Undecided. Scarab vs Yamaha.

[Cruisinblue]

The copy and paste button usually do the trick!

Not when I'm on my phone knucklehead! Doesn't show the address to copy.

 

[4x15mph]

As others have mentioned, if you go with a newer make like Scarab or Chap, make sure you have a dealer close by that can service it since you are not going to get as much insight through these forums. I am an addict here on this board and while I like the Scarab look for my taste, I would not be ready to take ownership of one given the issues. I look forward to when they get the growing pains ironed out

 

[0627Devildog]

Not when I'm on my phone knucklehead! Doesn't show the address to copy.

Sure it does. . . . What phone do you have and which browser you using?

 

[Cruisinblue]

iPhone 6. Safari

 

[4x15mph]

Pretty funny. @Cruisinblue do you know @0627Devildog ? You must be friends

 

[Cruisinblue]

Sure it does. . . . What phone do you have and which browser you using?

Just so you know the knucklehead was for @GiddYupJoe. He's a good friend of mine.

 

[Cruisinblue]

Pretty funny. @Cruisinblue do you know @0627Devildog ? You must be friends

He seems like good people. Just meet him on here today. He's been a helping hand so far! Love this forum. Can't wait to have a boat and share.

 

[Cruisinblue]

Sure it does. . . . What phone do you have and which browser you using?

I think I just figured it out @0627Devildog. When I find something worth sharing I will. Thanks buddy!

 

[0627Devildog]

Just so you know the knucklehead was for @GiddYupJoe. He's a good friend of mine.

No worries, I knew who you were talking to. It will take quite a bit more then that to offend me anyway. . . . . . I was only asking about your phone type/browser because I work in the tech/telecom sector and might have been able to assist. Glad you figured it out.

 

[Cruisinblue]

Yeah, all in fun, it's the way me and my brothers treat each other! #breakballs.
What kind of boat do you have?

 

[Cruisinblue]

Pretty funny. @Cruisinblue do you know @0627Devildog ? You must be friends

I don't really know a stranger, so yeah I think I could say we are forum buddies! @0627Devildog

 

[0627Devildog]

Yeah, all in fun, it's the way me and my brothers treat each other! #breakballs.
What kind of boat do you have?

Turn your phone sideways. . . .and look under my avatar. #readingisfundamental

 

[funbobby]

If you have a verified-good Scarab/Sea Doo dealer near you then you MUST test drive one IMHO. If not, then I'd stay away.

Also keep in mind that any good Sea Doo dealer should be able to perform warranty work on your Rotax engine no matter what vessel it's in.

My feedback from another thread:

I test drove a 2016 Yamaha SX 192 with 100% intention of driving home with it that day. I just felt kinda sick after the test drive. It wasn't a bad boat, but there was NOTHING about it that really excited me. The interior was blah, the engine was loud and harsh (I'm an automotive noise and vibration engineer), the power was so-so, the low-speed handling was ok, the high speed handling was mediocre at best. Just blah. I almost made a very bad move and drove home with it anyway thinking it was probably still the best option in my price range. Thank God I didn't...

Instead, I said I owed it to myself to test a Scarab before making a decision. I walked out of the showroom, looked to my right and there was another dealer next door with Scarabs! Lol, what are the odds? It was meant to be! This was Wonderland Marine in Brighton, MI for the Yamaha and Wilson Marine right next door for the Scarab - both great dealers if you're in the area.

I fell in love with the looks and craftsmanship of my Orange 195 HO Impulse and scheduled a test drive. I was anxious to the point of being sick the day of my demo, no joke, fearing the same experience I had with the Yamaha....
THE BOAT SOLD ITSELF! Better in every category I can think of except storage in my opinion; looks, power, low-speed handling, high-speed handling, and quietness of engine. I tested and evaluated cars for ~10 years of my career, so I can tell you I was as impartial and objective as possible. There was just no comparison. The scarab even had more options for about the same price - more horsepower, wakeboard tower, "premium" sound, sunpad Versa-Lounge, iST, digital speed control, and a 5-year warranty. The only thing Yamaha had going for it besides storage was their reputation of reliability - which drove me to them in the first place. [UPDATE: And the jet clean out port]

Don't hate me if you're a Yamaha fan, this is just my honest opinion.

