Hull warranty

[Ron Hines]

I've had my Nitro 700LX for 5 and half years and just noticed that my hull is delaminating underneath. I called Nitro and they told me it was only a five year warranty. I feel that the delamination started a long time before I noticed it, am I wrong in thinking that Nitro should do something about my boat?



Thanks

Ron

 

[Rob LaMoy]

No you're not wrong, but best of luck. And it probably did start months or even years ago. But you are 6 months out of warranty. It has been my experience that it is hard enough to get them to honor a warranty when you're IN the time frame, but even a day out, sorry to say, but you're probably on your own on this one Ron.



Wish you the best though. This IS the perfect opportunity for Tracker Marine to prove my view of their warranty and customer service wrong.....but my money is on they won't.



And don't anyone get all "offended", I am answering a post and doing based on MY experiences AND what I've read repeatedly from others.

 

[Rob LaMoy]

My dealer did fight for me, and then I had to go directly to Tracker and take the fight up with them. I won't get into it, but yes, the dealer plays a part, but I am completely convinced that Tracker's warranties aren't worth the paper they're written on and NOBODY can change my view but Tracker, by proving me wrong.

Now, by not honoring a warranty on a local 929 that hit a wave and had the entire side of the boat come off revealing the rods in the locker and busting main braces in the hull, they proved me right again. They claimed he hit something....yeah a wave. Explain to me HOW somebody hits something at 50+ MPH on the SIDE of the hull?



They didn't honor my warranty (until my attorney got involved) based on the fact that I was a guide. But they repaired and then replaced the first hull knowing it. AND the FACTORY rep sold me the boat knowing I was a guide and told me I had a warranty.



There are lots of people here that have good boats, but unfortunately, there are many that dont' and do not get the service or warranty Tracker "sells" on the showroom floor. And I'll say it until I'm blue in the face because of the months of hell they put me and many others through. Lots of hard working people save their money with hopes to get a boat they've wanted for years. Imagine their dismay when they finally get one and it has serious problems. Then imagine the further let down when on top of that the mfr won't honor their warranty. Ticks me off!

 

[Greg Meyer]

It all comes down to what the company wants to be... Does it want to be in the customer service - long term relationship business... or the one-time "snake oil salesman" take the money and run business...



We bend over backwards...I think sometimes ridiculously too far to correct issues that are not our responsibility. But, we have customers that have been customers for years and years... Perception is reality... And, we believe that we are perceived as being very customer oriented...



Only Tracker controls their reputation and our perception...

 

[Rob LaMoy]

Exactly Greg!

 

[Brian Bell2]

In my humble opinion, nothing is EVER going to change with ALL boat manufacturers and thier warranties until boats are included in Lemon Laws just like cars, if not for the Lemon Law I bet we would see similiar situations with the automobile industry. I think the goverment and BBB needs to take action, that is the only way the consumer is going to be protected. Lets call Ralph Nater.



Note:

I had major hull problems with my 99 700LX, but it took an act of congress to get tracker to replace it.

My 2004 NX750, ( knock on wood ) has been great no problems so far with hull and I have hit some doozy waves..

 

[Jim B]

Rob, i agree with you, they really should step up to the plate moreand try to change that reputation. You have my number, call me sometime.



The only thing i would lile to add that warranty issues and boat companies wanting to pass the buck so to speak is not something that is just nitro/tracker. Its the marine industry in general. All companies are like that in some way shape or form. For instance i have seen Triton really put the screws to a guy in my local fed when he caved the front of his tin boat in on a wave. Waht they did to repair it was weld a 1/4" thick peoce of auminium to the area where it was caved in, his rod lockers were still dented and all that and the boat now wont perform properly. He has a lawyer on the case now. I have also seen them seemingly bend over backwards for a guy in my club. Same thing goes for ranger, i have seen them both go above and beyond the call and then not do anything like the guy in my club that busted the transom on his 519vs in 3' waves. They claimed abuse but he was hardly running it when it let go. Champion gave me crap when i needed a new seat under warranty because they forgot to put enough foam in it and also when my gas guage stopped working and when my rod locker door busted the welds on the hinge. No boat maker is immune to this kind of stuff. Like Brian said we need a lemon law(not that it helped me with my last gmc)for boats and maybe some of this will change.

 

[Ron Hines]

Thanks guys I really appreciate the input!



