Do This Before You Buy Any New Hunter Sailboat

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Deane

1) Have EVERY item you purchase with your boat listed on the FRONT OF THE ORIGINAL BILL OF SALE from the Hunter dealer. Read the small print on the bill of sale CAREFULLY, BACK AND FRONT. 2) Confirm IN WRITING writing from Hunter Marine that THEY will honor THEIR published Hunter warranty. Contact Mr.John Peterson of Hunter, personally. 3) Do not accept any promise or statement from your Hunter dealer that is not listed on the original bill of sale. These three actions MAY help you avoid the litigation in which we are presently involved. You may call 727-642-3983 for further information. Best wishes to you all.
 

Phil Herring

Alien
Mar 25, 1997
4,923
- - Bainbridge Island
Details, Deane?

In order to take this even halfway seriously, I'd like to know the story behind it. This kind of post, as it's written, has no value at all and is little more than spam. If you care to elaborate you might find some support or valuable suggestions here. My hunch is that this post will get you nothing but criticism.
 
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Scott Blahnik

I'll second that

My Hunter is on order and I'm sensitive to this type of posting. It's hard to respond to as is.From everything I've heard on this site for the past 6 months, the company stands behind the product. Of course there are flaws in the entire process, but it's usually worked out, from what I've seen. Scott B.
 
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toomas oja

Nothing special for Hunter

This is nothing special for Hunter. Always when you sign a contract, read EVERY word loudly, by yourself or together with the dealer. Seller and buyer have different points of view and different expectations. And surely, when you're buying a beautiful sailing boat, it's easy to just see the wonderful times you'll have and not think about all the things that might go wrong. And on delivery day, you have to go through EVERY detail in the boat together with the dealer - not just be happy and sail away. It takes a couple of hours but it's really worth it. If something's wrong or missing - don't go through with the deal without correction (money or repair) - this is the only moment you have any pressure on the dealer. When the money is delivered and you've accepted the boat, then the problem is yours alone. (As they say: there's only one little moment when money has any value - it's that split second when you hand it over and get something in return) And as I said in the beginning - this process is valid in all deals. If you are sloppy, the result might be the same. End of prayer Good luck Toomas
 
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Deane

To Phil Herring

Hi Phil: A name-calling response to an advisory post seems more than a little defensive to me (spam?). I didn't think that they were even allowed on this BBS. What words in the post do you not understand? AND--the telephone # is avail. to you. Cordially, Deane
 
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Steve Cook

I feel your anger...

I too had a deal go sour when I purchased my new Hunter. My dealer went ount of business before I took delivery of my boat and was left with a unfinished boat. I was very hot, the day I sailed away from their docks should have been the happiest day of my life. Instead, it was once of my angreist days ever. The new owners of the business (power boat only) didn't ask me to get the boat, they told me to get it off their docks!!! I wont beat a dead horse over those issues anymore. What I did was very simple, I called Hunter, explained what was going on, they flew up here to Wisconsin and solved "EVERY ONE"
 
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Jerry Woznicki

Thanks for the post!

Good advise! We all go to a higher and happy level of mind set when we talk or buy boat items and sometimes loose sight of reality. Business is business, nothing personel, which is exactly what we do not read when our mind see us on the beautiful water in a beautiful new sail boat and not the black and white contents of a sales contract. I never take my check book to a boat show! My two acre back yard is not big enough for all of the boats I would have had by now.
 
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Steve Cook

Anger Cont. (Gemlems)????

