poor workmanship

[elkman]

We pay top dollar for our fishing equipment,boats, trailors,fish-locators,trolling motors, etc. and it seems to me that the manufactures should be able to make things right the first time. Taking new products back to the shop to get fixed is poor workmanship, bottom-line. I'am posting a incident that happened to me two weeks ago. Coming back from a fishing trip my Karavan Classic boat trailor( 2 yrs old ) lost the axle completely from underneath the boat, lucky for me that at that moment I was looking in the rear view mirror and going slow at the time. No damage to the boat or motors, fenders a little roughed up. Anyhow got the axle back underneath the trailor drove the next 25 miles into town very slowly. Got it fixed. The welder could not believe that two small welds were the only things holding the axle in place. I know that I made a mistake buying the trailor in the first place but these manfacturing people are not doing there job!!

[JKJ]

I agree! That's what is so great about this web site. The sharing of information help us all to avoid problems like yours. If I had your trailer, I would have it in the welding shop tonight beefing up the axel weld!

I've learned so much reading the posts out here. I've made to many "Improvements" to my boat/trailer to count. It has saved my but many times.

Time will tell if the manufactures ever cath on.

[Floater Kev (MN)]

You fellas are right in that companies should be sure to go over their product and make sure it is as good as it can be before they sell it to you. We expect that from any company that we buy from.

Still, to take things said on this site, one must always remember to use that proverbial grain of salt. Not everything said here is fact. Most is opinion. Some opinions are good and others are crapp. Just my opinion.

Kev

[Eyesore]

Good idea about sharing info on BRAND NEW JUNK! Here's the poorly manufactured crap I've wasted my money on, new G.M. 4x4 [you name it]. Garmin 160 fish finder-[I'm on my 3rd one in just over a year]most anything that has the name south bend on it, Hewlett packard deskjet printer- went to sh*t after 3 months old. I also had simillar problems with a boat trailer i bought new- and it was 1 year old. I grew up hating rice burners, but now.... I'd probaby buy a new toyota 4x4 if they made a heavy duty 3/4 ton. I hope the repys keep this post active so we can warn each other about all the worthless garbage out there. 10-4

[Pops]

With all due respect, I have found that no matter how hard you try to find the "best" product there are bound to be "lemons". I too had to replace an HP deskjet printer. It only lasted me 5 years. I have had my share of lemons and most always if it is under warrenty the manufacturer has made it right. I have also had things that went bad after warrenty and the manufacturer or dealer has done right by me by either just charging me labor or or just parts or at least discounting the cost.
Above all when dealing with a manufacturer or dealer be calm, cool and polite! Yes it does make me mad that my "whatever" broke down but, there are times when diplomicy will get better results that screeming.
Bottem line is, everything breaks if abused or even through normal use.
I have noticed that most ALL things made today just do not seem to have the quality of days gone by.
Keep your rod bent!!
Pops
PS Sorry if this is a little long. :-)

[Nofish]

LAST EDITED ON Jul-02-00 AT 10:04AM (CST)[p]Hey Gang,

We all ahve been victim of poor workmanship and things made cheaply. The stuff that really gets me is like the lead post says, you pay top dollar for something and it is made rather poorly or with the same components as an item much less expensive.

Also, I have found that by being polite and friendly to the people you have to deal with will almost always have the situation come out better for you.

But, one of our biggest faults is usually evident here. We complain to each other, but not the Mfr/Dealer etc. It is great that we keep each other informed about problems. That gives us all a heads up and gives the posting person a chance to vent. This also offers a forum wherein the person making the post may benefit from others past history with similar problems.

I can think of several times(especially with car dealers and service dept,s)that knowing about some warranty work that was backed by the factory for somone I knew, was also done for me. AFTER the dealer told me no way would they back this.

I just produced his bosses names and the warranty item memo that tells them to back it and so on. It is really amazing how many service people will flat out lie to you, unless you know a little backround.

Just my 2 cents.......R

[Eyesore]

Nofish, I agree with ALL that, 10-4. Lets just keep it simple on warning each other of poorly crafted equipment that has not lived up to expectations. We all know about the warranties, service plan, ect. I guess the point is not purchacing junk in the first place. If anyone wants to know the problems I've had with my stuff, in detail, I'll be happy to post. 10-4!

[island]

the more you paythe more you get

[Aj]

ive also had trouble wiyh my garmin except it was a 240. it was ok for maby 5or 6 months and then it just went blank one day while i was on the lake. im still waiting forthe factory to send it back. i liked the features of it alat though. real easy to work. i hope garmin isnt a lemon

[CB]

OK guys, I know this will probably upset some of you, but: Take a look at the posts just for this one issue. How many misspelled words and sloppy typing errors are there. It's an example of how we expect perfection from others but not from ourselves. Do we all try to stress quality in what we do, or are we just upset when we get what we give?

[Eyesore]

CB, do you want perfection in english phrasing? You forgot a coma between "from others" and "but not". Feel free to go back and double check. that jist me too sents aye me frend% ^ @ *##$ 0x ............10-4

[Dave in Mpls]

No offense, CB, but I really don't understand what misspelled words and sloppy typing have to do with poor workmanship. Are we charging anybody for any of this?? Are people not getting what they paid for?? Is this a site only for english majors?? Nope, I didn't think so either.

Regards

[Chad]

One thing to remeber is we all make mistakes. I dont have a problem with companies as long as they fix their errors without question and dont give me a hard time.

One good example is Fenwick. I needed a replacement part for a 3 year old reel which was discontinued. They told me to send the reel in and they would replace it with the new model. That was a shocker. They even paid for shipping.

I wouldn't worry about one person saying they had a problem since we are always dealing with people and we all have bad days. I would be wary of a product if there were a lot of complaints.

[Eyesore]

Chads post remined me of the flip side of this topic, good equipment. My personal experience with good manufacturing came in dealing with the beckmen brothers, of BECKMEN NETS. I had a steelhead net with a 18 inch handle that I wanted to extend to about 4 foot or so. They sawed off the short handle, installed a push pin, and put on a long handle. I said what do I owe you guys and they said you owe us nothing. Great guys, great company, and foremost, very good qaulity. 10-4!

[Gudnuf]

I want to defend Garmin. I have owned a Garmin 50 and 75 GPS's as well as a newer on but don't recall the model. Both have been used for years and worked great. Refurbishing was done within a week on the 75 and I was recently able to order a new power cord. Not many companies can sell you parts for discontinued products. Also the people are very pleasent to deal with. On my second boat I use a Garmin 160 depth finder works great for depth, you can't expect detail at 160 pixels.

Another great company is BottomLine. They recently rebuilt my 310 xt for a very reasonable price. The detail on this unit is wonderful.

[IaCraig]

My piece of junk is worse than your piece of junk. My worse piece of junk vote goes out to my MotorGuide 62RF lazer II trolling motor. MotorGuide rep says too bad because it is working as designed. Hope that designer has to use one sometime............


IaCraig

Just remember, somewhere out there is the world's worse doctor. Are you sure he isn't yours? ? ? ?