New boat warranty

C

Cloud 5

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I have issue with my year old boat , which to me should be simple as abc.

1: Rust on Engine Mounts. Dealer response ‘ you need to talk to engine manufacturers , then engine manufacturers response we did not supply mounts.’
2: Batteries falling flat. Dealer response ‘ you need proof of this ‘. Vouching report from boat yard batteries flat ‘
3: cabin door off level. Dealer response ‘ it’s only cosmetic ‘
4: other minor items Dealer response. ‘ it’s a new boat you have to expect these things ‘

Is this type of carry on the normal , it’s like taking a new car back to garage and being told we did not manufacture the engine .

Thanks
 
Boat dealerships do seem fairly bad at resolving niggles. I guess a lot depends on how persistent you are. Equally, you should accept that boats aren't usually build to the same standards of fit and finish which a similarly-priced car would be.

How bad is the rust on the engine mounts? Have they been exposed to seawater? My Bavaria is 6 years old and the engine mounts aren't rusty, but there's only dust in the bilges.

Batteries are probably a wear-and-tear item, because you might easily have damaged them in some way. I wouldn't expect the dealer to do anything about them.

Cosmetic and minor items may well be present. If you think they're the result of poor manufacture or commissioning, and the dealership refuses to help, get your boatyard to fix them at your cost, then attempt to recover the money from the dealer.
 
It seems to be normal. I'm now on my second new boat. I've had a few relatively small issues, all of which were resolved by the supplying dealer handling the faults on my behalf, but in cases where the fault was with a component (eg engine or electronics) then the warranty lies with the component supplier. Not the boat manufacturer.

So I'd say your dealer should be taking a more active interest.

It's not like cars.
 
Cloud 5 said:
I have issue with my year old boat , which to me should be simple as abc.

1: Rust on Engine Mounts. Dealer response ‘ you need to talk to engine manufacturers , then engine manufacturers response we did not supply mounts.’
2: Batteries falling flat. Dealer response ‘ you need proof of this ‘. Vouching report from boat yard batteries flat ‘
3: cabin door off level. Dealer response ‘ it’s only cosmetic ‘
4: other minor items Dealer response. ‘ it’s a new boat you have to expect these things ‘

Is this type of carry on the normal , it’s like taking a new car back to garage and being told we did not manufacture the engine .

Thanks
Click to expand...

Unless you have a really good dealer willing to help I doubt you will be able to achieve anything considering these particular things. What I mean:
1. Rust on engine mounts. How can you prove that seawater did not enter the engine bay (say for example during an impeller change) and you failed to clean it simply because you didn't realise that the mounts got wet with seawater. I mean, who cleans engine mounts anyway?
2. Batteries running flat. Unfortunately easy to ruin a battery. Failed to charge probably because shore power was cut, water on them, dropped a tool on a battery and was short circuited causing damage and so on. So, how do you prove that there was actually something wrong with them on installation.
3. Cabin door off level. Not sure what that means but even if cosmetic a good dealer could sort this out. For example my forward door's lock failed for no reason, I got stuck in the toilet and I had to break the lock by kicking the door. My local dealer replaced the lock immediately.
4. Other minor. Similar to 3.
 
cmedsailor said:
Unless you have a really good dealer willing to help I doubt you will be able to achieve anything considering these particular things. What I mean:
1. Rust on engine mounts. How can you prove that seawater did not enter the engine bay (say for example during an impeller change) and you failed to clean it simply because you didn't realise that the mounts got wet with seawater. I mean, who cleans engine mounts anyway?
2. Batteries running flat. Unfortunately easy to ruin a battery. Failed to charge probably because shore power was cut, water on them, dropped a tool on a battery and was short circuited causing damage and so on. So, how do you prove that there was actually something wrong with them on installation.
3. Cabin door off level. Not sure what that means but even if cosmetic a good dealer could sort this out. For example my forward door's lock failed for no reason, I got stuck in the toilet and I had to break the lock by kicking the door. My local dealer replaced the lock immediately.
4. Other minor. Similar to 3.
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Thanks for reply :
1: Rust on engine mounts , pointed out when boat was 1 week old.
2: Batteries pointed out when boat was 5 days old
3: Cabin door pointed out on delivery , fixed door handle not joinery
4: Other items
Hot water heater takes 4 hours
Leak into aft cabin
Inverter does not work
There is 23 items on the list
 
dunedin said:
My experience buying nearly new boats, all of the significant survey findings were original build issues (both were "quality" builders). Hence if ever buying a new boat, I would recommend a full survey prior to final payment.
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Very sound advice , I got boat surveyed when 5 days old ,
 
Scala said:
in cases where the fault was with a component (eg engine or electronics) then the warranty lies with the component supplier. Not the boat manufacturer.
Click to expand...

Liability to you, however, lies with whoever you bought the boat from (dealer or manufacturer, depending whether the former is the latter’s agent or not). They may then recover their costs from the equipment manufacturer if applicable, but that’s not your concern.

Trying to pass off responsibility by saying “you’ll have to take it up with the manufacturer” doesn’t work in a shop, I can’t see why retail sale of a new boat would be any different.

Pete
 
prv said:
Liability to you, however, lies with whoever you bought the boat from (dealer or manufacturer, depending whether the former is the latter’s agent or not). They may then recover their costs from the equipment manufacturer if applicable, but that’s not your concern.