As I was saying before my computer decided to take over the helm and post prematurely. Hunter Flew up here to Wisconsin 4 times to take care of and control of "ALL" of my problems with what was left of my dealer and "ALL" of my boat's issuses. Why did Hunter do this one might ask? Simple, They stand behind their boats and they take care of their customers!!!! They want you back as a customer. They can and do go the distance for "YOU"!!! Sure, it took some time to solve everything but, everything was solved and now I have the greatest H310 on our lake. Here is my point to this post; GIVE IT TIME!!!, Hunter "WILL" solve your problems, fix your boat and have a very long talk with your dealer. I have found that if you talk nice, people are more than willing to help you!!! As has been said in the past on this BBS, we as Hunter owners have picked the best boat that sutes our needs. We have done much research on these boats. One "MUST" use the same effort in finding the "BEST" dealer!!! As with cars/trucks, one can buy the same product from 12 different dealers and get 12 different results!!! One must shop around!!! nuff said, give it some time and be nice!!! Steve, a very happy Hunter owner....
 
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George Kornreich

Hunter was there for me,

and will be there for you. I have never NEVER before dealt with a company and their customer service reps who will do so much for you when you need them. I'll ditto the experience Steve in Wisconcin had. When my dealer cratered (seems so many of them do) Hunter took care of all my concerns and also sent factory reps to Houston several times to clean up the mess that poor service by the dealer had created. So, unless I decide I need to cross the seven seas, my next 10 or 20 boats will be Hunter! Why? Because of their dedication to Customer Service (spelled Greg, Eddie and the boys, in Alachua). George
 
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hp

Advice

I think the advice about putting it in writing to the smallest detail is not only prudent but should be expected by both the seller and the buyer. Large purchases, such as this, require much thought before, during and after the process. A good contract protects both the seller and the buyer. Do not accept the boat until a thorough punch list has been developed of outstanding problems in need of correction and hold back a portion of the funds until corrected. If the dealer does not agree to this, then find another dealer. Failure to agree to a hold back may be a sign of cash flow problems. Make sure you take a test drive before accepting the boat or the car. Take your time. Investing another $300 for a pre-acceptance survey may also be worthwhile if you are not comfortable with your personal level of expertise. These things should not be insulting to a dealer. People do this all the time when buying a house, why not a boat which costs as much as a house. Talk to Hunter or any manufacturer to receive assurances of ongoing support in case of dealer neglect. Their warranties may be limited but you can tell a lot about a company by their responses to other customers which is why this BB is so useful. The customer may not always be right but I don't think Hunter, Catalina and Beneteau have survied this long without some good semblance of customer service. They have probably gone to the full extent of any warranty if not beyond to achieve so much success. I sincerly hope the originator of this thread gets his/her isssues resolved and has happier days ahead. Bill
 
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David Dunagan

Hope your luck is better than mine

I'm STILL trying to get my H380 problems resolved (see posts a month or two ago about my delivery problems). Hunter may go to Wisconsin and fix problems, but they won't in Texas. When I finally got in contact with Hunter, they asked me to send all the supporting material to them so they could help. All they did was pass it back to the dealer and NEVER CALLED ME AGAIN! The dealer finally came out for the first time since we bought the boat (in August) and saw it. Took a couple of pictures, said "yeah, some things need to be fixed)...have not heard back from them and that was almost 2 weeks ago. We're moving our problems to the court system after Christmas.
 

Phil Herring

Alien
Mar 25, 1997
4,923
- - Bainbridge Island
To Deanne

Actually, I'll stand by my original post. I just re-read it and didn't see anything close to name calling. And I'm not really interested in using your phone number unless you're willing to reveal more of your problem. I found your 'consumer alert' a very passive aggressive slam at Hunter... with nothing to back it up. Don't get me wrong; I'm not trying to invalidate your claims or dissatisfaction. But if you want accomplish something meaningful I hope you'll be more candid about the issues that led you here. ph.
 
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Wally Boggus

Hunter and dealer...

have been responsive to my warranty issues. Can't imagine that Hunter or any boat maker would not honor their published warranty when it is clearly or probably a warranty issue. That would be suicide. However, certain issues may arise as to the cause that require investigating. For instance, if I crack my hull on a rock, I don't think I could make a valid claim for repair under Hunter's hull warranty. I'm not saying that is the case here, but since you haven't told us what the case is, this was just a thought that I had. w w
 
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John Van Stone

My experience with Hunter

I bought a Hunter 450 in October of 99. I have had what I feel is a normal number of warrentee issues and have been very happy with the service that I received from my dealer (Whitney's in Jacksonville) and Hunter. The dealer has on two ocassions sent their own people over a hundred miles to fix my problems and at other times have arranged for local people to service the problems.
 
