davidej
Well-Known Member
I hope you have not been trying to heat your water calorifier by using the batteries via an inverter.
If so, that might explain three of your items.
If so, that might explain three of your items.
New boat warranty
- Thread starter Cloud 5
- Start date
Malish
Well-Known Member
Get a quote for the work, recorded delivery letter to the dealer outlining your earlier discussions and their poor response to date. Seek recompense as outlined in the quote and advising them that a lack of a positive response within 14 days will result in a visit to the small claims court (assuming the quote value is within their remit).
Note I am no lawyer - the above would require a little research to confirm its validity
I've now noted that Rotrax has already covered most of this !
Note I am no lawyer - the above would require a little research to confirm its validity
I've now noted that Rotrax has already covered most of this !
pvb
Well-Known Member
Great in theory, but as my experience shows, it's no guarantee!
Malish
Well-Known Member
indeed, but there comes a point when the number of options available to seek recompense is very small
Cloud 5
Well-Known Member
Of course not , new boat you do not mess around
dune16
Well-Known Member
Choosing a dealer seems to be a minefield! My first boat I purchased new (Jeanneau 389) from an East Coast dealer (Clarke & Carter) and based it in the marina of the dealer. There were of course some snagging issues but all sorted out very quickly. Impressed with the dealer. 2nd boat I purchased new (Dufour 430) and took delivery this year in France, sailed down to Spain. Unfortunately on our first proper 2 week trip we've had some internal cabinetry move 2 or 3mm, again the dealer (Universal Yachting) didn't hesitate to get a crew to come and sail the boat from Spain back to the marina where she was commissioned in France for the repairs to be completed and will then sail her back to home marina in Spain. Really impressed with this service. Yes, I've not had "use" of the boat for the last month or two due to this issue but with the quarantine rules against Spain we wouldn't of gone anyway so all in all, we are very happy. 
Skylark
Well-Known Member
When the Dealer realised that I was a serious buyer I was treated like a prince. I was elevated to king on the day of handover but the following day I seemed to have caught leprosy.
I had more issues than expected and witnessed their pass the buck mentality. I didn’t realise that pretty much any component carrying its own logo was not warranted by the boat builder. It doesn’t help that, in the UK, many of the component suppliers are only represented by agents and these guys have no ownership of problems arising.
Based upon my experience, there are three rules.
1. Tenacity. Don’t give up, be polite but persistent. Always correspond in writing.
2. For components, when things aren’t moving, use Google to find email addresses of the most senior person that you can find. I emailed the heads of Yanmar Europe and of Navico
3. Read carefully and follow the procedure to the letter of the steps to seek resolution prior to submitting a small claims court on-line claim.
I had more issues than expected and witnessed their pass the buck mentality. I didn’t realise that pretty much any component carrying its own logo was not warranted by the boat builder. It doesn’t help that, in the UK, many of the component suppliers are only represented by agents and these guys have no ownership of problems arising.
Based upon my experience, there are three rules.
1. Tenacity. Don’t give up, be polite but persistent. Always correspond in writing.
2. For components, when things aren’t moving, use Google to find email addresses of the most senior person that you can find. I emailed the heads of Yanmar Europe and of Navico
3. Read carefully and follow the procedure to the letter of the steps to seek resolution prior to submitting a small claims court on-line claim.
matt1
Well-Known Member
Really sorry to hear this experience, which is the opposite of mine. My new boat purchase was very smooth and all the minor niggles rectified. The dealer never quibbled with anything and couldn’t have been more accommodating. They are the sole agent for this manufacturer in the UK and the owners website was full of praise for them, including helping owners from abroad who hadn’t purchased from them!
I’m no expert but surely the sale of goods act applies? Isn’t there an established legal principle of 5 years on serious stuff like hulls?
I think I had a 1 year warranty on the boat and 2 years on engine and electronics
I notice you have been very professional / polite and not named the dealer / manufacturer on here. Could that be your next step?
I’m no expert but surely the sale of goods act applies? Isn’t there an established legal principle of 5 years on serious stuff like hulls?
I think I had a 1 year warranty on the boat and 2 years on engine and electronics
I notice you have been very professional / polite and not named the dealer / manufacturer on here. Could that be your next step?
Cloud 5
Well-Known Member
Small claims limit would not even look at what’s this costs me :.
i have kept records , photos , emails , but you get to a point , just to sell up , at 60 this was my retirement boat , the love of sailing has kept me hanging in ,
Skylark
Well-Known Member
Do hang in, I’m sure that it will be worth it in the end. Perhaps it may be necessary to seek legal advice.