Trying to pass off responsibility by saying “you’ll have to take it up with the manufacturer” doesn’t work in a shop, I can’t see why retail sale of a new boat would be any different.

Pete
Click to expand...
Pete
That’s exactly how I see this , I bought the boat ( £240k ) from official dealer / agent ,
 
prv said:
Liability to you, however, lies with whoever you bought the boat from (dealer or manufacturer, depending whether the former is the latter’s agent or not). They may then recover their costs from the equipment manufacturer if applicable, but that’s not your concern.

Trying to pass off responsibility by saying “you’ll have to take it up with the manufacturer” doesn’t work in a shop, I can’t see why retail sale of a new boat would be any different.

Pete
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Yes that’s right. I’ve not had any problem with the dealer failing to take ownership of the issues.
 
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dunedin said:
Hence if ever buying a new boat, I would recommend a full survey prior to final payment.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, almost all boatbuilders require full payment before the boat is released from the factory, so getting a full survey before payment is unlikely.
 
Cloud 5 said:
Thanks for reply :
1: Rust on engine mounts , pointed out when boat was 1 week old.
2: Batteries pointed out when boat was 5 days old
3: Cabin door pointed out on delivery , fixed door handle not joinery
4: Other items
Hot water heater takes 4 hours
Leak into aft cabin
Inverter does not work
There is 23 items on the list
Click to expand...

Can you let us see a photo of the rusty engine mounts?

If the hot water heater takes 4 hours, might you have a small wattage element in it?

Was the inverter factory-fitted or dealer-fitted?
 
I would suggest one further polite but firm try to get them to resolve your issues.

If no good, a signed for letter laying out the history and their rejections and stating that you will use a marine service company to resolve these issues and expect them to pay the invoice.

If they wont or dont pay, small claims court.

A word first with the local Trading Standards office would be a good idea, if only to confirm that in consumer law it is the seller who is responsible for faulty products.

The fact that it is a large and expensive faulty product makes no difference. AFAIK the seller, your dealer, is responsible in the first instance.

Good Luck.
 
pvb said:
Can you let us see a photo of the rusty engine mounts?

If the hot water heater takes 4 hours, might you have a small wattage element in it?

Was the inverter factory-fitted or dealer-fitted?
Click to expand...
Engine mounts
rotrax said:
I would suggest one further polite but firm try to get them to resolve your issues.

If no good, a signed for letter laying out the history and their rejections and stating that you will use a marine service company to resolve these issues and expect them to pay the invoice.

If they wont or dont pay, small claims court.

A word first with the local Trading Standards office would be a good idea, if only to confirm that in consumer law it is the seller who is responsible for faulty products.

The fact that it is a large and expensive faulty product makes no difference. AFAIK the seller, your dealer, is responsible in the first instance.

Good Luck.
Click to expand...
thank you for the valid points
 
I once bought a brand new boat (Princess 33) Its first voyage was along the Canal from Boat Dealer, along the Manchester Ship Canal, out through Eastham Locks, and on to Holyhead.
Arriving at Holyhead it was aparrent that there was faulty Gearbox oil seal which was spewing oil all over the place.
I telephoned the Boatyard I bought it from and they said "Bring it back" (All that way ?)
I ended up rejecting the boat as I was able to prove that the boat was not new when it was supposed to have arrived "brand new" from Marine Projects and was a boat which they had in the water "unsold" at another boatyard and over 12 months old. It had a Trade Description fault as the brocuere said it would do 14 knots and would not go over 10.
This was 1979 its a lot easier to reject something these days.
 
rotrax said:
I would suggest one further polite but firm try to get them to resolve your issues.

If no good, a signed for letter laying out the history and their rejections and stating that you will use a marine service company to resolve these issues and expect them to pay the invoice.

If they wont or dont pay, small claims court.

A word first with the local Trading Standards office would be a good idea, if only to confirm that in consumer law it is the seller who is responsible for faulty products.

The fact that it is a large and expensive faulty product makes no difference. AFAIK the seller, your dealer, is responsible in the first instance.

Good Luck.
Click to expand...

You're right, and that's essentially the advice I gave in post 2. However, although the consumer may have right on his side, there's no guarantee that things will work out favourably.

My new Bavaria was delivered without one major option I'd ordered (fake teak everywhere). The fake teak panels were supplied with the boat, just not fitted at the factory for some reason. The Bavaria dealer I'd ordered from proved to be worse than useless in sorting it out, and left the fake teak panels outside in the rain, as a result they warped and couldn't be fitted. I ended up dealing directly with Bavaria themselves, who sent a team of guys over from Germany to sort it, they refused to fit the warped panels, so the fiasco continued for several months whilst new panels were ordered. Another team of guys drove over from Germany and fitted the new panels successfully. This all took months, during which the boat was in a heated workshop at a local boatyard, at Bavaria's expense (it cost them thousands). Finally, I got the boat back, but put in a claim for loss of use to the Bavaria dealer I'd bought from. They ignored it, so I put it into the County Court. Shortly before the hearing, they wrote to the Court saying they had ceased trading. So the case was thrown out. Except they hadn't actually ceased trading, they'd just folded their limited company, and were still trading, same people, in the same name, out of the same premises, just without the "Ltd" label. Complete cowboys! If there's one satisfying outcome, it's that they're no longer a Bavaria dealer. So, if anyone's ever tempted to deal with South West UK Marine in Brixham, they might like to think again!
 
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