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DJ Dreyer

Get it in Writing

I could whine like a turbine in an airplane engine about the problems I had with Hunter Dealers and Hunter when I bought my boat back in 1984. Problems were my fault for not getting everything in writing and each item broken out by cost. I was young and deployed overseas at the time and we did not have email back in 1984. Bottom line is that I love my Hunter 34, but even after 17 years, I still have such a bad taste about my buying experience that I would not buy a Hunter today. What were some of the problems: substituted winches (46's vrs 48's) and VHF (Uniden vrs Icom) were a lower quality from the ones I ordered. As the dealer made changes, I had no basis for the change in costs. There were other problems with my purchase experience, some that Hunter made good on, but there would have been no problem if I had a written description of each item along with its cost.
 
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Sam Lust

Agree with consensus

With no information to go on I have to agree with what seems to be the general consensus here. In the absence of information you're just sniveling. I can agree that Hunter can be a bit cavalier about support of the earlier products (seemingly anything over 5 years old). Discontinuing older parts is one thing, but destroying the drawings for them, making it impossible to duplicate them? That, however is a diferent story from the lack of support for a new product that you imply. What is this great transgression you're being so secretive about. I personally believe there is no better place to bring it out in the open.
 
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Deane

To Sam Lust:

Hi Sam: What is this "consensus" to which you're referring? All post opinions seem to be about equally split--except for a couple of suspicious, name-calling derogatory posts (spam, sniviling). SOME PRO-SOME CON for Hunter and its dealers. For your info, the litigation problem concerns a number of new-boat warranty problems. At this time, Hunter seems to be responding to the litigation. It's too bad that the threat was even necessary. The dealer is another story. BUT--we'll just "keep on keeping on" with him. Maybe he moved from used cars to Hunter boats?? In litigation, discretion is ALWAYS necessay. That's no SECRETE. The original post is ADVISORY. Is it bad advice?? That's the question, isn't it? Cordially, Deane
 
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Al Budding

Dean

I have been dealing with "Hunter" for the past eight months and have received nothing but excelent support, including a factory wiring upgrade, free of charge, to a boat well out of warranty. Everyone I have dealt with at "Hunter" has bent over backwards to be accommodating. It's difficult for me to believe that you have a problem requiring litigation, especially when you won't disclose the problem in any other fashion except a "one on one" phone call. I do hope, when you finally resolve your problem, that you find time to enjoy your new boat. A.B.
 
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Dave Kelton

Deane

I read your original note, and my guess is that it alludes to the fact that you did not recieve all of the items that were promised by the dealer. It looks like the second item is that the Hunter warranty may not be honored. In all fairness, isn't the dealer the responsible party for the equipment? If I bought a new car, and all of the items the dealer said were on it were not there, wouldn't I blast the dealer, not the car company? In fairiness to Hunter, you have not said what the warranty problems are, if they tried to do anything, what you have done so far on your part, etc. Maybe your original posting is a little premature. If you are in the middle of liability, it sounds more like you are trying to garner public opinion for a lawsuit rather than trying to "warn" people of potential problems. Maybe the reason you are at the lawsuit stage is you are not giving anyone a chance, nor are interested in sharing all of the details, just ready to blast with blame. I'll go out on a limb here, but I'll bet I'm right on. I think that the reason you want people to call for details is to get other names for your legal action, or throw their names at Hunter to get your problem fixed. I'll bet that you could print out these peoples notes, and what do you know, a ready made list of people with "the same problem with Hunter". Then if I was a smart lawyer, I'd probably send them an e-mail asking for more detail. I'm no genius, but it sounds like class action groundwork to me. Good luck, Dave
 
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