Possible lawsuit against Scarab/Glastron/RBH (discussion thread)

[Robert Sands]

Wow! Can you take a pic of the affected part?

Will do this weekend...

 

[Stephen Carnell]

Just purchased a new 215 HO Impulse Wake edition. 30 hours on the boat now. No issues. First Jet boat. What should we be looking out for with these Scarab boats

 

[Robert Sands]

Wow! Can you take a pic of the affected part?

As promised, the red arrow shows the hose that came apart. Since the fix everything is has been great, but it essentially vibrated lose and then came apart I was told.

 

[0627Devildog]

Yes I love my boat and would like to keep her as long as I can. And not as lucky I guess to have two more years of warranty left. I have only to May 2018 to make sure mine is right. And yes I had problems with the purchasing dealer but went to another Marine Max ( Clearwater ) dealer and they have treated me right. They also told me that they sold more Scarab boats than any of the other brand and had only happy customers, and did not know why corporate office decided to discontinue the line. Never had to wait more than 2 weeks to get my boat back. Most of the problem was that I could only take and pick it up on Saturday. I am disappointed also that Marine Max discontinued the Scarab line. But all I heard was how bad Marine Max was and how long it took to resolve issues. So now we at left with a few independent dealer. Well it all come down to what does BOAT stand for- Bring On Another Thousand. And in my opinion threats and bashing does no good to resolve anything.

My neighbor is the head mechanic with Marine Max in LI. . . . He said the decided not to sell Scarab due to all the issues they have had with them and the finger pointing between BRP and Scarab. They were not able to provide the type of experience they felt their customers deserved and parted with them as a result.

 

[Tempest]

My neighbor is the head mechanic with Marine Max in LI. . . . He said the decided not to sell Scarab due to all the issues they have had with them and the finger pointing between BRP and Scarab. They were not able to provide the type of experience they felt their customers deserved and parted with them as a result.

And this is precisely the reason I cannot buy one of these being a Long Islander...

 

[BigN8]

I find myself asking, what if this was a new car? What if you had just bought a Scarab new car and had all of these kinds of issues? It's funny how we have very little tolerance for problems as it pertains to our cars but for some reason because this is a water craft and used as a hobby we as a society put up with piss poor workmanship and to make matters worse so do the manufacturers and dealers.

 

[Beachbummer]

Cars are built like appliances. In an assembly line with huge repetition, so quality control is hugely different. Boats are built mostly like houses. Lots of manual intervention, one at a time.

For this reason i have always preferred to buy used. In addition to the above, once you pay, the dealer and manufacturer no longer have a huge incentive to quicky resolve your problem. I find that when paying cash for repairs, as opposed to waiting for warranty repairs, your options on time and materials open up significantly.

The large depreciation of toys up front also do not help the value proposition for me in purchasing new and relying on warranty.

Just my take. I know others have had good experience buying new and do not like the stigma attached with a used purchase.
YMMV.

 

[BigN8]

Cars are built like appliances. In an assembly line with huge repetition, so quality control is hugely different. Boats are built mostly like houses. Lots of manual intervention, one at a time.

For this reason i have always preferred to buy used. In addition to the above, once you pay, the dealer and manufacturer no longer have a huge incentive to quicky resolve your problem. I find that when paying cash for repairs, as opposed to waiting for warranty repairs, your options on time and materials open up significantly.

The large depreciation of toys up front also do not help the value proposition for me in purchasing new and relying on warranty.

Just my take. I know others have had good experience buying new and do not like the stigma attached with a used purchase.
YMMV.

Thanks for validating my point. You are just like the rest of society and have the mentality that new boats should not be held to the same manufacturing standards as cars. Rolls Royce, and Ferrari are mostly built by hand and they don't seem to have the same quality issues. These people have paid a lot of money for a product that should not require repairs after 10 hours of use. I would bet that some of these boats cost more than the cars or trucks they drive. Freakin BS. You have every right to buy a used boat if that is what makes you happy at the end of the day. But, the other guy has every right to a new boat, and that new boat should not be a freakin lemon.

 

[Beachbummer]

Thanks for validating my point. You are just like the rest of society and have the mentality that new boats should not be held to the same manufacturing standards as cars. Rolls Royce, and Ferrari are mostly built by hand and they don't seem to have the same quality issues. These people have paid a lot of money for a product that should not require repairs after 10 hours of use. I would bet that some of these boats cost more than the cars or trucks they drive. Freakin BS. You have every right to buy a used boat if that is what makes you happy at the end of the day. But, the other guy has every right to a new boat, and that new boat should not be a freakin lemon.

You make a great point.

I would adjust to say that you can hold them to whatever standard you wish to...my statements are about how they are known to deliver in recent history.

Saab and Land Rover are 2 auto builders of which I know owners that have personally waited over 6 months for a repair of a covered item under warranty. (and for such reason I will not ever select a vehicle from them)

I would say my expectation is built from prior experience of others I know. I wish it was different, but this is what I see happening to others in this predicament.

Reading forums I find similar experiences on boats. I expect builders and dealers to behave as they have in the past with others, so I don't play. I think of this as my humble contribution to resolve the issue. I don't own a builder or dealer, so I can't act effect change in another way. If nobody bought, and told them up front...you warranty service sucks, no cash for you...maybe something would change...since it's so widespread I don't see it happening short term.

