Replacement MX1825

I just don’t even know where to start. If you have read the thread where i listed the issues i had with my MX1825, then you might understand where my frustration lies with Skeeter.

Anyhow my replacement boat arrived at the dealer this week. Upgraded the outboard to the new F200 with command link gauges plus the keel guard. Besides the model year changes everything else remained the same as my first boat.

I made the trek to my dealer 150 miles away ready to take possession yesterday, and the boat did look pretty good.

Except for the missing command link gauges, the missing keel guard, the missing tool box, the hatch that would not open, and the scratches on the gel coat.

I was so upset i had to walk out of the rigging bay to keep my composure before blowing a gasket at the “rigging tech” who said it is normal for new boats to have hatches like that as he forced it open and closed about a dozen times. And the dealer owner who said “we were all at dealer meetings all week, we had no idea these things were missing”. To which i replied, somebody signed for this thing.

On the three hour drive home (left the old boat with the dealer) decided to call Mr. Young at skeeter to find out what his solution was to the broken promise of getting a boat that was built right the first time and the manufacturing issues that i have on boat 1 would all be forgotten with boat 2. As i have come to expect Mr. Young is disconnected from what is happening where he works or just doesn’t care. I say this because he is not available. That 4 and a 1/2 day work week that he perpetually does does not allow him the opportunity to be connected to what the rest of the idiots in Kilgore are doing to keep his phone ringing off the hook.

Skeeter in my opinion is totally inept, to the point when i got home i called the dealer told them to keep the first boat and i just want my money back.

I have lost all faith in them as a company and do not trust them to build a quality product. How in the world they would ship a boat that didn’t match the invoice is beyond me, or with scratches on the gel coat, on the bow console area.

I don’t know what others experiences have been but for me twice is once to many.

I’m sorry to hear about your continued issues but as someone that has closely followed your ordeal….as was the case with you first boat, you have a dealer issue. You could order a 100 boats from the outfit you’ve been dealing with and you’ll never be satisfied as they sound like they don’t know up from down. If I remember your post about your last boat it was replaced because you had a stain on the carpet and pumps that didn’t work. A good dealership would NEVER allow you to take delivery of a boat with either issue. Ordering another through the same dealer was never going to fix the issues. Too bad you don’t have a Skeeter Boat Center close to you to work with.

I would have to agree with James. There are several people on this website alone that have ordered their MX1825 through SBC and it seems that we hear nothing but good things on this boat. I know I can personally say that I absolutely love this boat. I know that they have had a high demand for this boat since it came out. If Skeeter was mass producing a product that was considered low quality they wouldn’t have such a high demand for this certain model. I don’t think you should be attacking the Skeeter name because we all know that they build quality boats. You need to call up Skeeter Boat Center and talk with the guys that actually have a clue on what they are doing. Customer service is their number one priority as it should be wherever you go, but these guys do an excellent job of going above and beyond their duties to make their customer feel at home.

Gwood,

Just in case you took my post to be less than sympathetic… we’re on your side. I just think you need to place blame where it lies.

The keel guard… that’s a dealer installed item.

Scratches on the bow… likely happened in transport. A good dealer would fix this before the customer got anywhere near the boat.

Missing command guages… sounds like the dealer failed to order them. If they did order them and the factory didn’t install them… a good dealership would have caught this and had them installed before you ever got within 100 miles of the boat.

Sticking hatches… this is a simple adjustment of the latch…. a good dealership will test and adjust all latches before the customer gets anywhere near the boat.

I could go on and on…

If boat’s came perfect from the factory, why would we need dealerships? Because they don’t the dealership – customer relationship is very, very important and it sounds like you need to find a new one to work with. Of course now that you’re “twice bitten” who could blame you if you decided to throw in the towel and move on.

I hear what your saying. But the dealer was left out of this equation till the end. I have the invoice in my email from Mr. Young. The keel guard is in fact a factory installed option. I was told the boat had to be delivered to the dealer for rigging.
The dealer did not order this, Mr. Young did directly from his desk in Kilgore.

I am not a difficult person to deal with, i just expect to get what i paid for, and for it to be right.

And no my original problems went far deeper than some stains and pumps. It was enough that Skeeter felt the best way to handle them was to replace the boat.

The scratches if happened in transit would have had to been from a gremlin or animal that was shipped under the cover. They are on the gel coat under the wind shield in the bow area. This was not exposed in shipping.

I understand the hatches being adjusted, i was so frustrated with the dealers tech response i wanted to hit him.

The missing gauges, yeah i have an email from Robert Youngwith them in his hand asking me if they were the right ones (style).