I bought mine when I was 58 as a retirement boat. I’ve had my fair share of frustration with warranty issues but now, 7 years later, it still brings a huge smile to my face each time I step aboard.
My retirement plan at 59 bears no resemblance whatsoever to my life today, but that’s all together a different tale ?
Quandary
Well-Known Member
Surely in the UK your contract is with whoever you paid your money to, who built it or made components may be relevant to him but has nothing to do with you.
Why do we let boat sellers use this smokescreen?
Having said that, he probably regards your complaints as minor and beyond his remit so he will expect to get away with it, of course if he got some widespread exposure which lost him a future sale he might change his style.
Why do we let boat sellers use this smokescreen?
Having said that, he probably regards your complaints as minor and beyond his remit so he will expect to get away with it, of course if he got some widespread exposure which lost him a future sale he might change his style.
Cloud 5
Well-Known Member
Of course you are quite correct , this is a tactic , having to rebuild the engine housing because the engine was too big to get access is not a minor fault
James_Calvert
Well-Known Member
So what kind of rectifications are you expecting?
Rusty engine mounts-are you suggesting they are not fit for purpose (really!), or just unsightly. If it's just a moment with a wire brush... why not DIY or ask your mechanic to clean them up when the engine is serviced.
Battery going flat. You need to establish what's happened. Possibly there's a fault in the installation, or more likely there's been something drawing current you didn't know about. If you can't work out which yourself, you need some help. Pay for it, and if it's an installation problem, you have a specific issue to be put right and compensated for.
Invertor problem. Again, if you can't identify what's wrong, you'll need a paid for diagnosis.
General cosmetic stuff. Are these things readily fixable, if you had a paid skipper or paid hand, are they the sort of things you would expect them to deal with? Or by a competent owner? If not, as others have suggested, get a quotation for the jobs and take it from there.
We've only bought a new boat once and had a few issues emerging, but could only have got them sorted out at the time by returning the boat to the builder in Poole, where we had also taken delivery. Which wasn't convenient so we didn't. About a year later I extracted a promise to do them when their team was in our area, but then they went bust...
Rusty engine mounts-are you suggesting they are not fit for purpose (really!), or just unsightly. If it's just a moment with a wire brush... why not DIY or ask your mechanic to clean them up when the engine is serviced.
Battery going flat. You need to establish what's happened. Possibly there's a fault in the installation, or more likely there's been something drawing current you didn't know about. If you can't work out which yourself, you need some help. Pay for it, and if it's an installation problem, you have a specific issue to be put right and compensated for.
Invertor problem. Again, if you can't identify what's wrong, you'll need a paid for diagnosis.
General cosmetic stuff. Are these things readily fixable, if you had a paid skipper or paid hand, are they the sort of things you would expect them to deal with? Or by a competent owner? If not, as others have suggested, get a quotation for the jobs and take it from there.
We've only bought a new boat once and had a few issues emerging, but could only have got them sorted out at the time by returning the boat to the builder in Poole, where we had also taken delivery. Which wasn't convenient so we didn't. About a year later I extracted a promise to do them when their team was in our area, but then they went bust...
Momac
Well-Known Member
Tales like this make me think it is better to buy a used boat.
In the process perhaps inheriting faults that originate from the build - but paying a lot less.
In the process perhaps inheriting faults that originate from the build - but paying a lot less.
Resolution
Well-Known Member
Assuming you bought your new boat as a private individual from a dealer in the UK you have two levels of action: under the Consumer Rights Act (which replaced Sale of Goods Acts) you have certain specific rights against the dealer essentially in respect of faults present in the product at the time of sale. In addition your contract of sale may include a warranty from the manufacturer of the boat. Terms of this will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.
johnalison
Well-Known Member
A quarter of a million quid is a lot of anyone's money, and I would expect such a boat to be near perfect, though boats are complicated things and there will always be some problems. It makes me realise how lucky we were with our last two purchases, the previous ones having been direct from the builders. On the last occasion the agent crawled all over our new boat looking for possible problems when we brought it back to the UK and put one or two things right, receiving our thanks and at least a chance of future custom.
Jim@sea
Well-Known Member
PLEASE READ THIS.
If I was buying a new boat again I would not make the same mistake that I did 40 years ago when I ordered a "New Boat"
Despite me making it clear that I wanted the "Next New One" which came out of the factory it appears that Boat Dealers don't work that way.
It was November and I was (obviously) prepared to wait up to the following April for the boat which gave the dealer 5 months to get one.
But why would a Boat Dealer order a new one when they knew another dealer had one in stock which was unsold which they could buy.
