MarineMax - Buford, GA. Rough experiences - beware.

[CLT-Nautique-Fan]

Has anyone bought their Nautique from them or used them for Service? I bought my brand new 2011 226 this past summer and since then it has been a frustrating relationship. They delivered my boat (in NC on Lake Norman) with small little things that they admitted needed to be fixed when they showed up in front of my house with the boat (torn stitching on the vinyl, tarnished chrome bezels, missing snaps for the carpet, burnt-out back lighting of buttons surrounding the Linc system). Despite these small things, I took delivery of the boat since they towed it 5 hours to my location and they told me that they would fix these issues under warranty. The biggest issue was the trailer, I purchased a new trailer but what they brought me looked like had been through a major war. It was chipped, rusted, cables were frayed, safety chain missing and the winch fabric had a tear in it at the attachment point. As the summer progressed, my boat usage was minimal as all sorts of other issues developed (Tower speakers stopped working, engine issues, ballast pumps burned out). I compiled a full master list of all issues and they came and picked the boat up, trailered it back to Atlanta and fixed the long list of issues (trailer included), including winterizing the boat. They brought the boat back and as I cleaned it up and prepared to store it, i found all kinds of cracks, chips and holes in the fiberglass around the engine bay along with tears in the vinyl on the sunpad. It seems that as they were working on the engine, the techs were very careless and now Im left with a whole new set of problems to fix (albeit mainly cosmetic). I will be notifying them to see what kind of support they can provide at this point. Ultimately, I'd rather take it to my local Nautique dealer and have him bill Marinemax for the work that needs to be done to get this brand new boat back into respectable condition.

So for now, buyer beware of Marinemax Buford. Hopefully they will make this right. I'll update with more information when (or even if) i get a response.

[Nordicron]

Thats terrible what they did to your gel and vinyl and needs to be fixed. My question is why didnt you by from your local dealer? Was this a used boat? My understanding is Nautique dealers don't sell out of their area? Anyway I think your stuck with getting the work done that the dealer messed up on but on any future new work can be done at any Nautique dealer.

[CLT-Nautique-Fan]

I bought the boat brand new, never been titled, left over 2011 that they had in their inventory - it had less than 10 hours on it when I purchased it. While there is a rule that is supposed to prohibit them from selling outside their territory, it is a risk that dealers are willing to take. I bought it from a remote dealership because they had the exact boat I wanted for a good price. My local dealer (I wish I had bought from him instead) didn't have the boat I wanted in inventory and couldn't get me the same deal on the boat I ultimately purchased. Im just hopeful that they make good on this and work with me on a resolution. Ideally I take it to my local nautique dealer, have him repair it and then invoice Marinemax directly.

[Quinner]

While there is a rule that is supposed to prohibit them from selling outside their territory, it is a risk that dealers are willing to take.

Selling out of your area is a big no-no and Marinemax could be subject to fines for doing so. Perhaps the boat being unsold stock from a previous year changes that rule, if not that alone says quite a bit about their overall character.

Good luck getting everything worked out.

[CLT-Nautique-Fan]

Marinemax came through - good customer service

In fairness, the one I got was a leftover, so it makes some sense that dealerships leverage multiple audiences/locales to move older inventory. I don't think they were trying to be underhanded or play dirty.

Ultimately, Marinemax is making good on the whole thing, so big props to them. I got both an email and a call from their management stating that the damage should never have happened and that they will work with me to fix the damage at their cost. In the end, customer service and relationship management are very important and influential components of today's business, and Marinemax showed that they truly wanted to support their customer and correct the situation in a timely manner.

[ES]

Glad the dealer is stepping up. I have been having issues with my local dealer as well, Poplar Pointe Marine on Lake Gaston. The guys over there are nice but they always seem to do things only 80% (i.e. forget stuff on their punch list, etc.).
The latest is a nice walnut size stain of engine oil on the back seat after they winterized the boat. Of course, no one mentioned this to me until I found out myself. They eventually correct any issues, but what a pain having to follow up each time and bring the boat back there for service.
I wish Nautique did more to screen the quality of their dealers, I know some are fantastic but some really are not and you don't have much choice locally...