Ineptness abounds, from a “Chief” of customer service. A Chief he is not. If he spent that last half a day visiting his shops and seeing what is going on there he might have much better appreciation for the issues people are having. I can’t be the only one.

I’m even more confused now than I was before your last response. And I’m not doubting you or any part of your story. Its too crazy to be made up. I have no idea who Mr. Young is or his role with the company but I can’t imagine a dealership, any dealership, that would be OK with being “left out of this equation till the end.” They should be leading the charge and handling every last aspect of your boat purchase. If you don’t mind me asking, what’s the name of the dealership you’re working with? I’m attempting to understand and empathize based on my experiences ordering boats and your situation sounds completely foreign to me.

AS was the case with your first boat, the issues you’re having would be fixed to perfection by a dealership that was on the ball. Missing keel guard, gauges, latches in need of adjustment and scratches… all minor items that a competent dealership would handle before you even knew they were an issue. And this is the second time around. You’d think the dealership would be double vigilant. Instead it sounds like they’re barely involved. One thing I do know, what you’re experiencing is not “normal” when it comes to purchasing a Skeeter, or any boat for that matter.

I live in TN, my dealer is in Nashville. I will not go through all the issues I had with the first boat. But suffice it to say when I got to my breaking point with it I went on Skeeters facebook page and made a comment about how if they hired anyone that built boats with slightly better eye sight than Mr. Magoo they would be doing themselves a favor. I got a response, asking me to list the issues I was having. The next morning I sat down with a pot of coffee and listed them out, all of them.

Four days later I got a call from Mr. Young at Skeeter boats, he is there Chief of Customer Service. His first words to me were “How would you like a new boat?” I was pretty much blown away. The rest of our conversation centered around the quality issues I had faced and not having that experience again.

I did not take my first boat back to the dealer 154 miles away for it’s issues. Instead I would email/phone the issues to the dealer and back it up with pictures etc.. They would contact Skeeter and Skeeter would send me the parts to replace. Not a big deal, I have a 30 year retired USCG Master Chief mechanic to do my work. Anything he can’t do, I assure you the dealer can not do either.

To drive all the way out there to find the new boat did not match the invoice and with damage on it is unacceptable on every level and goes completely against the entire process and phone conversation I had with Mr. Young, who assured me this one would be the boat I should have had to begin with.

Dealer or no dealer, does not account for the fact that I have had less than acceptable boats from Skeeter. If these were 40k cars this company would be out of business long ago.

The part that gets me is when I think of quality on the water with outboards I think Honda, Yamaha, Merc, Evinrude. Skeeter being a Yamaha company is not doing the Yamaha brand any favors.

I will throw in my $.02 worth because I have something to add given what I saw at the boat show last Winter in St Paul, MN…

When I was looking at 17ft full windshield Al. boats on the showroom floor at the show I noticed some of the same things you described in your Skeeter; ie scratches, latches not working properly, boat seats loose, etc. I even noticed an excess of Aluminum shavings underneath most compartments. The first thing I thought of was a safety issue (cuts) and then a reliability issue if they got where they shouldn’t and short something out. I noticed the similar things with Alumacraft, Lund, and Crestliner boats.

After talking to one of the boat show sales reps I finally mentioned to him my observations. He told me they “all come from the factory that way” and dealers prep them and detail everything out for customers prior to pick up.

Being a manufacturing engineer for 20+ yrs, this struck me as odd that boat companies would rely on their dealer networks so much for these very important details. It could be this is just how it is done or contracts between the manufacturer and dealer. It also highlights how a customer’s perception of the manufacturer can be determined by the lack of attention to detail from the dealer.

I’m not sure what your next move is but I wish you the perseverance to see it through to some sort of satisfaction. The issues you listed here tonight could be fixed by an experienced dealer and you would be on the water in a matter of days. Did the dealership offer you a plan for getting things straightened away? I mean, a missing keel guard and the wrong gauges, while annoying, is a simple fix. As for the scratches in the gel coat, regardless of how they got there it sounds like superficial damage… again, quick and easy fix.

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If these were 40k cars this company would be out of business long ago.

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For what its worth, we have a member here on IDO that does nothing but fix paint damage on cars for dealerships. Brand new vehicles actually do come off the transports with minor scratch and dent damage on occasion. While I’m not trying to minimize the issue I do think it valid to point out that even the car manufacturer’s need dealer support.

I wish there was more we could do to help. If all else fails, you can get from Nashville to Chippewa Falls in under 12 hours. The weather is beautiful here this time of year.

Nashville to Chippewa Falls, WI

And yes, I am kidding. I just know if you were close enough… you’d be fishing right now instead of worrying about getting a boat fixed.

