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Dealer rant!


Cmb396

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So I took my '13 lsv into the dealer in mid October to be winterized, oil change, and have some warranty work done.

My 02 sensors were out of whack and throwing codes. Apparently, there is a bulletin for 11+ L76 engines that has to do with cooling lines. All my cooling lines were replaced and re routed, etc. 

Not my complaint really, but they did have the boat for 4 months...sitting outside in all this rain/snow. Now for rant 1, my cover had obviously filled with water and left a 4" rip in the cover beside the base of the tower, not cool!! 

Rant 2, 

I ended up with some deep scratches in the gel from an incident this past summer, and took it in to be corrected. This particular dealers subs that out to another dealer.

Rather than blending the corrected area, which is orange, they straight line taped off a 2' sections, sprayed it, and gelled it. So, there is a distinctive tape line and mismatching orange paint. Although it's slight, it still doesn't match and stands out on a cloudy day!!

Since I had driven 3 1/2 hours to pick it up, I had no choice but to pay, and head home. The guy working, who had not even seen the work, agreed that it looked bad. The owner was not there, so he took pics and said he would discuss with him what to do, and get back to me by Friday.

Id say I'm probably effed on both, the cover can be stitched, it's just principle. As for the paint, idk, may just have to learn to live with it bc the dealer that painted it is 7 hours from me!! End of rant!! Lol

 

 

Ps....ill wait to see how it is handled before I disclose which dealers are involved.

Edited by Cmb396
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Did you charge this on your CC or write a check?  If you paid via CC, I'd dispute the charge until the dealership comes and picks up the boat and resolves this issue.  That paint job is unacceptable.

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i paid with cc, and was fully prepared to dispute it based upon their decision. 

I just got off the phone with them, and they said they would repaint it and make it right. Now, just have to figure out logistics. It really sucks being so far away from the closest dealer!!

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3 minutes ago, Cmb396 said:

i paid with cc, and was fully prepared to dispute it based upon their decision. 

I just got off the phone with them, and they said they would repaint it and make it right. Now, just have to figure out logistics. It really sucks being so far away from the closest dealer!!

It's their mistake, they should come pick it up.

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6 minutes ago, Michigan boarder said:

It's their mistake, they should come pick it up.

Agreed, but didn't sound like that was an option over the phone. The dealer that did the paint is 270 miles from me.

Ive never dealt with an issue like this, and am glad they agreed to fix it with out an argument or dispute, not sure how much I want to press the issue over getting them the boat. I do agree with you tho, if it were my business and f*** up, I'd be making the trip to get it.

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I am in the same situation as you - no dealer close, but I accepted taht when I purchased the Bu.  I know I will need to drive it when something needs to be done.  What I didn't consider was having to drive it to fix something that was their mistake.  Now they may be saying it wasn't their mistake either, and I agree, but I say let it roll downhill, and let the final expense be borne by the one who didn't do their job.  I think if you explain to the dealer, they will have some pull with the other dealer to pick up the "pick-up expense".

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I refuse to allow garbage dealer hack jobs. And I'll take it to the mat in a heartbeat when the dealer is given the opportunity to make things right, they know they've screwed up and they chose to lie, minimize and shove it aside.

give them the opportunity to make things right, and see where things stand.

there definitely ARE great dealers out there that want to earn your business.  Others are fat, sassy and unethical.  Don't waste too much time effort and waiting for a garbage dealer to do right.  Once you identify ethical issues... it's time to bounce.

 

 

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I will say this....

 

If if it was warranty work, it should be a perfect job.  If it is damage you did did, there are a few ways to go about.  You can either fix just the area affected, which is cheapest and least expensive.  Or you can have them reshoot the whole panel to make sure it's done right.  Obviously more expensive, but those options should have been explained to you prior to you, and let you make the decision on how you would like the repair done.

    As FMan stated, it's hard hard to blend

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i understand the complications of blending, especially on older colors, this is a '13 model, always kept in or under a cover, so it's not that faded.

I was told he whole "strip" of orange above the rub rail would be painted. When I got the call that it was done, the guy I had been dealing with (who is no longer an employee convienently) told me "you can't even tell..."! 

Wont lie, that botched "touch up" cost $1500, for that kind of money, I wouldn't expect ANYONE to look at that and call it a good job. Old, new, faded or not, you don't straight line tape a paint repair, pull the tape and call it a day. I've modding and built cars, trucks, and jeeps my whole life. Granted, I've never had dealings with a boat repair and gel, but I can only guess the same common sense applies.

They are gonna fix it, like mentioned earlier, just have to figure out logistics. I feel they should accommodate me in this situation and I will make my demands tomm when I call them back.  they may tell me no, or say no problem, I'll know tomm.

Edited by Cmb396
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Don't they normally paint the whole section of gel so that blending and color matching aren't as big of an issue?  

 

I wasn't aware that you could just tape off a section and paint it but my knowledge of gel repair is limited.  On the other hand, I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

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Small technical point: gelcoat is the substance that gives the hull the color and also acts as a water-barrier between the sea and the fiberglass.  You don't generally "paint" gelcoat to repair it.  You apply more gelcoat of the same color, then sand and finish it.  You can paint over it, but that is a "paint job" and not a "gelcoat repair job."  

http://www.boatingmag.com/how-to-repair-damaged-gelcoat

https://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/document.do?docId=257

Edited by jjackkrash
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1 hour ago, Cmb396 said:

i understand the complications of blending, especially on older colors, this is a '13 model, always kept in or under a cover, so it's not that faded.

I was told he whole "strip" of orange above the rub rail would be painted. When I got the call that it was done, the guy I had been dealing with (who is no longer an employee convienently) told me "you can't even tell..."! 

