Sea Ray or Chaparral?

[lagunan]

Hello, I was hoping to get some opinions on why you felt it was a better choice to purchase a Sea Ray over a similar model Chaparral. I own a Sea Ray Sundeck 220 with a 350 Mag and I have recently decided to upgrade to a longer boat in the 26' to 28'. Most likely a Sundeck 270. I was convinced I would stay with the Sea Ray family until I saw the new Chaparral Sunesta 264 at the Long Beach boat show. Its a very impressive offering. Eventhough I like the boat, Sea Ray has awesome customer service with quick resolutions and very friendly sales staff. The boat I feel is constructed very well and after about 40 hours on the boat I really feel the boat has been great! Except for minor things that where quickly remedied, I am extremely happy with Sea Ray.

After reading a multitude of reviews and forums It seems like the Chaparral product is well made and has quality components. I am concerned though, that quite a few people complain about customer service and how it is dificult to get Chaparral to replace defective items. Some people have even been refered to the original manufacturer of the defective product to get a replacement because Chaparral won't do anything for them. To me this sounds like a real problem. I can't see a person owning a boat and not needing to take the boat back to replace minor things here and there especially after the abuse the boat can sustain after going out to a choppy ocean, river or lake.

Therefore, I'm torn between the two. It looks to me that Sea Ray would have the edge with the information I offered before, but if you look at the new Sunesta and really don't have any issues with customer service in this area's dealer. I think the Chaparral boat would abviously deserve real consideration. The new Chaparral is truly awesome looking, but is customer service truly a problem for many people? The sales staff at Sea Ray have worked out a great deal for me on the Sundeck 270 with all the bells & whistles. Prices for the Sunesta 264 with a 496 on both is very comparable. What would you recommend? I will use the boat half of the time on salt and half on fresh water.

Any input would be greatly appreciated!!!

 

[Dave S]

Can't comment on the Chapparal but if you want a new 270SD you'll have to find a 2007 model so do it quickly before they are gone. They are no longer in production for 2008.

I had an opportunity to look at the new 290SD yesterday. Now that's a really nice boat. Hands down it beats any other deck boat I have ever seen.

 

[comsnark]

So. . .40 hours in your current boat? Then you got 4 foot-itus?

Huh. If that trend continues, then customer service and sales staff really matters. And hopefully you have a REALLY good job. . .because the next jump in size you are going to REALLY notice.

I keep things a long time. After the first year, the "sales staff" and "customer service" are very irrelevant. What becomes relevant is (1) the underlying quality of the boat and (2) the integrity and customer service of the service department.

In terms of (1), I think Chapparell is a good boat. In terms of (2), that is very, very local dealer specific. If you prowl this board, you will find a fair share of complaints regarding (2).

 

[Alex D]

I personally steer clear of Chap and that is actually too bad because they have some nice designs.
We have looked hard at Chap express cruisers in the 24 to 30 foot range over the past three years, but the reasons I feel this way are:
- Quality and workmanship is not up to par in my opinion. Every time we set foot on a Chap we found issues with the quality of materials and especially the workmanship. Some of the materials are very light and seem not sturdy enough in my opinion and seem underbuilt, but worse is the workmanship. I think from what I could see Chap has an issue there. From conversing with other owners on other boating forums, after-purchase punchlists on Chaps are unusually long and the boats are plagued by repair and remedy needs.
- Chap delaers and factory. I don't know but sometimes it seems there is something funny going on. It's almost like Chap and their dealers have a lot of disagreements and a feuding when warranty is coming into play. The majority of Chap owners I talked to have a lot of issues with their dealers and getting repair or warranty work done. I only knew few that were satisfied with the brand and dealer network.

I personally feel Chap's quality is not even close to Sea Ray's and this coupled with a potentially difficult service and dealer situation makes me stay clear. I just am not in for the risk. DISCLAIMER: These are just personal feelings and observations from looking at the boats and conversing with other owners on internet forums. So get more input form others. We ended up with Four Winns as we got into boating and it was an all around great experience with that brand and dealer. Quality and service were excellent with FW.

 

[Asureyez]

So Lagugan

What did the owners over on the Chapparal owers forum have to say about their experiences with dealer and factory service, resale value and boat integrity? I'd be very interested in what that passionate set of owners have to say as well.

 

[Alex D]

So Lagugan

What did the owners over on the Chapparal owers forum have to say about their experiences with dealer and factory service, resale value and boat integrity? I'd be very interested in what that passionate set of owners have to say as well.

Excellent approach.
I never conversed on the Chap forum. Most of my talk was on BoatUS, ******** and other general boating forums.