South Austin Marine
08-17-2009, 08:30 PM
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South Austin Marine
South Austin Marine:
I bought I 24 foot Kenner Tunnel from South Austin Marine on the 23rd of July.
I spoke with the salesman on the phone and told him I would be down to pick up the boat at around noon because I planned on going to work that evening to cover a navy bird roll out ceremony. The boat wasn't ready when I arrived to pick it up with my 3 year old daughter and wouldn't run, I was assured that they had the situation under control and had sent a man to get the part that was needed to fix it. It was at this point that I learned that the motor that was suppose to have about 400 hours on it in fact had 770 hours, the dealer stepped up and offered to put a 1 year warranty on the motor free of charge and I thought that it would be ok. so we decided to keep the deal going.
My daughter and I waited around for about seven hours because we live in Fort Worth and it's quite a drive from Fort Worth to Austin. I bought my daughter a life jacket and tried to do what I could to waste time as they continued to get the boat ready and pumped around 100 gallons of old fuel from the tanks once the part arrived and they started working on it I noticed that there was a bunk board missing from the trailer and asked them to fix it, they sent a man to get a board and they replaced within the hour a that point we were finally ready for a water test. I was worried that it was going to get dark soon and as they were moving the boat into position they broke the trailer jack and rushed to install a new one, finally we were off to the lake to run the boat.
Once at the lake the boat started and ran well but the trolling motor kept kicking on and off when placed on the highest setting and I kept getting an alarm when the boat was trimmed up at full throttle. I mentioned my concern to the salesman and he told me that the alarm was going off because we were hitting the red line. I also told him the motor felt like it surged for a second on one of the runs. He assured me that the motor was working right and so we swapped the trailer and I took the boat home.
AS you can guess I missed the roll out ceremony and that was not all there is much more to come. The next day(Friday) my father took the boat three hours away to Toledo Bend to go fishing. Once there he and my brother launched the boat and ran it for about 25 minutes and then put it back on the trailer and prepared to go night fishing with three other boats. Sunset came around and it was time to put the boat back in the water and go fishing, he fired the engine up and backed it off the trailer and the motor quit and wouldn't start, my phone rings so I load my wife, daughter and an old military buddy up and head out to rescue my 60 year old father, looks like I'm going to miss another day at work.. I called the dealer and told them what happened, they start trying to find a dealer nearby that can fix the boat to no avail. Once I arrived at the lake I checked the fuel lines and found that the hose clamps on the fuel tank weren't retightened after they pumped the old fuel out of the tanks at the dealer, so I tightened them up and primed the system it was at this point that I discover that there was also a fuel leak underneath the cowling on the fuel pump/filter assembly I tightened the bleed screws up after speaking with the dealers service department on the phone and I assumed that I had fixed the problem but man was I wrong.
The next day we got up and tried her again and the motor fired right up and idled well so we went on a water test and everything seemed to be working well until we returned to camp and idled up to the dock and the engine died and once again wouldn't start. I called the dealer again and let them know what was going on and that I will be bringing the boat back to them on Monday and our deal was off.
So the boat sits on the trailer at the camp along with us while everybody goes fishing, seeing that the boat has our attention we start looking at it and my dad discovers that the swivel pin bushings are bad and need to be replaced and that the front live well pump doesn't work along with the depth finder.
At this point my confidence in the dealer is completely gone, on Monday I drive the boat back to Austin from Forth Worth and drop it off, the salesman and owner spoke with me and after a laundry list of things were agreed upon we still had a deal and I agreed not the use the state three day buyers remorse law and kept the boat.
After many phone calls and about three weeks the boat was finally ready with a new swivel pin, bushings, fuel pump gaskets, tires, depth finder, trolling motor circuit breakers, fuse panel, impeller, housing and control cables.
The dealer sent a mechanic to meet me half way with the boat and run it, so after all was said and done the boat was in serviceable shape or so I thought once again.