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After talking to one of the boat show sales reps I finally mentioned to him my observations. He told me they “all come from the factory that way” and dealers prep them and detail everything out for customers prior to pick up.

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Dealers play a huge role in getting a boat, any boat, ready for sale. Dean, manager at SBC can correct me if I’m wrong, I believe he told me his techs put in almost 40 hours of rigging and prep time into every boat sold. This includes electronics, kicker motors and on the water testing of all motors, pumps and electrical systems on all boats before the customer takes delivery. If the dealership isn’t up to par, the buying experience will be less than favorable. That’s why some dealerships, those that take their role in the process very seriously, gain such loyal followings. All you need do is buy a boat from the wrong dealership one time to gain an appreciation for those that do it right.

Gwood ,
I had a similar situation a few years ago on a very well known brand “Lund” . Lund is a very good boat , but the dealer who set it up messed up a few things. While they did fix them it did not look like new condition. I lived with it till I sold it. I will not do business with that dealership on anything they sell again. My point is as James said is dealerships make or break a boat purchase. Our business for our toys go to either SBC or Al’s marine.
Hope you find a dealership that cares about your passion , they are out their. Good Luck and tight lines

Thanks, I needed to vent my frustrations and get some insight. My confidence is still pretty low. When i left the dealer i had not even spent 5 minutes looking over the boat in the prep bay. I wonder how much more i would have found if i spent more time and had it pulled out in the sun light.

I am going to talk to Mr. Young on monday and tell him they can deliver the boat to my house when it is ready. If it is not right they can haul it back on there dime. Will have to see how that goes.

Sorry to hear your situation. Personally knowing Dean from SBC (and the majority of the guys working there)-it would be a cold day in hell before they would have ever let you even touch that boat, get near that boat, let you purchase that boat. Period. Certain dealers just plain suck, and there is no erasing that. They would be SCREAMING if something like that came thru their shop and was not taken care of. Sorry to hear your woes, find a dealer that will treat you otherwise.

First off…..as a fellow fisherman, I am very sorry to read your posts of frustration. I have walked in your shoes myself as a customer with 2 of the “sacred” name brands myself prior to getting in the boat business. I also witnessed first hand many stories while running a busy resort. Believe me when I share that there wasnt a brand not mentioned. One thing that was common ground was the names of dealerships involved and the lack of communication. For what it may be worth, Mr Young does assist us with dealer warranty claims ,but has never ever had the role or responsibility, to either order any boats and or directly involved with individual service directly with the end user. To my knowledge that is not the norm, at least with our operation. That is our responsibility!If we can be of any help and or meet you part way, we do care that you are happy & love your boat and I believe Skeeter does as well! Hoping you are back on the water soon & posting picks of the fish you are catching down there!

In my opinion, the biggest part of a new boat transaction is the dealer. My dealer treats me like I’m the only guy that ever bought a boat from him and has handled any issue I’ve ever had promptly and perfectly. My first boat from him got scratched somewhere during either delivery or rigging. Not a big scratch, but very noticeable. Over the first winter, they took care of repainting and re-stickering the entire side of the boat. I expect nothing less from my dealer and he has earned a customer for life. I had strongly considered going to a Skeeter last year when I switched boats, but my current dealer has treated me so well, I would have felt guilty for the rest of my life, so he got to sell me another boat that I am nothing but pleased with.

Even though some of your issue may have been factory related, I agree with James that your dealer should have had it all fixed right before you ever showed up to pick up your rig, and if he couldn’t have it fixed, should have had a plan for getting it fixed at YOUR convenience.

Sorry your boat purchase turned into a giant headache. New boats are supposed to be fun.

All I have to say is Noah built the ark with primitive tools, quicker than Skeeter/dealer are getting this done. Another week wasted with ineptness of a dealer who will not move unless the owner is in the building which they were out till Wednesday. Skeeter Chief of customer service who if worked a full week could have shipped the parts last Friday, but instead took off early and they waited till this week to ship, if that even happened.

This reminds me of when I was in the military and spent 28 days living in a hotel with my family on my dime because everyone needed to approve housing for me was out of town on back to back vacations. And nobody would move on anything till the next guy came back. That little episode cost me 3k out of pocket, plus the stress of living with a wife and 3 small children in a hotel while trying to go to work on a ship that got underway a lot.

Anyone considering a Skeeter should PM me, I will give you the unvarnished brutally frank truth about this company. I am not sponsored nor paid by anyone. Good dealer or bad dealer, you can not deny the inattention of the manufacture. The total lackadaisical attitude of Skeeter upper management. And the lack of quality control in Kilgore, TX.

Venting is finished!