2022 212SD Not going to be delivered

[SC Boater]

Yamaha needs to be fixed in the US and it starts with top management. I put a deposit on a boat in February of 2022 that the dealer ordered in August of 2021. I was told it would be ready in May, then June then July then in August they said the boat would not be delivered. Top it off they said I could get in line for a 2023 and the price has gone up by $14,500 and Yamaha would not make any price reductions due to non-delivery of a 2022 on order. Clearly Yamaha knew that they were not going to deliver the 2022's a long time ago as they have the 2023 models on the ready. They did not send that message out to their dealers or customers. Presumably hoping to keep customers and up sell them on a 2023. Top management is broken, they have forgot the customer while misleading their dealers in the process. Yamaha has now raised prices on new boats to prices that are near slightly used Mastercrafts and Natiques and those are boats the Yamaha's cannot compete with. I wanted to be a Yamaha customer, really I did, and now I own a Super Air Natique 210. Upset about the process but happy that I have a Natique, absolutely in a class Yamaha cannot compete with. I voted with my feet and I hope many, many more do as well as that is apparently the only way to get Yamaha's attention.

 

[adrianp89]

The price increase was due to a complete re-design (and bigger boat now). 212s could be found relatively easily throughout the year with a little elbow grease. The Yamaha is not a Natique and a Natique is not a Yamaha. Completely different markets. Not sure why you were looking at an SD if you wanted a wake boat, should have been focused on an XD.

 

[SC Boater]

The price increase was due to a complete re-design (and bigger boat now). 212s could be found relatively easily throughout the year with a little elbow grease. The Yamaha is not a Natique and a Natique is not a Yamaha. Completely different markets. Not sure why you were looking at an SD if you wanted a wake boat, should have been focused on an XD.

Yep. You missed/ignored the most important point that there is total distinction with Yamaha and communication to its dealers and customers.

 

[adrianp89]

Yep. You missed/ignored the most important point that there is total distinction with Yamaha and communication to its dealers and customers.

I ignored it purposefully because it's tough to specifically call that out and be accurate. Yamaha had significant supply chain issues due to COVID issues, natural disasters, and other factors that affected many products... must of which were communicated with dealers. If they could have made more boats they would have.

Have you tried to order an appliance? They will tell you 2 weeks then follow up with 3 months. Yamaha is far from the only supplier with these issues.

 

[scokill]

I ignored it purposefully because it's tough to specifically call that out and be accurate. Yamaha had significant supply chain issues due to COVID issues, natural disasters, and other factors that affected many products... must of which were communicated with dealers. If they could have made more boats they would have.

Have you tried to order an appliance? They will tell you 2 weeks then follow up with 3 months. Yamaha is far from the only supplier with these issues.

This is true. I made several orders of appliances and kept on doing the legwork for a month to lay my hands on one and cancel the other orders.

 

[SC Boater]

You must work for Yamaha

 

[jimbobalu]

I really think Yamaha is blowing it with potential new customers, they would rather fill allocation to a dealer for say 20 boats with 10 ordered by customers than send boats to another dealer that is allocated 10 but has orders for 20. I was so lucky to get my boat and was frustrated the entire time when I saw the same boat available at other dealers but they were much too far away and I wouldn’t get local support.

 

[adrianp89]

You must work for Yamaha

Nope, I've had my own gripes with them, including a settled lawsuit. I am just a realist.

 

[Tex72]

SC Boater just joined forum today…interesting.

 

[ripler]

Every boat dealer had delivery issues, it's just the way Yamaha and their dealers handled the whole situation makes them look bad. My MasterCraft salesman recommended against ordering a boat, he was upfront in telling me that MasterCraft was having issues with delivering custom orders. He said that he would be getting his dealer stock and offered me first choice on the boats he was getting in as part of his stock. I bought my 2021 boat in Sept of 2020 with Covid running wild and still got an incredible deal.

 

[jimbobalu]

SC Boater just joined forum today…interesting.

Probably joined to vent.

 

[Tex72]

Probably joined to vent.

Maybe.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

This type of “venting” reminds me of a quote by Thomas Sowell

“There are those that base their policies in reality and then there are those who try to make reality fit their policies, the latter of which are responsible for the greatest horrors of the 20th century.”

