Don"t Get It!!!!
 

Called Fountain the other day to see how much they wanted for 6 pieces of vinyl to recover my sun pad. The 6 pieces are not that large. I did inquire about the Logo on the pads. Customer service said $2100.00 for 6 pieces of vinyl. I check here in town and had estimates from $1200.00 to $1500.00 to do the whole job.

You would think a company that just got BAILD OUT of BANKRUPCY would be a little more competitive in their PRICING of aftermarket items. If they can't have it ALL they don't want ANY!!!!!

Let me clarify the 6 pieces of vinyl, it was only the vinyl no cushions or install. I would have to contract the installation to the hatch separately.

"cheap" and "Marine" cannot be said in the same sentence. :lolhit:

Call Craig at Appearance Products In Grand Rapids Michigan
(616) 827-8641 tell him his buddy Marc sent you He can help you out

I guess ROADHOG has never owned a Harley or a exotic car, RV or a airplane. Got news for you....thats how it works...sorry.

I had a "local guy" give me a bid on fixing my Ferarri top too. Guess I would rather go to the source rather than take a chance on after market

it used to be anything from Fountain.....$$ x2 or 3

guess nothing has changed....

Reggie has more overhead........

I am glad that OEM's sell their stuff at top dollar, that's why there is room for companies like mine, not in the marine business, (industrial filters) but still the same concept. Customer just called me for a HEPA filter for a Torit/Donaldson, as the OEM of the equipment they wanted $320.00. I can sell a better filter for $130.00. They don't make that filter anyway, and like most OEM's they buy for a good price and jack it way up. OEM's often change suppliers at a drop of hat, so their quality can vary, die lots can change, weights can change, so there is no assurance that Gerry (Road Hog) would be getting something better from Fountain. Maybe you have money to throw around but most of us don't or just don't want to.

www.thefiltergroup.com LOL just in case anyone needs a filter Donna

How about Mercury Marine and Mercury Racing? List prices are crazy.

EXACTLY !:drink::drink::drink::drink:

B O A T = Break Out Another Thousand

Some of you guys are missing the point. I'm only stating that Fountain and other builders continue to way over charge for items that can be purchased aftermarket. I'm of the understanding that some profit is better than none at all. I would love to Support my boat builder after the sale but not when they continue to try and GOUGE ME!!!!

I understand perfectly what you're going through. I just had all new upholstery skins installed in my Progression 22. Skipping way ahead, I ended up buying the skins directly from Progression, but then having a local upholsterly shop do the actual installation work. Did I pay more? Oh yea. I figure there was almost an extra $800 or so when the dust had settled.

Why did I go that route instead of having the whole job done locally by the shop that installed them? Well, for one thing I could absolutely count on Progression matching everything (colors, textures, stitching, piping, etc.) perfectly. Nobody who buys my boat someday will ever be able to say, "Nice boat, except for the upholstery."

Why does it cost more to go with the manufacturer? If you looked at the overhead in the shop that installed the skins, he basically had a 2 car garage with some fancy sewing machines and tables. Pretty low overhead in other words. Although this guy probably could have matched the factory quality, I didn't want to take a chance. It's a choice I decided to live with because I could afford it at the time. You have the same choice.

I really wouldn't consider that to be a gouge. He is a little higher, but it is not like he is double the price....

Almost twice the PRICE is not a GOUGE then what is? Once again some profit is better than NONE. Also don't you think that Fountain would have more buing power than a 1 man band working out of his GARAGE.

:eek:

He has to pay for his 5th wife :evilb:

I think Fountain is being made to look greedy here as if thery are the only ones doing this. When I need parts for my Ford truck I go to my local auto parts store for aftermarket versus going to the Ford dealer and paying about 40% more. How is that any different?

I'm not singling out Fountain, it just so happens that I own a Fountain. If the item that a customer wants is for that particular Mfg. Boat, Auto, or Plane then I totally understand the higher Oem Price. When a part is a generic part that can be bought anywhere then you would think the Mfg. would want to be more competitive. Why loose a sale to a Customer that already owns your product? It is good business to keep a customer happy after the sale. Not too continuously Over charge for GENERIC parts!!!

The 6 pieces are not that large. I did inquire about the Logo on the pads. Customer service said $2100.00 for 6 pieces of vinyl. I check here in town and had estimates from $1200.00 to $1500.00 to do the whole job.

I could be wrong but I read this as the local guy's price included the installation labor, from Fountain it was just the pieces, then on top of that he would have to pay for local installation, that could make it more than double.

I am not sure if Fountain does their own upholstery or if they farm it out, if they do send it out that could account for the higher price. OEM's, dealers, etc always charge more, that's nothing new. However in hard times when not as many new boats are being sold, or in my case equipment what often keeps an OEM going is selling service and replacement parts so you would think margins would be relaxed a bit, who knows maybe this was their lower price:drink:

You are correct, the $2100.00 was for the vinyl pieces only, NO INSTALL. I would have to have someone locally take off the old vinyl and reinstall the new vinyl pieces. The quote I got from a local company of $1,200.00 to $1,500.00 was for everything, LABOR and MATERIAL

We had a similar discussion about this in the Cigarette forum, and your thoughts mirror mine & a few others.

To have Cigarette make you a logo for the hatch, costs around $900-$1000. Yes, you can have someone else do it for less. The problem is that many of the ones I've seen done by others, don't have the right proportions, fonts, etc.....but the ones made at Cigarette are ALWAYS correct. You pay more, but you get what you paid for. The hatch logo is the first thing most people see when they are checking out a boat tied to the dock, so I wouldn't want a half-assed looking job back there in that case.

If you're just having the hatch recovered, & the local guys can get the same fabric, then I'd say your choice is obvious. If they try to use some "comparible" fabric, then I'd pass on the local job.

Yep!!!!

Merc list on a 525SC blower belt $205.96:eek:

Cost at NAPA is under $40

I have friend that had Eliminator send him the new skins for his back seat & engine hatch. I do not remember what he paid for it but it was not close to $1,200. This winter I am going to need to have part of my rear seat redone. I was going to look at a local guy but If the factory is any where reasonable I will glady pay more knowing I will get a first class job.

5th wife hell.its all that GOLD around his neck.lol

i keep giving my boat guy hell about merc,s prices.he tells me that the reason merc stuff is so high is because everything they sell has a warrenty on it.????

So does Napa:drink::drink: