Problems with MaterCraft Dealer

X-Star · Soul Rider Joined: 01 Apr 2003 Posts: 253

For obvious legal reasons, I can’t tell you not to buy a boat from California Skier in Lake Elsinore California, but what I can do is tell you the problems I am having with them and you can make your own decision if you would want to buy a boat from them. I know this is a little long, but if you are thinking about purchasing a boat from them, you might want to read this.

I bought a 2002 MasterCraft X-Star in February of 2002 from California Skier in Lake Elsinore Ca. This boat is awesome. I do love the boat and the MasterCraft quality. The problems I am having are coming from the service department. I took my boat in for service a few months after I bought it to get the first oil change done and to fix small stress fractures around the boat that usually pop up from time to time on a new boat. Don’t worry; this is normal in all new boats. But, a few problems arose.

Problem #1
Upon completion of the repairs, 3 months later, California’s Skiers service department tried to give me back a boat the had acquired over $2000 dollars in damage to the gel coat because of the incompetence of the gel coat repair guy they were using to fix the stress fractures. They actually thought I wouldn’t say anything about the damage. Maybe because I am pretty young. They were wrong. After about 6 months of phone calls to MasterCraft headquarters, they approved another MasterCraft dealer to fix all of the damage the boat acquired at California Skier. (Thanks a ton MasterCraft in Tennessee) Needless to say, California Skier is being mailed the bill from their headquarters in Tennessee. I’m actually really glad about that.

Now you could imagine what kind of relationship I now have with California Skier. I really doubt if they are ever going to help me with my boat if I ever have problems down the road. And what do you know; I have a problem with my boat cover so I thought I would give them a call.

Problem #2
So I just got off of the phone with service at California Skier in Lake Elsinore Ca. (notice I keep saying their name Smile

and asked if my cover is under warranty because a small puddle of water accumulated in the middle of the cover and it rotted and stretched out. They don’t want to help me. I was told that the cover is no longer under warranty and there was nothing they could do for me. I ended up calling the manufacturer of the cover and I was told that there wouldn’t be any problems replacing the cover.

So, in conclusion, I hope none of you will never have any problems like this with your boat. I know I never will again because I’ll never go back to California Skier. I might have to drive a little farther up north to get my boat worked on by a dealer but it is well worth it. So, I can’t tell you not to buy a boat from California Skier but I think you have enough information so you can make your own decision. By the way, I LOVE MASTERCRAFT boats and there are many other MasterCraft dealers in California I’m sure you can find.

OttoNP · Addict Joined: 13 Jan 2003 Posts: 848 City: MI

First thing, what legal issues.

Don't buy a boat from California Skier in Lake Elsinore, CA!!

Second thing:

"...fix small stress fractures around the boat that usually pop up from time to time on a new boat. Don?t worry; this is normal in all new boats"

What?! That is not normal...my 1997 Wellcraft has no small stress fractures and my friends 1991 Bayliner also has no small stress fractures. These fractures may be acceptable but I don't think they are normal.

Final thing:

Sorry about you experiance, good luck in the future, and I hope all that hear your story boycott that dealership.

Nick
________
Indonesian Recipes

grady · Addict Joined: 12 Jan 2003 Posts: 547 City: d-block

sounds bout like grandpa's boats...our supra dealer

we were told our boat would b winterized, shrinkwrapped and put in shelter for the winter, a leak in one of the ballast tank pipes would b fixed, the horn would b fixed, and sum cauckin sp? (like from a cauk gun or wutever) had come loose on the hull and that would b fixed as well

we go pick it and the boat had been sitting out in a field w/ no shrinkwrap on it (they didnt put n e on to begin with) and was probly sittin out there all winter...thankfully, they didnt charge us for it but our boat was totally nasty...grease stains on the carpet and finger prints of grease were left on the back of the boat and it was just terribly dirty

we get on the water a couple of days later...theres still a leak in the ballast pipes and upon arriving home we noticed that piece of cauckin (sp again) was still hanging down....the only thing they fixed was the horn woohoo

so i kno how ya feel dude

Mullet Man · Outlaw Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 132 City: SoCal

My friend had the same problem at California Skier. He had an 2002 X-9 and had nothing but gel coat problems. California Skier was terrible about getting things solved. The factory also had to get involved. After many attempts at fixing the problem the boat was finally replaced. He then decided to take a 2002 X-7 instead of a X-9 and they charged him for stepping down in boats. They are crooks at California Skier.

Get2TheRiver · Posted: Apr 07, 2003 5:00 pm Post subject:

OK, you're scaring me now...My 2001 X-Star is at this dealership now getting two minor stress cracks repaired along with a whole lot of really minor BS type issues...All warranty stuff. The service manager wrote up the repair personally and has handled everything very professionally.

