjoy the boat and when it does go as planned, it's fantastic. Though I may look to a different brand next time around.

Much appreciated on the help!

[twistedtree]

Your situation totally sucks, and unfortunately you are not alone. Like in any industry, there are people who take pride in their work and care for their customers, and there are those who will screw anyone for a buck. I bought a nearly new (1 year old) boat that had been prepped by a totally different LI dealer and everything they did was somewhere between poor workmanship, and downright dangerous. The previous owner was oblivious to all of it, and I've had to fix everything on my own nickle.

Back to your situation, although the dealer and Hunter are indeed responsible for delivering a boat that meets specs and honoring their warranty, you may need to take a more practical approach given the situation. If the dealer has done such poor work, I think your instinct to get away from them is a good one. They will only continue to do poor work, and compound the problems you already have. I'd make the first priority to get the boat into the hands of a reputable yard who will properly fix things the first time. I'd seek out other dealers, if possible, for Hunter, Yanmar, and others as appropriate. If they can't be found, so be it - properly fixing the problems should take precedence.

The down side of course is that you will have to pay for repairs, at least up front, that are not done by dealers. But I think that's better than having a bad dealer break your boat over and over again until by chance they fix it. This will let you focus on getting the boat fixed, and documenting what was wrong.

Then it becomes an exercise in working with your attorney to recover as much of the cost as is practical from Hunter and others. They will resist saying that you should have let them fix it, etc. and that's where careful documentation of their failed attempts, unreturned calls, etc. becomes critical. At a minimum you can torture them for a while, and hopefully recover some of the costs.

And in the mean time, tell your story loud and from the hill tops. We all count on that to avoid bad businesses, and help the good ones flourish. Unfortunately Cruisers Forum are pussies when it comes to naming names, which is silly when web sites like Angie's List make a living off it, but it is what it is.

Good luck, and keep us posted on how things work out.

[sailorboy1]

I'm surprised Hunter didn't offer more help. They have like the biggest repeat owners around and know their biggest source of new sales is to other Hunter owners. But in the end all Hunter really can do is authorize the dealer to do something under warranty.

Document every conversion and issue you have with your dealer about the boat and be sure to copy it to Hunter. I truely believe that your best source of pressure on the dealer is to get Hunter involved/interested in your problems. If Hunter starts questioning whether they want to be associated with the dealer and the dealer starts to think they will lose their dealership I bet they get their act together.

[GreggL]

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

I'm surprised Hunter didn't offer more help. They have like the biggest repeat owners around and know their biggest source of new sales is to other Hunter owners. But in the end all Hunter really can do is authorize the dealer to do something under warranty.

Document every conversion and issue you have with your dealer about the boat and be sure to copy it to Hunter. I truely believe that your best source of pressure on the dealer is to get Hunter involved/interested in your problems. If Hunter starts questioning whether they want to be associated with the dealer and the dealer starts to think they will lose their dealership I bet they get their act together.

This has already been done.

Currently hunter is on every email and conversation with the dealer including a letter from my attorney naming the dealer and hunter responsible when the dealer gave the green light after commissioning and nothing was complete.

They took my money and then took their time putting systems together in a very bad manner too. Had to move the boat which I already paid for before a sea trial, they were showing it without permission. The list goes on and on.

It's a shame because when I spoke to the director of sales Greg at hunter, not only was I blown off then but now just ignored altogether.

Makes no sense to me at all. Bad business and i will definitely learn from my mistakes. No hating on the vessel itself because I'm sure it's fine if put together correctly, just awful service.

[GreggL]

Originally Posted by twistedtree

Your situation totally sucks, and unfortunately you are not alone. Like in any industry, there are people who take pride in their work and care for their customers, and there are those who will screw anyone for a buck. I bought a nearly new (1 year old) boat that had been prepped by a totally different LI dealer and everything they did was somewhere between poor workmanship, and downright dangerous. The previous owner was oblivious to all of it, and I've had to fix everything on my own nickle.

Back to your situation, although the dealer and Hunter are indeed responsible for delivering a boat that meets specs and honoring their warranty, you may need to take a more practical approach given the situation. If the dealer has done such poor work, I think your instinct to get away from them is a good one. They will only continue to do poor work, and compound the problems you already have. I'd make the first priority to get the boat into the hands of a reputable yard who will properly fix things the first time. I'd seek out other dealers, if possible, for Hunter, Yanmar, and others as appropriate. If they can't be found, so be it - properly fixing the problems should take precedence.

The down side of course is that you will have to pay for repairs, at least up front, that are not done by dealers. But I think that's better than having a bad dealer break your boat over and over again until by chance they fix it. This will let you focus on getting the boat fixed, and documenting what was wrong.

Then it becomes an exercise in working with your attorney to recover as much of the cost as is practical from Hunter and others. They will resist saying that you should have let them fix it, etc. and that's where careful documentation of their failed attempts, unreturned calls, etc. becomes critical. At a minimum you can torture them for a while, and hopefully recover some of the costs.

And in the mean time, tell your story loud and from the hill tops. We all count on that to avoid bad businesses, and help the good ones flourish. Unfortunately Cruisers Forum are pussies when it comes to naming names, which is silly when web sites like Angie's List make a living off it, but it is what it is.

Good luck, and keep us posted on how things work out.

I wish I could tell you the whole truth so all could hear.. Private message me if you'd like a horror story.

[hellosailor]

Returning a boat? No really, what planet has a lemon law for boats? Never heard of it on this one.

I'd also heard Hunter was in bankruptcy, or at least, had an empty yard and a very overdue local tax bill, which doesn't portend good things.

Warranty claims are often not bought by whoever buys out the assets (without liabilities) of a firm, so you may want to contact an attorney and find out what the facts are and what your rights are, before a ticking clock strikes zero and you are SOL.

He may tell you that you have better rights pursuing an action against the local dealer, because if the dealer did thing sincorrectly, they're also liable and they may have local assets that can be gone against.

8AM, look for an attorney. 9AM, call one.

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by GreggL

Thank you all for the replies and allowing me to vent a little.

I did heed some of your advice and hired a professional captain to sail with me today. We inspected all systems and fixed a lot of the more worrisome problems. Still much work to do but I'm going to push through it with a better outlook. After some clear headed thought I've come to the conclusion that retuning a boat will be more of a headache than any of these problems.

I agree that I get what I paid for, and yes I know there's always problems with boats even new ones. Just getting frustrated because these problems are somewhat major and the customer service for both hunter and the dealer is very tough to work with.

I've had luck dealing with the component manufacturers directly so will continue to do that, it seems hunter will not take responsibility. All in all, I enjoy the boat and when it does go as planned, it's fantastic. Though I may look to a different brand next time around.

Much appreciated on the help!

If you fixed "a lot" in one day you worked pretty hard/long or they were simple ones. And you are well on your way.

It is too bad that new boats are such crap.

[GreggL]

Originally Posted by Therapy

If you fixed "a lot" in one day you worked pretty hard/long or they were simple ones. And you are well on your way.

It is too bad that new boats are such crap.

Yes they actually were quite simple for a professional that I had to pay out of pocket to look at. For me, it was too much to handle alone nor didn't know way to web begin with.

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha and I hope it all turns out good for you.

I feel that you really got ripped off on this one and I don't think any of our members should criticize you for having that experience.

I've been ripped off plenty of times in small transactions by unscrupulous people. Its always a lesson but it wasn't to that much a degree that you have and I hope it never happens to you again.

kind regards,