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Winterization dealer dilemma


Cole2001

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So... Back in December I traded my boat in on a new one, from a dealer that’s not local to me. To start things off, I’ve been nothing but impressed with these guys, doing everything they can to make the new boat run great and fixing little warranty issues on Sunday afternoons. 

Before we got the new one in they wanted to pick up our old one so they could have it on the lot. The agreement was they pick up the old one from INDOOR storage and we pick up the new one, they send a guy out to pick up the boat, all is good. I tell them everything has been drained but no antifreeze added, and all services done by my mechanic who has very good attention to detail and takes pride in his work. Being a dealer where it’s well below freezing all winter, there boats sit out in the freezing cold weather. 

Once the ice melted off the lakes they went to go test my old boat, not sure if they had a buyer but that doesn’t matter. Well after some problems apparently they diagnosed that the block was cracked and the freeze plugs were blown. 

So the owner phoned up, once again great guy. But he informed me what happened and is asking why and wanting some money to cover the cost of the block. This is where I’m in a bit of a dilemma... Whose responsibility should this be? Talked to the mechanic who serviced the boat and he has no idea why it would happen. I don’t want to force the bill upon him because he’s no big shop and it just doesn’t feel right. But I also don’t want to leave the dealer in the dust just in case I need something else from them. 

So.... what would you do? 

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4 minutes ago, tbullard said:

Once you traded and they took possession of the boat it was their responsibility. I am shocked that they even called you almost 7 months after the sale unless you signed something stating that the deal wasn't final until spring when the boat could be tested.

Pretty much this.  They should have checked that it was properly winterized rather than taking the 2nd hand word of a mechanic that doesn't work for them. 

Also, I'd learn to winterize yourself - sounds like your mechanic screwed up. 

 

Edited by oldjeep
  • Like 3
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That’s my thought as well, I’m just stuck on Mr. Nice guy

I understand if it was outside when I had it stored but it wasn’t so yeah... But yet I had all the confidence it would be fine.

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1 hour ago, oldjeep said:

Pretty much this.  They should have checked that it was properly winterized rather than taking the 2nd hand word of a mechanic that doesn't work for them. 

Also, I'd learn to winterize yourself - sounds like your mechanic screwed up. 

 

Usually we do it ourself as it’s super easy. It’s just that we had a bunch of other maintenance done.

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1 hour ago, tbullard said:

Once you traded and they took possession of the boat it was their responsibility. I am shocked that they even called you almost 7 months after the sale unless you signed something stating that the deal wasn't final until spring when the boat could be tested.

 

1 hour ago, oldjeep said:

Pretty much this.  They should have checked that it was properly winterized rather than taking the 2nd hand word of a mechanic that doesn't work for them. 

Also, I'd learn to winterize yourself - sounds like your mechanic screwed up. 

 

So, both of you are saying that when a dealer buys a boat, it is different than when an individual buys a boat?  Reason I ask is if I bought a boat and was told it was winterized only to find out the hard way it was not, I would be going back and doing the same thing Cole's dealer is doing.

Years ago, my folks bought a used boat from a dealer.  First trip out found that the manifolds were cracked.  They had no warranty in writing.  Dealer took care of it and went after the person who winterized it (wasn't them).

Personally, I would feel some level of responsibility if I told them it was winterized.

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I feel obligated because I did tell them it was winterized but I also recall them saying they would double check everything. 

Should I blame it on the mechanic? He owns is own shop, so he’s no big dealer. He claims he removed the two drain plugs in the block and than blew them out. So somewhere here something isn’t right. 

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7 minutes ago, Cole2001 said:

I feel obligated because I did tell them it was winterized but I also recall them saying they would double check everything. 

Should I blame it on the mechanic? He owns is own shop, so he’s no big dealer. He claims he removed the two drain plugs in the block and than blew them out. So somewhere here something isn’t right. 

If all he did was remove the 2 drain plugs then yes it could be the fault of the shop since there are several more steps to removing all of the water. Still say that a smart dealer should be checking every boat that comes in on trade and not trusting that the customer did it correctly.

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@Cole2001, didn't the dealer you traded the boat to do some sort of mechanical check on your boat?  I've traded in boats twice.  The last time (on my Malibu), Tommy's did a compression test.  The time before that, I don't remember what the dealer did, but I remember him hooking it up to muffs (sterndrive), and crawling in the engine compartment.

It seems pretty...................trusting.....................to buy anything mechanical and not do any sort of test on it.  If they did, I would say the lack of proper winterization is on them.  If they didn't I still would feel some responsibility for telling them it was winterized.

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14 minutes ago, tbullard said:

If all he did was remove the 2 drain plugs then yes it could be the fault of the shop since there are several more steps to removing all of the water. Still say that a smart dealer should be checking every boat that comes in on trade and not trusting that the customer did it correctly.