I pick ut the boat Friday morning on the way to the river. I'll let you know how things turn out. Very Happy

Get2TheRiver · Posted: Apr 07, 2003 5:00 pm Post subject:

OK, you're scaring me now...My 2001 X-Star is at this dealership now getting two minor stress cracks repaired along with a whole lot of really minor BS type issues...All warranty stuff. The service manager wrote up the repair personally and has handled everything very professionally.

I pick ut the boat Friday morning on the way to the river. I'll let you know how things turn out. Very Happy

X-Star · Soul Rider Joined: 01 Apr 2003 Posts: 253

Thanks man. I hope it's not at California Skier. How long has your boat been at the dealer? It took them 3 months to do nothing but ruin my gel coat. I relly hope you don't have to go through what I did. It's not fun. Good luck.

sickmx29 · Newbie Joined: 24 Feb 2003 Posts: 6 City: okla

i had alot of trouble with M&W powersports in tulsa,oklahoma...
first... went there to buy a 2002 x star...
the owners son is the mastercraft salesman .... he tells me a price... i g to pick up the boat... he tells me a higher price... then he finaly breaks down and tells me he doesnt want to sell the boat until the end of the summer because he wants to take it out on the holidays with his friends...
so i go 8 hours away to XTREME MARINE in MO.. the guys there are super cool... any question i have, i can call them up anytime and the problem is solved...
ok back to the problems.. few months ago i gt som recalls from mastercraft for my boat... i called xtreme marine and they sai it woud be no problem to take it m&w cause matercraft pays the warrenty and any dealership...
i make a appointment and take my boat in... i get there they tell me they cant have it done in one day...i said i didnt bring my boat out in a rain storm to leave it here all day... they finaly said ok... we'll start on it..
i goback 6 1/2 hours later and the owners son goes off on me as soon as i walk in.. tell me im "a punk ass kid "and "if it wasnt a place of business hed do something he regrets".. i couldnt beleive this guy was goin off in front of other customers like this... so just to let everyone know... half the mastrcraft dealers dont give a **** if they make u happy or not...someone else will buy fromthem... i think mastecraft needs to fix this problem and deal with these jerks...

Get2TheRiver · Posted: Apr 08, 2003 5:44 am Post subject:

I took my X-Star in last Tuesday. I told the service manager that I needed it back this Friday. He said "No Problem." I really hope they pull through like they said they would. This is the only time I had between trips Very Happy

.

I keep my boat at the river, so dragging it to Elsinore for repairs means I have to tow it home and back. Makes a 3.5 hour drive a 5 hour drive both ways. That's why I pay the big buck$ to store it in a garage at the river!!!

C-Stone · Posted: Apr 08, 2003 8:38 am Post subject:

All boats have stress cracks one place or another after being built, usually from pulling from the mold, the question is when the boat is finished being built, is their quality control up to par. They should have inspectors find these things and repair them before they go out the door to the dealer. As for the dealer repaing them, they usually farm it out to some guy that may or may not be good, Im suprised they didnt take the boat back nto be repaired right, thats just warranty money they didnt earn.

Mullet Man · Outlaw Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 132 City: SoCal

That is true. Most of the shops in socal send their gel repair work to the same place, which I will not name. The only problem is that you can only do so much to a boat that was not sprayed right from the factory. The problem is finding this out right away and taking care of it. I had a Searay that was made in 1986 and never had any serious problems with gelcoat that I did not cause. There were maybe 3-4 tiny cracks that were not caused by myself.

X-Star · Soul Rider Joined: 01 Apr 2003 Posts: 253

..........

X-Star · Soul Rider Joined: 01 Apr 2003 Posts: 253

boat is fixed now, no thanks to California Skier. Looks good and I'm also getting a custom X-Star sticker for the sides. I'll post it when it comes back. Should look cool.

r3612 · Soul Rider Joined: 14 Jan 2003 Posts: 346 City: Chicago IL

I konow I'm probably going to start a war, but what's with all the gelcoat issues on pretty much brand new boats. I can understand some flaws, but stress cracks as well. My 88 2001 nauty didn't have any stress cracks at all when we just traded it in after having a tower on it for 3 years.

We just purchased a new boat so I'm curious about the comment that all new boats have stress cracks. What the Hell???? Is this an isue with their glitter paint or something. I do think that is the sweetest in gey or red, bt I thought MC was a top company. You can expect problems to occur once in a while. Sometimes one slips through, but that seems like more than one boat and all from the same year.

