Pier 57 Horror stories
 

Let's hear yours

you go first...lol

Ads for boats not avialible!There ya go!

If you have a beef with them lets hear it. It's a big operation.

dont see this thread lasting long!

I'm subscribed. Sadly heard as many problems as solutions in attempting to purchase boats from them.

Op just had one deleted because it was already discussed and responded to by pier57. Here's where he first brought it up. Reading this board I've heard mostly good about them. I would include them in places to purchase from. Some bad. Very very few businesses have 0 bad reviews.

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/g...-surveyor.html

They took way to long to open there hospitality hauler last year in KW

OP bought a 29 year old boat that was on consignment for less than $30,000 and it had problems...........it wasn't perfect....waaaahhhhh :mad:

Shogren was a broker in the deal, going off whatever the seller told him. If Shogren rebuilt the boat/motors then I would have a different opinion but a consignment boat is what it is! This thread is a piggyback off the other thread and is moot at this point.

Couldn't agree more with you.

Poof!

Stupid thread! Why beat up one of the only dealers that truly supports the performance boat industry and does a great job?

I bought a 2000 38 Fountain from these guys and remember it is a BOAT and was a 13 year old boat at that. All of you on here know what I mean. It had a few issues that I felt needed to be addressed. Scott is a stand up guy and did right by me. I don't understand why someone would just start a thread about Pier 57 and your gripes with them. If you have a legit problem and need answers fine. How about a thread called Stuck Up Butt Headed Mouth Breathers and WHY they should NOT own a boat!!! Freakin' get real.

I took a crap there and the toilet paper holder was empty. I had to put a new roll in, other than that was happy with the boat I got from them.And how they handle everything.

It's called turnover and its a good problem to have.

Couldn't agree more. I haven't purchased from them because the timing and their inventory didn't match up for me, but I've had numerous discussions with Scott over the past year or so and I have found him to be nothing but straightforward and he has followed up on everything he said he would. I would have bought from him in a heartbeat if it had worked. In this business, I can't imagine ANY dealer that hasn't had a deal go south. I'm not making a judgement on the OP's story and feel badly that he had a bad experience and I have no dog in this fight whatsoever, but it kind of seems just mean spirited to start this here. If there is a legitimate beef, take it to Scott or a lawyer.

Somebody's a little butt hurt still even after Pier address the issue and resolved it the best they could.

Good boats that are priced properly don't stay in the showroom long. Outerlimits took my 38 in a trade on my 47, they sold it to Pier57, Pier57 sold it to a new buyer. That all happened within weeks.

Stupid thread title. Some people's business you just don't want or need.

Yea, lets hear it..
Let me guess....you bought a 30 year boat from them and expected a warranty??!!

You are barking up the wrong tree here bud. Way too many performance boaters have bought boats through Scott and his team at Pier57 and are very happy with them. There is no telling how many repeat customers they have. He supports numerous runs, this boating community and runs a first class operation.

Good luck finding many on here to say that Pier57 did them wrong.

I haven't been around Scott much, but talked with him a few times and is a stand up guy. You couldn't ask for a better or more fun bunch than the Tennessee branch. If you had a legitimate problem, they would be all over it. Next time, don't buy a 30 year old boat and expect it to be perfect:fear:

They dealt me a ****ty hand on that trailer of there's at the Thunder Run last year!!! Don't evan think I got a pair..... Then they had the balls to thank me and said " we hope to see you next year".

Chris,

First of all, these threads are bad for a small industry and like any business owner we hate to see things like this. This is not the first time you've chimed into a thread trying to stir something up on us either Chris.

We do what we can, when we can and when it makes sense whether customers, online advertisers, poker runs, charities, etc.

I have listened to and appreciate your concerns re: the 1984 Formula 402 & Trailer you bought from us. I have also viewed the description you sent on our website which was cut and pasted from the owner Larry Fales email when we listed boat that was on consignment and you knew that when you bought boat.

I then talked to Greg Weber who has been with me for more than 10 years and I asked him if he told you the motors were done by us and his response was "no, we are not and have not ever been in engine rebuilding business, Chris you knew of the r/r work we did but you also knew Larry had the engine work done on the boat and that the boat was here for sale on brokerage and sold as is".

