Lemon law for boats??

[chpprpilot]

Is there such a thing as a lemon law for boats in Florida? I hate to admit it but I'm about at the end of my patience with my 05 Mobius XLV. I've been a staunch Moomba supporter and this is my second Moomba boat. The first I had for 300 hours of trouble free wakeboard fun. But in the five months I've had my new XLV and after 70 hours of riding I'm still having some of the same issues I had on delivery day.

Delivery day: Wakeplate did not work at all.
: Stereo remote no go.
: Front ballast bag no go.
: Rear ballast bag fittings pop out.
: Perfect Pass- no speed indidation.
After several trips to the dealer and several prime boarding days lost while it sat in the shop the Wakeplate still does not work. The rear ballast fittings have popped out and flooded my boat so many times that I've disconnected them, plugged them, and now fill them by hand with pumps. I'm concerned about carpet damage now that it's been soaked so many times. And last month my oil pressure guage FELL OUT of the dash. My dealer said that the dash needs to be replaced and that the hole was cut too big. So the boat sat for three weeks waiting for parts. Finally I had to tell the shop that I'd rather have a partially functioning boat than no boat at all. I mean, I'm making loan AND insurance AND storage payments on a boat that I can't even use.
So now I'm driving around with an oil guage DUCT TAPED in place, no wakeplate, and a non functioning ballast system. because A) Summer is about to end. B) I'm making all those payments while no work gets done because they're waiting on parts. C) I love wakeboarding and boating even though when I take other people in my "new" boat all they see is duct tape and my messing with pumps and hoses which was the whole point of buying a dedicated wakeboard boat..
I don't know what the deal is here. I've been about as patient as I can possibly be. At this point I'm about to give up on this boat and my confidence in Moomba is waning. If there's a boat lemon law then I'd be very interested in it.

[chpprpilot]

Actually, the dealer has been really good about repairing things as quickly as they could, and getting me back the boat for use.
The problems I'm having are with the ballast fittings, which I believe to be a mismatched bag/fitting setup from the factory, the dashboard through which the oil pressure guage FELL THROUGH, again, a factory item for which I'm awaiting parts for almost a month now, and the wakeplate, for which the dealer is awaiting parts. The problem, in addition to the intial breakage while out on the lake time and time again, is with getting the parts needed to make the repairs.
I'm getting to the point at which I don't really care what the cause of any of these problems is. The basic loss of my boat, for which I'm making payments to insurance, storage, and a boat loan, is the real issue, no matter what the cause. If I hadn't asked the dealer to rig the oil guage and give me the boat as is with the other problems then the boat would be going on it's fourth week straight in the shop awaiting parts and going on seven weeks in the shop out of less than four months of ownership.
I'd like to be able to chalk these things up to some easy fix, like going to another dealer for repairs. But a three hour trip to Orlando would only cost me more in gas as long as they can't get the parts to fix what's broken.
I know 45K is relatively inexpensive for a tournament wakeboard boat. So, I've tried to be patient because the boat is awesome when it works. But 45K is still a lot of money to give for so much frustration.

[WakeMe]

Sounds like the dealer didn't do a very good job of prepping the boat and making sure everything worked properly before delivering it to you. I know that most parts are in stock at the factory and usually only take two to three days for shipping. The longest I've ever waited on my boat for any repair was one week. Sorry to here about your troubles but try to hang in there.

[05mobiusxlv]

With 4 Months of Use on My 05 XLV

NEW ENGINE
Swim Platform fell off. (screws stripped out)
Trailer Jack Broke
Perfect pass, will not read boat speed under 20 mph
Fitting keeps popping off front bag (used locktite last night, tried teflon tape and silicone)
Rear bags were filling by themselves, and then would only empty 3/4 of the way
Depth finder quit working
Sub blew
Amp Turns off when hot
Front Window would not close
Hindges broke on the back rests going to the bow

I think the wake plate is the only thing left to break. Hopefully the bugs are about all worked out. My dealer is only 2 miles from my storage unit. But i still feel your pain. I think i have had even worse luck then you :P My dealer has been so great to me, that I have yet to loose my cool. If you have not yet purchased the extended warranty, GET IT!!!