 

[McMark]

There is good and bad in both brands. I need clean out ports, period.

The scarabs look great in my eye. The yamahas are reliable.

 

[Scarab255]

I live in southwest OH too... Honestly, don't go scarab.

The closest dealer is SeaRay of Cincinnati. I hear they are a good SeaRay dealer. Not so much for the Scarab line.

My boat goes back to them every 5-10 hours. It's had an issue with the port exhaust that they can't fix. It causes the boat to go into limp mode and the rpm's to stay under 3k.

The answer is always the same. They always apologize and say they've fixed it. I spoke with the dealership president personally at the end of last season and he agreed that we shouldn't be having constant issues, but never offered any solutions other than to keep bringing it back when it breaks.

The dealer network for scarab isn't good in this area. Go Yamaha, I've heard good things about the dealer in Fairfield, OH that sells them.

 

[Cruisinblue]

Much appreciated! I'm about a year or two out so we have some time. Didn't know there was a dealer over that way. That is really something to consider. Too bad you are having these annoying little issues. Looks like you even have the boat I am considering. 2015, right?

Have you tried contacting another service center?

The bad thing is no matter what you have or drive these machines can have issues. How old is your boat? I worked for BMW Financial for about 10 years and dealt with a lot of buyback/lemon law (not sure if or what boat law is in Ohio). Maybe this would qualify? Shouldn't have to always take it in for the same issues over and over.

 

[Scarab255]

It's a 2015 255.

There is no lemon law in Ohio for boats. You can file suit under the Magnuson Moss Warranty act. I sent an email to the president of the dealership to see if he was going to do anything this time. His response was "How many hours does it have and where is it"... Just typical, they always just ask more questions and say they'll fix it. When we spoke last summer I politely demanded that a plan be put in place. ie: If it broke again they would have a chance to fix it, if they couldn't fix it, they would buy the boat back. They wouldn't agree to anything other than trying to fix it.

The suit is brought against the manufacturer, I'm not sure if the dealer is named as well, but I hope they are. Mostly just because the headache of dealing with it will probably be somewhat equivalent to the headache I've had dealing with them.

We just want to take our friends out and have a good time on our boat. We spend 90% of our time worrying if the boats going to break down and putting contingency plans together for if it does. We paid the premium for a new boat just so we wouldn't have to deal with these issues, but now I'm thinking we should have bought something used with a good track record.

 

[Julian]

In 13 years of Yamaha ownership over 3 models, I've had 2 real problems....1 bad bearing 1 week into ownership of my LX210 (fixed) and a bad amp and wiring in my new 242X. Other than that, just maintenance items I fixed. Love how bulletproof Yamaha has been for me.

 

[Cruisinblue]

Just makes me sick for you buddy! It isn't right! Yeah, you bought new, the dealer Principle should be kissing your *ss and trying to retain you as a customer. Some people just don't think past there own selfish needs and unfortunately you are currently stuck working with this guy who sees dollars and cents in the short term. No other service centers around? What about Bayview Sun & Snow in Celina, OH?

 

[subysti]

I guess I'm the same as other people here. I love the looks and finish of the scarab but I think they need some time to work out the growing pains and get some good dealers and techs trained to fix them. I went with my yammi because I heard nothing but good for other people who bought from the same dealer and I know Yamaha reliability with my snowmobiles. Also the price difference last year was huge when I compared the chap, scarab and Yamaha with all the same options. Everyone said the price was close but when you start adding in all the little items like filler cushions, connext display, trailer, dual batteries, etc etc it was over 10K higher than Yamaha.