Looking for opinions

[jroberts]

All,

If you have a moment, I would like a 2nd opinion from some impartial bystanders on a controversy that has arisen between me and the local Moomba dealer.

Last fall I took my ’03 Moomba Mobius LSV to be winterized and have some odds and ends fixed. It was sitting in my garage, and when I called the mechanic told me that there were a few boats ahead of mine and so it would have to wait outside for a while before it was serviced. It was already cold, so I wasn’t crazy about that idea. So, I asked him to let me know when no one else was ahead of me. He called, I took it in, and everything was good. He told me that it would be indoors while it was being serviced. A few days later he called back and told me that the winterization was finished but that several parts needed to be ordered for the other work.

I said that was fine as long as the boat wasn't left outside. This place has a new storage area, and a large inside show room, and so he said that he would stick it in the corner and call me when it was ready. I jokingly told him that he could keep it stored out there until May if he wanted to, as long as it was ready for the summer.

We have had a number of conversations since then, always the same: telling me that parts were still ordered, confirming what kind of work that I wanted done, etc.
A couple of Sundays ago it was warm, so I took a drive by the dealership. What I found was that my boat had sat out in the back of their facility all winter long with no cover, no wrap, nothing. It was obvious that it had snowed in it, melted, frozen, etc, etc. I almost fainted on the spot.

Every one of their boats on the lot was covered. Only mine was left out. These people walked by my boat every day with snow in it and everything else and never once thought to even mention it to me. To top it all off, the owner became very belligerent when I asked him to look at it with me to determine if any damage was done as said “if you are implying that I might have any liability for anything that happened to your boat, we can end this conversation right now.” Then he told me “I learned a long time ago that no one is going to take care of my [expletive] the way that I will, and I’m sorry to be the one to deliver that message to you.” Until that point, I had been trying really hard to be civil. I am a huge Moomba fan, and I have no desire to have a bad relationship with the only dealer that is close to me. But that was too much to take. Perhaps he mistook my courtesy for weakness. The rest of the conversation went predictably downhill from there.

The question now is how do I determine my damages from this? Obviously, the boat suffered from all the exposure, but how do I put a price to that? My seats are covered in grime, the bilge area has water standing in it, etc, etc. I still owe him my repair bill, and unfortunately, I think we are heading to court with this one. I believe that he had a duty to treat my property with reasonable care while it was in his possession, and that by allowing it to deteriorate he was negligent in his responsibility. Small Claims has a limit of $5,000 here in Cincinnati, and so I will probably file there. What figure would seem reasonable to you, if no major issues are found? How do I get an estimate that would seem credible to a judge?

Thanks for your ideas.
Sick in Cincinnati

[mustangairchair]

that is a wild store i would have ripped him a new a///// hole.go down and get the boat do not pay the bill. they can't hold your boat, if they will not blet you take it call the police and they will make them give it to you. go to a interior replacement place and see if the seats are damaged. tell the police that damages that they caused is worth a way more then the bill.

[jmvotto]

If he won't clean, fix it and make it 100% right, then the court system is your only alternative. They should have insurance on boats in service that are on the property and the neglect that has occured is just dreadful.

Might want to hire an attorney as well.

my .02

that kinda of crap give the manufacturer a bad rap.

[zabooda]

Take a lot of pictures at the dealer as they are worth more than your story or the dealers. Get any pictures taken before the boat was taken in. Businesses have a responsibility to take prudent care of people's property. I take it that no cover was left with the dealer but your instructions were to not leave it outside. Was there an agreement to leave the boat there over the winter?

It may look bad now but you will be surprised after it is dried out and cleaned. I had a cover go bad one winter and leaked water into the boat and filled the bilge and it cleaned right up.

When you get your boat back be sure to put repeat listings into Craigslist with a picture trashing their place. That seems to be the best way to get the word out.

[jmvotto]

Its not your fault he hired an idiot who left the boat outside, his employee his responsibility.

good luck.

[jroberts]

I did take the boat. It was Sunday, no one was around, and I wasn't going to let it sit out there for one more night like that. I wondered how long it would take him to call me. Answer: about ten minutes after they opened. Once it was their money at risk, they figured out how to dial the phone. It was almost funny. I answered the phone, and he said that he had "an update for me." I just let him talk about wheh the stuff would be in, etc. Finally, he just asked me "by the way, did you pick up your boat this weekend?"
This is one reason that he is so angry. He said that my contract states that I would not remove the boat without authorization, and that what I did was illegal and that he would call the sheriff on me. I told him that I would take my chances.

Frankly, I think the place is about to go under. The owner seems nice enough when he is trying to get you to buy something, but the moment there is any controversy... wow. I don't think he knows how to handle conflict without absolutely flying off the handle.

Since this is an authorized dealer, I also write to the Regional Sales Manager to ask if arbitration was available before I start filing complaints with the BBB or in small claims. I don't know if they get involved with stuff like that, but we'll find out.

To be fair, he says that I was stupid to think that they would store my boat for me, and it was my responsibility to check up on such a valuable boat. The guy that originally took the boat from me was "let go" for "failure to follow up with customers" (his words. He also said that he "would like to punch him in the face" for getting him into this situation). Nevertheless he would tell you that he doesn't think the guy ever told me any of that, and that I am "just trying to get something for free." I'm sure that's what he will say in court. My response is that regardless of what may or may not have been said, the Moomba Manual clearly describes how a boat should be stored, and that as an authorized dealer he failed to meet that standard, or to notify me that those standards were not being met on property in his care. This constitutes negligence for which he is liable. I feel good about that position, but honestly I am sorry it has come to that.

[moombadaze]

Finally, he just asked me "by the way, did you pick up your boat this weekend?"
.

answer should have been "no", followed by "why where is MY boat".

It is vehicle theft to remove your car from a repair shop without paying the bill.(in florida), we have had to call and report a car as stolen before.

I think you will be suprised at how it will clean up, back home i would see boats left out uncovered on purpose and get full of snow, but in the summer after a good cleaning they would look fine.

[Birdman_08_LSV]

I wouldn't clean the boat or anything. You really shouldn't have to do anything. I would contact somebody high in Moomba and tell them all about this. I think you have a good case and people like this guy get me so angry!

[Lawdog]

I live in Indiana and I am quite familiar with Indiana law....with that being said I am not sure how it may help you where you live. In Indiana this would be considered a civil matter and Police will not get involved unless ordered so by a judge. Most times people will still call the police because it "intimidates" those that dont understand the law and when they see the police they assume that they will be arrested. Police try not to get involved in civil matters for obvious reasons. Here all they can do is put what's called a mechanics lein on the vehicle which means you cant sell the vehicle until the mechanic bills have been paid. If the police come knocking on your door for your boat I would ask them what the consequences are for not returning it. If they tell you that you can be arrested ask them what you can be arrested for. This will help because later in court you can state that you were coerced by the Police to return it therefore hold the department liable as well....this is the reason why most police departments dont get involved in civil matters. Or when the Police show up you can just deny that you even have the boat and that the shop owner is making up a story because it is his word against yours....that would at least buy you some time but it might be little tricky in the long run. Hope this helps.

[jroberts]

Thanks everyone for your advice and your support. I wrote a couple of letters to our Regional Sales Representative, and one to RickT, the admin of the board. They never replied, but the dealer in question wrote to tell me that SC was willing to arbitrate for us, so I think that something has been going on in the background. The dealer asked that I send a check for the balance of my repairs to SC, and that they would give an opinion as to how it should be disbursed after doing some fact gathering. In some ways, this may be another naive move on my part, but I'm going to do it. I'll keep everyone updated.