Donzi What,s going on?????
 

Sometimes I vist the Classic Donzi website to look for used Donzi,s and I used to go to the "ASK Donzi" section. The last time I visted it was full of complaints about different Quality issues and the lack of support. Today I went to the site and the "ASK DONZI" section is gone without a trace:(

We are going to the Atlantic City boat show to check out Donzi,s
Prices on new and used Donzi,s are up there with Boats such as Formula ( Who has unquestioned quality and support)
What,s up with Donzi?????? Are they in trouble? I don,t want to start a war, just can,t help but notice

Ther was a thread that explained it a bit...but not much detail. Not sure if that thread was deleted or not. I think the section did not get the response from Donzi as anticipated and led to more mudslinging than anything else. It was a touchy subject with the Harbormaster... Frank Civitano may have some input, he participates with that site and is respected there.

Yeah, pretty much what jb said. The responses did not come in a timely manner and there. There was some concern with alot of bashing the resale values could diminish. They did set up a forum on what to look for when purchasing a Donzi. I haven't really checked that one out yet.

Seems like the whole Classic Donzi site ,s whole purpose is to keep the already overpriced Donzi,s selling at outrageous prices, The whole thing kinda stinks of censorship, If the product and service is good then you pay a higher price , but it seems like they are riding on the good ole days, and today is a whole different story. But I guess if you own one you do what you gotta do. I can,t see paying a premium for and old reputation

Surface Tension..

I do agree that it does smack of censorship, however, even the admins of this site have deleted certain threads. He who owns the site makes the rules... its the way it is!

That being said, I personally know Scot (Admin of Donzi.net) and he is a VERY fair person. The reason that section was deleted is because it was used as a ***** session. It was also used as leverage to put the factory in a no-win situation when it comes to warranty work, defects, etc.

If you think Donzi's are overpriced, then don't buy one. They consistently hold thier value better than most other performance boats. This makes thier total cost of ownership alot lower. The value of a used or new Donzi is set by the people who buy them, just like every other boat. A website has nothing to do with boat values. This website in particular is a great place to find out all sorts of info on Donzi's both new and old.

Donzi Marine builds one of the best boats out there. I do think they need to work on the customer service/warranty side of the business. If you want to know about a Donzi, what to look for, whats a good price, where one might be found, just ask! There is no need to bash anyone's website, especially when YOU don't have all of the facts!

Woodsy

Hey surface Tension,

The Donzi Registry IS NOT EVEN DONZI'S WEBSITE!

Nothing tickles me more than to read someone's long ramblings when they have no idea what is going on.

I deleted not the thread but the "Ask Donzi Marine" entire forum. I was hoping that it would provide a vehicle for Donzi owners to communicate with Donzi Marine in an open forum. In a perfect world this would have worked.

It DID NOT work for two reasons:

1) Donzi did not provide answers to members' queries.

2)There was a class of people who were voicing their uninformed opinions and turning it into a mob scene. THEY WERE NOT EVEN HAVING PROBLEMS WITH DONZI MARINE!
The entire forum served no constructive purpose.

Until you have operated a forum like Offshore only or The Donzi Registry on a daily basis, then perhaps you should reserve judgement.

Thankyou For your consideration
Scot VanAlstine
The Donzi Registry
www.donzi.net:mad:

"A class of people"

Great reply Scot. I really enjoy your site!

So, What you guy,s ( Who by the way own Donzi,s ) Are saying is that "A Class of People" Who Don,t own or are not having problems with Donzi,s Just decieded to go onto the Donzi website and turn it into A mob scene???? HUMMMMM The only things I read before they were deleted were people having isuues with thier Boats and not being able to get satisfaction on anything from Blistering to Cracking, or paint quality---- but if you say they did not have a pronblem with Donzi,s then I must be reading it wrong.
While we have been Fans of Donzi for years, there seem to be no shortage of people who want to complain, this is just based on the 7 PM,s I have recieved about issues with Donzi quality. Yes they do have high resale values , I just question if this is more Hype thatn substance. Scott I enjoy your site also and in fact I have one of your very cool tee shirts. I just think that there SHOULD be a place where All sides can be heard, not just from people who are concerned about thier resale value, former owners can be a great source of info for people . I know a lot of people perceptions are not reality, but there should be a freedom to express it. I will be at The Atlantic city boat show and will make it a point to check the donzi booth. Safe boating to all

Surfacetension, I agree with you, but the problem was, ALL sides weren't being heard from. If , for whatever reason, the factory couldn't respond, all you were reading was one side of the story. Unless there is full disclosure you'll never get the whole story.

and some people with class......

Seems the perfect way to start off on OSO to me :rolleyes: Welcome aboard

Check his profile...
 

A quick look at the Harbormasters profile should tell you that he's been around for awhile .....

Thanks for checking in Harbormaster...love the donzi.net site!

Frequent it often myself....it's a great site for Donzi Owners and Others for that matter...even though i couldn't go to the Donzi Owners gathering in Sarasota last year....:( :( sounded like a blast...

Surface Tension...I have no real world exp with Donzi but they do have quite a loyal following..which does mean something...although so did Jim Jones...just do your homework and make the choice that's right for you ...

