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I have to vent.
I bought a custom ordered 18 G23 in May of 2018. The dealer transcribed one of the interior colors wrong on the order sheet (white instead of gray for the primary interior color) and I did not catch it (mistake #1) when I signed off on the order sheet. Nautique of course built to the order sheet - when it was delivered...I was heart broken, but the only immediate option was to wait for another boat. Mind you, I had already sold my other boat (2008 230 SAN) and I had a vacation planned at Norris lake in early June. Add to all of this my anticipation of a brand new boat (my first ever) and the fact that I only have my kids 50% of the time...not having a boat was not an option - at least in my mind at that time. The dealer assured me that they wanted me to "be happy" with my purchase and would make it good. We agreed that I would use the boat and see if the white would grow on me AND I trusted them with their commitment to make it good (Mistake #2).
For the next two years, I had no less than 15 conversations with them about this. With each passing month, they asked me if the White was working for me and each time, I told them that I wanted the gray because it felt more "custom" to me, which is what I was going for. Each time they continued to assure me that they would make it good, but never once did they offer me a remedy (mistake #3 - I should have asked for one). So after the season last year when I took my boat in for warranty work, I insisted they offer me a remedy. I would go into detail on their lack of urgency on this and what it took for me to finally get to today, but you would think I was exaggerating...their lack of urgency and response is astounding (they better hope Nautique never offers another dealership locally). When Adam W from Nautique was in town for their Christmas Party, I asked for a meeting with him too because I believe Nautique has skin in this game too. Why would they create a system to build out your boat online and then require their dealers to transcribe this information to an order sheet manually? This is 2020...isn't it? Anyways, Adam said "this just does not happen - it's not a problem with our ordering system." Come on...I don't buy that. I know it happen to me and I have a hard time believing I am the first. In any event, Adam agreed to consider the situation and get back to the dealer.
A month goes by and I hear nothing which is disappointing because if there is a deal to be had, then marketing my boat at the boat show is a great opportunity for both of us to minimize my investment and their risk in the deal. After 4 requests and missed commitment after missed commitment to send me the deal sheet, low and be hold...the deal they are offering me on a 2020 is 1.2% better (additional 1.2% off MSRP) than the deal they offered my when I bought my 18 G originally. The trade value on my boat is also extremely safe on their side of the deal too. I pressed them to do better on the sale price and minimize or eliminate their profit to save a customer...nope. They held firm...no movement.
Leading up to the deal sheet, they assured me they just wanted me to be satisfied and my approach all along was I did not want them to lose money to make this right. Even by selling me the boat at or near cost, my suggested investment was substantial considering there are no major changes that I care about between an 18 and 20 (the back seats don't excite me), but they seem to care more about selling one boat and profit, than keeping a Nautique customer for life.
I cannot see myself giving this dealer any more of my money (outside of emergencies). I'm seriously bummed right now. I love my G23 and I cannot imagine owning something else, but I cannot imagine driving 2 hours to the next nearest dealer either. I actually worked a deal at the boat show on a X24 and it was nice...but I cannot wrap my head around owning a MC just yet. Plus that investment was 2x what I was willing to spend.
Ok- venting over. I'm sure there are a ton of people here willing to point out all the mistakes I made along the way...they are very easy for me to see too and I can assure you my gut was telling me I was making mistake after mistake, but I was going on what they were saying..."we are committed to making it good" and, frankly, I was putting in good money to acknowledge the 200 hours that I put on my boat (stored on the trailer, never stored on a lift or in the water, well maintained - inside and out). Point being...I want to live in a world where a person word means something.
Please don't ask the dealer name. I'm not interested in sharing that.
I bought a custom ordered 18 G23 in May of 2018. The dealer transcribed one of the interior colors wrong on the order sheet (white instead of gray for the primary interior color) and I did not catch it (mistake #1) when I signed off on the order sheet. Nautique of course built to the order sheet - when it was delivered...I was heart broken, but the only immediate option was to wait for another boat. Mind you, I had already sold my other boat (2008 230 SAN) and I had a vacation planned at Norris lake in early June. Add to all of this my anticipation of a brand new boat (my first ever) and the fact that I only have my kids 50% of the time...not having a boat was not an option - at least in my mind at that time. The dealer assured me that they wanted me to "be happy" with my purchase and would make it good. We agreed that I would use the boat and see if the white would grow on me AND I trusted them with their commitment to make it good (Mistake #2).
For the next two years, I had no less than 15 conversations with them about this. With each passing month, they asked me if the White was working for me and each time, I told them that I wanted the gray because it felt more "custom" to me, which is what I was going for. Each time they continued to assure me that they would make it good, but never once did they offer me a remedy (mistake #3 - I should have asked for one). So after the season last year when I took my boat in for warranty work, I insisted they offer me a remedy. I would go into detail on their lack of urgency on this and what it took for me to finally get to today, but you would think I was exaggerating...their lack of urgency and response is astounding (they better hope Nautique never offers another dealership locally). When Adam W from Nautique was in town for their Christmas Party, I asked for a meeting with him too because I believe Nautique has skin in this game too. Why would they create a system to build out your boat online and then require their dealers to transcribe this information to an order sheet manually? This is 2020...isn't it? Anyways, Adam said "this just does not happen - it's not a problem with our ordering system." Come on...I don't buy that. I know it happen to me and I have a hard time believing I am the first. In any event, Adam agreed to consider the situation and get back to the dealer.
A month goes by and I hear nothing which is disappointing because if there is a deal to be had, then marketing my boat at the boat show is a great opportunity for both of us to minimize my investment and their risk in the deal. After 4 requests and missed commitment after missed commitment to send me the deal sheet, low and be hold...the deal they are offering me on a 2020 is 1.2% better (additional 1.2% off MSRP) than the deal they offered my when I bought my 18 G originally. The trade value on my boat is also extremely safe on their side of the deal too. I pressed them to do better on the sale price and minimize or eliminate their profit to save a customer...nope. They held firm...no movement.
Leading up to the deal sheet, they assured me they just wanted me to be satisfied and my approach all along was I did not want them to lose money to make this right. Even by selling me the boat at or near cost, my suggested investment was substantial considering there are no major changes that I care about between an 18 and 20 (the back seats don't excite me), but they seem to care more about selling one boat and profit, than keeping a Nautique customer for life.
I cannot see myself giving this dealer any more of my money (outside of emergencies). I'm seriously bummed right now. I love my G23 and I cannot imagine owning something else, but I cannot imagine driving 2 hours to the next nearest dealer either. I actually worked a deal at the boat show on a X24 and it was nice...but I cannot wrap my head around owning a MC just yet. Plus that investment was 2x what I was willing to spend.
Ok- venting over. I'm sure there are a ton of people here willing to point out all the mistakes I made along the way...they are very easy for me to see too and I can assure you my gut was telling me I was making mistake after mistake, but I was going on what they were saying..."we are committed to making it good" and, frankly, I was putting in good money to acknowledge the 200 hours that I put on my boat (stored on the trailer, never stored on a lift or in the water, well maintained - inside and out). Point being...I want to live in a world where a person word means something.
Please don't ask the dealer name. I'm not interested in sharing that.
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