When is it ok to ask for a replacement boat?

[jeepin29 0]

Hey Everyone,

My main question is what level of problems would make you think a replacement boat is in order?

 

To give some background, we have a 2006 Enzo SV 230 and decided over the winter that it was time to upgrade to something new. We decided on a 2019 Fi23 and ordered a factory build on April 19th, 2019.

 

Fast forward to June 6th, when the boat is finally ready for delivery. The dealer takes us for a test drive to show us the features of the boat. I am driving and feel a lag between throttle input and the boat moving. I start and stop 2 more times, with the lag getting worse each time. I tell the dealer that somethings wrong and that they need to drive it. By now, no matter how much input, the boat barely moves and eventually won't move at all. It turns out that the transmission failed, so we got towed back to the ramp, they loaded it up and took it back to the shop. PCM sends them a new transmission, but it's the wrong one for the engine we got (450 HO), so we had to wait for another one to be sent.

 

It is finally ready to be re-delivered on June 28th, 2019. Delivery goes well, but later that day we experienced issues with the Port Ram Fill not emptying and one of the rear ballast bags becoming disconnected and dumping water in the hull. These were both relatively easy fixes once I found the problem. The pain was that the dealer would not answer the phone, or call/text back. The Centurion factory was helpful in describing how to manually dump the Ram Fill.

 

Since then, we had issues with the gas gauge not reading properly, which a software update fixed. We have also had an issue with the low oil light coming on when slowing down from cruising speeds, which puts the boat into limp mode (despite the oil being at the appropriate level), as well as a weekend where the boat would not start - due to a loose ignition switch. The dealer tried to charge us a service fee and a trip fee to send techs to come fix these issues, which we thought was not the right thing to do.

 

As of last week, the fuel pump is having issues and left us stranded out on the water on August 19th, which would have been a $200+ tow bill had we not had a SeaTow membership. The dealer has taken the boat back to the shop again for troubleshooting the fuel pump and oil light issues, but does not have a time-frame for repairs.

 

At this point, we don't have much confidence in the boat operating consistently as it has been out of service for 1 of the 3 months we've had it so far. Do you think it's appropriate to ask for a new boat?

 

The dealer has not offered us anything for the time we've been without the boat, or the time we've spent fixing problems/stranded on the water. Not that we expect money, but an extended warranty or some form of compensation would be nice. I trailered our old boat back to the lake to have something to use in the meantime, but boy do I miss that wave.

[Troy 234]

Might be time to talk with Centurion on the subject. All you can do is ask. 

A buddy bought a 2019 Fi23 and had a few issues to start also. Once the dealer worked through them, he hasn't had any more. Just sucks having to deal with it. A good dealer can make or break boat ownership. 

[Cdifranco 463]

That sucks Jeepin.  I think my biggest fear and reason why I haven't upgraded to a new FI is because of my dealer.    Dealers where I live are suspect at best and all the techs they employ are simply young kids or older burnt out auto techs looking for a summer gig (no disrespect intended).  There is way too much tech involved on these boats for just anyone to be diagnosing in my opinion.  

I personally would start with the dealer.  Because that relationship is undoubtedly most important if they will be winterizing, storing, performing routine maintenance etc., How quickly they can implement a fix is up to them, what Fineline is going to cover under warranty etc is on Fineline.  One of my issues initially was the Quickfill gates, Centurion knew it was an issue, sent out new ones right away and my marina said they were backlogged 6 weeks to replace them.  Not Centurions fault but a summer ruiner when the entire summer its 12 weeks.   So for me, after 6 years I have come up with the conclusion the dealers/marinas I have gone through suck, not so much Centurion.

If I was you I would be having that conversation about "what are my options" with both parties.  What are my options currently, and what are my options in the event this is a systemic issue and does not go away.

