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2012 VLX seats ruined while boat was being serviced at Malibu dealer


Klcofer3

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Two weeks ago, I took my boat to a certified Malibu dealer for a regular tune up. While it was there something happened stained the seats. The business owner claims that Malibu should cover the damage under warranty, and that in the past Malibu covers have caused problems with the seats. Here are a few pictures of what they look like. Let me know what you guys think.

Edited by Klcofer3
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In the 7 years I've been on this forum I can't count how many times the vinyl discoloration question comes up in some form or fashion. And I've had it on both my bu's. The first was on my 06 vRide, and luckily just barely covered under warranty before time expired. The replacement skins never had the problem. Same black cover, same parking spot, same sun in the sky. This tells me malibu can fix the problem.

My 07 247 was bought out of warranty. The discoloration has morphed into a permanent stain. Sitting out in the sun fades some of it but there are spots that are so deep and dark brown, the sun doesn't even touch it. The fact that this is still happening on a 2012 model boat and possibly newer is just crazy to me. I've never bought the whole "it's the black covers fault" story. Although a lighter color may keep the temps just under the threshold I feel this is a cop-out to replacing a bunch of warranty skins.

Not saying you can't but can anyone link me to numerous threads on TT or Planetnautique or other related to this same issue?

Sorry for the rant, I love my boat and apply 303 at least twice a month. It kills me to open it up and see this every time when I've tried to so hard to keep it pristine. Thousands of dollars in skins with me doing the install is what it will take to fix. That gives me so much heartburn with malibu that I probably won't buy another. Don't get me started on my hammerhead :biggrin:

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I would hope your dealer would just take care of it for you. It was fine when you dropped off the boat? Sounds like they need to make some phone calls and get your new skins ordered and installed for you. If they are pawning it off on you that is terrible customer service on there part.

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There was nothing left under the cover, and the dealer claims that the cover was left on the entire time except for when they were working on it. I agree that the patterns look weird. These pictures don't do it justice of how dark the stains really are.

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  • 11 months later...

Same problem...I took photos in mid-2015 and it's gotten worse over time.  It was stored indoors for the first 4 years, then moved and had to store it outside with the cover on (black, of course).  There are now large patches of brown along the seams and edges of the rear deck.  Seems to be only affecting the gray vinyl.  Tried to let the sun burn it off for a week or two, to no avail.  I contacted Malibu today to see what they might be willing to do about it.  My VLX is a 2010 and it's about time to upgrade.  It's been a good boat so far, except for this fairly major problem.

http://s1270.photobucket.com/user/ExLonghorn/library/Boat%20Vinyl%20Pics?sort=3&page=1

 

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yeah, that's pretty much what 1/3 of my interior looks like.

But... nothing is ripped, torn, or otherwise damaged. sooooooo... I just deal with it till it's time to actually replace the vinyl.

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Sadly heard back from Malibu and they aren't going to do anything to resolve the issue...out of warranty and I'm not the original owner, so I'm SOL.  More troubling is that, in spite of the numerous cases of permanent vinyl discoloration identified in these forums, they apparently haven't identified the root cause(s).  As an engineer, that's a case of not wanting to find the cause versus not being able to find the cause.  Makes me worry about replacing the vinyl at a $4-7K cost only to have it happen again.

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On 9/13/2016 at 4:31 PM, exlonghorn said:

Same problem...I took photos in mid-2015 and it's gotten worse over time.  It was stored indoors for the first 4 years, then moved and had to store it outside with the cover on (black, of course).  There are now large patches of brown along the seams and edges of the rear deck.  Seems to be only affecting the gray vinyl.  Tried to let the sun burn it off for a week or two, to no avail.  I contacted Malibu today to see what they might be willing to do about it.  My VLX is a 2010 and it's about time to upgrade.  It's been a good boat so far, except for this fairly major problem.

http://s1270.photobucket.com/user/ExLonghorn/library/Boat%20Vinyl%20Pics?sort=3&page=1

 

I had the same lines as pic #2 after leaving my in a "shaded" area with the cover on for a week. Surprisingly the lines ended up coming off after a couple lake trips, and leaving it in storage with the cover off.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 9/22/2016 at 2:43 PM, Chia said:

makes me glad i went with Cory at Evolution Covers ( http://evolutioncovers.com/ ) the day i bought the boat (8 years ago).

My theory as to why i have never had a problem is the sunbrella breathes so doesn't trap heat where the cover touches the vinyl. 

Is your cover black?  What state do you live in.  I just bought a new black cover and now I wish I hadn't.

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