[sloppy]

Chpprpilot:

I think your next person should be a lawyer that deals with auto lemon laws. I am sure that he would find applicable marine laws. You have got some serius quality issues. I have an 01 Outback LS, the speedos don't stay fixed, the rear ballast has crapped out twice and the fuel guage is innacurate. I have had people say "all boat guages are faulty". I had a 93 Chris Craft and the gauges as well as the electronics worked fine. I will keep this boat for awhile because it's paid for and boats are expensive. But you get what you pay for. Moomba = lower price and lower quality. There is no mirricle in Moomba. In order to get the price low somethings got to give (quality). By the way 45k is a lot of money. Best of luck,

Sloppy (former Marine CH-46 pilot)

[Buttafewcoe]

I feel for you guys that are having issues. My Outback has been exceptional, with the only issues self inflicted (other than the anti-siphon sticking). This is my 2nd boat, and yes it is less expensive than some of the other ski boat lines. For the money, the fit and finish is quite good. Besides, check out the MS, Malibu, and other BB's for issues. You will see there is little difference. They have their probs, also.
.
Hope this helps
.
Butta

[james yarosz]

I feel the need to chime in here.I bought an 03 Outback LS brand new.We are on our third summer and have over 200 hours on the boat.Other than a few minor initial problems the boat has been flawless.Just my 2 cents.:)

[sloppy]

Glad ya feel the need. JY. I wish I could be more encouraged by the lack of problems some have with Moomba. Unfortunately a good positive attitude and "success stories" from others won't get the problems fixed on the boats. If you are one of the unlucky that have these, others "encouraging words" about their lack of problems will be of little help. My boat cost very little as compared to others. I bought it new. It is very apparant why the cost was low. Getting back to the original question in the forum. Does anyone have any further recommendations of handling Lemon Boat Laws for Chppr Pilot?

[smokedog2]

Lemon Laws are state laws. All are different.

[RickT]

chopper/sloppy,

I am so sorry to hear of your issues. Our staff is out of town this weekend, at our annual dealer meeting (in florida) to intro the new 06's. If you can email me at [email protected]. I will get our service tech on your issues asap upon their return. Again, my apologies

Rick

[chpprpilot]

I did get an answer for Florida. The state lemon law applies to "motor vehicles" which included boats. Though I'd still like to give Skier's Choice a chance to address these problems directly. Maybe I've just had a bad dealer experience here in Jacksonville. That said, I haven't gotten any response at all from SC in reference to my boat issues either.
I don't mean to bash Moomba. This is my second boat and I was very happy with the first. Actually. I've been happy with my XLV when I get to use it. The big ticket items are solid. The engine, trans, hull, tower all great. But a lot of the accessories are having problems. I just think that, like all vehicles, sometimes you get one that was put together too quickly, or on a bad day, or not quality checked before delivery. I have friends with various types of boats. They all have similar stories about ankle biting problems and chronic problems. Boats are boats. The difference is in the support.
When these problems occur, and they will, the dealership needs to get them squared away quickly and properly or they're going to lose customers. What they need to understand is that one of the reasons they've been successful is that boat owners like me have sang their praises in the past. When boats have problems, and all will, buyers need to feel confident that they will get some factory/dealership support for their purchase. In my case this just isn't happening or it's taking long periods of time when it does. Where that puts me is a place in which I need to sell this boat before the warranty runs out or face a lot of out of pocket costs in the future.
So that's what I'm doing. I've got to sell it or take the risk. Even at the "discounted" 45K, to add up the boat payment plus insurance, storage, and maintenence is about all I can do. $90 per hour of labor at the shop while my boat is out of use when I need it most is just not an option for me.

[smokedog2]

It’s nice to see Rick checking in while on the road.

When I’m admonished to show a little patience I point out that I have lots of patience, I just see no need to spend any more of it here. Sometimes I’m joking.

That said, I think you are in line to get some help here. Spending a little more patience with them now will probably serve everyone well. I hope they can make you happy.

On a more fun note I had my brother the ex-active duty USMC CH-46 pilot out with his wife and kids, as well as a friend of ours from high school (also ex-active duty Marine) out with one of his kids (ex-active duty because Marine is grafted to their brain and no amount of civilian training can remove it). It was too much fun. All that boat and the kids spent a third of their time just jumping off the swim platform. Every fallen rider was an excuse for a swim break and chaos was the order of the day. Note to self, cheese nips are not good boat food.

