Chaparral known defect; Worth pursuing?

[Light twin]

Hi. I posted a couple of months or so ago about the problems I was experiencing with the Medallion touchscreen display in my 2015 Chaparral 223 VRX.

Long story short : I have it in writing from Chaparral that the problem with the screen is a known problem common to the early Medallion units installed in the 2015 boats. Chaparral informed me that the early Medallion units had a manufacturing flaw that resulted in many screens delaminating. I was advised not to purchase a direct replacement Medallion Touchscreen as I could well end up with a screen that may be prone to delaminating.

Instead they recommended I install a T2V2 ( touchscreen to Viper 2 ) ; a blend of the old and new screen that is compatible with the electronics and display dimensions of the 2015 models.

I suggested that if it was a known manufacturing defect then really shouldn't they (Chaparral or Medallion) be supplying a replacement version at their cost. At first it seemed that there was general agreement to this idea and things looked promising for a while!

But of course the boat and the touchscreen were out of warranty and so after several weeks of implying I could get a replacement unit at no cost I finally spoke to the Head of Sales at Chaperral, a very pleasant woman, who essentially said 'nice try but no luck'.

To the legal people out there on the web, if I have a letter from Chaparral stating that a faulty item on my boat, which item at around $2000+ is not exactly cheap to replace, is faulty due to a known manufacturing defect, is there a chance I can get a replacement unit at no cost to me even though the item itself is no longer under warranty?

Do I have a case? Let me know your thoughts.

 

[seanmclean]

Not sure if its worthy of a 'case', but might be worth the cost of a demand letter prepared by an attorney.

 

[swatski]

@Light twin A letter from any reputable attorney will be $1,000+. Not very likely to resolve your issue.

I have gone/am going through something similar with Yamaha - a major warranty claim that was denied.

In my opinion (backed by several knowledgeable members here) pursuing that through small claims court system is the most practical modality.Unfortunately.

If the issues you are facing are more widespread, a class action maybe a possibility. (It helps if you have friends who are partners in a large law firm, they tend to be bored to death and like reading about boat trouble anyway, LOL)
In my case, I have the small claims pending, but it will be months before I have any progress on that, it's just the way things work.
I have a large law firm ready to start CA proceedings if more cases similar to mine pop up (not to mention - God forbid someone gets seriously hurt).


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[Murf'n'surf]

If you have proof as to the timing (in warranty) of your defect AND when you brought it to the dealers attention (in warranty) you have a slam dunk case. Take them to your local small claims court.

 

[Light twin]

No wonder the lady at head office was so cheery and pleasant in denying my request. Looks like I'll just have to take the hit and move on.

Many thanks for the considered replies. Happy boating!

 

[Gym]

@Light twin. My approach would be a little different. A legal fight could be expensive at any level and protracted. You could easily get the dealer in court who would point the finger at the manufacturer who would point their finger at the display manufacturer who would point the finger at the screen manufacturer.

First I would call your local Attorney's General office (consumer complaints division). Give them details and documentation. Next I would contact the local news station's consumer advocate. Most large news organizations have one and they are relentless at persuing consumer complaints as they get to tout their success, on TV, if they prevail. The last thing your manufacturer, regional rep and dealer want is bad advertising on their priduct.
Here in Mass. Warranties are not only expressed (written) but also implied. We have what's known as "implied warranty of merchantability" which simply means a product must work as intended for a "reasonable" period of time (which yours did not). If your state has such a consumer protection law you should prevail. Good luck.

 

[Jon 203vrx]

Did anyone have any luck in getting this resolved with chaparral. I brought a 203 vrx new May 2016. Same thing the screen on the medallion has delaminated around the edges. Even though I am still within the 5 year warranty the dealer is telling me the screen on has 1 year. This happened when the boat was under 3 years old and to me is an unacceptable period for it to fail. Given this is a know common fault, you would think chaparral or medallion would do the right thing and stand behind there product

 

[Light twin]

Having been told by Chaparral that they wouldn’t be giving me a replacement model they then suggested I contact one of the Chaperral dealers to order a (very expensive) new one. I asked who the top dealers were and she (the head of sales lady) provided me with the top 3 dealers in the US.

I then contacted the first one on the list. I told the guy the story and he said for sure I should get a replacement one at no charge. Just like that.

And he kept his word. It’s coming up to 2 years now since I received it and have had no problems.

One thing though: the wiring harness that came with it was not compatible with the installed original Polk wiring so I’m unable to control the Polk through the Medallion display. I did contact the dealer about it but he’d lost interest by then. (I use my phone via Bluetooth so it’s not a big deal).

This was 2 years ago when the boat was just over a year old so that might have played a part.

I’m not based in America but where I am based we have loads and loads of scarabs and a few early model Chaparral VRXs (Scarab is more popular here because they offer, unlike Chaparral, updated graphics every year. Yup). All the early models (Scarab included) have the original Medallion touchscreens and EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM is buggered. I’m not exaggerating. The maintenance centre is full of 2015 / 2016 boats all with delaminated touchscreens.

Obviously a very substantial manufacturing flaw that is easy to prove and evident here.

 

[OceanMDJetBoater]

I purchased a 2018 Chaparral 203 Vortex VRX in June 2017 brand new and 2 years later the Medallion touch screen failed - it is still showing shaded/blurry images, but there is no contrast, colors are faded and it is impossible to see most of the information, including the depth finder measurements which are very important safety data when boating.

on 09/28/19, I contacted my local dealer - Advanced Marina from Ocean City, MD - about this issue and they wrote me on 10/09/19 that:
"The Medallion display is no longer under warranty with Chaparral. Your 5 year component warranty administered by BPPC will partially cover replacement. We supplied a estimate to replace in the amount of $1,611.46 to BPPC. BPPC will cover $1,245.00. You will be responsible for approximately $366.46 (includes the $50.00 deductible)." I told them to proceed with the replacement process and so far I am waiting for the replacement parts to arrive and as of 11/01/19 I haven't gotten any projected timeline from the dealer for when the replacement would be done.

Now that the boat season is virtually over and my boat needs to go to storage in 2 weeks, I am stuck with this pending Medallion replacement process which is nowhere to have a clear completion date.

I am disappointed that 1) the Medallion failed only 2 years later and 2) that replacement process so far has taken 5 weeks with no clear timeline for being completed . The actual replacement is very straight forward - there is a port in the screen that just needs to have one cable connected. So the only thing that is needed is a new touch screen part. Why in the age of amazon, a small part that would fit in a small amazon package would take so long to be shipped (considering that the warranty company and I are splitting the bill and it has been established how the $1,611 touch screen part will be paid for)?