Jump to content

Welcome to TheMalibuCrew!

As a guest, you are welcome to poke around and view the majority of the content that we have to offer, but in order to post, search, contact members, and get full use out of the website you will need to Register for an Account. It's free and it's easy, so don't hesitate to join the TheMalibuCrew Family today!

Bad Experience


jenk2board

Recommended Posts

Cry.gif This year we got a new to us 06 VLX. We had some bad luck on our first trip out and did some damage to the bottom of the boat. It was just cosmetic, and not really all that bad but decided to claim it on our insurance and have it fixed. It has now been in the shop for the last two months with no work being done. So after an email to the owner, we finally are getting work started. Now they have just informed us that while in their shop, racoons have gotten in the boat and even had babies. I guess they have chewed up a bunch of our carpet. What a mess! So does anyone drive far or out of state to deal with a different dealership? We want a good relationship with them, but I am not impressed so far. This is their first year as the Malibu dealership, but still, I expected better service than what we have recieved.

Link to comment
Cry.gif This year we got a new to us 06 VLX. We had some bad luck on our first trip out and did some damage to the bottom of the boat. It was just cosmetic, and not really all that bad but decided to claim it on our insurance and have it fixed. It has now been in the shop for the last two months with no work being done. So after an email to the owner, we finally are getting work started. Now they have just informed us that while in their shop, racoons have gotten in the boat and even had babies. I guess they have chewed up a bunch of our carpet. What a mess! So does anyone drive far or out of state to deal with a different dealership? We want a good relationship with them, but I am not impressed so far. This is their first year as the Malibu dealership, but still, I expected better service than what we have recieved.

Let me start by asking you some questions. Are they stepping up and fixing the raccoon damage at no expense to you? did they tell you it would be a while before they could start work on your boat?

while I understand your frustration give them the opportunity to make it right. some times it could just be a miscommunication. other times its not and thats when you need to take action.

Link to comment

Sorry to hear about your experience...that is unreal. I would find a responsible dealership and have them fix it and bill your original dealer. I understand that giving the original dealer a chance to make it right could be an option but two months!!!!!! Racoons!!!!!!!! Does this guy service Malibus or chainsaws?!?!?!

Link to comment

They said that they would not normally cover the racoon damage, but they said since it has been there so long, they would take care of it. It's kind of ironic because last fall, we had a racoon have babies in our chimney, and it was quite a bloody mess to get them out. When the mom left for the night to get food, we got the racoons out. Later than night when mom got home, she was very upset. It's just crazy that we now had the same issue in our boat. They said once they got the mom out, they had to take the boat "off site" so the mom wouldn't come back and do more damage. I am glad they are going to cover the racoon damage, but it justs adds to the frustration of the whole situation. Nothing has got done, unless we have taken the action. They tell us every day they will call and give us updates, then we would go weeks without hearing from them. Want to keep a good relationship with them since they are the only dealership in our area, but we expected better service. They are stepping up, as per our request, and transferring our warranty at no cost. Hopefully, better service is yet to come. :)

Link to comment

Thats absurd. I think I'd be getting in touch with the Malibu regional rep or corp office to make sure your experience is well documented & taken care of.

Link to comment

Are you kidding me? Racoon family in your boat while at the dealer?

They should certainly step up and take care of a problem caused while the boat was in their care. I can't believe that they would say that they normally wouldn't have stepped up for that.

Unbelievable. I would not be happy either. Hopefully your experiences will be better going forward.

Link to comment

Wow, I know that squirrels can chew through electrical wiring-I wonder about racoons. Also, I cant imagine the coons were kind enough to leave the boat to take care of business. There are probably some odors lurking in that carpet just waiting to come out. I would be extremely upset to say the least Mad.gif, particularly if the dealer wasnt bending over backwards to make it right. Hopefully the dealer will step up and replace all of the carpet, not just what is visibly dammaged. Also, make sure they do a good electrical test to make sure all is working. Good luck.

Link to comment
...since they are the only dealership in our area....

It's amazing what a bit of competition can do to keep a business in line. Racoon's? Unreal.

Link to comment

Ok dumb question but if the boat is covered, how does a full sized momma racoon get in?

If this is their first year as a dealer, it would be good to get Malibu to light a fire under the dealers butt to get this resolved. Malibu should expect better from their dealers.

-Chris

Link to comment
Thats absurd. I think I'd be getting in touch with the Malibu regional rep or corp office to make sure your experience is well documented & taken care of.

The above quote is one that rings a bell; When we sold an 06 BU recently we found out our dealer never sent in the paperwork documenting we bought the boat and Malibu had to get our bill of sale to pass the warranty on to the next buyer (which took a lot of hassle and a new dealer had to get in the middle, etc). We also had a couple small warranty items during our ownership, but we found out those were not documented with Malibu either. How can Malibu improve if the trends of the "little things" going wrong are not sent to Malibu? Lame. NOTE, dealer lost the BU line of boats recently as well. enough said.

Dealer should cover all this racoon stuff without hesitation. It was not directly their fault it appears (if covered and stored properly), but it's at their shop in their control and they admitted it happened while there. It's their responsibility and that's why they also have insurance. Heck, I've started taking pictures of my boat documenting the condition before I send it to the dealer (with proof of date/time). I had a jet ski one time which was brand new and it came out with a huge scratch down the side. I was told it was brought in like that, but I went home and pulled out the pictures of where I dropped it off… week later a shop helper was fired, but I went without a jet ski for a month while trying to get it fixed during the prime season. This is extreme and most are GREAT, but there can be a careless/dishonest worker within an honest business.