Edited August 26, 2019 by Cdifranco

[Packrat 13]

You might get some ideas here,

http://www.lemonlawcase.com/new-boat-lemon-law/

[jeepin29 0]

Thanks for the replies and suggestions. We’re going to contact Fineline to let them know about our experience. It adds to the frustration that the dealer isn’t very good about keeping us up to date on the status of repairs, which doesn’t make it easy to plan time off work to get the boat back.

 

We’re optimistic they can get it sorted out so we can enjoy it for the last few weekends of the season, but don’t want to get our hopes up too much.

[InfinitySurf 302]

Sounds like Fineline is not the issue here. Fineline was beyond awesome when I needed some warranty stuff done and I had a horrible local dealer when that was happening. The factory actually went out of their way and approved me working thru another dealer due to that (I did not bash the dealer either, just explained everything and asked if possible to go to someone else....to their credit they read between the lines and approved it). Dealer gets paid for warranty repairs and if you bought the boat from them new they have no excuse to not make you a priority and get you back on water asap. Course whether they can give you a loaner boat while yours is being fixed depends on dealer size and their motivation to KEEP you as a customer.

I now have a great local Centurion dealer and my boat has been great (2014 SV244). Thankfully my warranty issues were mostly cosmetic and I arranged to have my stuff addressed during layup. I think once you get these issues taken care of you are likely to have a great boat tho I know there is little comfort hearing that while weather is still nice and you should be using the boat.

Nicole Turpin is super nice, she is who I dealt with at the Fineline factory when I was getting my issues ironed out in 2017, I recently spoke to her so know she is still there. Very responsive by phone and email, she would be a good person to speak to if you have not already started talks with someone else.

Nicole Turpin ..... NTurpin@centurion-supreme.com

For what its worth, I was careful to be very nice and explain the issues knowing my problem was the dealer and not the factory as well as the fact that the issues I was having were things that Fineline buys from 3rd parties. So it comes down to, how does Fineline handle the warranty process. For me, they have been top of the line and I am a Fineline customer for life. Most new boats have some issues to work thru tho you seem to be getting more than your share. 

[Cdifranco 463]

2 hours ago, InfinitySurf said:

Sounds like Fineline is not the issue here. Fineline was beyond awesome when I needed some warranty stuff done and I had a horrible local dealer when that was happening. The factory actually went out of their way and approved me working thru another dealer due to that (I did not bash the dealer either, just explained everything and asked if possible to go to someone else....to their credit they read between the lines and approved it). Dealer gets paid for warranty repairs and if you bought the boat from them new they have no excuse to not make you a priority and get you back on water asap. Course whether they can give you a loaner boat while yours is being fixed depends on dealer size and their motivation to KEEP you as a customer.

I now have a great local Centurion dealer and my boat has been great (2014 SV244). Thankfully my warranty issues were mostly cosmetic and I arranged to have my stuff addressed during layup. I think once you get these issues taken care of you are likely to have a great boat tho I know there is little comfort hearing that while weather is still nice and you should be using the boat.

Nicole Turpin is super nice, she is who I dealt with at the Fineline factory when I was getting my issues ironed out in 2017, I recently spoke to her so know she is still there. Very responsive by phone and email, she would be a good person to speak to if you have not already started talks with someone else.

Nicole Turpin ..... NTurpin@centurion-supreme.com

For what its worth, I was careful to be very nice and explain the issues knowing my problem was the dealer and not the factory as well as the fact that the issues I was having were things that Fineline buys from 3rd parties. So it comes down to, how does Fineline handle the warranty process. For me, they have been top of the line and I am a Fineline customer for life. Most new boats have some issues to work thru tho you seem to be getting more than your share. 

Thats another great point.  The third party equipment used on the boats and how Fineline handles it.  I had an issue with my stereo three times. Not really Centurions fault, Centurion referred me to Wetsounds, and Wetsounds took care of it.  All three times.

[h20king 794]

Sorry to say most new boats have some issues that need worked through. You dont qualify for the lemon law so your best option would be to look for a diferant dealer with finelines approval. 

Edited August 27, 2019 by h20king