Forced to learn

[jward]

I am going to do my best not to bash anyone but I have a issue that I need to get off of my chest. I bought a SANTE off of an individual a few months ago knowing of a few things that I was going to have to change on the boat. There was a perfect pass issue, no big deal just asked questions directly to PP. The rest of it was typical maintanace issues. When all was said and done I had a air leak that I could not find. Boat was overheating. I had tried everything that I knew to do after reading several threads on here. I finally threw my hands in the air and took it to my Nautique dealer that is about 40 min away from my house. I have to say I was none too impressed with the lack of a warm welcome i recieved from the parts and service guys. I was told not to use any of the mechanics there because of their lack of experience. Here is where it gets good. I told the parts and service guys and one of the mechanics what was going on and what I had done and asked if there was anything else I could try. The parts and service manager told me to just leave the boat with them and they could get to it in about three weeks. I asked him what the labor was going to cost me and he said don't worry about it after all boat stands for bring on another thousand. Needless to say I took my boat home. After another week of talking with mechanics (by the way Tommy at WhiteLake Marine is Top Notch) and trial and error I found an issue with the raw water pump sucking air. I took the pump back to my dealer and they told me they would order the parts to rebuild the pump. 2 and half weeks later I find out that only some of the parts were ordered. I went back and got my pump and just told them no hard feelings just tired of waiting. I asked the mechanic and parts and service manager if I should rebuild it or just buy another pump. The mechanic wanted to take the pump apart and look at it himself but the manager said to me no we can't do that Quote "Your problem is not our problem". By this time I bit my toungue and left with my pump. I ordered another one, put it on and now everything is fine. I understand that I didn't buy the boat from them but is this the kind of service I should expect from any nautique dealership. I will never deal with these guys again but it just stinks because I just don't know who to use if I can't figure somthing out for myself. End of rant. Sorry for the lengthy post.

[bkhallpass]

RE: Forced to learn

No, this is not the type of service you should expect. I agree with you taking the high road, and not bashing the dealer by name on this forum. However, if I were you, I would write, email, or call Correct Craft and
relay your story to them. In the end you will do a service for all the CC owners in your area, and, if this dealer
is 40 minutes away, and your closest dealer, it is unacceptable that you can't count on them for quality service. BKH

[jward]

RE: Forced to learn

Sorry I left out another good part. I was talking with a mechanic and he told me that sometimes you just have to do trial and error. He said that he feels bad about it but there has been times where he has cost the customer a few hundred dollars on parts that in the end were not the cause of the problem and didn't need to be replaced. Are you kidding me? So you tell me, would you leave your boat with these guys.

[noti_dad]

I agree. Good on you for taking the higer path, biting your tongue and not bashing them (though it sounds like they deserve it). Definitely send CC a letter about this and cc a copy to the dealer.

I've never had those experiences with any dealer, even the ones that I didn't purchase a boat from. It always seemed like I was considered family when walking into any CC dealer.

Too bad your first experience was a bad one.

[SkiTower]

First, Tommy and the whole crew at WhiteLake are TOP NOTCH.

That being said, part of the reason Nautique is loved is due to the above and beyond dealer network (both sales and service). I agree with everyone else, send a letter to CC and cc the dealer. There is NO EXCUSE for that behavior.

On a lighter note, glad you found the problem.

[jward]

To avoid confusion, I am not talking about WhiteLake. I bought the boat in NC and had Tommy inspect it for me before I bought it. Tommy has gone above and beyond to help me with any questions or issues that I had. I only wish I had a dealership like that near me.

[NautiqueJeff]

I agree. White Lake is awesome. How far from them are you located?

[jward]

about 8 hrs. Im in Alabama

[Hollywood]

Sourcing an air leak is not even that difficult of a diagnosis. It's a pump, rubber hose, hose clamps, and a sea strainer. Come on... There are all kinds of crappy dealers, CC, MC, Malibu. You don't need to go to a CC dealer for general maintenance/repair.

[sfjakey]

Sounds like Jim Hammer is back in business!

[skiswm]

Do you have a Nautique regional office near you? Southeast C.C., West Coast Correct Craft etc? I know a lot of the dealers get really backed up in the summer and do actually refer some of the business to the regional offices to do the work.

[wakeboardin2k4]

Re: RE: Forced to learn

Sorry I left out another good part. I was talking with a mechanic and he told me that sometimes you just have to do trial and error. He said that he feels bad about it but there has been times where he has cost the customer a few hundred dollars on parts that in the end were not the cause of the problem and didn't need to be replaced. Are you kidding me? So you tell me, would you leave your boat with these guys.

I am a student at MMI and was told by an instructor that this is something that occurs a fair amount in the marine industry, and is the leading cause of dissatisfaction by customers. Often times when mechanics are not trained properly in troubleshooting they will turn to simply changing out parts until the problem is fixed, or not fixed in some cases.

I am also sorry to hear about your poor experience with that dealership. And agree with hollywood in what he said about not needing a CC dealership for general maintenance/repair. A PCM motor is the same as any other inboard or I/O motor in terms of its internal components and has a very similar cooling system to the I/O. Unless you're under warranty I would go to which dealership is closest to you, and has the best reputation. In saying that I would shy away from in Outboard dealership. Often times its not that they can't work on inboards, they just simply aren't as well versed in inboards and they usually don't like them so you may get put off to the side longer than necessary.

[jward]

RE: Re: RE: Forced to learn

I got an email from CC because of this thread. I was asked to tell my story again. The rep told me that steps would be taken to resolve the issue. I don't kown what will be done and it's really not that big of a deal to me if anything is done because I will never deal with that dealership again. It is comforting to know that CC reads what we write on here and actually cares what we have to say about their product.

Hollywood I could not agree more about not having to use a dealership for maintenance, because it's not that hard to do most of the work yourself. that is why I titled the thread forced to learn. As far as the air leak i took the recommended steps and this one did not stick out to me or anyone that looked at the cooling system. It would suck water so we did not check the pump. the problem was it did not continue to suck water because the seal on the inside of the pump was bad. It took a little work and patients to learn that the pump was loosing its prime. It is really easy to say "that was so obvious" after you figure out what the problem was.

[Hollywood]

RE: Re: RE: Forced to learn

I wasn't blaming you. It's totally cool if you don't even now what a RWP is. It's their job to know how to repair boats, and should have the cooling system pretty well dialed in due to it's simplicity.

[jward]

RE: Re: RE: Forced to learn

gotcha, thought you were going the other way with that one for a second.
I didn't expect this much of a response out of this thread. I just wanted to get the frustration of the experience off of my chest. guess I didn't realize how close the CC family is. I got several PM's and emails about this from you guys as well as talking with CC directly. Wow, just goes to show you the power of the internet. Heck I even got a couple free t-shirts from CC because of being a snitch (did we not learn anything as kids) HaHa. Anyway with all this being said, the weather is heating up! Who wants to go Wakeboarding this week!