Im going to defend Donzi.net. It is where Ive learned quite a bit about smaller boats. Theres tons of info on Proping the boat right, gear ratios, aftermarket goodies, etc. The other members there would always quickly answer any question I had. In no way am I going to compare OSO to The Classic Donzi Registry.

for the loyal fan following-
Quality is one reason. Not sure about the quality on some of the boats now, but there are people who have gotten their boats in pretty quickly. I had the honor of riding in a 22 Classic over the summer, and at 60 it was more stable than our Baja (which has a centerline of 21' 8") at 45(wot).

I am one of the people who started posting my problems on the ask Donzi Marine section. The only reason I turned to that forum was due to a lack of response from Donzi Customer Service. I have purchased three Donzi's including my 2001 33ZX in the last four years and I was ignored when it came to warranty work. I love my boat, I just wanted it fixed so I could put it away for the winter. It took me over 11 weeks, calls daily, "bashing" on the Donzi classic registry and an extreem effort to get Donzi to stand up and authorize service, that is simply unacceptable. My dealer is still waiting for Donzi to ship them a defective shelf in my cuddy over 15 weeks later. I paid a preium to buy this boat and I am being treated like I bought a used Bayliner. I know of two other people who have had a similar problem in the recent past, in fact one still has not received authorization to have his warranty issues fixed. I could go on and on but I think you get the just of the story. I have been considering a 38ZX but I have put that on hold until I get some committment that their warranty practice has changed. Rick

Thanks for the kinds from you guys,

I do not get over here as often as I would like.

Rick,
The Ask Donzi Marine section was for New Donzi owners like you.

You had valid gripes that were not being addresses. If you had spent the same chunck of change that you spent on that boat, the auto dealer would have been kissing your butt.

I really thought that it could help folks with situations like yours but found out otherwise.

Good luck on your quest for satisfaction.

Cheers everyone
Scot - Harbormaster
The Donzi Registry
www.donzi.net

By the way surface tension,
I have no problem with hearing both sides.
I allowed the factory's side and the owners' sides.

How about the people with no warranty problems who did not own a new boat...

What side do they fit on? I saw no constructive purpose to their posts in this area. This was not the charter of this section. I asked nicely for them to hold their comments, but some folks refused.

It was a difficult thing to do (deleting the post). I got tired of all there hassles and pulled the plug, simple as that. No hidden agenda's etc.

By the way I do appreciate the kind words you said about the website. It is definetely a labor of love.

Scot

Surface, you must like the donzi line if you fequent the site.. I have owned my donzi for 4 years & when purchased I had some gel coat problems that my dealer took care of with donzi supplying the product to due the repairs. it is your dealer's responsiblity to take care of you & donzi. not the factory. you don't buy a ford & recieve repairs from the factory. by the way, I feel that untill you have owned one you have probably have no idea what one might be worth. I am totaly happy with mine & consider it the best boat I've ever owned.

the rat..

They are a little slow in the CS dept. but if you love your donzi they will come through. I thought it was taking a little long myself and after stayin on them and telling them the love for my boat,they ok`d everything that was an issue. Their is alot of fraud and dishonest people out there looking for a free ride,so every claim must be substantiated and researched so those that have legitimate complaints are taken care of.

Keep up the good work Harbormaster,Your efforts are apprieciated by all Donzi owners ,past and present, and hopefully future !! Rich :d

Harbormaster, I don't think you were wrong getting rid of the ask Donzi Marine section. At the time it was my only hope of getting a resolution on my boat before the next boating season was here and I really wanted to let people know how they treat you when you spend big money buying several of their boats over the past few years. You run a classy site which I go to on a daily basis and I think you have a though job not letting it turn into a bash session.

Donzirat and Speed2Lead thier may be some people who try to take advantage of a Mfg. however the representatives at Donzi know me and that I turned in very few warranty claims on my last two boats (26ZX and 33ZX). I don't know the exact number of 33ZX's they made in 2001 but I bet most of them were sold to people who have better things to do than try and send in a "dishonest" claim for payment. You are also right that the Dealer is responsible however would you do over $8,000 in repairs on a boat without authorization from Donzi? Donzi sent a representative to look at my boat and agreed with the repairs that three gel shops had indicated were warranty issues, however the customer service department and people in higher postion decided to cut the repairs in half without even looking at the boat. Come on if they can't even "trust" or give authority to the person they sent over to look at the boat then they should have got off their a** and sent someone who did have the authority. I don't buy the idea that it takes over 2 months to approve any type of repairs period!!!! It wasn't until I got to speak to Nick Miller that I received any resolution to my problems. Keep in mind I still don't have a piece they promissed to ship to my dealership over 3 months ago.
Wake up Donzi "customer service" and start treating your customers right or you won't have any!!

MJPCOWBOY, you know my story is a great one, won't rehash it here. Donzi has no bigger fan than I for fixing things I seem to break under warranty!
Did the dealer order the piece for the cuddy. Usually in this situation, once Donzi receives the order they drop ship direct to the consumer. Like the driver flip out cuppholder (poor design), I have a stack of them I received direct from the factory.
Best of luck overall, I for one know you love your Donzi.
Bryan