You have to admit, we (you and I, and other boat buyers) have limited control over how strongly these companies respond to warranty claims. My position is adapted from the reality I experience. It must be that the current state of the industry is the path of least resistance. Are new quality focused builders going broke because the other established dealers undercut them on price? are they much more expensive? Look at the airline industry... Everyone complains about crappy service (or getting beat up on the plane) but passengers mostly still flock to the cheapest option regardless of service quality. Maybe happening in boating to a lesser degree?

I'm generally anti-regulation and pro-business, but I would think this is an area where some reporting regulation would come in handy, in the form of mandatory disclosures on the performance of warranty service.

Your model boat required warranty service X% of the time. The longest wait time for service before the issues were corrected was XXXX days. The average time of repair completions was XX days. This would be an eye opener for many.

I would also like the option to skip the warranty for a fee... for a discount of $XK you can opt for a 30 day warranty.

I feel your pain and hear your words...

Best of Luck!

 

[D_scarab_ny]

My neighbor is the head mechanic with Marine Max in LI. . . . He said the decided not to sell Scarab due to all the issues they have had with them and the finger pointing between BRP and Scarab. They were not able to provide the type of experience they felt their customers deserved and parted with them as a result.

Which marine max? I had my boat in lindenhurst and it seems like they reall don't have knowledge about the scarabs. It took two weeks to replace o2 sensors. It seems like I was out on the back burners

 

[0627Devildog]

Here's a pic of the pump seal with only 120 hours.View attachment 62789

Not sure what that is supposed to look like new. . . . . But that doesn't look good.

 

[0627Devildog]

this is what a new one looks like

 

[Faith Johnson]

BRP is making friends everywhere, maybe someone should contact these guys in Jersey?

http://newjerseyclassactionlawyer.net/sea-doo-exhaust-defect/?gclid=CKCRn8WZ4dUCFQVDhgod1L4Byg

Wow! It sounds like the same part that "vibrated" off for @Robert Sands

 

[Slugger55]

As promised, the red arrow shows the hose that came apart. Since the fix everything is has been great, but it essentially vibrated lose and then came apart I was told.

Mine fell off yesterday. I was cruising along the ICW near Mary Ester and my boat shut down in the middle of the channel; then I heard my bilge pump pumping water over board. Opened the engine compartment and there was a 3 inch stream of water coming into the compartment. Luckily, I was able to get the hose pushed back on after receiving 2nd degree burns on my left arm. There were two clamps on the hose and it still fell off.. I'm about at my limit...

 

[Faith Johnson]

Mine fell off yesterday. I was cruising along the ICW near Mary Ester and my boat shut down in the middle of the channel; then I heard my bilge pump pumping water over board. Opened the engine compartment and there was a 3 inch stream of water coming into the compartment. Luckily, I was able to get the hose pushed back on after receiving 2nd degree burns on my left arm. There were two clamps on the hose and it still fell off.. I'm about at my limit...

I'm convinced your boat is cursed by the devil. I would be showing my white country ass to scarab. You're way more level headed than me.

 

[Slugger55]

I'm convinced your boat is cursed by the devil. I would be showing my white country ass to scarab. You're way more level headed than me.

I am about to pull the trigger on just what you are talking about. I just wished that we had more people who would come forward and list the similar issues and go at it with numbers... You might want to check yours, if you don't know what you are looking at, the compartment will flood extremely fast... I almost lost the engine to water getting into the intake..

 

[Beachbummer]

I'm very sorry this happened to you.

Hindsight is 20/20 so I hope you do not take offense to my question, as none is intended.

Do you think if you had earlier warning of the water level rising in the bilge you would have had a better chance at getting the house back on with less injury to yourself?

Just wondering the real value in this situation of having an earlier warning indicating the bilge is flooding.

Best of luck.

 

[Slugger55]

I'm very sorry this happened to you.

Hindsight is 20/20 so I hope you do not take offense to my question, as none is intended.

Do you think if you had earlier warning of the water level rising in the bilge you would have had a better chance at getting the house back on with less injury to yourself?

Just wondering the real value in this situation of having an earlier warning indicating the bilge is flooding.

Best of luck.

No offense taken. I would say that the engine shutting down and the bilge pump pumping water over board was the early warning.. The water only has to be about 1/2 deep in the bilge and the pump will come on. When a 3 inch line comes off a connector that passes through the hull to the open water you don't have very much time. Before the boat stopped moving in the water I was into the engine compartment. It was seconds not minutes... Maybe a light on the helm indicating water in the compartment? Not sure this would have made a difference..

 

[Beachbummer]

Glad it wasn't worse, but personal injury is certainly a bad outcome. Best of luck.

 

[Robert Sands]

I'm sorry to hear this Slugger55, I was really hoping mine would have been the only issue. When we had the issue it was too late, the water was above the hole and no one could see easily where the water was coming in, so we assumed it was the carbon seal. This issue could kill someone; I wonder how many other owners out there who aren't on the forum have issues?

FYI, no word of lie, I bought a 6 man Zodiac inflatable life raft that now lives in the boat. I don't know what else this boat is going to throw at me, but I'll be ready.