Wont lie, that botched "touch up" cost $1500, for that kind of money, I wouldn't expect ANYONE to look at that and call it a good job. Old, new, faded or not, you don't straight line tape a paint repair, pull the tape and call it a day. I've modding and built cars, trucks, and jeeps my whole life. Granted, I've never had dealings with a boat repair and gel, but I can only guess the same common sense applies.

They are gonna fix it, like mentioned earlier, just have to figure out logistics. I feel they should accommodate me in this situation and I will make my demands tomm when I call them back.  they may tell me no, or say no problem, I'll know tomm.

Don't be surprised if it still does not match even if they do it again unless they are going to the entire surface area between each color change.  Your boat is 4 years old and regardless if you have it under a cover it still has been exposed to a substantial anount of UV light/elements which changes the gel color.  They are ordering the gel color from Malibu or Spectrum that is brand new how it came from the factory.  Kind of like matching interior paint in your home after four years, there will be a little bit of variance unless you repaint the entire wall.

Just be realistic and don't have false expectations, it will not be perfect.

  • Like 3
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58 minutes ago, bamaboy said:

Don't they normally paint the whole section of gel so that blending and color matching aren't as big of an issue?  

 

I wasn't aware that you could just tape off a section and paint it but my knowledge of gel repair is limited.  On the other hand, I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

No, they can repair a small area.  They don't paint gel it is a layer on top of the fiberglass about 2 mil thick.  I had a silver dollar size chip in my 2013 in my bow area that was repaired.  It was white in color which is one of the easier colors to match up and show less fading over time.  They grind out the chip and clean it out, apply the gel, sand and buff.  Most people will never know it was repaired unless you know exactly where to look under certain lighting conditions.

He has orange color which is going to be a tough match.  Most places are not going to grind out a huge section of gel to repair because the cost would be extremely expensive.

Edited by Fman
  • Like 1
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42 minutes ago, Fman said:

Don't be surprised if it still does not match even if they do it again unless they are going to the entire surface area between each color change.  Your boat is 4 years old and regardless if you have it under a cover it still has been exposed to a substantial anount of UV light/elements which changes the gel color.  They are ordering the gel color from Malibu or Spectrum that is brand new how it came from the factory.  Kind of like matching interior paint in your home after four years, there will be a little bit of variance unless you repaint the entire wall.

Just be realistic and don't have false expectations, it will not be perfect.

yea, I get it, not being unrealistic. 

So,I'll keep it simple and ask this, would you accept this work on your boat for $1500?

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From the pics you posted looking at it on my phone it does not look bad imo.  Personally if it were me I would have them wetsand and polish again to see if they can improve the blend.  The color wont change any with a redo unless they are going to custom color match which not many shops will do.  Sometimes doing it again could even make it worse unless they are going to replace a very large section which would be very expensive and not worth it imo.  Maybe try and get a credit or partial refund and let it be for a season to see how it fades out.

$1500 does seem like a high bid for that small of an area.  Did they also have to do fiberglass repair? I would think that would be more like $500-$600 gel repair looking at the size of the repair.

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^so you dodged my question.

 

It looks much worse in person than pics taken on a phone, looked at on a phone.

 I have thought about asking for a refund, half a** job and asking for half my $$ back.

Im going to ask for the contact info of the Mal dealer that my dealer subbed it out to, and see what their plan of attack is. If they are going to redo the entire section of orange above the rub rail, like inward told they would, then I may let them do that. If they just want to wet sand and buff it, I may just ask for a refund, and deal with it. I'll put a Soulcraft sticker or something over one tape line to hide the transition.

 

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3 hours ago, Cmb396 said:

^so you dodged my question.

 

It looks much worse in person than pics taken on a phone, looked at on a phone.

 I have thought about asking for a refund, half a** job and asking for half my $$ back.

Im going to ask for the contact info of the Mal dealer that my dealer subbed it out to, and see what their plan of attack is. If they are going to redo the entire section of orange above the rub rail, like inward told they would, then I may let them do that. If they just want to wet sand and buff it, I may just ask for a refund, and deal with it. I'll put a Soulcraft sticker or something over one tape line to hide the transition.

 

To answer your question, no I would not be satisfied only because $1500 is way over priced imo for that small of a gel repair.  Now I have to ask did they tell you how much it was going to cost before they did the repair?  and did you agree to it? (sign a work order)

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I would not accept that gelcoat repair job.  They should have tried to blend it some.  A straight line is ridiculous.  

I had some damage repaired by a local shop and he did a nice job blending, even though the white he used was not the exact same as the stock white.  I was a bit disturbed that the whites were not the same, but because of the blending it was actually very hard to see.   In just the right conditions, I could tell it had been repaired, but am sure that only the best trained professional would be able to tell if I did not point it out.   A straight line would have stood out like a sore thumb, just like it does on yours.  

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I'd be less upset about the gel fade issue... than the dealership trashing your boat.  It's fairly obvious no one intentionally hacked the gel on purpose.  Work with them and give them an opportunity to re-work that area.

now imagine.... when you went to pick it up... the dealer told you they didn't repair the gel... that they have no idea how that got like that... someone must have jumped the WSA fence or broke into the lot and did that botched repair? happened to me on a botched vinyl repair.. you can't make this crap up.

in regards to trashing your boat... a year after a Chessie service hack job I am still working to remove the reminants of mold they did on my boat... and completely stretched out the cover with a 200gal+ aquarium leaf and junk project they were conducting on my cover.  Make them clean it and make that right.  No excuse for that garbage.

 

 

 

 

Edited by nyryan2001
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