Warranting boats we sold The thread "IF you were to buy a new boat, contact factory directly, or go to a dealer?"was frozen before I had a chance to answer someone's question for response from a boat dealer.
We sold renaissance marine catamarans for a couple of years in the mid atlantic states as the only dealer they ever had.We only sold 3 boats but gave them up due to lack of support.We stood behind the boats we sold at our expense.
We had also been offering Polar fiberglass boats,Nova,Quintrex and Crestliner aluminum boats but also after 2-4 years gave them up for lack of dealer support.Even after giving them up we still stood behind the products we sold by working with other dealers, going directly to the equipment manufacturers and at some expense to us.
ProSports for 8 years
Premier Pontoons 10 years
Twin Vee 3years
Yamaha outboards 10 years
I know that some of you here really talk bad about Prokat but they would go above and beyond for us to keep the customer happy with their boat.We have sold over 100 of the boats and seen very few with structural issues.Many of our hardcore fishing customers run the Prokat an average of 300 hours per year.We have sold 7 used for charter use with 1 boat now on it's 3rd set of engines and 6000 hrs plus on the hull.
My point is this we are a dealership whose reputation is built on SERVICE. I started selling cats in 1991 at another dealership and opened my own 7 years later when that dealership started to slide. They evwentually closed. Customers that bought boats from me still come to buy boats from me and send their kids, friends, neighbors, and associates to get their boats, motors, or service and accessories from me. I have sold 3 cats to the same guy and now that he and his wife are moving to the mountains, I am brokering that boat. My point is find a good local dealer that you trust. They should stand behind what they sell. We have known for some time that it is much easier to maintain good relationships by treating people well and carrying quality products, than to make margins so low that we can't stand behind what we sell. That friends is the difference between a good deal and a good dealer. |