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Bu Dealer in Northern Wisc files for bankruptcy protection


bound4er

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Uh oh... They've been buying up other dealerships like crazy in the past few years. Wonder if they got over-extended. I hope not. They've always been outstanding to deal with.

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I was up there last winter - went to Trackside to get a part for my sled, they told me that Heckels had just picked up the Arctic Cat line. I didn't mind too much, was just down the road a little, and I got to look at the Bu's while I was there Rockon.gif Only question now is if they will be there this winter should I need another part???

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I was up there last winter - went to Trackside to get a part for my sled, they told me that Heckels had just picked up the Arctic Cat line. I didn't mind too much, was just down the road a little, and I got to look at the Bu's while I was there Rockon.gif Only question now is if they will be there this winter should I need another part???

Sell your Cat and buy a Polaris and you won't have to waste valuable riding time chasing down parts. Thumbup.gif

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I was up there last winter - went to Trackside to get a part for my sled, they told me that Heckels had just picked up the Arctic Cat line. I didn't mind too much, was just down the road a little, and I got to look at the Bu's while I was there Rockon.gif Only question now is if they will be there this winter should I need another part???

Sell your Cat and buy a Polaris and you won't have to waste valuable riding time chasing down parts. Thumbup.gif

Ha! I used to love Polaris - then I owned one. RXL 650 - that thing NEVER ran right. My ZR800 & ZRT 600 have had minor to no problems at all. The part I was chasing down up there was a set of carbides and a snowflap. I will admit though - that 600RR is an interesting sled - would like to test ride it someday.

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NO NEED TO WORRY FOLKS WE ARE STILL OPEN TO ASSIST YOU WITH YOUR MALIBU AND ARCTIC CAT NEEDS. WE HIT A BIT OF A ROUGH PATCH BUT WILL POWER THROUGH IT. WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING ALL OF YOU AND HOPE YOU ARE ENJOYING THE BEAUTIFUL WEATHER.

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I spoke to a friend at one of their other locations, it is Chapter 11 and just because of some financial stuff with their bank. They were trying to swithch the mortgage (Loan) company they were dealing with and their present company get ticked and made life difficult for them.

The files just to bridge the time between the old co leaving and the new one coming on board.

That's what they tell me.

I deal with the Mosinee branch and they have been wonderful to deal with.

Ken

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  • 1 month later...

Heckels in Eagle River is completely out of business.

My boat had been stored at Heckels for winter 2008-2009 since early August.

Two days ago I got a call telling me that Heckels was out of business and that my boat was being moved from indoor storage and to a surface lot so that the bank's repossesed property could be stored indoors. I was told that I had to immediately remove my boat from Heckels.

Trackside, Inc. in Eagle River was appointed by the court to call people like me and to give me the good news. Trackside was really great though and helped me get my boat off Heckel's lot. Thanks Trackside.

It is very frustrating that the valuable boats of Heckels customers would be moved out of indoor storage and put on a surface lot with no cover without first giving the customers an opportunity to arrange for orderly movement of the boat to a new storage facility. I had to drop everything and make arrangements to get my boat to a new dealer.

It is also frustrating that I am now an unsecured creditor of Heckels and will have to pay twice to store my boat this winter.

Most of all, I really feel bad for the employees at Heckels. My boat had been serviced exclusively by Heckels and I received good service from them. My boat was always ready to go when I needed it. I have 700+ hours on the boat and it runs like a top.

John

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That really stinks. I'm sure a lot of those boat owners are not local either. Was it the bank that decided to move everyone's personal property outside? Are they liable if something happens or is the boat owner on SOL (SH** out of luck?)

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I have a feeling we are going to be seeing more of this within the boating industry before this current economic storm is over. Time will tell whether the shakeup will result in a stronger or weaker industry and better or worse for the consumer. It definitely sucks for the small business owners and employees.

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Our boat was Heckel's last service call. They opened the shop especially for my dad who had an appointment up there with them for months. After they were done with our boat, they closed up shop, locked the gate, and that was that... Malibu no longer has a dealer presence in the highly-popular northern Wisconsin lake country, and with this market, I don't know if anyone would want to take on the risk... Maybe my friends over at the CC dealership in Three Lakes. There was a time when they carried Malibu as well.

