4 replies to this topic

[richiegtt]

Recently i attempted to have a miner repair completed on my 1997 Speedster.This boat has never malfunctioned once ,since i purchassed it new in 1997.It is a fantastically crafted product. After contacting every Sea Doo boat dealer on Long Island N.Y. to schedual a service date, all of them refused to service the boat.They all stated that they do not service boats this old. One service man even stated that the cut off date was for 2001 boats . They did not even ask me what the problem was. [ a simple throttle replacment which i will have to attempt to do myself ].The reason that they do not want to service my boat is because it is their moronic reasoning that only newer owners deserve to be serviced ,and i can not even be put on a waiting list. What kind of logic is this ? .What company deserves to stay in business with this stupid policy, or whatever you want to call it . Who would even buy a product that can not be repaired after only eight years. It is a shame that a boat of this quality has to be represented by people with the reasoning of idiots. I would have really liked to buy a Seadoo boat in the future but i do not think i will now . I would like to to inform other possible future buyers of this ridiculous practice. I would like to know if owners in other areas have had an experience such as this. I would appreaciate your responce .Thanks

[oary77]

I have never heard of a cutoff for the year of the boat relating to service... Maybe Keviseeb can offer some insight.

I do know that around here There is about a 2 month wait on average for service on any watercraft due to the fact that its the middle of the season and everyone seems to be having there boat serviced now.
TBH you probably better off just doing it yourself if it is just a throttle. I try do do my own work for this reason unless it is something that can wait until the off season.

[keviseeb]

I will not try to second guess the business practices of another dealer but I can tell you that a lot of "highway dealers" have laid off their most experienced technicians and therefore got rid of the only people who even could work on your boat. Another issue is the fact that virtually no boat manufacturer can afford to stock parts for boats over ten years old. For instance, we tried to purchase a magneto cover for a 1998 GTX yesterday and the part is obsolete. There is no great conspiracy here, it is simple economics and all manufacturers are doing it. Keep in mind these are the worst economic times for boat manufacturers and dealers that have ever existed in our lifetimes. The good news is Seadoo appears to be well managed enough to stay in business during these times unlike every other jet boat manufacturer over the last 15 years except for Yamaha. As far as servicing we have no restrictions on age however we will not work on a Seadoo if it has an aftermarket short block such as SBT. We also do a preliminary diagnosis within 5 days of arrival and typically do not keep boats over 2 to 3 weeks depending on the work required. But thats just us! One other factor that has more of an effect on new boat owners is the warranty reimbursement policy which favors Platinum level dealers like us and penalizes non Platinum "highway dealers" like most are. The bottom line is desperation and lack of talent on the part of some dealers is causing you, the consumer, more inconvenience. The good news is that the marginal or bad dealers tend to go away in this type economic atmosphere. To sum up, bring your boat here, we'll fix it

Kevin Seeber
Kingsland Marine

I have never heard of a cutoff for the year of the boat relating to service... Maybe Keviseeb can offer some insight.

I do know that around here There is about a 2 month wait on average for service on any watercraft due to the fact that its the middle of the season and everyone seems to be having there boat serviced now.
TBH you probably better off just doing it yourself if it is just a throttle. I try do do my own work for this reason unless it is something that can wait until the off season.

[Frayed Knot]

I will not try to second guess the business practices of another dealer but I can tell you that a lot of "highway dealers" have laid off their most experienced technicians and therefore got rid of the only people who even could work on your boat. Another issue is the fact that virtually no boat manufacturer can afford to stock parts for boats over ten years old. For instance, we tried to purchase a magneto cover for a 1998 GTX yesterday and the part is obsolete. There is no great conspiracy here, it is simple economics and all manufacturers are doing it. Keep in mind these are the worst economic times for boat manufacturers and dealers that have ever existed in our lifetimes. The good news is Seadoo appears to be well managed enough to stay in business during these times unlike every other jet boat manufacturer over the last 15 years except for Yamaha. As far as servicing we have no restrictions on age however we will not work on a Seadoo if it has an aftermarket short block such as SBT. We also do a preliminary diagnosis within 5 days of arrival and typically do not keep boats over 2 to 3 weeks depending on the work required. But thats just us! One other factor that has more of an effect on new boat owners is the warranty reimbursement policy which favors Platinum level dealers like us and penalizes non Platinum "highway dealers" like most are. The bottom line is desperation and lack of talent on the part of some dealers is causing you, the consumer, more inconvenience. The good news is that the marginal or bad dealers tend to go away in this type economic atmosphere. To sum up, bring your boat here, we'll fix it

Kevin Seeber
Kingsland Marine

We are very lucky to have a dealer like yours that is honest and forthright with your comments. I have been lucky enough to find a good dealer here in Canada, it took me 3 different ones before I found one I could trust and took my concerns seriously.

[rayman360]

While I do not dispute Mr. Kevin Seeber's statement at all I will add my 2 cents. Over two years ago when the economy was booming I was refused service also by one of the biggest dealers in the area on my 97 speedster. He gave me the same line as richiegtt, "we don't work on boats that old." They also had a cutoff date of what they worked on and wouldn't even entertain me asking questions about how to get the boat fixed. I had to end up doing it myself. It is very frustrating to know that you own a product that you can't even get a tuneup performed on. I also understand the impossible task of keeping parts on hand for such a vast majority of boats, but I also asked him about changing pump oil and simple things of that nature and he said they do zero work on boats older than the cutoff. It must be somewhat of a common problem.