Chaparral to drop vortex?

[Lrdchaos]

Heard a rumor on FB that chaparral might be dropping the vortex line of boats, and vortex would be going out on their own. Has anyone heard of this, or is this internet shenanigans?

 

[ripler]

I wouldn't be surprised, a lot of Chap owners feel that the Vortex somehow cheapens the Chap brand. Early on when the Vortex was introduced the Chap community was up in arms because they didn't want a jet boat in the Chap line up.

 

[geierb387]

It's on FB must be true

 

[waternutt]

One interesting side note and I don't recall how along ago they did, but the Vortex boats have their own website. No mention of them on the Chaparral page.

 

[Lrdchaos]

Yep, my local Chap dealer is not going to carry them. I guess that eliminates one brand of boat. Not gonna buy a 70k+ boat and have no dealer support. I’ve been through that garbage with evinrude.

 

[Dean P]

Yep, my local Chap dealer is not going to carry them. I guess that eliminates one brand of boat. Not gonna buy a 70k+ boat and have no dealer support. I’ve been through that garbage with evinrude.

Where are located?

 

[Lrdchaos]

Tulsa, ok

 

[Dean P]

Tulsa, ok

Okay, wasn't sure if you were near me. I get mine serviced in Orlando.

 

[Tempest]

Ok, so what’s the real truth behind this??? I just started to get into these boats and don’t want a problem. Found a beautiful 2020 that might be available. Thank you.

 

[Lrdchaos]

I would be very careful, it seems that a number of Chaparral dealers are no longer servicing The vortex boats they have sold. People are having to drive long distances to get their boats serviced. It’s enough of a concern that I have completely moved away from the vortex line. It’s a shame, they seem to have a decent product, but without support I’m not risking it.

 

[waternutt]

I am beginning to wonder what the future is and how long I will keep my boat. The dealer search on their website has Chaparral HQ in Nashville as my closest dealer. The Chaparral dealer I bought it from will still service for now, but they are 2 hours away. Talking with a local "watersports" repair place, they can do basic servicing but no warranty work. Additionally, they say that Chaparral part numbers are different from Sea-Doo even though they use the same Rotax motors so getting parts could be difficult. We will see how this plays out, but I may look to switch brands before my warranty runs out.

 

[Tempest]

It’s a pity because if I really had to say they appear to be the best appointed and probably best built, stemming from Chap’s reputation. I loved the graphics too! Aggressive but, not garfish.

 

[Lrdchaos]

I would absolutely not spend 70+ on a new boat with zero factory support. I’m sure chaparral took a stab at the jet boat market, which is small to begin with, and realized that Yamaha has the market cornered.

 

[Tempest]

The boat is being sold for $49K , definitely caught my attention but, also had me concerned for the very same reason,

 

[jgourlie]

I think it will be only Scarab and Yamaha going forward. We almost bought a Glastron 187, beautiful boat, but no longer manufactured scared me away.

 

[Beachbummer]

Warranties to me are generally worthless. These will be awesome and cheap used in a few years. As long as the drive train is similar enough for Parts from the SeaDoo jet skis, there will be parts forever. You can still get parts for 1995 seadoo jet skis both from SeaDoo and from aftermarket operators.

Not good news for new boat buyers, but once the warranty is gone, specially any Naturally Aspirated versions should be cheap and reliable.

 

[Franced123]

I was looking into this as well, the chap dealer I bought mine from used sold 5 others the same day and have 15ish that are floating in their marina. The owners seem to be happy and the owner of the dealership said he has a great relationship with chap. He said he fixes issues and then calls for permission. (The old ask for forgiveness technique). I actually worried that the scarab jets would be more vulnerable and it steered me away from 255 open ID. I did notice that in 2019 they now say vortex on the side instead of chaparral. Let's hope they can mix up the market share a bit.

 

[Franced123]

Continued: wanted to add I have been extremely happy with the 2019 223vrx even with prior yamaha AR 240 to compare it to.

 

[waternutt]

Just in case others miss it, the thread below mentions Vortex boats getting their own plant due to high demand for them.

https://jetboaters.net/threads/chaparral-vortex-manufacturing-plant-and-gelcoat-codes.28197/

 

[Tempest]

Now I’m thoroughly confused...