Plus I'd want that "replacement" carpet documented for warranty reasons which I assume an 06 should have warranty remaining. And I'd check the seats really well. Pretty sharp weapons on those racoon feet!! You don't want to have finger pointing going on if something is not right a few months/year down the road. I'd go put my own eyes on the boat before its fixed IMO.

But I feel your pain, what a hassle.

Link to comment

While I agree that any reputable dealer should step up and cover the damage, I'll bet it is documented on a workorder or somewhere that the dealer isn't responsible for damage caused while in storage.

Link to comment
They said that they would not normally cover the racoon damage....

Are you serious? A Malibu dealer told you straight out that they wouldn't cover damage that occurred while it was in their possession?

Happened to me too. They left 2 cleaner bottles on white vinyl seats for 6 weeks!! I had put them in the cup holders, they must have fallen out during transport (can you imagine how bumpy the ride must have been... it has never happened while I was hauling it myself...) There were 2 green stripes for the labels fading out because of the rain on my brand new boat! They would not cover because they said that they are not responsable for things in the boat. Merced did nothing about it, they said once the boat if in the dealer's yard, it is no longer their problem and they have no control over their dealership's service.

Link to comment

Wow....................................hang in there! hopefully they will get it resolved soon now that you've got the ball rolling again with the owner. That is amazing that racoons got in the boat (sorry about your boat) (sounds like that one liner from Tommy Boy) That's not a good start to the year! I hope your summer makes up for it!

Link to comment

Let me put it this way. There is a lot of talk about maintaining a good relationship with your dealer, & I'm a big proponent of that. But you have to also realize that that is a 2 way street - the dealer has a certain amount of responsibility on his end to make good with you & to give you a reason to choose to keep bringing your boat back to him over the next guy. I don't know the whole story on this one, but it would seem on the surface that it would absolutely be in the dealer's best interest to take care of this for the OP, regardless of whatever shop policy may be in effect. If my dealer treated me like that....well, let's just say that he'd never, ever get my business again.

Link to comment

Yeah, I agree, but from the Dealer's perspective what if Edwin is right. What if they actually brought the racoon's in with the boat. Was someone in the boat at all after it left the house? Or did you just drop off a covered boat with perhaps a surprise inside?

Link to comment
Let me put it this way. There is a lot of talk about maintaining a good relationship with your dealer, & I'm a big proponent of that. But you have to also realize that that is a 2 way street - the dealer has a certain amount of responsibility on his end to make good with you & to give you a reason to choose to keep bringing your boat back to him over the next guy. I don't know the whole story on this one, but it would seem on the surface that it would absolutely be in the dealer's best interest to take care of this for the OP, regardless of whatever shop policy may be in effect. If my dealer treated me like that....well, let's just say that he'd never, ever get my business again.

...did I mention that my Response is for sale and that I just ordered a 2008 Sanger DXII?

Link to comment
Yeah, I agree, but from the Dealer's perspective what if Edwin is right. What if they actually brought the racoon's in with the boat. Was someone in the boat at all after it left the house? Or did you just drop off a covered boat with perhaps a surprise inside?

All of this is assuming that all of the details are as they appear, but there are 2 parts to this that would draw my ire.

1. The first would be the fact that the boat had been in the shop for so long in the first place. Unfortunately, I've been there & done that in the past (not with the current dealer). There's no other way to put it, it sucks.

2. The raccoon incident would be the proverbial bale of hay that broke the camel's back for me.

Now whether or not the 'coons showed up with the boat isn't something that can be proven, & I'd say that it should be up to the conscience of the OP as to whether or not to push that issue. But I will say that the first part of this doesn't put the dealer in a favorable position by any stretch of the imagination. He wasn't living up to his side of the relationship by holding the boat for months & not making any headway on repairs. If he had been doing his part, then it would put him on a much more even footing. But because he wasn't, it changes the entire dynamic of the situation. And because the 'coon incident happened while the dealer was in possession of the boat, that's the kicker. So my statement regarding a dealer not ever getting my business again was in reference to the entire situation, not just the raccoon piece.

Link to comment

Is the dealer doing the fiberglass repair or have they sub contracted it to a fiberglass shop? Many dealers do not have in house fiberglass repair.

Edited by BillFooter
Link to comment

I would have pulled my boat from the shop if it had been there more than 2 weeks without anything done and I would have called the Malibu rep in the area to let them know what happened. Make the trip and take it somewhere else, maybe the raccoons wouldn't have gotten in there if they had been working on the boat instead of letting it sit.

Sorry to hear you've had such a bad experience Dontknow.gif .

Link to comment
maybe the raccoons wouldn't have gotten in there if they had been working on the boat instead of letting it sit.

BINGO

Link to comment

The racoons were not in the boat when we took it down there. We took it down two days after the accident and we looked over the boat with the dealer. The boat has been at the dealership since March 21 and they just sprayed it for the first time on Monday, which is at a different shop, not at the dealership. There was other repair work that need to be done (new prop and a new shaft.) I don't have a clue how the racoons could have got into the engine compartement without the compartment being opened. I am worried about the seats, but they did not say there was any damage to the seats. It is their first year as the Malibu dealer and they say it will be ready for us to pick up on Friday, so we will see what happens. If it is not done, or does not look the same as it did when taken in, then further actions will be taken. I'm not even sure when the racoon incident happen. He just said on the phone on Monday, "Now you heard about the racoons right?" Of course I had not.

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...