To the folks thinking of buying a Yamaha: I will never buy one again.

[davel501]

You know, I just put in a warranty claim on a crack in my console. My dealer, Purcell's in Jacksonville, took the claim without complaint, submitted it, and Yamaha approved it in a few business days.
All contact I have had with the dealer has been positive, as well as with Yamaha. Unfortunately, company reps can be like police on a traffic stop. Depending on who stops you and the mood they are in will determine if you get a ticket or not. They have over 20,o00 employees not including part time!!

My wife's father is a lawyer and he told her, when dealing with an issue, you go for the head, not the feet.

I don't believe in giving up! If you keep at it, and you push the right buttons, eventually, you can win out. Yamaha is like any company. Posting on social media, sending in letters, calling. Eventually, you either get the right person and they relent. Or maybe just meet you half way.
In any case, in the immortal words of Daniel Day Lewis' Last of the Mohicans, "Never give up!"

You can't let one bad apple in the "customer service" world ruin your mission.

Sometimes it's as simple as the approach. Read, "How to Win Friends and Influence People." It's made my "complaints" bulletproof!

Here is my warranty claim almost a year after purchase: Crack in the footwell of my console
View attachment 65333

This isn't the first bout of crap with them. The oil cooler saga was terrible and all I got was a new set of the same bolts and the dealer lost my keys then said they never had them. So my oil coolers suck, my tower is dangerous and now I am reading my timing chain may break. Yamaha already has fixes out for all of those issues on the new boats but they already have my money so I am out of luck and get treated like an a**hole when I call.

There was a point when I thought I found something special in my Yamaha. Now I know it was cheaper for a reason.

 

[subysti]

I've called yamaha a few times about the wrong voltage display issue and about the cracking fenders and supports on the trailer, every time i'm told there isn't any issue they know about but that I should work with my dealer if i think there is. They will not admit to anything on the phone. They are always rude and short with people and just want you off the phone. I'm already looking at another boat for next year. I waited many many years to finally get my yammie and now I feel very let down with the brand.

 

[swatski]

I want to be very clear about my dealer's (un)involvement in my warranty fiasco. My dealership was told that Yamaha was handling my case directly and they were asked to leave it alone. They tried to help as much as they could (I think) and even issued the work order to fix the boat but it was completely ignored by Yamaha.

So, it was Yamaha customer service, and only Yamaha customer service, who handled my case from the beginning to the... (TBA).

I don't know why Yamaha took the lead, probably because there were injuries involved, my daughter had a big bruise on her foot and I needed a bit of medical attention for a swollen sacroiliac joint. I informed Yamaha up front I had no intention of pursuing personal injury claims with them as I had full medical insurance for that. I just wanted them to take care of the boat parts that fell apart.

I had no intention of blowing my boat insurance claim on this - given the new boat was still covered by 1-year factory warranty (not even "YES" at that point).

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[bronze_10]

We bought our yamaha in 2015.. its a 08 and only had 30 hours on it. I was in a storage rack for over 4 years untouched. When I bought it i figured I would have some gremlins to track down and repair..... we have had nothing.... NOTHING go wrong with this boat.. every light has worked.. the motors have been built proof so far... Other than upgrades we have done nothing to this boat. It's almost like yamaha has entered a new chapter or has a new generation of upper management or something with the issues these newer boats are having. I still love yamaha but i have had no issues like some of the others have had here. I don't think the 07,08,09 series boats had many issues to begin with. But i still think for the most part Yamaha is a highly reliable boat..... but i will not be buying another one either.. This boat will last us through our remaining tubing years and then we are gonna upgrade to a cruiser.