Ron

 

[Staci Matheis]

I might add one bit of information.....



Since Rob had his problem, Tracker has completely restructured the process that they use to handle warranty complaints. At that time, the plants were in charge of warranty determination; kinda like putting the fox in charge of the hen house. Warranty claims have since been brought into the corporate offices where they should have been in the first place.



We are customers of the Dealer; the Dealer is Tracker's customer. We must take up our issues with the dealer just as we do not call Detroit if we have a problem with our automobile. As it has been said over and over again on these pages: The Dealer is the Key.







Rob, please correct me if I'm wrong, but do I also remember correctly that your warranty claim was denied because you used your boat commercially? As a guide? I have no idea how the warranty was written on the boats back then (I think yours was tin at the time) but, if it specifically stated that commercial use voided the warranty, then they were well within their rights.



me

 

[William H. (Bill) Barham]

Staci,



This is a quote from Rob's posting: "They didn't honor my warranty (until my attorney got involved) based on the fact that I was a guide. But they repaired and then replaced the first hull knowing it. AND the FACTORY rep sold me the boat knowing I was a guide and told me I had a warranty."



If they had already repaired something under warranty, and the person who sold the boat to Rob that it was under warranty, then it SHOULD be covered under warranty!

If this was a "small print" deal written into the warranty papers, they still have a moral obligation to back their product.



Bill

 

[TrepMan]

OK i'll jump in here, with a contrary view.



Here is a comparison from the CAR warranty side. If you go to most car dealers 2 days or 2 miles after the 3 yr/36,000 mile warranty you are SOL! Have a friend with a Honda Odyessy, the transmission died at 38,000 w/in 3 years, no extended warranty, Honda dealer and factory told him - If you had bought an extended warranty we'd fix it, otherwise sorry you are on you own! Warranty terms are warranty terms. He had to pay $2,500 out of pocket.



I'll NOT stand up for Tracker on folks who had valid issues w/in warranty, but Ron has identified 6 months OUT of warranty a problem and I doubt most companies would honor that. I HOPE Tracker does, but contractualy it's NOT valid.



Me, whether it's a house, car, boat, electronic... 1 month before the factory (or Extended) warranty ends I go over the vehicle (or item) top to bottom, have the dealer (in a car/boat) do a thorough check for any possible warranty issue and make sure they are documented in writting.



Ron - I'd talk to the dealer you bought it from, see if anyone can verify that this problem occured during warranty and then with your dealer politely and professionaly go back to Tracker and ASK if they could cover any repairs.



Let us know how it goes.

 

[Texas Transplant]

This is not a popular view, but the hull is warranted for 5 years. Not 5 years and 1 day, or 5 years and 6 months, etc. Since any hull warranty work is going to be accomplished by Tracker (and not the dealer), there is no obligation by Tracker to address this. I'm with Trep on this.



Just like a car with 36,000 miles warranty, if you find that the power steering pump is leaking (and has probably been leaking) at 37,653 miles, it's 1653 miles too long.



From a users perspective, I would want my boat repaired also. However, we shouldn't expect that the MFG (in this case Nitro/Tracker) should bear the cost for repair as it is out of warranty.



What we all should learn from this is the following:



If you have a warranty that is within 3-6 months of expiring, then do a complete inspection.



In the meantime, I hope that you get it fixed, with minimal out of pocket expenses.



Tex

 

[Texas Transplant]

He's another comment, in general about Tracker/Nitro boats.



Let's face it. The Tracker line is an 'entry level' boat package. It's not really designed or meant to bring them repeat business. Same for the Nitro boats, IMHO. They are the 'entry level' glass boats for those moving from smaller bass boats (or older ones), to a newer model. Look at the cost structure.



They are not meant to compete with Genmar/Triton or any of the other higher end glass products. When you buy a Champion (as an example), they provide an extremely quality product at a high-end market price. They also (in general) provide a warranty/service that is part of that price. If they can do that successfully, they may wind up selling you 3-4-5 or more Champions in your lifetime.



I'm not saying that Nitro/Tracker builds bad boats. But let's face it, they are mass marketing most of their boats, full well knowing that the next boat a serious angler will buy, will probably be from another manufacturer.



Just the market they choose to be in.



Tex

 

[Staci Matheis]

Bill -



Thank you. I guess I didn't thoroughly read Rob's post.