The 2014 indmar engines are a little different but the two for the block and the others that go along with it on the water pickup.

 

5 minutes ago, RyanB said:

@Cole2001, didn't the dealer you traded the boat to do some sort of mechanical check on your boat?  I've traded in boats twice.  The last time (on my Malibu), Tommy's did a compression test.  The time before that, I don't remember what the dealer did, but I remember him hooking it up to muffs (sterndrive), and crawling in the engine compartment.

It seems pretty...................trusting.....................to buy anything mechanical and not do any sort of test on it.  If they did, I would say the lack of proper winterization is on them.  If they didn't I still would feel some responsibility for telling them it was winterized.

We explained to them that it just had a big service done(fluids, spark plugs, belts,etc), and everything was running really good. So they kinda took our word for it. 

 

This is the second boat my family has traded in first dealer run it in hooked up to water. These guys aren’t local so they didn’t really have that opportunity. We had a lot of trust in this deal, to tell you the truth I’ve never stepped foot into the dealership and bought a 100k boat....

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Let me ask you this. You think that if the roles were reversed and you bought a boat from them and 7 months later called to say the block was busted that they would cover it? I’m thinking they would say it was winterized when you bought it. Just like you told them it was winterized. How do you know the boat wasn’t taken out after you traded?  It does sound like your mechanic didn’t do all the steps necessary in winterizing.  My advice would be to do what your gut Tells you. You can’t go wrong if you listen you your gut.  But I would def have a hard time shelling over the amount of money a block would cost for a boat that wasn’t mine anymore.  Once you sign those papers, the boat you bought is yours, and the one you traded is theirs. That’s how it works. Unless you gave in writing that you would take care of any damages if any occurred 

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6 hours ago, RyanB said:

 

So, both of you are saying that when a dealer buys a boat, it is different than when an individual buys a boat?  Reason I ask is if I bought a boat and was told it was winterized only to find out the hard way it was not, I would be going back and doing the same thing Cole's dealer is doing.

Years ago, my folks bought a used boat from a dealer.  First trip out found that the manifolds were cracked.  They had no warranty in writing.  Dealer took care of it and went after the person who winterized it (wasn't them).

Personally, I would feel some level of responsibility if I told them it was winterized.

Yes, I'm saying it is different when a dealer buys a boat.  Same as it is different when they buy your used car.  They have to know how often winterization gets screwed up and should know to take the 10 minutes to pull the block plugs and check. 

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if I bought a boat from a private party I would either have it re-winterized or get something in writing from the shop/dealer that did it so that if there was a problem then there would be no questions.

this is just poor dealer management. I wouldn’t feel obligated to do anything.

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Who is to say that they didn’t take it back to the shop and run it on a hose to check it out. You don’t know what they did, and can’t be held responsible. I just got a boat and the first thing I did was service it and give it a once over, even though I was assured they had just done it. Not your problem in my opinion. 

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28 minutes ago, Bozboat said:

Insurance coverage?   if yes, notify your insurance company, they will sort it out.

The thing is the boat isn’t mine, therefore I’m not the one with insurance. So it should be the dealers insurance. 

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2 hours ago, Cole2001 said:

The thing is the boat isn’t mine, therefore I’m not the one with insurance. So it should be the dealers insurance. 

Yes, but considering the dealer seems to believe that you or your mechanic were negligent by failing to properly winterize before he took possession, or were negligent in your representation of the winterized status, you might talk to your agent.

 Also, If the dealer’s insurance pays, you could reasonably expect the dealer’s insurance company to contact you for reimbursement. 

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You said in the original post that you told them there was no antifreeze in the boat. That alone is grounds for the dealer to do a basic check. This isn’t on you, imo. 

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1 hour ago, FSSPCat said:

You said in the original post that you told them there was no antifreeze in the boat. That alone is grounds for the dealer to do a basic check. This isn’t on you, imo. 

Dealers don’t use antifreeze, they’re just shipped dry.

also I wasn’t too conserned when I had it done because it was just going into indoor storage. 

I guess the moral of the story, you just can’t trust everything people say. The part I don’t understand is that it had water in it... but I guess it did.

Edited by Cole2001
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Cole, you are obviously a very ethical individual with a kind heart - more folks like you could save the planet someday! IMHO, because you paid a professional to service your boat, this is absolutely not your problem.  Any discussion of fault needs to be between the dealer and your mechanic.  If you or your novice neighbor did the work, that would be another story. And I agree with earlier posts that the dealer totally dropped the ball if he did not check the motor when he took ownership. Of all boat owners, a dealer should be one of the most sensitive about freeze damage if they live in a freeze region.  Have a favorite beverage tonight and pass on the mechanic's contact info to the dealer.

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