To quote Griz “Nice boat, I especially like the roll bar.”

LMAO at that. The tower will now and forever be identified as “the roll bar.”


Good luck,

SD2

[sloppy]

Thanks for looking into this Rick. I still have a lot of fun with the boat despite the frustrations. I just wish the little things worked right. I sent you an e-mail

[brianw21]

I would like to know if this has been resolved for you? I am close to buying a 06 XLV/LSV and would like to know the final outcome.

[05mobiusxlv]

When skiers choice heard of my problems, they called me, the dealership, and even the mechanic every day until all of my problems were resolved. Everything on my boat is fixed now. The customer service at skiers choice is excellent. I would not think twice about buying another moomba.

The lemon law in NY interests me as well. I have a 2004 Outback LS that has significant unresolved problems that have plagued it since it was new.

1.Screws holding the top and bottom halves of the boat together that are located under the L/R front storage lockers and the dash and observers seat come loose(out of their holes) about once every month. The dealer has tightned them and used resin to reset them but they still back out. There is movement between the top and bottom halves.

2.The back seat rest where it meets the bottom seat cushion has a large gap. The dealer has tried two replacements seat backs but they had large gaps as well. They reccomended lowering the seat back but when that is done water pools on top of the seat and seaps into the seat back cusion through the seam. The problem is both visual and functional as my 5 year old sons leg has slid into the gap several times.

3. The platform teak is warping, cracking, and seperating. The dealer deams it cosmetic. 3-4 times a season I sand and oil the platform.

4. The Boat-Mate trailer came with a very thin coat of paint and "pepper" rusted all over the first season. The hubs were painted on the top but not the bottom indicating that it was given a quick once over and shoved out the door of the paint shop. The dealer repainted parts of the trailer but it has significant rust where it wasn't repainted. The boat is operated in fresh water.

The oil gauge fell out of my dash as well but it was out of warranty when it happened. I fabricated a ring shaped doubler and slipped it around the gauge behind the dash in front of the fasteners. Worked great.

I bought a factory tower this spring and had the dealer install it hoping to avoid spider cracks in the gelcoat but had them anyway by midsummer. Also the platform mounts have spider cracks.

It's good to read about others that operate their boats for hundreds of hours without a problem. I would like to think that the problems I am having are fairly rare.

[sloppy]

No Brian. Rick never contacted me. I sent an e-mail but have not heard back.

[Outback]

Good day

to all who have posted here and anywhere eles on this web site with unresolved problems by skiers choice reguarding outback / mobius LSV-XLV. i have had a nightmare of a time and see most of the problems i have with my boat posted here in these pages and other topics. i have a possible approach. do not wish to post here please feel free to contact me at [email protected]

[marchina]

I had some problems when my mobius was brand new, skiers choice fix them via mexican dealer very fast, let me tell you that mexican dealer is very far away and they even send a mechanic (very goodone in deed) all my problems are fix now and my boat runs very nice, all problems have a solution.

Best regards

Simon

Outback,


I'm not trying to argue with you here, I would just like to know something for my own edification....

Would you please explain what the reasoning is that you complain about Moomba on a public forum and then express love for them in private?



In an email response to my inquiry about your "possible approach" you state:

"HI
Yes I understand that your interested in possible ways to approach get things in motion with your boat but it would help if you could let us know what is wrong and where the fault is. You my need to go to the dealership or to the factory depending on the issues with your boat. The guys at the factory are great and work hard for you."

Regards,

Ed
Clermont, Fl
2003 Outback - flawless

Wow
I have always been extremely impressed by Skiers Choice and Rick Tinker - and once again. It is truely great when the President of the company replies on the BB. I have a 2000 Kamberra - great boat - no major issues and hope to trade it for another Moomba or Supra this year.

[AHPeterson]

Hey sloppy,
Sorry to hear of all the problems. I'm about to purchase an 06 Mobius Ls and am on this site to learn more about the problems the baot are having. I'm excited to see that "Rick" from skier choice writing you to handle the problem, from Tenn. Please let us know how the repairs go and how you are treated by them this will have an effect on if I purchase a Moomba. Tahnks;)