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John, sorry to hear about your troubles. I am heading up their this weekend to winterize my boat and cottage. Good thing I am not dependent on Heckel's,

When I am out on the Eagle River chain, I see an awful lot of Bu's. I would imagine given the huge number of lakes in the area, someone will pick up the Malibu line in a heartbeat. Heckel's overextended themselves with all the purchases they've made over the last few years.

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FWIW,

I understand that the inventory of unsold Malibus is being moved from Heckels to Plowmans marine in Minocqua. Perhaps Plowmans will become the new Malibu dealer for Northern Wisconsin.

John

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That really stinks. I'm sure a lot of those boat owners are not local either. Was it the bank that decided to move everyone's personal property outside? Are they liable if something happens or is the boat owner on SOL (SH** out of luck?)

I would sure never do business with that bank in the future. Not a good way to gain/keep customers period. Especially in times like this. A call with a day or two notice would have been nice.

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  • 4 months later...

Hopefully this will give better support of Malibu at Skipper Buds. Until now they have not had any plans to carry any parts for these boats in their Madison marina. They told me they could get any parts I needed from Tinus in Milwaukee, didn't sound very convenient to me.

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I don't have any experience with their service department as of yet, but with that said: When I was in there last week, I was told that three guys from their service department had just returned from training down at Malibu's factory.

Hopefully having experienced technicians on hand will allow them to carry the necessary parts.

Again, I have no affiliation or even experience with them. I'm just glad to have Malibu represented in the Madison market.

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It is nice to have service in the area. I just bought my boat last fall and if I needed it will be nice not to have to drive to Milwaukee. Hopefully they will keep the Eagle River facility open as most of our use will be in the Lake Tomahawk area.

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It is nice to have service in the area. I just bought my boat last fall and if I needed it will be nice not to have to drive to Milwaukee. Hopefully they will keep the Eagle River facility open as most of our use will be in the Lake Tomahawk area.

Doesn't Ploughman's marine in Woodruff carry Malibu? That'd be much closer to Lake Tomahawk for you.

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First boat I ever bought was a four winns from skipper buds in fox lake, IL (I think they're out of business now). Worst boat experience of my life. Ended up returning the boat (at a minor loss, but worth it) and didn't touch another boat for 13 years because I thought boating was that bad.

Luckily I have a great dealer and a 'bu now.

Edited by CedarLakeSkier
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First boat I ever bought was a four winns from skipper buds in fox lake, IL (I think they're out of business now). Worst boat experience of my life. Ended up returning the boat (at a minor loss, but worth it) and didn't touch another boat for 13 years because I thought boating was that bad.

Luckily I have a great dealer and a 'bu now.

Skipper buds is still in Fox Lake (Volo actually) but it is under the name of Chicago Sea Ray, I looked at a Supra there last summer. The sales guy was young, but very nice. Seemed to be a wakeboarder so he knew a lot more then the average sales guy.

Good Luck.

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First boat I ever bought was a four winns from skipper buds in fox lake, IL (I think they're out of business now). Worst boat experience of my life. Ended up returning the boat (at a minor loss, but worth it) and didn't touch another boat for 13 years because I thought boating was that bad.

Luckily I have a great dealer and a 'bu now.

Skipper buds is still in Fox Lake (Volo actually) but it is under the name of Chicago Sea Ray, I looked at a Supra there last summer. The sales guy was young, but very nice. Seemed to be a wakeboarder so he knew a lot more then the average sales guy.

Good Luck.

When I was looking at boats I also looked at a Supra at Chicago Sea Ray. I guess I do remember him saying they had taken over skipper bud's. Maybe that's why I didn't buy the Supra Whistling.gif

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It is nice to have service in the area. I just bought my boat last fall and if I needed it will be nice not to have to drive to Milwaukee. Hopefully they will keep the Eagle River facility open as most of our use will be in the Lake Tomahawk area.

Doesn't Ploughman's marine in Woodruff carry Malibu? That'd be much closer to Lake Tomahawk for you.

Looks like they do, I will have to check them out.

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