I'm asking this question mainly to see if my expectations are in the right place concerning the "typical" commissioning of a boat, whether it be Hunter or any other. 8 weeks ago, I received my 3rd Hunter that I've owned over a 5 yr period. There were expected problems and items not yet delivered. Things that were broken included the depth meter, door on microwave, hatch cover, some inside latches, etc. Missing things were: dingy and engine, vberth extender, electric head. Of this, we only have the electric head. Over the past 8 weeks, the tech in charge of commissioning has shown that he is "Mr Caulk". The electric head didn't have a gasket. So he used caulk (3 different times before we insisted he get a gasket). The arch was installed without any sealant. After it was installed, caulk was wiped all around the outside of the arch where it meets the fiberglass. After he came out 3 times to "add or caulk" we finally had to get someone else to remove the inside bracket and properly seal the inside to stop the leaks. EVERYTHING in the aft cabin has been completely soaked a couple of times. We had to replace the microwave ourselves, and it took 2 trips to get them to replace the depth meter (that Raytheon said was defective). Is this normal? How long should a commissioning take? This isn't my first boat but I've never had this much trouble. -David
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Ron
A Mess
Sounds like quite a mess. I would not have accepted the boat, nor any product, I was paying for unless it arrived complete and to my expectations. Why did you take delivery on something in that condition. Once they hand it off to you and "they" have their money, it's on to the next sucker. Live and learn...right???
Sounds like quite a mess. I would not have accepted the boat, nor any product, I was paying for unless it arrived complete and to my expectations. Why did you take delivery on something in that condition. Once they hand it off to you and "they" have their money, it's on to the next sucker. Live and learn...right???
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Bob Zolczer
About par for the course
I've only bought one Hunter - a H29.5 in 1995. After much bitching, I finally got my boat one month after it was promised (it wasn't a problem with factory delivery, the boat arrived at the dealer's in late Feb, early March and I took delivery on May 25th). The dealer asked me to close early on the boat before taking possession and like a fool, I did (my error). As I was bringing it home, the wheel fell off (wheel nut not tightened). I also discovered that the transmission was bone dry (no transmission oil had been added). I fixed all the latch and fit issues as well as some other minor things myself . A major item arose that summer when the bow water tank broke loose (it had never been foamed or strapped in at the factory). I contacted the salesman and dealer at least three times (they ignored me). When it became obvious that they were going to do nothing (I live and keep the boat 60 miles away from them) I contacted Hunter; I was disgusted and told them if I had to deal with this dealer, my next boat would not be a Hunter. I got quotes from area boatyards for the work at the request of Hunter, paid for the work and Hunter reimbursed me. This was a Hunter dealer of the year so they had to treat most of their customers right, but from my perspective, they (salesman and owner) made promises, never kept them and didn't want to do anything after they closed. In short, they made used car salesmen look like church deacons. Hunter, to their credit, stood by their product. Even thinking about this experience brings back negative feelings; I'm going down to the boat to piddle and chill out.
I've only bought one Hunter - a H29.5 in 1995. After much bitching, I finally got my boat one month after it was promised (it wasn't a problem with factory delivery, the boat arrived at the dealer's in late Feb, early March and I took delivery on May 25th). The dealer asked me to close early on the boat before taking possession and like a fool, I did (my error). As I was bringing it home, the wheel fell off (wheel nut not tightened). I also discovered that the transmission was bone dry (no transmission oil had been added). I fixed all the latch and fit issues as well as some other minor things myself . A major item arose that summer when the bow water tank broke loose (it had never been foamed or strapped in at the factory). I contacted the salesman and dealer at least three times (they ignored me). When it became obvious that they were going to do nothing (I live and keep the boat 60 miles away from them) I contacted Hunter; I was disgusted and told them if I had to deal with this dealer, my next boat would not be a Hunter. I got quotes from area boatyards for the work at the request of Hunter, paid for the work and Hunter reimbursed me. This was a Hunter dealer of the year so they had to treat most of their customers right, but from my perspective, they (salesman and owner) made promises, never kept them and didn't want to do anything after they closed. In short, they made used car salesmen look like church deacons. Hunter, to their credit, stood by their product. Even thinking about this experience brings back negative feelings; I'm going down to the boat to piddle and chill out.