The boat was sold for a Mr Larry Fales by Pier 57 on consignment and not owned by us. When selling a brokerage boat, we pass on the information the seller prepares us with. As you said, "the description says we did the engines, it in fact says "Heads Were Weak So We Just Had Heads Redone" which was done by the seller Larry Fales. I know you said you did not see our entire shop but Chris you are a smart guy and do your due diligence, I am not sure how you knew everything about a motor, it's tolerances, etc plus you spent the greater part of a day here going thru the boat and somehow assumed we were an engine shop (and missed it while you were here) and yet you saw no indication of machining equipment, dyno, etc and never asked for a receipt but wanted all the detail on everything else and sent me a lot of emails asking questions but never wanted a receipt.

I apologize for any inconvenience you have had since you purchased this "30 year old boat" more than "two years ago" yet never once did you ever inform us of problems until December 1 & 2, 2013 when you notified me about motors and a few problems you had, then you contact me April 29, 2014 and inform me the motors are apparently not 420's, they are 365's. I always listen and try to view from both sides of the fence but this makes no sense. Why would a consumer not contact a dealer for almost two years on a 1984 402 Formula you bought for (correct me if I am wrong) 28K and expect there to be any type of warranty?

I am sorry you are claiming you have 365's not 420's but I do not know that for fact and when I asked Larry today he said when he bought boat years ago, it was represented to him as having 420's. Larry also said there is nothing he can or will do on this boat since he sold it for so little and it ran fine when it left and then two years later it has all these problems according to you. However after you continued to call him he even offered you 1K as goodwill but you still insist you want him or I to pay for a motor or motors.

My position, you didn't call once until "two years" after you bought boat to say you had one problem and I am not going to pay for any service bills or other to fix this 30 year old boat.

As goodwill and customer service Larry and I both offered you 1K goodwill to help offset your projects in hopes you will buy your next boat here and recommend people to Pier 57. It was an investment in you at the time as a customer. After a thread like this, there is nothing else Larry or I can do, sorry and no, "per your request", I am not going to call people to verify what kind of person you are to back me into corner to pay you more money, sorry.

Regards,

Scott Sjogren
Pier 57

great guys to do biz with

This is hardly a horror story, less than desirable experience MAYBE! All parties involved have skin in the game & it appears that the accused (seller) has provided full disclosure & transparency. 2yrs is 2yrs no matter how you slice it. The word "We" is simply ones interpretation.

At the end of the day airing ones unsolicited dirty laundry here serves no purpose. IMO the thread originator doesn't really care about another member here, nor are they trying to protect any of us from having a similar experience. Appears to be a 100% personal agenda w/ the hopes that the negativity will rectify ones own doing. Don't agree w/ me, think about how many start threads like this, get what they want & then delete them. If their sincere agenda was to assist others via a "Buyer Be Aware" approach, the thread would remain regardless of the outcome.

Had someone started a thread titled "Considering buying a boat from Pier 57, what was your buying experience?" and those that had a less than desirable experiences chose to share I'd say fine but that's not how this came to be..

I've never bought a boat from Pier 57 but I've visited their facility, participated in their summer fun runs & interacted w/ many of the staff including Scott.
The entire operation is nothing short of 1st Class.

Pier 57 is not within my league of boats - However, I was in the area and decided to stop by and at least "dream" of things to come. While I was there I believe I spoke with Alan Gordon - couldn't ask for a nicer guy. I asked him about drive showers as well as this air "sucking" noise that I have with our 7.4 MPI. He took the time and patience and explained everything to my satisfaction.

3pointstar

Now that I recall, I think I've seen Scott's response to this several times already. This entire thread should be deleted. Can anyone say "backfire" ??

^^^^ All boats make an air "sucking" noise. It is the sound of money exiting your wallet!!!! :lolhit:

Agreed especially based on like the 40:1 positive experiences ratio!

You might be happier with a 24' toon with a 60hp Johnrude or Force. From Scotts account of what happened it seems you haven't a clue. Maybe you could provide us all a clue with a written rendition of your side of the story. I personally would love to read it and hear all the comments on it.

Yep, horrible experience. In 2005 I found a beautiful new yellow Donzi 22 Classic on their web page. I called about it and the price was right. The bank they used for financing just happened to be my bank so I let them arrange the loan. Terrible, just terrible. We agreed on a value for my old Hydrostream as a trade in. It was a little less than I wanted but it covered the down payment. Oh, the horror. They agreed to deliver it from Tennessee (or was it Kentucky) and pick up my Hydrostream. I put new wheel bearings on the Hydrostream trailer to make sure it was good for the long tow. Absolutely horrible that I had to do that. Then it turned out that it was the week-end of their big poker run down there and they needed all of their trucks to get the boats in and out of the water so delivery would take about 7 or 8 days instead of 5. How dare they? The boat arrived as promised and the Hydrostream hooked up and taken back. Everything went smooth and awesome and as promised and I still have the boat and I've done a lot of upgrades and I love it. Scott, you don't need to explain anything. You already did that on the other thread. A big thumbs up to Pier 57. I'm proud of the Pier 57 decals on my boat's trailer. That's my horror story. :)

In all honesty we ought NOT to post on this thread any more b/c all we are doing is sending it TTT.