My father and I wanted to try some different propellers on the boat because the prop on it now doesn't have enough pitch. So I got down and start trying to find out what the pitch is on the prop and I notice that when the dealer removed the lower unit to service the impeller that they didn't reseal the cavitation plate to the motor, as it had been when I first inspected the boat, so I thought no big deal I will pop it off and put some new sealant on it because we all know what happens when a cavitation plate is loose. So I take the brand new stainless bolts on the shallow blaster and get my big rubber hammer and start tapping it off the lower unit. I can't believe what I'm seeing the entire anti-ventilation plate on the lower unit is in worse shape than any I have ever seen.
So I guess South Austin Marine is going to wait till the boat strands my family somewhere before they mention that my lower unit is a time bomb waiting to take the prop out.
So I'm going to take the lower unit off tomorrow and take it to a local guy who thinks he can fix it. So after a month of owning a boat I have been able to use it once.
So as far as South Austin Marine is concerned if you don't see it or it isn't brand new then proceed at your own risk.
Sorry if I'm rambling it's been a long month.
I bought I 24 foot Kenner Tunnel from South Austin Marine on the 23rd of July.
I spoke with the salesman on the phone and told him I would be down to pick up the boat at around noon because I planned on going to work that evening to cover a navy bird roll out ceremony. The boat wasn't ready when I arrived to pick it up with my 3 year old daughter and wouldn't run, I was assured that they had the situation under control and had sent a man to get the part that was needed to fix it. It was at this point that I learned that the motor that was suppose to have about 400 hours on it in fact had 770 hours, the dealer stepped up and offered to put a 1 year warranty on the motor free of charge and I thought that it would be ok. so we decided to keep the deal going.
My daughter and I waited around for about seven hours because we live in Fort Worth and it's quite a drive from Fort Worth to Austin. I bought my daughter a life jacket and tried to do what I could to waste time as they continued to get the boat ready and pumped around 100 gallons of old fuel from the tanks once the part arrived and they started working on it I noticed that there was a bunk board missing from the trailer and asked them to fix it, they sent a man to get a board and they replaced within the hour a that point we were finally ready for a water test. I was worried that it was going to get dark soon and as they were moving the boat into position they broke the trailer jack and rushed to install a new one, finally we were off to the lake to run the boat.
Once at the lake the boat started and ran well but the trolling motor kept kicking on and off when placed on the highest setting and I kept getting an alarm when the boat was trimmed up at full throttle. I mentioned my concern to the salesman and he told me that the alarm was going off because we were hitting the red line. I also told him the motor felt like it surged for a second on one of the runs. He assured me that the motor was working right and so we swapped the trailer and I took the boat home.
AS you can guess I missed the roll out ceremony and that was not all there is much more to come. The next day(Friday) my father took the boat three hours away to Toledo Bend to go fishing. Once there he and my brother launched the boat and ran it for about 25 minutes and then put it back on the trailer and prepared to go night fishing with three other boats. Sunset came around and it was time to put the boat back in the water and go fishing, he fired the engine up and backed it off the trailer and the motor quit and wouldn't start, my phone rings so I load my wife, daughter and an old military buddy up and head out to rescue my 60 year old father, looks like I'm going to miss another day at work.. I called the dealer and told them what happened, they start trying to find a dealer nearby that can fix the boat to no avail. Once I arrived at the lake I checked the fuel lines and found that the hose clamps on the fuel tank weren't retightened after they pumped the old fuel out of the tanks at the dealer, so I tightened them up and primed the system it was at this point that I discover that there was also a fuel leak underneath the cowling on the fuel pump/filter assembly I tightened the bleed screws up after speaking with the dealers service department on the phone and I assumed that I had fixed the problem but man was I wrong.
The next day we got up and tried her again and the motor fired right up and idled well so we went on a water test and everything seemed to be working well until we returned to camp and idled up to the dock and the engine died and once again wouldn't start. I called the dealer again and let them know what was going on and that I will be bringing the boat back to them on Monday and our deal was off.
