What would you do...? Damage at dealership

[wetfoot]

I brought my 216 in for it's initial service & after picking it up I discovered a scrape/hole in the rubrail on the corner of the transom the following morning.

I participated in the Rankin Group Buy and my boat always has it's cover on it. (No damage to the cover) When I picked the boat up that night it was covered & I did not notice the damage until the next morning when I was cleaning the boat up for our trip.
(The boat was dusty/dirty from sitting out at the dealership for a week)

I personally detailed the boat before bringing it in for service & know that there was no damage to the rubrail prior to the visit to the dealer.

My dealer says there is no way it happened while in their posession.

This is my brand new 216 & I want it to stay this way.

They want $700.00+/- to replace the rubrail.

What do you think?

Things are slow to happen at the dealership & my boat has been there for a month already due to backordered parts.

I get that, sometimes things happen out of the dealer's control. But in this case I feel that there is not a lot of post sale service.

Any suggestions or thoughts on how to proceed?

Thanks in advance.

wetfoot

[boatech]

RE: What would you do...? Damage at dealership

if the dealer wont step up then i would call cc direct. and find a new dealer. is it just the middle insert or the bottom channel damaged as well? post a pic. the fact your boat went in clean and came out dirty is BS the fact you know they damaged it and wont fix it is well lets just say worse. i would give them another chance to fix it then i would call them out on this forum and warn people about their poor custumer service. things like this do happen but how the dealer handles them is whats important and the fact your sure they did it means they fix it no questions!! good luck. make sure you get to the owner of the dealership if you can.

[horkn]

RE: What would you do...? Damage at dealership

be adamant about it. the dealer probably not step up without a little intervention, or mention of you calling CC themselves.

for as much as these boats cost, the dealers should be just as anal about them as the owners are.

[SGY]

RE: What would you do...? Damage at dealership

That's bad news. How bad is the scrape/hole? If its a scrape, then wet sanding well bring it back to new. Start with around 800 grit and finish with 2000 grit. If that doesn't work, then move to a courser grit sand paper. When done, a nice finish coat of 303 will bring the shine back. If the rub rail is bent, the middle section is easily lifted out and the stainless steel screws removed and replaced. The SS screws will bend way before the gelcoat/fiberglass cracks. I've replaced about a dozen screws in my rub rail. Takes a few minutes but it's worth it to get the wavy look out.

This doesn't mean that the dealer is off the hook. But if you can fix it, at least you'll sleep at night.

By the way, the exact same thing happened to me. Big scrape on the back transome corner rub rail. Looked like the dealer mechanic backed the boat into a chain link fence. I was PO'd. Dealer never fessed up. My word against theirs. I blew it off finally. (Dealer was a MC dealer that was doing work for CC in my area.)

[jjackkrash]

The dealer is legally responsible for any damage it causes while the boat is in their control. But it is also a problem of proof. It is your burden to prove that they caused the damage. You could always go to small claims court and tell your side of the story. But going to court will likely ruin your relationship with the dealer. If they won't fix it for free or accept responsiblity, maybe there is a way to come up with a compromise you could both live with, like getting the part at dealer cost with free labor.

[ag4ever]

If the dealer won't fix it when it really did happen there, do you really want a relationship with that dealer?

[wetfoot]

Here is an update...

Yesterday I spoke to the owner of the dealership regarding the trim issue.

I explained to him that I had detailed the boat prior to bringing it in for service and that one of the last things that I do when I detail the boat is to go over the rubrail with 303 prior to putting the Rankin cover on.

He dismissed this explanation and simply said that there is no way that the damage occurred at his shop, and in fact because I am a "particualar customer, which is great" so they took extra careful precautions with my boat.

At this point we are going nowhere & I don't want to burn any bridges since the next closest dealer is M2O Marine in San Diego. I ask if there is some sort of compromise we could make to replace the rubrail. He said that any concession that he might make would make him feel that he was being taken advantage of.

I asked if I should get West Coast Correct Craft involved. He said good idea, and that he would talk to Bob Bense from WCCC that afternoon while he was at his shop and tell him his side of the story & then have him contact me.

I drove down to the dealer picked up my boat, spent the better part of an hour with Bob discussing the situation and am awaiting a resolution.

Bob asked if I might be interested in having the rubrail repaired instead of replaced. I told him that I wanted to be reasonable. He was going to talk to the dealer and get back to me.

Meanwhile I take the boat home and start to clean the boat and discover the the white vinyl has the yellow bees wax stains throghout. I am at a total loss....

I guess I am done with the dealer & will be traveling to San Diego from now on.

Does anyone know of a way of removing those little yellow stains?

Thanks in advance.

[SNMike]

Re: Here is an update...

Meanwhile I take the boat home and start to clean the boat and discover the the white vinyl has the yellow bees wax stains throghout. I am at a total loss....

I guess I am done with the dealer & will be traveling to San Diego from now on.

Does anyone know of a way of removing those little yellow stains?

Thanks in advance.

Hope it all works out buddy! As for the stain's, Vinyl Finish Vinyl Cleaner/Dawn or Ivory dish soap/Fantastik/ NOT 409/...303 protectant.

Use a terry cloth dish towel, or a VERY soft toothbrush, rub gently. Whatever does not come out, the sun will bleach it away. Use 303 when you're done.

No worries!
Mikey :grin:

[SGY]

RE: Re: Here is an update...

That yellow staining is very common. Hard to avoid if the boat remains uncovered for any length of time. The best answer is what SNMike says above. Those stains will bleach out with the sun.

[NautiqueJeff]

...Vinyl Finish Vinyl Cleaner/Dawn or Ivory dish soap/Fantastik/ NOT 409/...303 protectant...

Be careful with the Fantastik. Correct Craft stopped recommending its use a couple of years ago. I think it was reformulated and started eating the stitching in the upholstery!

[SNMike]

...Vinyl Finish Vinyl Cleaner/Dawn or Ivory dish soap/Fantastik/ NOT 409/...303 protectant...

Be careful with the Fantastik. Correct Craft stopped recommending its use a couple of years ago. I think it was reformulated and started eating the stitching in the upholstery!

I don't use it my self, the 303 flyer that came with my 07, same as before, recommends it. Must be out dated stuff they're stuffing in with the big zip bag. But I agree.

I've got so much 303 on my stuff, a laser couldn't hurt. :mrgreen:

[wetfoot]

Thanks for the tip on the stains guys.

I use the 303 pretty liberally as well. Hopefully it will save me...

As for the rubrail, Bob Bense @ WCCC authorized the repair out of his pocket.

Nice guy!

This was above and beyond what he needed to do.

Livin' It.

[SGY]

Good deal. I always hear good things about WCCC. How far is WCCC from you? Don't they do service work?

[wetfoot]

I am in Southern California.

Bob told me I could take it to my local dealer, or have a mobil guy come to the house to save me the 1-1/2 hour trip to my dealer.

Either way, he said he would reimburse me to make it right.

This is good business!

Thanks again!

[DanielC]

Bob Bense, and WCCC is a class act. I know is is a long drive, but I would either do the work on the boat myself, or take it to WCCC for needed service work