When I was going through the process of rejecting the boat (£29,000 was a lot of money in 1980) I found that the "new" boat I had bought had been manufactured 2 years before. But of course that's the GRP part, the engines and gearbox could have been made years before and supplied by third party suppliers.
The "Mermaid" engines were marinised Ford D series engines which were obsolete before the boat was made.
At that time Ford sold "reconditioned" engines which were Blue. (a brand new one was black)
The engines on the boat I bought were White being the colour sprayed by the Marine Engine people.
One of the engines did not start. Despite attempts by my ex-RN diesel mechanic. After the Boatyard got the engine going it appears that they had had the head off. The paint around the head bolts had cracked and the paint underneath was blue. Which shows it was a re-conditioned engine.
In my opinion as a Motor Engineer the reason the gearbox oil seal "failed" was that it had sat unused for years and hardened. On its maiden voyage was that the gearbox could have been made 5 years before being sold to the Engine Marinised who then sold the Engine + Gearbox to the boat manufacturer.
One of the main reasons that I was able to get a full refund was that the boat which they sold me as "New" I had already seen up for sale at another boat dealer. In the water. Which I had declined to buy.
With the boat owned by the forum member, the rusty engine mounts could indicate that the date of manufacture could be a few years before the engine was actually fitted to the boat.
Dealer can get away with selling something like care dealers "New at date of first registration"
If I was buying again I would be more circumspect about finding out when engines were actually made.
If I was buying a new boat again I would not make the same mistake that I did 40 years ago when I ordered a "New Boat"
Despite me making it clear that I wanted the "Next New One" which came out of the factory it appears that Boat Dealers don't work that way.
It was November and I was (obviously) prepared to wait up to the following April for the boat which gave the dealer 5 months to get one.
But why would a Boat Dealer order a new one when they knew another dealer had one in stock which was unsold which they could buy.
When I was going through the process of rejecting the boat (£29,000 was a lot of money in 1980) I found that the "new" boat I had bought had been manufactured 2 years before. But of course that's the GRP part, the engines and gearbox could have been made years before and supplied by third party suppliers.
The "Mermaid" engines were marinised Ford D series engines which were obsolete before the boat was made.
At that time Ford sold "reconditioned" engines which were Blue. (a brand new one was black)
The engines on the boat I bought were White being the colour sprayed by the Marine Engine people.
One of the engines did not start. Despite attempts by my ex-RN diesel mechanic. After the Boatyard got the engine going it appears that they had had the head off. The paint around the head bolts had cracked and the paint underneath was blue. Which shows it was a re-conditioned engine.
In my opinion as a Motor Engineer the reason the gearbox oil seal "failed" was that it had sat unused for years and hardened. On its maiden voyage was that the gearbox could have been made 5 years before being sold to the Engine Marinised who then sold the Engine + Gearbox to the boat manufacturer.
One of the main reasons that I was able to get a full refund was that the boat which they sold me as "New" I had already seen up for sale at another boat dealer. In the water. Which I had declined to buy.
With the boat owned by the forum member, the rusty engine mounts could indicate that the date of manufacture could be a few years before the engine was actually fitted to the boat.
Dealer can get away with selling something like care dealers "New at date of first registration"
If I was buying again I would be more circumspect about finding out when engines were actually made.
Malish
Well-Known Member
Moving on I would hope that the paperwork accompanying a new boat purchase would detail the date of manufacture of the hull and other large items, plus an indication of build history ro comply with modern QA/QC manufacturing protocols, or am I expecting too much?
Sticky Fingers
Well-Known Member
Yes that's my experience as far as the manufacture is concerned but less so on components. The HIN indicates month and year of build. Builders Certificate indicates year of build and includes the HIN. If it's a stock boat then there must be a dated bill of sale between the builder and the dealer. And it's likely that the dealer has it on finance so the MCA Part 1 trail will help too.
sailaboutvic
Well-Known Member
This was my experience with a new Dufour 385 in 2008 .
Once I had enough of excuses why the work didn't come under warranty I send them a register letter saying if the work wasn't carried out within the next two weeks under warranty I would issue a court summon for the cost of someone else to do the work .
Got a call four days late asking me to put all the issues in writing and bring the boat back to get them all sorted .
This is what I learned brokers/Dealers get X amount to put stuff right , what they don't spend they keep .
Once I had enough of excuses why the work didn't come under warranty I send them a register letter saying if the work wasn't carried out within the next two weeks under warranty I would issue a court summon for the cost of someone else to do the work .
Got a call four days late asking me to put all the issues in writing and bring the boat back to get them all sorted .
This is what I learned brokers/Dealers get X amount to put stuff right , what they don't spend they keep .