whirlwind

Has anyone had problems with Donzi and warranty claims? Ive waited 3 months and gotten nothing but empty promises.They are finally building a nice boat again but are severely lacking in customer service. The last two years I have promoted their boats and even sold a friend on buying one,he bought it and has had the run around too. I have been to the factory several times,you get the royal treatment if they think your buying a boat,pretty sad........more to follow.....

Semper Fi

That's all I have ever heard about Donzi's warranty/customer support. I would Never buy a Donzi from all the negative things I have heard. The ZR's really look nice, but the cabin space is really sparse.

omerta one

Is your dealer or Donzi the problem?

epeek

Dealer up here dropped Donzi. They couldnt get paid on
warranty claims.

whirlwind

The boat was in Sarasota,I sold it while there,it developed a problem with the fuel tank indicators right when my broker went to do the wet test,I was home in Michigan at the time,the boat ran out of gas when guages said half full,caused lots of problems with fuel system,All this while the truck is waiting to deliver the boat to the Northern east coast area,it all cost money.We called Dealer but the Tech was out on calls and booked for others,so my broker spent two days himself,one of his employees,and the truck driver was moving the boat back and forth to the ramp.It would run but not much above idle,these were 275 Verados by the way,and I ran them all last season and loved them.Great boat great motors.Anyway,I incurred the costs of time these people spent trying to get the boat to run and deliver it.The boat is an 05 so warranty is active for years yet. Sent the breakdown of the bill I got from the broker to Donzi,they said they would try to take care of it,that was 3 months ago. I know a lot of those people by name there.I have had private factory tours,I sold my brother in law on a new boat for them,he will be posting on here next,not happy at all with the way the factory took care of him.He lives close by.Its too bad they dont take care after the sale. They finally build a good boat now,but not following through on the customer service end is going to bring them back down again.Like a good resturant with poor management,people stop coming. And they start to talk bad about it,and word travels............and so on. Im pissed,as you can tell.Its not that much money,its the princaple of the matter,Donzi doesnt get it,that will catch up to them,watch and see.

Scott B

How does a boat running out of fuel cause fuel system issues?

whirlwind

Apparently it does with the Verados.I know the fuel system is very high pressure.I have deisel pickups that are that way,if you run them dry you can cause damage,and it has to go back to the dealer.This problem I had all goes back to the SmartCraft guage system,the fuel tank levels are read thru that. We had other problems with that right after I bought it.It causes you to have to find a Tech with a computer or your screwed,load it on a trailer and find a dealer somewhere.The point is,I know the supposed right people at Donzi,and they said they would help,Ive bought a used Cigarette now,couldnt be happier.They were talking to me when they thought I was gonna buy a new Donzi.Guys,I own or am part owner of several different businesses,I know the importance of customer care and support,sometimes you just eat it and write the check if thats what it takes,the customers happy and he comes back ,come on,who doesnt get this? Most dealers Ive talked to laughed when I said I was waiting for a check,they said it will never happen,they are waiting too.Ive sold boats off my new boats for the last 4 different manufacturers I dealt with.Im done with Donzi.Im your biggest fan if you take care of business,and Im your basher if you dont. Joe at Hustler and Terry or Trond at Nortech never forget who you are,and always sent me what I needed and I cant recall ever getting a parts bill from either one of them,it was small stuff but the point is,it went out the next day with a smile.First class organizations. Sunsation,local guys,first class,thats what Im talking about here,take care of us,we write those really big checks that keep you builders alive. You may wonder where my Dealer is in all of this? Im not gonna mention the name,but I had no confidence there at all.The owner never returned my calls after the sale,never looked me up when he was here in my town.......etc. This after my bro-in-law and I bought two 35zfc there with trailers last year.But this is a Donzi thing, Im sure the Dealer takes care of some of his people. Donzi is unaware of the damage they are doing by turning there backs on a guy like me,I was their biggest fan. Im done,Im going boating,its nice out,and theres not one Donzi around here,see ya.

Scott B

Interesting. First I have heard of these issues with a Verado, and none of the diesel trucks I have or have had ever had to go to the dealer after running out of fuel.. Let alone the hundreds of diesel powered compressors and generators in our fleet.. Only time they have had damage is when someone puts crappy fuel in em and then sucks every last bit of water and trash out of the tank...

IMO you hvae a dealer issue.. Should Donzi push the dealer? Yup.. But, much like the SeaVee / Contender / Whitewater / Donzi / Grady White etc. owners here in S Fl, when they have an engine issue the engine dealer takes care of it, not the boat manufacturer... Anyways, sorry to hear about your issues. The Verado owners here run em hard and have reported very few issues with them. Hope they get yourr worked out...

whirlwind

Scott,thanks for your interest.But as I mentioned,the Dealer wasnt available,so we had the warranty engine work done by Innovation,who jumped right on it for the second time actually.The fuel tanks were the manufacturers problem and they fixed that ,and Im not sure what that was excactly,I wasnt there,at the factory.They offered to pay about 80 percent of the damages that occured as a result of the tank problems,and nothing happened.Thats all,just didnt follow thru.And the dealers say thats tipical Donzi,so I give up.And your right about the trucks,Im a contractor here,and two times that I recall,we sucked either water or dirt when we ran out of fuel,maybe the boat did too,I didnt here one way or the other.Are you a Donzi owner Scott?

Scott B

Yup, Donzi owner.. None of em with eggbeaters though..

I have a center console with Yammies, and am actually considering Verado's for it IF I keep it.. Here in Miamuh they have gotten an excellent reutation, so I was a bit surprised to read of your issues wih them. Innovation is THE place to take it for repairs rom what I understand, at least in that area. Am I correct to asume that it is OK now?