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I have a 2006 1850 FishHawk with a 150HP Suzuki 4-stroke. Last fall I noticed 2 cracks in the transom welds. I called Crestliner customer service (which is a misnomer, it should be labeled Brunswick company protection) they wanted nothing to do with dealing with the end consumer directly so I was forced into using a dealership. The dealership I purchased from is no longer in business. The local Crestliner dealer is Ray's Marine in Moorhead and they were fantastic throughout the entire process, I couldn't have asked for more from a business that didn't sell me the product. They pulled the motor per Crestliner's instructions and actually hauled it down to the repair facility free of charge, transportation is NOT covered under warrantee.
So, boat goes down to New York Mills in Dec. The welds are fixed under warrantee, no questions asked. I went down to NYM and picked up the boat to save the delivery charge and dropped it off at Ray's to have the motor re-installed. That's when/where the real problem was discovered. The wood in my transom was rotten and they couldn't safely re-install the motor. No problem right? Just get Crestliner on the horn and let them know the work's not finished. WRONG!! Wood isn't covered in their warrantee. The estimate for the repair, $3,500.
Well, this just can't be, so I call customer service. My boat has been used by me exclusively for all 8 seasons. Other than the 30-40 days/yr that I fish, it's stored inside. The motor has ~300hrs in 8 seasons. 1st I'm told that "the motor isn't a factory pre-rig and the dealer must've not installed/sealed it correctly". That's wrong, my boat is "Pre-Brunswick" Little Falls manufactured and I know it was a factory pre-rig because I filled out the order form (the dealer I purchased from is a good friend). Then they tell me, "Well, the motor's been moved, when the dealer moved the motor for you it must not have been sealed correctly." The dealer didn't move the motor. The boat came to me with too much "hook" in the hull and I took it to Little Falls in '07 or '08 and the factory fixed the problem no questions asked. Crestliner is the only entity that's ever moved that motor so if it's not sealed, that's on them. Then they tried to blame it on the transducer board and EZ-Pump I installed basically stating, "You altered the transom, that voids the warrantee". Like an Aluminum fishing boat isn't supposed to have a transducer mounted to the transom.
Over the next 2mo, I work with 2 customer service people. A Brunswick Employee who's been brought in to be the interim head of customer service, and have a conference call with the President of Crestliner. Out of the MANY phone calls and promises for updates, they almost never keep me informed or return promised phone calls. The president was on time for his conf call with me and the last 2 weeks or so of the issue things were better but for 6 wks I had to HOUND the customer service staff for updates.
At the 7 week mark, my boat finally makes it back down to the repair facility. I'd made arrangements to be there on week 6 when the engineers looked at my boat to determine root cause of the rot as obviously the "The dealer screwed up" story didn't wash. Very poor planning and communication on Crestliner's part with the dealership meant another week delay and I was unable to be there wk 7 when my boat was finally inspected and root cause of the rot determined.
They never did tell me the root cause, just that the engineers looked at it and determined that for the age/condition of my boat this was a "Normal Wear and Tear" issue and they were not obligated to offer any sort of warrantee. However, due to my persistence, my portion of the repair would only be $2,000. That was the decision right from the President of Crestliner and there was no negotiation after that.
I don't know what I could've done differently. I bought a factory travel cover when I bought it, and I used it almost every time I trailered the boat as well as anytime the boat was out overnight. I had a TRS cover made when the original wore out. I stored the boat inside year 'round with the cover off when not in use.
Anyway, the manner in which the whole thing was handled from the astonishingly POOR communication up through them telling me they're doing me a huge favor by "only" making me pay $2,000 is a complete and total failure on Crestliner's part IMO.
Just thought any of you guys researching a boat purchase might like to know.
Here is how I really dealt with the problem (of special note, no Brunswick products on the new one):
So, boat goes down to New York Mills in Dec. The welds are fixed under warrantee, no questions asked. I went down to NYM and picked up the boat to save the delivery charge and dropped it off at Ray's to have the motor re-installed. That's when/where the real problem was discovered. The wood in my transom was rotten and they couldn't safely re-install the motor. No problem right? Just get Crestliner on the horn and let them know the work's not finished. WRONG!! Wood isn't covered in their warrantee. The estimate for the repair, $3,500.
Well, this just can't be, so I call customer service. My boat has been used by me exclusively for all 8 seasons. Other than the 30-40 days/yr that I fish, it's stored inside. The motor has ~300hrs in 8 seasons. 1st I'm told that "the motor isn't a factory pre-rig and the dealer must've not installed/sealed it correctly". That's wrong, my boat is "Pre-Brunswick" Little Falls manufactured and I know it was a factory pre-rig because I filled out the order form (the dealer I purchased from is a good friend). Then they tell me, "Well, the motor's been moved, when the dealer moved the motor for you it must not have been sealed correctly." The dealer didn't move the motor. The boat came to me with too much "hook" in the hull and I took it to Little Falls in '07 or '08 and the factory fixed the problem no questions asked. Crestliner is the only entity that's ever moved that motor so if it's not sealed, that's on them. Then they tried to blame it on the transducer board and EZ-Pump I installed basically stating, "You altered the transom, that voids the warrantee". Like an Aluminum fishing boat isn't supposed to have a transducer mounted to the transom.
Over the next 2mo, I work with 2 customer service people. A Brunswick Employee who's been brought in to be the interim head of customer service, and have a conference call with the President of Crestliner. Out of the MANY phone calls and promises for updates, they almost never keep me informed or return promised phone calls. The president was on time for his conf call with me and the last 2 weeks or so of the issue things were better but for 6 wks I had to HOUND the customer service staff for updates.
At the 7 week mark, my boat finally makes it back down to the repair facility. I'd made arrangements to be there on week 6 when the engineers looked at my boat to determine root cause of the rot as obviously the "The dealer screwed up" story didn't wash. Very poor planning and communication on Crestliner's part with the dealership meant another week delay and I was unable to be there wk 7 when my boat was finally inspected and root cause of the rot determined.
They never did tell me the root cause, just that the engineers looked at it and determined that for the age/condition of my boat this was a "Normal Wear and Tear" issue and they were not obligated to offer any sort of warrantee. However, due to my persistence, my portion of the repair would only be $2,000. That was the decision right from the President of Crestliner and there was no negotiation after that.
I don't know what I could've done differently. I bought a factory travel cover when I bought it, and I used it almost every time I trailered the boat as well as anytime the boat was out overnight. I had a TRS cover made when the original wore out. I stored the boat inside year 'round with the cover off when not in use.
Anyway, the manner in which the whole thing was handled from the astonishingly POOR communication up through them telling me they're doing me a huge favor by "only" making me pay $2,000 is a complete and total failure on Crestliner's part IMO.
Just thought any of you guys researching a boat purchase might like to know.
Here is how I really dealt with the problem (of special note, no Brunswick products on the new one):
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