Epic thread backfire! :lolhit:

Hope this tread is never deleted, it is great marketing for Pier 57. Maybe Scott got Chris to post? :D

When we were on the hunt for a 35' Fountain or Formula I talked to Scott a couple of times on his boats listed and I missed 2 cream puffs by a day. He followed up with more options but not the right fit at the time. Good business, good people.

Depends on your wallet??Not saying the dealer did do any wrong but!:ban?:Lets say you bought an old Camaro sales man says 12 bolt rear lets say 454 L88??? Now you find out it was false! I think I'd bark a little also???Good ad 2002 35' Fountain with twin 496 pro charged salesman never called back?Nice boats!Never purchased a boat from them but just saying?:479:

I remember when I bought the MAYFLOWER and had leaking and dryrot issues with it and could not even find someone to talk to about the warranty ! I just looked at my birth certificate to verify the time frame of my problem.

The difference between 420's and 365's are cams, Gil exhaust (which this boat has), Holley carbs (which this boat has), and Crane Gold roller rockers (can be seen through the oil fill), so aside from the cam and possibly rockers, I don't see much that differentiates these motors from factory 420's. IF it does actually have the correct rockers, I don't know how any reasonable person could expect a broker to know these aren't true 420 engines.

So here is what transpired in my dealings with Shogren/ Pier 57.
In late 2011/, early 2012 I saw a boat that Shogren had listed on their website, a 1984 Formula 402 SR1 with 420 hp’s. I spoke with Greg Weber the General Manager at Shogren about the boat and was told that Shogren had gone through the engines and outdrives. The engines had 200 hrs. since total rebuilds and the previous Spring they had leak-down tested the engines and the bottoms were good, so they had the heads redone, and completely went through the engines; and they only had 2 hrs. on them (from the sea trial) since the tops had been done. Greg told me that they took it out for a sea trial and the boat ran “great.”
I drove up from Texas and arrived to 11” of fresh snow, went to Shogrens and spent the day checking out the boat. Greg again (in person) stated to me that they [Shogren] had redone the heads, carbs, and completely gone over the engines outdrives, and that the boat runs great, but that it needed different props. I checked out the boat. Due to the weather, a sea trial was out of the question. They did fire up the engines on hoses inside the building and they sounded ok. The engines had the correct carbs, exhaust and intakes for 420’s and the top ends had fresh gaskets and silicone. There were many cosmetic and other issues with the boat, and I almost walked away from it three times knowing that it would be at least a 4 year project to get it back into shape. But I eventually pulled the trigger on the deal because of Shogren’s reputation and their representation to me that THEY had done the engines and outdrives, and that I should not have to mess with the engines and outdrives for the next 4 to 5 yrs. I tried to negotiate the price down but Greg Weber stated to me that the owner had already dropped the price, plus he still owed them over $8,000 for the work Shogren did on the boat. So, I signed the papers and hauled it back to Texas.
I spent the next 2 ½ months with the boat in dry storage while I found a bigger lift and had the slip prepped and lift installed. I did gelcoat and other minor repairs prior to putting the boat in the water at the end of May 2012. First time out, I filled the tanks and found out the gas gauges and senders didn’t work. The gas tanks were full already. Got out on the water and it would only run 40 mph - 4,000 rpm and 4,200 rpm gas sheen on water (too rich). My thought was that it was bad gas and the wrong props. I ran two full tanks of 93 octane non- ethanol thru and changed fuel filters, replaced fuel senders and 1 gauge. No change, so I replaced plugs, cap and rotor. Found auto plugs 1 range hotter and gapped wrong, 4 wires crossed, bad distributor sensors, timing set wrong. Slight improvement (less rich). Noticed condensation in oil starboard, pulled t-stats, and there was no stat starboard. I replaced it and found the gauge reading hot – again, the wrong sender – so, I replaced the sender. Finished out 2012 rewiring both dashes, replacing bad gauges, and cleaning up other wiring and many other small projects (which I fully expected to have to do to the boat).
