What Hull marks are acceptable on new boat?

[Docmaster1]

Hello

We just purchased a new 2020 Sea Ray 19 SPX. It has about 0.70 hours on it when we took possession of it, so it appears to have a little time on the water for maybe a test drive or two.

Anyways before we picked up the boat we did a walk around with the sales person and he used some tape to mark “blemishes or marks” and he advised they would be doing a buff job and a general hull cleaning. We got the boat and we noticed there are a few marks still on the boat. They are small, maybe the size of the tip of a ball point pen. But noticeable as the hull is dark blue and the marks are white. Also there are some small rub marks. Now I am not in general too picky of a person and the hull is obviously going to get marred up. But the boat is brand new and I assumed it should be absolutely flawless, correct?

I will post some photos. Again they are not bad or anything. But I just want to know if we need to go back to the dealer. Photos to follow.

dave

 

[spikedaddy99]

Don't take possession until you are 100% satisfied. It should be darn near flawless. Congrats on the new boat!

 

[sbw1]

I would expect no marks on a new boat and I have owned several that were delivered that way.

 

[Ididntdoit]

too late - needed to confirm everthing met your standards BEFORE handing over the check - good luck getting them to do the right thing.

 

[Blueone]

Think of it like a car...you want it perfect...you are buying new

 

[Docmaster1]

Sorry guys. The photos are not the best, I didn’t realize how dark it was outside. But you get the idea. I am going to post better pictures better tomorrow morning.

 

[Docmaster1]

Think of it like a car...you want it perfect...you are buying new

Ok. That’s kind of what I thought. I guess I didn’t know what is to be expected and what’s not.

thank you.

Dave

 

[Docmaster1]

Don't take possession until you are 100% satisfied. It should be darn near flawless. Congrats on the new boat!

thanks! I hear what you are saying and I guess I already knew the answer to my questions. I suppose the marks also could of happened during the orientation as well. They launched the boat twice and loaded it on to the trailer for me as I have never done it before.

But I do get the whole “it should of been perfect” argument. But I just didn’t know what was expected. Thank you for advice guys.

Dave

 

[Gofirstclass]

Dave, those marks should be buffed out by the dealer. Keep in mind that you are likely going to be using that dealer for many years so you will want to maintain a good relationship with them. If your approach is an 'in your face' approach you likely will get a fair amount of push back from them. If your approach is one of seeking their help and making the boat "right" you'll likely have much better cooperation from them.

Good luck and let us know how you do.

 

[Stingrayaxe]

Congratulations on the new boat. You are going to enjoy it. I wouldn't be happy with those marks. It's hard to tell from the pictures but I would think that with a little more effort they could be removed/repaired. It may be too late to ask your dealer to take another look but I would ask anyway. If it were me, every time I used the boat my eye would go right to them.

 

[GypsmJim]

If the dealer let you have it like that knowing it had defects, don't go back to them for future service. Now they know you aren't picky and they will be sloppy ever more.

 

[Gofirstclass]

If the dealer let you have it like that knowing it had defects, don't go back to them for future service. Now they know you aren't picky and they will be sloppy ever more.

I'm guessing here but I'd bet the dealer himself does not know the condition the boat was delivered in. It likely fell upon a service tech or detailer to make the boat ready for delivery.

So it's up to you to take the high road. Perhaps a nice, quiet visit with the dealer and explain to him the condition you received the boat in.

Then, when you make a statement like that SHUT UP and see how he responds. Watch his body language and look for small signs of shock/surprise on his face.

If he honestly did not know the boat went out of his shop in that condition he likely will first be surprised then secondly will be upset at his detailer/tech but may not let you see his anger. If he's a good boss he won't admonish his employee in front of you but will make things right for you.

Give him that opportunity and see how he does with the chance you have given him. That will determine the quality of your future relationship with him and his shop.

If you handle it well you likely will have a good long-term relationship with him.

 

[spikedaddy99]

Like Mike said above, I'd give the dealer a chance. My wife just bought me a new 4 wheeled toy for my birthday. We took it home on an overcast Friday. Sunny Saturday morning I noticed 2 scratches on the hood. We called the dealer, and they came and got the car (30 miles away), took it to their shop, and buffed them out (offered to repaint the hood if I wasn't satisfied) and returned it. This isn't a Ferrari. Just a simple country Chevy dealer. They have all of my future business now. The owner of the dealership personally drove the car back to me to be sure I was satisfied. For your situation, Sea Ray should be ashamed for delivering such a product to their dealer.

 

[GypsmJim]

My last 2 new boats were delivered in the same way.

The boat was in the water when we arrived. The Sales Manager (also in both cases the son of the owner) met us at the front door and escorted us to the boat. After a sea trial, the boat was loaded on the trailer by an employee, while we went to the office to finish the paperwork.

The employee helped putting the rig on the car's hitch, while the Sales Manager and I made an inspection. The Manager also had a rag in his hand and wiped down the boat as we were walking around it.

Photographs were taken and posted on their web site, and the next day I received a follow-up call.

THAT's the type of service I expect when shelling out tens of thousands of bucks.

 

[Creekwood]

I agree with the above comments. Some of those are really tiny, but there are some gelcoat scratches and what looks to me like buffing swirl marks on the gelcoat? If those are actually swirl marks, then it looks to me like they did a very quick and bad buffing with a coarse cleaning compound and did not follow up with a fine polishing and then wax. Sloppy and I would not accept that on a new boat.

 

[boatmailster]

Next time buy a white boat. Color hulls are difficult to maintain and even more difficult to repair. It is gelcoat not paint.