Or a baby spitting the dummy and throwing all the toys out of their pram.
Could Yamaha have handled the situation better? Perhaps. Over promising and under delivering is, well, diametrically opposed to the way it should be, BUT, it’s very easy throw shit at Yamaha from the Bob Uker seats.

Im also a realist, and I also realize these are just people (Yamaha) doing the best they could and were subject to governmental policies (see above) that dictated what a company could and could not do, and said policies were in a constant state of flux.

How was Yamaha supposed to deliver boats when they were forced to shut down and their employees were getting paid to stay home, as well as the companies that provided goods and materials needed to make the boats not producing these parts and materials?

You got your boat, go out and make some great memories…. There’s no future in the past.

 

[Tex72]

My dealer told me that ordering a boat was pointless (based on the timing and cycle of production/upcoming new models). He walked me through the orders they had and explained the issues with them coming in, and issues with getting stock in. He placed me on a waiting list for any boats that did come in.

I immediately started shopping around the gulf coast area in other states, and found the boat I wanted. It was a pain, but I got a boat. I drove approximately 20 hours round-trip on the Fourth of July weekend. Traveling I-10 on a holiday weekend is not fun, much less dragging a boat back home on said Holiday (with no license or registration across state lines).

The local Yamaha dealer services it…I already had my break in service done by them, but there was certainly no discount for purchasing it from them (which is what I would expect).

Long story short: I wanted it bad enough, so I put in the extra effort rather than waiting.

(Edit: The local Yamaha dealer also honored a few small warranty items.)

 

[jimbobalu]

It is interesting how no one has addressed what I posted about. Dealer allocation should not trump down payment orders.

 

[Tex72]

The waiting lists I was on, were for sales that fell through, and the boat I purchased was from a sale that fell through.

I personally don’t have any experience with build orders with Yamaha, but I do know how supply chain and labor problems have affected the industry I work in, and it has been dramatic.

 

[HangOutdoors]

It is interesting how no one has addressed what I posted about. Dealer allocation should not trump down payment orders.

There are no down payment orders. Yamaha doesn't take orders from customers. Dealers take orders for themselves from customers, under the term "order - because it is a selling tactic" on hopes they will get their allocation and can fullfill the "Customer Order" they took. Basically what it should be called is........ We are taking deposits for spots in line on boats we may or may not be getting and have no idea when, and it is non refundable in certain cases..

That being said, from a consumer and dealer stand point, there must be a better business model. Unfortunately the popularity of these boats and short inventory and everything getting sold does not promote much change in their delivery model I guess.

 

[biffdotorg]

There are no down payment orders. Yamaha doesn't take orders from customers. Dealers take orders for themselves from customers, under the term "order - because it is a selling tactic" on hopes they will get their allocation and can fullfill the "Customer Order" they took. Basically what it should be called is........ We are taking deposits for spots in line on boats we may or may not be getting and have no idea when, and it is non refundable in certain cases..

That being said, from a consumer and dealer stand point, there must be a better business model.

100% true. The OP didn't order a boat from Yamaha. They got in line for one of the dealers allocated boats. And the dealer was the one that sold out their allocation, and had no boats to deliver to the OP. The OP was probably #28 of a 20 boat allocation and was never informed of the likelyhood of getting a boat at all. 8 orders would have had to have been cancelled for him to even have a shot at a boat.

Don't blame Yamaha for a bad dealer communication.

 

[adrianp89]

As said, Yamaha does not take orders. They build as much as they can an allocate based on analytics. It is not ordering a car. When I ordered my truck, I had a VIN assigned very quickly.

 

[Tex72]

I was on every dealership waiting list in the state, and even a few in Louisiana (no deposit)

While I didn’t get a call, prior to finding the boat I purchased, I did get multiple calls after I bought this boat, based on those waiting lists.

I did not put a deposit down on a specific order, but just told them what I was looking for.

Essentially, from what I was told, if the sale falls through you will be called based on your place in line (for the list I was on).

The boat I stumbled on, was an available boat that just posted on the dealership website. I happened to call them just after it was posted, and they said “the sale fell through and we posted it after going through the waiting list (with no takers). You’re the first one to call, so it’s yours”. There were about five beeps while I was talking to him, and he said those “were probably all calls for that same boat”.