Cheesed off with Raymarine

[Ink]

It is actually 6 years and you have to show that the defect was there when it was made. Claim is against the retailer in the first instance.

Bit of a paper tiger as firstly it is extremely difficult to make a case, particularly with electronics and secondly the cost of pursuing is out of proportion to the value of the potential loss. The law can be a useful "threat" to make manufacturers give a goodwill gesture, which is what Raymarine are doing in offering a discount on a replacement. not satisfactory for the OP 9who was not the purchaser) but just a fact of life. Electronics move at such a pace and the item has given 6 years service. The world wide shortage of electronic components is nightmare for small volume niche makers li Raymarine who have little clout with suppliers.

I don't agree that 6 years service is adequate or acceptable. That could mean a few hundred hours of service or many thousands of hours. 6 years is for me would likely be hundred or so hours a year. Not good bang for buck territory.

Ink

 

[Birdseye]

I am not sure anything Raymarine sells would be considered budget, the cost in 2016 incl fitting was around £2K for a 9 and 7 inch with new binnacle and the current direct replacement apparently is the Axiom 9 which is circa £1.2k and the 7 inch is around £700 all plus fitting and if I do bite the bullet, will they fail again circa six years!

So might be worth a letter to Raymarine UK, I do not expect them to be repaired for free but not happy being told they are only good for "Land fill" at six years old with an option of 15% off which does not seem satisfactory compensation.

Did they say "since covid" ? This suggests that the issue is the world wide chip shortage that is shutting down car plants etc.

That apart, I had a similar issue with my last Raymarine radar. Apparently, many of the components used in these bits of kit are specials so when manufactured they might order 1000 sets for manufacture and say 250 sets for spares. When the spares are used up thats the end of it - they arent the standard items that you could go along to an electronic spares shop and buy.

I currently have the same issue with an ST4000 pilot display.

Could you get an apple I phone repaired after 7 years use? I doubt it.

 

[Nina Lucia]

Couple of years ago i had a faulty Raymarine wind instrument (3 years old) belonging to a customer and a Garmin autopilot controller of my own, that i purchased used on Ebay, with a tiny scratch on the screen. Raymarine didn't want to know, not even a discount for a new one. Garmin offered my a "refurb" unit for about £120, as the new one retailed at over £500 i reckon that was a good deal.

I avoid Raymarine if i can, but some customers insist on it. My choice is always Garmin.

As for a 15% discount, that will be off of retail, i could offer a better price than that, they are having a laugh.

Compatibility with other systems, if you have ST60/ST70 etc display they will network just fine with other manufacturers. Radar, if fitted, will not, neither will it work with Raymarine Axioms.

Autopilot will work up to a point, it will steer to a waypoint or to wind, but cannot be directly controlled from the MFD. This is true whether you switch to another manufacturer or stick with Raymarine.

In short, there is no benefit in sticking with Raymarine.

Thanks Paul, I had some bad experience with Raymarine, they support and help service is terrible. How's about B&G?

 

[Birdseye]

Thanks Paul, I had some bad experience with Raymarine, they support and help service is terrible. How's about B&G?

I found B&G service even less good and the plotters are in fact bought in from NZ ie not their own design. The Raymarine software is better IMO. Certainly after Zeus on the last boat I would not go back to B&G.

The other lesson I learned was not to mix makes. Yes you can succeed in the end but its difficult and you get even less support. So best have all the kit from one seller.

 

[Jamie Dundee]

Thanks Paul, I had some bad experience with Raymarine, they support and help service is terrible. How's about B&G?

Better you don’t get into the Navico 3G/4G radar fiasco. I like my Simrad stuff but given the known failure rate of these radars they should have recalled them rather than the piecemeal ‘goodwill’ gestures they provided.

 

[ashtead]

While not a maker of chartplotters I would avoid all Fusion Garmin kit in the future if buying new - radio units which seem to have a frozen screen after 6 years -fitted as standard to many 2015 boats and zero repair option for a unit used down below. When replaced with update version cannot get the cockpit control unit to work so I guess that needs replacing as well as doesn’t speak to new unit maybe .

 

[PaulRainbow]

Thanks Paul, I had some bad experience with Raymarine, they support and help service is terrible. How's about B&G?

B&G support is even worse than Raymarine.

 

[ashtead]

In summary it sounds like given small market all these mainstream manufacturers are fairly dire.

 

[Glisferox]

Raymarine are also about to put up there prices from 1 Sep 22 by 35%

https://www.facebook.com/albasailing/photos/a.408936995928900/2293950710760843

I suspect Raymarine will only be the start. Once the first big supplier goes everybody will follow.
Component availability is horrible, with some parts being sold at scary multiples of their old prices and some simply not available.
The price pressures have been building for a while and something has to give.