Kris

X-Star · Soul Rider Joined: 01 Apr 2003 Posts: 253

r3612,
This is X-Star, the one who posted this topic. I am getting a little concerned too. When I posted this thread, I was under the impresion that after the first year or so, all the stress cracks that will show up on the boats gel coat will be visible and then after they fix those ones, you wont have anymore problems. I was told that a boat is constructed from two halves, the hull and the top section, that are screwed together to make the boat. Around the edge of the boat (under the black ruber strip that goes all the way around the boat), is where the manufacturer screws the two halves together. This is where i had problems. They were small gel coat fractures that started under the rubber stip and went up about half an inch. I'm not sure if I was told a lie to keep my mouth shut, but I'm begining to think I was because of all the comments I've recieved about this subject. I'm still on a mission to get all the answers about this, so if anybody else out there has had this problem, I'd love to hear your take on the matter. I'll keep everyone posted on my findings. Wish me luck.

r3612 · Soul Rider Joined: 14 Jan 2003 Posts: 346 City: Chicago IL

X-star
I'm having major issue with mydealer as well. KRAMERS ARROW MARINE Ibought a new ride in Jan at the shw Jan 5th to be exact. I gave them a g as down payment to get it rolling. They didn't order the boat until feb 15. What the F^&*. They never told me that and gave me a due date of March 15 well that came and went. Then they saide it would be the next week and the next week. So then April 1st came and I called Centurion to see what was up. That's when they told me when it was ordered(feb 15). I flipped. The rep actually is the reason we bought the boat inthe first palce. H took care of us big time at the show. He has stepped up even more and given us some extra options for the dealers mistake on the order date, but know they've run out of options to give me. The rep is even frustrated as hell with the dealer. He ( dealer ) won't return his phone calls either. We just get the brush oof from the dealer everytime we tlked to him. Check this out the boat's been done for theLAST 2 WEEKS. The dealer REFUSED shipment according to Centurion because he was to busy. What the F%^& is that S$%^. We found out from the rep that the Manager of the dealer has another full time business that is struggling. the rep just found this out too. We have put a deposit on an 02 wakesetterd-drive as a back up. If I don't have a boat on my driveway on fri. I'm not going through. Wakesetter here I come. I've been on vacation for the whole month of april and I haven't had a boat. Man I'm pissed. CustomerService just seems to be shitty everywhere. They know the're a monoply in our area so they just stick it to you. You have no where else to go (they think), but I'm wiiling to take a 2hr drive to get better service if that's what it takes.

Good luck with your stuff hope everything gets straightened out soon. Thanks for the info.
KRis

X-Star · Soul Rider Joined: 01 Apr 2003 Posts: 253

r3612,
Take my word for it, get your deposit and run as fast as you can. Even thought they are the only dealer in your area, make the drive to another. Like I stated before, I bought the boat in California and I now live in Arizona. Even though I go a MasterCraft dealer, I am still having warranty issues. Take my cover for an example.....I got the cover from my California dealer but the Arizona dealer can't help me with it. If I originaly bought the boat and cover from Arizona, my dealer out here would have been happy to replace the cover, but now, I had to try and go through the California dealer that now hates me. I can't ever get anything from the California dealer now without a major headache. Take my word for it........buy the boat from the dealer you are going to have service it. It will make up for it in the long run. Trust me. Those guys sound real shaddy anyway.

Get2TheRiver · Posted: Apr 23, 2003 4:29 pm Post subject:

Well guess what... Crying or Very sad

California Skier didn't have my boat ready AS REQUESTED and AS PROMISED. See posts above. Remember, when I made this appointment (prior to bringing my boat back to So Cal from the river), I discussed the needed repairs (including gel coat) and timeframe with the California Skier service department.

I keep my boat at the river and pay $90 a month for the supreme convenience of not having to tow. With boat is about 62-65 mph and 5+hrs. Without boat is 80-90 mph and 3:20 – 4 hrs. You guys with kids can appreciate this difference. You guys without can only imagine.

They blamed it on MC taking too long to "authorize" the gel coat warranty repairs.

I ended up towing it to the river over Easter break and towing it home again. It's now at the fiberglass shop in Corona and should be done in "a week or so." I guess the good news is I'll have to schedule another trip to get it back to the river...

X-Star · Soul Rider Joined: 01 Apr 2003 Posts: 253

Get2TheRiver,
Hey man, sorry to hear that. I'm moving back to LA and would like to hear more about this Corona Dealer. Are you talking about Berts Mega Mall. It sound like you are. Do they do warranty work for MasterCraft? If they do, it would save me a drive to San Diego MasterCraft for repairs. What Kind of boat do you have? What are your problems with it that you had to go to California Skier? I also know who you delt with at California Skier. He is the only service manager. I hate that guy. I dont understand why he lies about things so much. Don't ever believe anything he tells you about. Espacially time frames. What part of the river do you go to? I head out to Cottonwood about 8 times a year. Just curious.

Get2TheRiver · Posted: Apr 23, 2003 5:37 pm Post subject:

The boat is 2001 X-Star. The place in Corona is the shop that does the fiberglass work (only) for MC and California Skier. It's not Bert's, it's called Flores Boat Works or something like that...I was able to take the boat there directly (it's closer to my house than the MC dealer). The guy who runs the show there was really cool when I dropped it off and I have confidence he'll get it done right now that he has it.

I go to the Parker Strip Very Happy

. Been to Katherine's a few times, but never CW...Hear it's very cool.

X-Star · Soul Rider Joined: 01 Apr 2003 Posts: 253

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