 

[OperationROL]

I have had the opposite experience with all my Yamaha products. My former '07 SX230 had an issue where one engine was overheating. That turned out to be caused by the tow valves I installed in the cooling system restricting the flow too much. That was it and it happened in the 6th year of ownership. My current boat had an issue from the factory that Yamaha took care of right away with no issue. They ended up replacing my dash under warranty. I also had an issue with my sprayer tank that was hard to chase and was patient with my dealer and Yamaha and eventually the dealer started thinking outside of the box to discover the issue was caused by a microscopic crack in the plastic connector piece between the sprayer hose and the tank. Again, they methodically worked with the dealer to try everything logical to find the issue and stayed involved throughout the entire process. I have had 2 dealers (Hammertime Sports and Nielsen's Enterprises). I bought my boats from Hammertime, but they are no longer a dealer, so I moved to Nielsen's and have been very happy with their support. I think the dealer is the number 1 catalyst for support satisfaction. Your interaction with Yamaha is only as good and your dealer can push your problem when supportting you. Be very careful when you dealer feeds you information that they "got from Yamaha". A lot of dealers do not represent you situation well and cause the interaction to go south from the get go. As Clemson would say, I am a fanboy and proud of it. I will always own a Yamaha jetboat unless we upgrade to a cruiser in the future.

 

[Grover70]

I've called yamaha a few times about the wrong voltage display issue and about the cracking fenders and supports on the trailer, every time i'm told there isn't any issue they know about but that I should work with my dealer if i think there is. They will not admit to anything on the phone. They are always rude and short with people and just want you off the phone. I'm already looking at another boat for next year. I waited many many years to finally get my yammie and now I feel very let down with the brand.

Aren't problems with the trailer the responsibility of the trailer manufacturer? Or is the trailer made by Yamaha? I had an issue with my Shorelandr missing a bolt and they took care of it.

 

[Neutron]

Aren't problems with the trailer the responsibility of the trailer manufacturer? Or is the trailer made by Yamaha? I had an issue with my Shorelandr missing a bolt and they took care of it.

Trailer is made for yamaha by Shorelandr.

 

[Gym]

Just to add some clarity to this conversation...We, the general public are, and always have been, just human test subjects. We are the ones who find the problems our inanimate test dummy brothers don't find. Unfortunately, unless the problem results in x number of deaths manufacturers are usually not forced by a regulating body to face up to and resolve the problem.

I get your frustration, @davel501. We have all been there at one time or another with a car, boat, plane, appliance or house issue. Nobody wants to stand up and take responsibility. There are very few Will Owens @JetBoatPilot who, not only stand behind what they sell but have an outstanding pre and post sale demeanor.

What I'm getting at is regardless what boat or car you buy there WILL be problems. How the dealer or manufacturer handles them can certainly make a difference. I hope, If you dump Yamaha and go to another brand you stay with this forum as we do stand behind THIS product.

 

[davel501]

I have had the opposite experience with all my Yamaha products. My former '07 SX230 had an issue where one engine was overheating. That turned out to be caused by the tow valves I installed in the cooling system restricting the flow too much. That was it and it happened in the 6th year of ownership. My current boat had an issue from the factory that Yamaha took care of right away with no issue. They ended up replacing my dash under warranty. I also had an issue with my sprayer tank that was hard to chase and was patient with my dealer and Yamaha and eventually the dealer started thinking outside of the box to discover the issue was caused by a microscopic crack in the plastic connector piece between the sprayer hose and the tank. Again, they methodically worked with the dealer to try everything logical to find the issue and stayed involved throughout the entire process. I have had 2 dealers (Hammertime Sports and Nielsen's Enterprises). I bought my boats from Hammertime, but they are no longer a dealer, so I moved to Nielsen's and have been very happy with their support. I think the dealer is the number 1 catalyst for support satisfaction. Your interaction with Yamaha is only as good and your dealer can push your problem when supportting you. Be very careful when you dealer feeds you information that they "got from Yamaha". A lot of dealers do not represent you situation well and cause the interaction to go south from the get go. As Clemson would say, I am a fanboy and proud of it. I will always own a Yamaha jetboat unless we upgrade to a cruiser in the future.

Nielsen's has been my dealer all along. My profile pic is the boat coming out of the delivery area at their old location before they moved the boats down the street. They were the ones that lost my keys then claimed never to have them when they did the oil coolers. They also refused to push for new oil coolers even though I had to educate them on what the issue was in the first place. Heck, they even installed my halogen underwater lights with speaker wire.