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David Dunagan
Fool me once...
Ron, You're right, in hindsight I should not have accepted the boat. This was the second boat purchased from this Hunter dealer and he did an OK job on the previous boat. Upon receipt, it was noted (similar to a punch list in construction) the missing and broken items. Last time, he came through quickly on such items. The leaks (and subsequent caulking frenzy) did not appear for about 4 weeks because we were in the middle of a drought and did not have rain the whole period. This is a situation where it went from bad to worse. What scares me is that this guy is one of the top Hunter dealers (for trailerables) in the country. He clearly can't handle larger boats like the H380 and now he's moving to bluewater boats. You can draw your own conclusions from there. Hunter will get a call from me on Monday. I've got 30 pictures showing all the problems. I just hope they will help.
Ron, You're right, in hindsight I should not have accepted the boat. This was the second boat purchased from this Hunter dealer and he did an OK job on the previous boat. Upon receipt, it was noted (similar to a punch list in construction) the missing and broken items. Last time, he came through quickly on such items. The leaks (and subsequent caulking frenzy) did not appear for about 4 weeks because we were in the middle of a drought and did not have rain the whole period. This is a situation where it went from bad to worse. What scares me is that this guy is one of the top Hunter dealers (for trailerables) in the country. He clearly can't handle larger boats like the H380 and now he's moving to bluewater boats. You can draw your own conclusions from there. Hunter will get a call from me on Monday. I've got 30 pictures showing all the problems. I just hope they will help.
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Scott Blahnik
Thanks fellas
i am currently waiting on delivery of my 270 and appreciate these words of experience you've all had. i wonder though if these are more exceptions and not the rule. I have been asked to finance the boat without a sea trial, however, and now I think i'll just wait. I don't see any reason why I should rush forward with the financing-it's not like I'm going to get the boat any sooner, and once it's fully paid for,what is the dealer's motivation to provide service? thanks again and would appreciate more info on this.
i am currently waiting on delivery of my 270 and appreciate these words of experience you've all had. i wonder though if these are more exceptions and not the rule. I have been asked to finance the boat without a sea trial, however, and now I think i'll just wait. I don't see any reason why I should rush forward with the financing-it's not like I'm going to get the boat any sooner, and once it's fully paid for,what is the dealer's motivation to provide service? thanks again and would appreciate more info on this.
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Ron
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David Dunagan
Thank you
Ron, Thank you, and I will. To those that may wonder: I do have (at this point) faith in Hunter. Being in a marina that is heavy towards Benatau's, it's been a tough battle going through this. To this day, I'm defending Hunter as a good boat. The commissioning is in question. I'll keep you posted. dd
Ron, Thank you, and I will. To those that may wonder: I do have (at this point) faith in Hunter. Being in a marina that is heavy towards Benatau's, it's been a tough battle going through this. To this day, I'm defending Hunter as a good boat. The commissioning is in question. I'll keep you posted. dd
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Jeff, not a lawyer
Escrow
A purchase this large should be no different than buying a house. I would use an attorney and set up an escrow account from which to draw down from for the more obvious defects. If a dealer balks at this , change dealers and explain why to Corporate Hunter if there become territorial issues. The dealer shouldn't squawk too much since they get paid for warranty work and really get quite a markup on the commissioning which is usually appropriate. I will sympathize with the dealer in that poor QC at the plant is often what creates the friction between the dealer and customer. The dealer is trying to maintain market share and these types of issues don't help if a new boat owner feels a need to defend his/her purchase at the marina to his slip mates. The quality dealer should be one which finds the defects and fixes them, or has the factory fix them without argument. There should be none of the BS about we didn't make the part so you need to go to that manufacturer if the part is factory suggested and installed. There should be a full bumper to bumper warranty, especially since the warranties are so limiting and short. Add ons sold by the dealer are his responsibility as well and he should work with the vendor to rectify defects. I think we as boat owners are too forgiving in regard to quality, perhaps we tend to do so much maintenance ourselves. Some times I read posts which makes it sound as though the new owner is so grateful that the dealer sold them the boat that too much is overlooked. These are business deals and should be treated as such. By the way, as far as leaks go , I would get a good high pressure washer and go after the boat before closing to detect leaks. This should be done at the factory but obviously not in your case. I have heard of people actually having a survey done prior to closing. It should not be that expensive since it is a new boat and many items would not need such close scrutiny. Where is Jim Bohart when you need him? Hunter, please put a represenataive on this site again. It was very helpful. It would be nice to hear from Hunte as to their expectations of their dealers.