So the boat sits on the trailer at the camp along with us while everybody goes fishing, seeing that the boat has our attention we start looking at it and my dad discovers that the swivel pin bushings are bad and need to be replaced and that the front live well pump doesn't work along with the depth finder.
At this point my confidence in the dealer is completely gone, on Monday I drive the boat back to Austin from Forth Worth and drop it off, the salesman and owner spoke with me and after a laundry list of things were agreed upon we still had a deal and I agreed not the use the state three day buyers remorse law and kept the boat.
After many phone calls and about three weeks the boat was finally ready with a new swivel pin, bushings, fuel pump gaskets, tires, depth finder, trolling motor circuit breakers, fuse panel, impeller, housing and control cables.
The dealer sent a mechanic to meet me half way with the boat and run it, so after all was said and done the boat was in serviceable shape or so I thought once again.
My father and I wanted to try some different propellers on the boat because the prop on it now doesn't have enough pitch. So I got down and start trying to find out what the pitch is on the prop and I notice that when the dealer removed the lower unit to service the impeller that they didn't reseal the cavitation plate to the motor, as it had been when I first inspected the boat, so I thought no big deal I will pop it off and put some new sealant on it because we all know what happens when a cavitation plate is loose. So I take the brand new stainless bolts on the shallow blaster and get my big rubber hammer and start tapping it off the lower unit. I can't believe what I'm seeing the entire anti-ventilation plate on the lower unit is in worse shape than any I have ever seen.
So I guess South Austin Marine is going to wait till the boat strands my family somewhere before they mention that my lower unit is a time bomb waiting to take the prop out.
So I'm going to take the lower unit off tomorrow and take it to a local guy who thinks he can fix it. So after a month of owning a boat I have been able to use it once.
So as far as South Austin Marine is concerned if you don't see it or it isn't brand new then proceed at your own risk.
Sorry if I'm rambling it's been a long month.
08-17-2009, 09:13 PM
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At this point my confidence in the dealer is completely gone, on Monday I drive the boat back to Austin from Forth Worth and drop it off, the salesman and owner spoke with me and after a laundry list of things were agreed upon we still had a deal and I agreed not the use the state three day buyers remorse law and kept the boat.
Did you have a competent marine mechanic/surveyor look at the boat? If not, you didn't take precautions to protect yourself.
Sorry to hear about your troubles, but dealers like this are everywhere around the country...and they are becoming more common.
08-17-2009, 10:34 PM
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I doubt a surveyor would have spotted this type of problem what troubles me is that the lower unit was removed by a mercury certified tech and no one told me about the damage, he had to have seen it when he changed the impellar.
My friend Mike bought a boat from up north and he had a certified marine surveyor inspect his boat and he missed a crack in one of his lower units. So nothing is really a magic bullet.
I should have walked away from the deal but I didn't I decided to give them a chance.
I put this on here because this dealer is a multi-million dollar fountain, formula and ect. dealer with some really expensive boats on the lot the kind you need to be able to trust.
So like I stated earlier just keep an eye on them. I was bragging about how they had made things right on my boat until I saw this lower unit.
If this had gone unnoticed and come apart while I was offshore it at the least would have been an expensive tow bill.
My friend Mike bought a boat from up north and he had a certified marine surveyor inspect his boat and he missed a crack in one of his lower units. So nothing is really a magic bullet.
I should have walked away from the deal but I didn't I decided to give them a chance.
I put this on here because this dealer is a multi-million dollar fountain, formula and ect. dealer with some really expensive boats on the lot the kind you need to be able to trust.
So like I stated earlier just keep an eye on them. I was bragging about how they had made things right on my boat until I saw this lower unit.
If this had gone unnoticed and come apart while I was offshore it at the least would have been an expensive tow bill.