 

[Grover70]

Exactly. Which is why I went through Shorelandr. The warranty is not a Yamaha warranty. When I've had questions about the trailer and the warranty issue on the missing bolt, it was Shorelandr who took care of me

This is who helps owners with trailer issues: DClough@midwestindustries.com
Doug Clough

Don't bother with Yamaha

 

[davel501]

Just to add some clarity to this conversation...We, the general public are, and always have been, just human test subjects. We are the ones who find the problems our inanimate test dummy brothers don't find. Unfortunately, unless the problem results in x number of deaths manufacturers are usually not forced by a regulating body to face up to and resolve the problem.

I get your frustration @davel501. We have all been there at one time or another with a car, boat, plane, appliance or house issue. Nobody wants to stand up and take responsibility. There are very few Will Owens @JetBoatPilot who, not only stand behind what they sell but have an outstanding pre and post sale demeanor.

What I'm getting at is regardless what boat or car you buy there WILL be problems. How the dealer or manufacturer handles them can certainly make a difference. I hope, If you dump Yamaha and go to another brand you stay with this forum as we do stand behind THIS product.

As of right now, I plan to keep the boat while I save up for a new to me cruiser for Lake Michigan. I am working on a fix for the tower that I will share if it works out. I think this community is awesome and still want to help out even though I have been slacking the last couple of years.

 

[Beachbummer]

With the large amount of boats possibly impacted by the tower freezing with water inside issue, I would reach out to some class action lawyers. The class may be big enough to get their interest.

Best of luck.

 

[OperationROL]

Nielsen's has been my dealer all along. My profile pic is the boat coming out of the delivery area at their old location before they moved the boats down the street. They were the ones that lost my keys then claimed never to have them when they did the oil coolers. They also refused to push for new oil coolers even though I had to educate them on what the issue was in the first place. Heck, they even installed my halogen underwater lights with speaker wire.

That sucks. I have had nothing but great experiences with Nielsen's. Sorry to hear about your poor experiences.

 

[ClemsonTiger]

Ya get what ya pay for when you go with Yamaha...I learned that lesson, hence the Yamaha is no more.

In the boating spectrum...Yamaha's are bargain basement boats, the price point prove so. Not much can be expected at their entry point prices.

 

[davel501]

That sucks. I have had nothing but great experiences with Nielsen's. Sorry to hear about your poor experiences.

I should be clear, their sales department is top notch. Ted took really good care of us when we bought the boat. I really tried to love them but their service department made it impossible. That seems to be the consensus in the other boating groups around the chain as well.

My buddy bought a brand new waverunner from them. First trip out it quit. He took it back and they charged him $500 to replace the electronics in the handlebars because he got them wet....because he got them wet.

 

[bronze_10]

@ClemsonTiger ouch.... I still love mine.. when I was looking for a boat i researched and sought out Yamaha jet boats and then searched for my exact boat. I feel like bayliners are entry level boats. I constantly get compliments on my boat and people come over and want to look at it when we are at the beach. Even though she is 9 year old already!

 

[ClemsonTiger]

@ClemsonTiger ouch.... I still love mine.. when I was looking for a boat i researched and sought out Yamaha jet boats and then searched for my exact boat. I feel like bayliners are entry level boats. I constantly get compliments on my boat and people come over and want to look at it when we are at the beach. Even though she is 9 year old already!

Did you really just say the B word? Bayliner and Wellcraft are Pintos at best. Just cause another manufacture makes a worse POS....that does not mean other POS are now turned into a diamond.

 

[bronze_10]

well in your eyse i have a pos... but i love my pos....

 

[bronze_10]

Here's us enjoying my POS boat... i like the red pos as compared to some of the other color pos!! This was Charleston two years ago... i think that old pirate ship is from some movie or something.. if you wanted to pay you could go on it! We did not go on it!

 

[swatski]

I was looking for a boat i researched and sought out Yamaha jet boats and then searched for my exact boat.

The pre-2010 Yammies are solid. Also, the way they tested those hulls and towers in the ocean back then was just UNBELIEVABLE.

I would bet an 2008-2009 230 Yammie has had fewer problems, on average, that a Tidewater. Tidewater has had plenty of issues, gel coat and such, one great thing about them - Yamaha LEGENDARY outboards. (Not to be confused with Yamaha jet boat division.)

Yamaha did not take the 2008-2009 boat market turn well, and they seem to have been run by lawyers and marketing people, not designers and engineers ever since.

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