Beware if Buying a Mercury Marine Boat!

garyboat · 23 August 2012, 20:02

I have a Mercury - PT-750 inflatable. I've gotten it repaired twice and the bow still leaks & deflates (see pictures). It's clearly defective and Mercury is giving us a hard time with amending the wrong. Be cautious if ever thinking of purchasing something from Mercury. Customer service is shoddy & pulling teeth to get concessions for defective products.

Turbodiesel · 23 August 2012, 20:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by garyboat

I have a Mercury - PT-750 inflatable. I've gotten it repaired twice and the bow still leaks & deflates (see pictures). It's clearly defective and Mercury is giving us a hard time with amending the wrong. Be cautious if ever thinking of purchasing something from Mercury. Customer service is shoddy & pulling teeth to get concessions for defective products.

Shame Mercury in the US has not been good to you. They seem to go out of there way to help out over here.

ashbypower · 23 August 2012, 20:05

MMM 1st post and its slagging a company off..

Fortunatly here we deal with EP BARRUS who always seem to be very very helpfull

two stroke mick · 24 August 2012, 10:21

My Rib is a Valiant (Mercury). The boat is 4 years old and Valiant (mercury) arrange for the repair of the tubes ( baffels) no problem under warranty

Poly · 24 August 2012, 14:42

gary,

Welcome to the forum.

There are usually three sides to every story; its unlikely that Mercury will appear here to state their case but from past experience when someone new appears here slagging off a company - it quite often turns out that the customers expectations were unrealistic.

So, can you explain what the problem is in more detail? Explain what you've tried to do to resolve it, and what you expect Mercury to do make you happy. That should give people here a better understanding if you are just another crackpot or have a legitimate grievance. In the UK any complaint would have to go through the dealer who sold you the boat, so it would be useful to understand any dealer involvement etc too.

At the very least, if you keep it civil, someone might be able to suggest alternative ways of getting your boat fixed if Mercury/the Dealer fail to help.

PeterM · 24 August 2012, 15:07

but to be fair if your having problems and getting stressed its nice to be able to vent some frustration sometimes........

xs 400 · 24 August 2012, 16:13

agreed Pete................I love a good vent!

garyboat · 06 September 2012, 15:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by garyboat

I have a Mercury - PT-750 inflatable. I've gotten it repaired twice and the bow still leaks & deflates (see pictures). It's clearly defective and Mercury is giving us a hard time with amending the wrong. Be cautious if ever thinking of purchasing something from Mercury. Customer service is shoddy & pulling teeth to get concessions for defective products.

Mercury has offered to pay for half of the cost of replacing the tube - that still leaves me with a $7000 tab plus the cost of labor (an estimated $4-5k). An unacceptable and obscene amount of money to pay out of my own pocket for a boat that is clearly defective.

Poly · 06 September 2012, 16:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by garyboat

an unacceptable and obscene amount of money to pay out .

Absolutely - whoever is retubing it for you is ripping you off if he's charging $18k...

achille2124 · 06 September 2012, 20:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by garyboat

Mercury has offered to pay for half of the cost of replacing the tube - that still leaves me with a $7000 tab plus the cost of labor (an estimated $4-5k). An unacceptable and obscene amount of money to pay out of my own pocket for a boat that is clearly defective.

How long the boat was used?
It is normal for a manufacturer to make you pay (or at least to try) a prorate on a tube replacement, but 50% of the price is quite surprising.

Also 18000$ for a new tube set is in the price range of a Zodiac Hurricane tube sets, not Mercury tube set....

Boats&Outboards · 06 September 2012, 20:33

May be stupid question but who fitted the Tags ? Could that have anything to do with the defects, only ask as the rest of the Tubes look like they are fine.

Peter @ Boatsandoutboards4sale ~ askboatsandoutboards4sale@sky.com ~ 07930 421007

garyboat · 12 September 2012, 16:15

Yes there are 3 sides to every story. The unfortunate bottom line is that I have spent thousands of my own money to have this boat repaired. It has been defective from day one - and I am unwilling to spend more. If anybody is considering buying a Mercury Boat I would be glad to share my experince with them. I can be reached at 212-684-0200 during East Coast business hours. Gary

garyboat · 12 September 2012, 16:17

The defect is under the rub rail. See this video on Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIwm1DlyNDM

garyboat · 12 September 2012, 16:19

Mercurys price for the tubes is about $14,000. The rest is labor. This is a 24' boat.

garyboat · 12 September 2012, 16:22

It is a 24' boat. Their price on tubes is about $14,000 plus labor. I wish I had a Zodiac!

willk · 12 September 2012, 18:41

Gary,

Watching your videos suggests that you have had work done to this boat by someone other than Mercury? Who is "the Defendant" referred to?

If you expect to get a hearing on this forum, you should start at the beginning and tell your story - i.e. who you bought the boat from, it's age, when the problem started, what Mercury did to address it, etc.

As it is, you are beginning read like a fruitloop with a grudge against Mercury. That boat is in tatters - a brutally awful repair and I have to stretch my imagination to believe that Mercury did the work. Did they?

Let us know what happened.

DinghyPRO · 13 September 2012, 00:44

$4,000 -$5,000 for labor is way out of the ballpark, something doesn't work here.

achille2124 · 13 September 2012, 13:04

4000$-5000$ to replace the tube is realistic if the tube is glued in place. On most RIB that have the tube glued, it is easier to install it by flipping the boat. So to do that, you have to remove the outboard/console/etc.... It is a 40-50 hours job, so depending to your work rate it might be expensive.

If the tube is slided in place, 4000$-5000$ is way out. It's a 4-8 hours job on an Hurricane.

willk · 13 September 2012, 13:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by achille2124

On most RIB that have the tube glued, it is easier to install it by flipping the boat. So to do that, you have to remove the outboard/console/etc.... It is a 40-50 hours job, so depending to your work rate it might be expensive.

So it is easier to spend a week rerigging a boat than it is to take some extra time on the tubes?

I'm FAIRLY sure that Redbay don't flip their 11m Cabin RIBs when they fit the tubes - I'd have spotted that

chewy · 13 September 2012, 15:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by achille2124

4000$-5000$ to replace the tube is realistic if the tube is glued in place. On most RIB that have the tube glued, it is easier to install it by flipping the boat. So to do that, you have to remove the outboard/console/etc.... It is a 40-50 hours job, so depending to your work rate it might be expensive.

If the tube is slided in place, 4000$-5000$ is way out. It's a 4-8 hours job on an Hurricane.

So its easier to glue the tube onto the hull upside down, you need to stop sniffing the glue!