Spring 2013 - Started wondering if these were the correct engines, so I pulled one valve cover to check the head numbers, which were correct. The rockers were Crower stainless rollers not the Crane golds that were supposed to be on these engines. But, I went ahead and put the valve cover back on. I tracked down the previous owner to try to get info on the engines. The story he gave me was that he had bought a 357 sr1 and swapped engines with the 402. I had a local engine builder run the serial numbers he gave me(since there were no serial no. tags on the engines – and Shogren was aware of this but did not disclose it to me - but they were not good numbers. One matched a 420, and the other was an outdrive , so I was once again back to being uncertain what engines I had. On a side note, this same engine builder told me he had seen me out on the lake with the boat and he did not know what engines were in the boat, but they were not 420’s. He said the cams were not big enough for 420’s (just from hearing the boat on the lake). My response was that the reason was probably that the exhaust has mufflers. He said it does not matter. Those are not 420’s. This conversation occurred in May, 2013.
In the middle of June, I started hearing a slight lifter noise on the starboard engine. I got past July 4th and started searching for the problem. I found a bad pushrod (minor damage to the tip), and also noticed that the Crower rockers were mismatched - literally two different styles. The rocker to retainer clearance was too tight - one lifter would not bleed down. So, I ordered Crane Golds, lifters and push rods to get me through the season. I removed the intake and all but front and rear bolts were just finger tight. I removed the heads because the head bolts were rotted out and the valve seals were bad. I sent the heads to Derebery Performance Marine in Pottsboro, TX. The valve seals and guides were bad, so I had to get a new valve job. The springs were weak, so they shimmed them to get me through the season till I could afford new ones. I also changed the keepers to achieve retainer to rocker clearance. I ran the boat the final month of the season and winterized it. I emailed Scot Sjogren to inform him of what I had discovered with the engines and the misrepresentations made to me by Shogren about the engines ,and that it looked like someone threw these engines together with leftover **** off the floor. Scott’s response was, there is no warranty, the boat was sold as is where is, and we [Shogren] did not do the engines. Scott eventually had the previous owner Larry Fales contact me. His reply was rather politely to pound salt.
February 2014 - I tore the top end off the port engine and found much the same. I again sent the heads to Derebery Performance Marine. While the engines were apart, I measured the cam and checked it against the 420 specs. It was the wrong cam - 500 530 lift – it should be 530 – 551 – so, I pulled the cams and started checking. I found that these were indeed not 420’s, but at best mags that had been dressed to look like 420’s, The intake valves were 2.18 not 2.25, etc. Now, I’m Pissed! I pulled the other engine back apart and had to replace the entire top end of both engines with all new CORRECT parts. I finally got it back on the water 2 weeks ago. With the same props, I am now at 54 mph and 4750 rpm. A simple prop change and I should be close to 56-57mph with proper rpm’s. Greg Weber from Shogren told me all it needed was props.
I did all of the work at my dock with the boat in the water. My total out of pocket on this is over $7,500. Obviously, not what I was expecting when I bought it from Shogren. I quote from Shogren’s web ad: “Motors were leaked down and compression tested last spring. Bottoms were fine; heads were weak, so we just had the heads redone. Carbs rebuilt. Basically EVERYTHING gone through. These are bone stock 420HP. Boat runs great.”
I called Scott Sjogren and discussed the issue with him. He again stated that the boat was sold to me “as is - no warranty.” I explained to Scott, again, this is not about a warranty on a 30 yr old boat that broke down, this is about the misrepresentations made on the Shogren website, to me on the phone and in person by his General Manager. He asked me to send photos, which I did. Scott’s reply to the pictures was that it was the boat’s previous owner, Larry Fales who lied, and I [Scott Sjogren] have told him to come and remove his current boat that we are brokering for him.
But, according to the Shogren website, Mr. Fales’ boat is still listed with Shogren - weeks later, and the price has been dropped twice.
http://www.pier57.com/web/used/Formu...inois/8493562/
Scott also stated I should know that they are not in the engine rebuilding business and never have been
http://www.pier57.com/web/service/
And they knew nothing about the engines.
http://www.pier57.com/web/consignment/
He did offer me $1,000 as a goodwill gesture. It was not accepted.
Here is the ad from Shogren/Pier 57 website
http://www.pier57.com/web/used/Formu...linois/2466295
Should I have had it surveyed? Probably, but how would a survey have caught this without tearing into the engines? There were no serial tags.
Should I have taken it for a sea trial? In hindsight, yes, but it was Feb. 28 with 11 inches of fresh snow on the ground. So, I relied (funny word in this story) on Shogren’s reputation and representations that it ran great when they took it out.

And where is the OP now?


*crickets*