Last edited by John.Vaught; 08-17-2009 at 11:05 PM. Reason: typo
08-18-2009, 06:45 AM
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You made arrangements to buy the boat. You drive 3+ hours to pick it up. You get there and the boat is not even ready, needing numerous repairs. You wait 7 hours for them to get it ready? To me that is the first chance right there.
Yes, a surveyor would not catch everything, but they certainly catch most and could have 'warned' you about the condition of the boat prior to you wasting 10 hours of your time, plus missing an important appointment. The surveyor would have given you the heads up and you probably wouldn't have wasted your time.
Good Luck with the boat, and I hope things are smoother sailing than when they started out.
Yes, a surveyor would not catch everything, but they certainly catch most and could have 'warned' you about the condition of the boat prior to you wasting 10 hours of your time, plus missing an important appointment. The surveyor would have given you the heads up and you probably wouldn't have wasted your time.
Good Luck with the boat, and I hope things are smoother sailing than when they started out.
08-19-2009, 09:20 PM
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Yeah the motor is running like a champ now and the trailer is rolling much better with the new tires on it. I pulled the lower unit off and took it to Joe Grimes in Crowley, TX he said he can fix it.
While I'm waiting I think I will repaint the mid section on the motor and install some spreader lights, I maintain my boat to a higher standard that most people do.
I'm planning on trying some different props on the boat because at the moment it over-revs any time you run it out, and you can't make the boat porpoise at any trim setting all it does when you trim it up is slip.
I think I will pull the trolling motor off and go through it as well while I'm waiting on the lower unit to be repaired.
I appreciate your kind words and I hope your right about the smooth sailing.
John
While I'm waiting I think I will repaint the mid section on the motor and install some spreader lights, I maintain my boat to a higher standard that most people do.
I'm planning on trying some different props on the boat because at the moment it over-revs any time you run it out, and you can't make the boat porpoise at any trim setting all it does when you trim it up is slip.
I think I will pull the trolling motor off and go through it as well while I'm waiting on the lower unit to be repaired.
I appreciate your kind words and I hope your right about the smooth sailing.
John
08-21-2009, 05:01 PM
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Ok,
The latest as of today is that South Austin Marine is going to drive up Tuesday to pick up the boat and do what they can to fix it
In a way that's great but I'm still without a boat it looks like I will be making my first payment before I ever get to use the boat.
The latest as of today is that South Austin Marine is going to drive up Tuesday to pick up the boat and do what they can to fix it
In a way that's great but I'm still without a boat it looks like I will be making my first payment before I ever get to use the boat.
08-22-2009, 09:07 AM
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South Austin Marine has been in business for over 35 years and goes out of their way more than any dealer I have ever worked with. Every boat has small issues that need attention - doesn't matter if it's new or used. Before bashing them about a used fishing boat with 770 hours on an offshore forum, maybe you should contact the sales manager or owner and try to work it out. Seriously - grow up.
Last edited by aTX427; 08-22-2009 at 09:12 AM.
08-22-2009, 09:45 AM
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South Austin Marine has been in business for over 35 years and goes out of their way more than any dealer I have ever worked with. Every boat has small issues that need attention - doesn't matter if it's new or used. Before bashing them about a used fishing boat with 770 hours on an offshore forum, maybe you should contact the sales manager or owner and try to work it out. Seriously - grow up.
08-22-2009, 08:05 PM
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Thats why you get a 3rd party to survey the boat...sounds like the dealer was helpful. Depends on what kind of a deal you got on the boat as well. It's a fishing boat cant be that expensive. I just spent 10K on an engine...still not set up right and my mechanic keeps charging on take backs....cost of owning a boat. If they sold you a boat and told you to jump in a lake, now thats a reason to warn people. B.O.A.T = break out another thousand. Wonder if the ferrari forum has a guy with a 400K miles Chrysler complaining.
Last edited by Dono77056; 08-22-2009 at 08:09 PM.
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