A purchase this large should be no different than buying a house. I would use an attorney and set up an escrow account from which to draw down from for the more obvious defects. If a dealer balks at this , change dealers and explain why to Corporate Hunter if there become territorial issues. The dealer shouldn't squawk too much since they get paid for warranty work and really get quite a markup on the commissioning which is usually appropriate. I will sympathize with the dealer in that poor QC at the plant is often what creates the friction between the dealer and customer. The dealer is trying to maintain market share and these types of issues don't help if a new boat owner feels a need to defend his/her purchase at the marina to his slip mates. The quality dealer should be one which finds the defects and fixes them, or has the factory fix them without argument. There should be none of the BS about we didn't make the part so you need to go to that manufacturer if the part is factory suggested and installed. There should be a full bumper to bumper warranty, especially since the warranties are so limiting and short. Add ons sold by the dealer are his responsibility as well and he should work with the vendor to rectify defects. I think we as boat owners are too forgiving in regard to quality, perhaps we tend to do so much maintenance ourselves. Some times I read posts which makes it sound as though the new owner is so grateful that the dealer sold them the boat that too much is overlooked. These are business deals and should be treated as such. By the way, as far as leaks go , I would get a good high pressure washer and go after the boat before closing to detect leaks. This should be done at the factory but obviously not in your case. I have heard of people actually having a survey done prior to closing. It should not be that expensive since it is a new boat and many items would not need such close scrutiny. Where is Jim Bohart when you need him? Hunter, please put a represenataive on this site again. It was very helpful. It would be nice to hear from Hunte as to their expectations of their dealers.
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Steve W
Get a new boat survey....
I attended Charles Kanter's surveying seminar at the St. Pete Sail Expo last week and he highly recomended having a surveyor go over a new boat before accepting it. The problems he has discovered while surveying new boats would curl your hair. For a few hundred dollars you can save yourself a lot of grief. I would put this requirement for closing in the original contract as a condition of acceptance.
I attended Charles Kanter's surveying seminar at the St. Pete Sail Expo last week and he highly recomended having a surveyor go over a new boat before accepting it. The problems he has discovered while surveying new boats would curl your hair. For a few hundred dollars you can save yourself a lot of grief. I would put this requirement for closing in the original contract as a condition of acceptance.
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David Dunagan
Commissioning Update
Just an update to all: I contacted Hunter and talked to their representative in customer service (to be unnamed). He promised they would resolve all the problems and had me email lists and pictures. I have not heard back from him, even after 3 emails. However, he clearly emailed my lists back to the same problem dealer. Back to square one.... My lawyer is chomping at the bit to deal with this, but I'm holding out hope to get this resolved. I agree with all: A. Be patient and don't take delivery until all is done. B. Survey, Survey, Survey. C. Let the buyer beware. It's really too bad. I've always fought for Hunter in a marina full of Beneteaus.. Now I don't have much of a leg to stand on.
Just an update to all: I contacted Hunter and talked to their representative in customer service (to be unnamed). He promised they would resolve all the problems and had me email lists and pictures. I have not heard back from him, even after 3 emails. However, he clearly emailed my lists back to the same problem dealer. Back to square one.... My lawyer is chomping at the bit to deal with this, but I'm holding out hope to get this resolved. I agree with all: A. Be patient and don't take delivery until all is done. B. Survey, Survey, Survey. C. Let the buyer beware. It's really too bad. I've always fought for Hunter in a marina full of Beneteaus.. Now I don't have much of a leg to stand on.
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