Buying outside of your market

[02ProstarSammyD]

02ProstarSammyD, what area and dealer are you talking about? I'm looking at a boat long distance and was considering letting the local dealer in Raleigh NC check it out for me. I noticed on the boat show thread you weren't impressed with that local dealer. Do you live in the Raleigh area. Thanks

Boats unlimited. I just haven't been impressed with them at all. Nothing terrifying like hearing about warranty work etc, but I've been in the store 2x to grab parts and both times was looking at new boats..........both times not one person cared to help me. Went to the boat show and while they had a huge booth with prob 30 boats I sat for 15 min in an x10 and came back 45 min later after getting the kids some brownies and did the same. Not once was I asked even how I was doing. One sales guy made direct eye contact with me, turned around, and walked away.

I know its not a big deal but I'm not going to beg anyone to write them a check. I am also worried about warranty work if I buy from another market too though.


Also just to let you know if you need a boat checked out in raleigh I can take a quick look or if you need detailed check out done contact diego at

Powerboat Service Inc
4200 Atlantic Ave #148 Raleigh, NC 27604
(919) 790-7760

He is by far the best boat guy in Raleigh and does check outs regularly. I'd swear by him on my lefty

[JimN]

If you use the boat in an area that's not near your home, it really shouldn't be a big deal. Better to buy it close to the water than drag it across the country and back.

[bobx1]

I had to get "permission" to purchase out of local dealer territory. The dealer I purchased from had to submit (it may have just been a phone call) my reasoning and MC made it clear not to expect my local dealer to perform warranty work. The dealer I purchased from was 3.5 hours away so it was not that big of a deal.

[gweaver]

No experience with boat dealers, but that sounds rather odd that MC (or any other manufacturer) would state that a local dealer is under no obligation to perform warranty work. Seems like warranty work should be covered by ANY dealer. I know we have a Toyota van, purchased in Florida, but we've had warranty work done on it in California, still fully covered by Toyota.

G

[jafo9]

so if i buy a boat here at rambo where i live and then i move to texas, i can't get warranty work done in texas?

[Theclarks1111]

I have had some experience with this as well. I live on the Alabama side of a lake that is split down the middle between Alabama and Georgia. The Georgia Mastercraft dealer is actually an easier and more convenient drive for me to get to, however, they straight up told me that they did not want to do business with me and wanted me to go to the Alabama dealership. I couldn't even believe it.

[JimN]

Originally Posted by gweaver

No experience with boat dealers, but that sounds rather odd that MC (or any other manufacturer) would state that a local dealer is under no obligation to perform warranty work. Seems like warranty work should be covered by ANY dealer. I know we have a Toyota van, purchased in Florida, but we've had warranty work done on it in California, still fully covered by Toyota.

G

This isn't like cars- boat dealers don't have service departments with 20 techs. If you complain about how long it takes to get your boat serviced, do you really want your dealer to put someone ahead of you when they didn't buy their boat from your dealer? I don't think so. Look at the number of cars sold by Toyota vs the boats sold by MC- Toyota sold 4Million last year alone, if I heard it correctly. MC sold about 3000. Think about it. How many dealers does each manufacturer have?

[broncotw]

So then to echo "jafo9" -- what happens in the event you purcahse a MasterCraft in one state and then reloacte to another state? Is the MasterCraft dealership in your new location obligated to service your boat?

[JimN]

Originally Posted by broncotw

So then to echo "jafo9" -- what happens in the event you purcahse a MasterCraft in one state and then reloacte to another state? Is the MasterCraft dealership in your new location obligated to service your boat?

If someone relocates, the best thing to do is contact MC to let them know.

[jeff shelton]

I've purchased 3 new mastercrafts from Jimmy at Texas Mastercraft. If I buy another new one it will be from him. I was working and living in Dallas when I purchased the first but my permanent address was still in TN. I was out of state when I purchased the other 2. Grandfathered in maybe.
Last year at the boat show while talking to Jimmy and the MC rep. The rep asked why I purchased from Jimmy. I explained to him the situation and that I would buy another brand before I would purchase a new one in my market area. That was a lie, I would just buy a used one from another dealer. He basically said that they would rather you buy local but it doesn't really matter.
I actually took one of the boats in for winterization and some warranty work at my local dealer in TN. I scheduled the appointment and made it clear that all the work needs to be performed while it was there. I got a call a couple days later. They had done the winterization and had checked the other issue and diagnost it but I would have to bring it back in the spring because they were to busy to do the work. They said the repairs would be covered under warranty and it would be noted in the system.
I took the boat back in the spring. They called the following day to inform me that it would not be covered under warranty and it would cost $500 to fix. If they didn't make the repairs I would still have to pay for the disassembly and reassembly which would have cost about $300. Pissed off I just said fix it. They blamed it on the stereo installation but I argued that they had diagnosed it in the fall and said it was warranty and if it would have been the installers fault I would have taken it back to him and would not have been charged for the repair. It all kind of worked out since I was having him install another stereo and speakers in another boat for me and he discounted the install due to the repairs they made.
They even had the nerve when they called to tell me it was ready to ask if they could replace the Texas Mastercraft sticker on the back with one of theirs. They also wanted to know if I would be interested in purchasing the guide pole covers with their name. My answer was not given very politely.