2007 Tracker Pro Guide 17 SC Cracked Hull (3rd time)

[BroadwayBill]

With a company this size a lawyer is your very last recourse. Your are going to have to be willing to pay the piper if you go this route. Their lawyers office probably sits right next door to the president of the company. Please try to find another way to get your resolve in this case for you and your family. 99% of the time the only person who really gets paid is the attorney. Threats just don't work with a company this size and most business owners worth their weight are more fearful of losing revenue from bad or false advertising.

My guess would be that from the number of times this has happened that you have a week aluminum extrusion that no amount of welding is going to fix. I would maybe offer to pay the difference between the price you paid for yours and the price of a new hull as a option. I know you have had some grief in this process and this would seem to be a fair compromise. After all you would be getting a new boat.

Hope this helps.

Bill

[walleyedmike]

In this day and age, I find it VERY unusual for a company to offer only a 5 year warranty on a hull..........

[ShimanoElite]

I think that paying ANYTHING for a new hull in this instance is ludicrous. Examples like this are why everybody bashes Tracker. This is not a boat/hull issue anymore this is a safety and structural integrity issue. If this was a new truck and the frame was cracked and/or missing welds would you accept a repair for the 3rd time? absolutely not. What if he had been on a remote canadian lake when these cracks decided to open up for the 2nd or 3rd time or on big water? Demand to talk to the highest person in the company. Anything less than a replacement is unacceptable imo. period. Then sell it. as previously mentioned document everything. sounds like tracker is dug in and you may be in for a dog fight. good luck keep us posted.

[billfish1984]

This was the issue for Crankie in the thread I referenced:
http://www.walleyecentral.com/forums...parsons&page=8

"I have a 07 tracker and 2 months after I bought it (new) I noticed a rattling under the floor so I brought it in and found out it had 15 broken welds. So after 3 months of run a round I got my boat back from tracker with a tear in the carpet, 2 scratches a grease stain and some the after market stuff I put on taken off and left in a pile on the floor.
Problem 2
I've been wanting a seat base in the back center but knew the gas tank was there. So I decided to pull the floor to see if I could put one there without damaging the tank. After drilling out the screws they stripped last time they put it back together to get the floor off suprise, suprise 6-7 broken welds just in that area that I could actually see.
If I can get the pictures up you'll see how they used pieces of scrap aluminum to patch it back together. Even in my rage I had to laugh at that.
problem 3
The area they re-painted is peeling.
So today I'm off to the dealer to take it in. Would I be out of line by asking for a new hull or a new boat period since theres obviosly some structure issues.
I fish in northern minnesota on lakes mostly averaging 1,000 acres in usually less that a 2 foot chop. And I don't beat it on bigger waves. "

This isn't that much different from Thinice's problem in that Tracker did not effectively address a hull issue under warranty, and left Crankie very frustrated. Then Gary Parsons got involved it was promptly fixed. Talk all you want, but that is what I would be doing.

[ThinIceWalker]

Billfish,
Gottcha loud and clear.

[Retreat Too]

ThinIce, an appropriate name for the topic of this discussion! Sorry to hear of your troubles with your Tracker.

I run an automotive dealership in Boston, looking into purchasing a boat to keep at my family cottage in Canada, and this story makes me cringe in more ways than one. With that said, I felt I needed to chime in. It's obvious that this has been a long ongoing headache for everyone. The consumer, the dealership(s), and the manufacturer all wear a heavy burden when things don't go as planned. However, a reputable manufacturer at some point should act in good faith, and remove the burden from the consumer. I can assure you if your Tracker boat were a Subaru vehicle; you'd have a new car long ago, regardless of any state lemon law rules!

It is concerning to me to think that a company, such as Tracker, would continue to address your cracked hull in what seems to be, bad faith. The suggestion was made to offer to pay for the difference to a new hull by someone else here. I agree that it is the gentlemanly thing to do, however, warranties are in place for a reason. A manufacturer should be happy to honor a warranty, and if the problem persists they should be happy to go above and beyond for the consumer. Your most valued customer is the one who already has your product. In your case, it's obvious what they should do for you, and to repair a crack for a third time is not the answer. I've learned through the years of running a dealership, good news spreads at a snail’s pace, bad news runs rampant. For Tracker it is possible to measure the amount of satisfied customers they have, however it will be impossible to measure that amount of lost sales they have from mishandling a case like yours.

As far as my boat search goes, keep me posted on your outcome. I keep my boats in the water from spring to fall, with infrequent visits throughout the summer. So the last thing I want is a boat with a cracked hull, as I don't want to start my vacation off with a sunken boat at the dock! With that said, I understand things can break, so at a minimum if my new boat does have a problem I'd like to go with a company that I know will do the right thing for their customer. Tracker is a boat I am considering, but your outcome may tip me away.

Good luck...

[grizzley]

Hope Someone at tracker is reading these posts!
This is "bad publicity", and no company needs this.
I tried to get a 5 yr. old boat capacity sticker replaced, thought I was trying to get a new boat from them.
Some one finally did come through, and they did replace it, after I contacted the CG and brought up some regulations about these stickers.
My first thought was, it's only a sticker, what if it was something like your problem.
Tracker better wise up!

[Hot Runr Guy]

Originally Posted by ThinIceWalker

I In my State Lemon Laws doesn't apply to boats, motorcycles, rvs, only cars/trucks.

Grizzly - haven't thought of the FTC. Has anyone gone this route?

Not sure what state you're in, but there seems to be no shortage of law firms that mention boats being covered inder the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.

http://www.wisconsinlemonaid.com/boatproblems.html

HRG

[ThinIceWalker]

Some states do, some states don't. Unfortunately for me, mine doesn't. They specficcally exclude them from the lemon law, which I am pretty sure is derived from the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. I made some calls to verify this. I would hope that the fact my state excludes boats from the lemon law doesn't influence tracker when deciding to issue a new hull or not. But if it comes down to a lawyer battle I think broadWayBill summed it up pretty good.

[billfish1984]

Originally Posted by ThinIceWalker

Billfish,
Gottcha loud and clear.

Sorry for raising my voice.