About 3 or 4 years ago, in the early stages of this board, I gave someone the name of a specific person in authority and her phone number to contact at Tracker regarding their warranty issues..... Was that you, Rob?



Also, did you actually purchase the boat from a "factory rep"? Or did you purchase the boat from a dealer? Was it used or was it new at the time of purchase?



me!

 

[TOMMY RICH]

It's been beat to death over the years....Nitro/Tracker could make the best boats in the world and it won't mean crap until they take care of issues just like that!

 

[Rob LaMoy]

What Bill said! LOL They sold me the boat knowing I was a guide and when they wanted my money, me being a guide was NOT an issue. Plus, they assumed liability when the repaired and then eventually replaced the first hull. But they knew they had problems with those hulls so tried to back out any way they could. I don't see them giving national prostaff a hard time about warranties and those guys fish 300+ days a year. I would dare say that THAT constitues "commercial" use a LOT more than my 80 days on the water a season.

It boils down to, do they believe in and back their product? And how much do they value their customers? I think the answer is loud and clear.

And as far as putting the warranty decision making into corporate's hands.....they guys that only care about margin. You're right, they took the fox out of the hen house and put a wolf in charge!

 

[Dewey Storie]

Ron you have mail

 

[Staci Matheis]

Rob -



I'm trying to recall specifics of something that took place a few years back.....



"They" was a dealer, not a "factory rep"?

Had that dealer had gone out of business?

Did I give you the lady's name at Tracker?



There was someone a few years ago that I had corresponded with who had problems like that and I'm not sure who it was..... I seem to remember that they were in the northeast.....



me!





(This was someone other than Magna19.)

 

[Mike Moss]

Entry level or not.It shouldnt fall apart if you half way take of it.I have seen bass boats that are 10 years old but still dont have delaminations in the them.A buddy of mine gets rid of his about the four year mark and gets another one.I guess its ok if you can swing it.My 750nx is the first fiberglass boat I have ever owned.If I get rid of it and did by another it will be aluminum.With anti skid instead of carpet.Less up keep and you dont have to worry about fading paint or scratches.Fiber glass rides nice and looks better but I think I would trade that for something with less up keep.Hope I didnt make anybody mad.Just another two cents worth.

 

[Rob LaMoy]

NOOOOO, "They" WAS A FACTORY REP! He was at the boat show with the dealer selling boats.



The dealer did NOT go out of business (and so what if they had?)



The bottom line is this, Tracker tried to put the screws to me until they realized they had someone that would not roll over for their big corporate "bulldoze the little man" attitude.

I said what I meant, and meant what I said, followed up by action. So they did what they knew they were obligated to and fixed the boat. Now what about all the little guys that didn't go that far and backed down?

 

[Rob LaMoy]

Goff, I hope your right. I know you're there now, and I DO hope things are coming around. If the quality of the rigs goes up, then the incidents should decline. But there are still people denying legitimate claims at corporate. I also know there are some great people working there like Doug, and the lady who helped me out, can't recall her name. These people bend over backwards to help out, but unfortunately, I still believe there are folks above them, that don't share that same passion for doing what is right by the customer.



The company I work for has given a warranty to people who knowingly voided it doing something we explicitly tell everyone not to. It was a simple mistake and we felt bad for them, so gave them new materials to do the job. The company has done that repeatedly. Some might argure we're losing money.....not so, those customers become loyal for life and we are a leader in our industry with substantial growth each year for the past 6 years and counting. The customer service dept I work in strives at EVERY level to go above and beyond to take care of our customers and the loyalty and sales reflect it.



Is Ron technically out of warranty? YES! But a good company would step up to the plate and take care of a boat that "peeled" it's skin....that's not normal, period! So lets just wait and see what happens across the board.



I'm done with this post now, I've said what needed saying.

 

[Teri C.]

Goff, I have a 2003 Nitro and I have had all kinds of problems with this boat. Many of these I have fixed myself because my dealer isn't close but I don't think I would buy another Nitro.



