Dealer neglect?

[steve(IL)]

I stopped at a boat dealer outside of Milwaukee who carries two of the three brands in RCL plus a few others. While walking through their yard, I couldn't help but notice many boats were full of snow and water from the recent thaw and rains. There was a late model Angler 1700 SS with at least 18" of water in it! The tires were bagging out. The carpet looked like it had been soaking for weeks!! The floor will be ruined - who knows about the transom. I thought the least I could do would be to pull the drain plug(you would think the dealer might do this small thing weeks earlier) When I removed the cover plate to reach in, I was stopped by a solid block of ice in the hull! What a shame! There were high end Rangers sitting out uncovered in the same condition. These are customer boats that people left off for service or who knows what!! I asked one of the mechanics in the shop why the boats were uncovered. He said they are customer boats that people never picked up. We're talking about late model Rangers & Lunds getting ruined. There will be some pissed off customers come spring. How would you like to buy one of these boats used down the road? Wow.

[badmisterevil]

It's too bad that people take the "It's not mine, I don't care" attitude. I wouldn't want to take on this future junk because someone was too lazy to put on a cover!

[cisco]

Before coming down too hard on the dealer, consider the possibility that uncaring customers did, in fact, leave their boats there uncovered without any urgency to pick them up. Some might think of it as free storage.

I see boats in owners driveways and yards with no protection from the elements (I'm in Minnesota), which tells me there are a lot of boat owners who care less about their boats than I care about mine.

Dealers ought to take reasonable care of the rigs left for service, but they shouldn't be expected to shrink wrap or otherwise protect a boat from the elements if it was not part of a service contract.

What you described may not be dealer neglect at all.

[steve(IL)]

I agree in part with what you said. I have little sympathy for customers who would try to take advantage. There are several things that make me wonder about this dealer 1) I counted more than six high end boats left exposed like this 2) the slacker mechanics and employees working there walk right past these boats daily and were too lazy to even pull the plugs to allow them to drain 3)High end boat owners typically don't neglect their boats
4)If I owned the dealership, my conscience wouldn't allow me to leave them exposed like that.

[coondog]

what dealership?

[steve(IL)]

If you live close enough to Milwaukee to be concerned, it wouldn't be hard to figure out. I'll be the first to admit that I don't know the particulars about why these boats are being left exposed. I did experience firsthand the who-gives-a-crap attitude of the employees I spoke with.

[Jack]

I have no faith in any of the local marine dealers either doing excellent work on my rig or taking reasonable care of it if I have to leave it for several days for some reason.

If I have to leave the boat on their lot for an unspecified amount of time I always put the cover on and cinch it down tight so that water will not pool on the cover. I am never surprised to go pick it up and find the cover loosely on the boat, water pooled on the cover if it has rained and even two or three of my bungee cords missing ($2.50 each).

I usually try to get an appointment at some future date, specified by the dealer, so I can have it there when they open up in the morning. Most will not even consider doing that.

[walleye mike]

Steve; I also have visited that dealer. In my quest for a used, now going to a new boat I observed a few things. Some I liked, some I didn't. Frankly, I only found 1 sales guy that I enjoyed speaking with. Helpful and interested in my needs. Having been there last fall a couple of times, I saw piles of leaves and general crud in the boats stored outside. Whose problem is that? The boat owner that didn't have a cover on the boat? The dealer for not exerting time and money to protect his for sale boats, or client's boats? Did you see any boats which where properly covered? Looked cleaned and cared for? Where the client boats mixed in amongst the used for sale boats? It can be a hard call. You have to go with what makes you comfortable.

Good Luck Walleye Mike