The trim around the dash has all fallin off and whoever made the cuts in the fiberglass sure didn't care what they were doing. I don't think I could see a worse job. I wouldn't have had any problems with the trolling motor had I not had to wiggle the plug out every time because the piece that was bolted on to the console in front fell off because someone forgot a nut along the way. The boat had a major leak when I first got it because someone didn't screw the winch hook ring in. The dealer found that one. The trolling motor blew alot and the dealer told me it was because someone didn't put the right fuse in it. The front livewell doesn't work anymore but I haven't had time to look into that one. Then there was the time I was in the middle of a big lake in Minnesota and the boat decided not to start at all. Had to get to the nearest dock and take the baot out and down to the dealer. The cranking battery was fine. Couldn't find anything wrong with it and finally got it to start. It's still a mystery as to what happened there. Every time I start the motor it has a hard time whether its been running all day or sitting. I realize that's a Mercury issue but it's all the same boat to me.



I don't mean to sound like a complainer but I have had way too many problems for a boat that just turned a year old.

 

[Texas Transplant]

Goff,



I understand your point on mass production. However, my comments were not meant to mean that they flowed down an assembly line, similar to vehicles. Should have been clearer on that point.



And I'm certain that even Ranger (or Champion) does not honor all warranty claims. No arguement there.



I just personally think that Nitro/Tracker is built/marketed/sold to the 'entry level buyer' - for the most part.



Tex

 

[Staci Matheis]

I was the one that gave you "the lady who helped me out, can't recall her name".



I do recall her name, I had the opportunity to meet her and thank her in person when Rich and I were at Tracker 3 years ago. She prefers her privacy so it would be inappropriate to post it. She helped out several of our Members when the internal structures were much different.



(Thank you again, Ms. _____ !)



Also, as I remember, correct me if I'm wrong, but the services of an attorney were not required.



me!

 

[Jim B]

Wow, this post has got more attention then i ever thought it would. Like i have said before i dont think Traker/Nitro is any better or worse then any other boat maker when it comes to warranty issues. I have had some dealings with then when it comes to my boat and they resolved it to my satisfaction.



The reality is nobody can make 100% of the people 100% happy 100% of the time. its just not possible, i dont care who makes it. Chris makes a good point about the Auto companies. My last truck was a nightmare from almost day 1 and what did GMC do for me? Absolutly nothing, zip, zero, nada. I was stuck with a truck from a company that didnt care and a crappy dealer that could have cared less. My dealings with GM were fruitless and even my lawyer had no luck getting a resolution to the long list of issues that vehicle had. I am still pretty bitter about the situation and rightfully so in my mind, so i can understand Rob's feelings. Like i said my dealings with tracker were different, i had dealer who cared and tracker cared about me the customer. It works the same way with cars, my current truck (Dodge) had an out of warranty problem that my dealer ate because they feel it never should have broke to begin with.



As far as Ron's thing goes it really up to the dealer and Nitro to decide if they will get involved It is out of warranty according to the statement and if the dont cover it they are well withing thier rights. If they do thats great and they are going well above the call of duty.

 

[TOMMY RICH]

Tracker/Nitro quality not any worse? Well Jim that would be debateable...especially with me and a few others on this site that sure wouldn't want anyone else to go thru what I or they had to go thru. Don't mention Nitro/Tracker and quality in the same sentence on any other site! Unless you want to be "piledriven"!@

 

[Jim B]

Tee where did i once mention quality of a tracker product? Im talking about service not quality of product. that is a whole different discussion all together. Like i said i had some dealings with Tracker directly on some issues with my boat. I think they handled it well and i am satisfied. I thought they treated me in a very profassional manner and i did the same. I cant say the same thing for Champion who built my last boat or GMC who buold my last truck (which was the biggest peice of crap on wheels BTW)

 

[Staci Matheis]

Ron -



Work with your Dealer on this matter.

Only he can give you an answer.



me!

 

[Brian Bell2]

Guys,

I had a 99 700 LX, lots of problems with the glass and gelcoat, Nitro gave me a brand new hull. I had a 2001 Triton TX186, the floor had spiderweb type cracks, hinges on livewells and baitwells kept coming loose, ect,, I have 2004 Nitro NX750, some small gelcoat cracks in the splash well. What I am trying to say like has been said several times in above posts is all boats have problems to some degree. Some much worse than others. I came back to Nitro after looking at the fit & finish on serveral other boats and saw little difference in the quality. I think YES Rangers, Bullets, Triton, Skeeter,ect... are all great boats but looking the value for my hard earned dollar I cannot justify paying thousands of dollars for a NAME on the side of my boat. Like I said ran a triton for a couple years, and it had its share of problems also and it was not a cheap boat, price wise. Its a crap-shoot if you get a good one or a lemon.