Want to buy a scarab '22 215id out of state but can't get local support.

[Lngray]

Hey everyone. New to this forum so apologies if I if I've asked a dumb question or am in the wrong thread. I live in Maryland. I've found the boat I've always wanted in the showroom now in Indiana. A scarab '22 215id 600hp. The problem is no one within 4 hrs will support the warranty if they didn't sell the boat. The ones that said they would support the warranty said I'd be last in line after all of their original customers. I even thought I'd be willing to drive the 9 hours back to Indiana for warranty work if any is even needed. Now i find the dealer is not going to be selling scarab any longer, though they say they will still support the boat. Sucks to find what you want with a great warranty but find no one will service it. Thinking about just going with a yamaha 212sd. Not the boat I want but much easier to service and build a dealer relationship with. I don't know if I'm just venting or just asking for a different perspective. Thanks

 

[Weeb]

i say go with who can service you easily with all the quality control with everything these days.

 

[Dean P]

Having no support with a brand new boat would make me move on. In your case the Yamaha sounds like a better option. Good luck!

 

[adrianp89]

Dealerships are really irking me these days. They can sell boats in a heartbeat right now so why even do that.

Honestly though if it's anything like here, warranty work means you lose your boat for a a minimum of a month. I would buy the best deal and do general maintenance your self. Simple warranty work, just fix your self. Major work - take it to a dealer. I would also confirm with Scarab if what they say is even valid upon their dealer agreement.

 

[Lngray]

Dealerships are really irking me these days. They can sell boats in a heartbeat right now so why even do that.

Honestly though if it's anything like here, warranty work means you lose your boat for a a minimum of a month. I would buy the best deal and do general maintenance your self. Simple warranty work, just fix your self. Major work - take it to a dealer. I would also confirm with Scarab if what they say is even valid upon their dealer agreement.

I actually called Scarab. I had read on some threads that they are hard to reach. Not in my case. I googled the number in Cadillac, MI. They freaking gave me the cell phone number of the head of operations who answered from his house and apologized to me about the noise because he was watching his grand kids. He gave me the cell phone number of Dave Thomas head of East Coast sales. Dave also answered his phone right away. He put me in touch with the owner of Nautical Marine in Richmond Virginia. Now Nautical also said they would prefer not to work on my new boat for many reasons from the fact that warranty work is a non-profit situation for them to the fact that obviously there is a small boat season window for them to make everyone of their existing customers happy and I truly would be in the very back of the line. With that said The owner of Nautical spent at least 40 minutes on the phone with me discussing options. Then contacted the dealership in Indianapolis as well as Scarab. He then called me back personally and spent another 30 minutes with me. Never have I been told what I didn't want to hear in a way that absolutely makes me want to keep doing business with them. I can't say enough how much I appreciate the efforts of the managers at Scarab and the owner at Nautical in Richmond, VA. I would recommend doing business with any of these fine people and companies. Thank you everyone for the feedback.

 

[Canesfan1]

I have used Nautical Marine in Richmond, they are great! But I didn’t buy from them so it is not always a quick turnaround.

 

[JDRacing]

I am wondering if there's an option, like with car dealers, to transfer the boat from the Indiana dealer to the Virginia dealership and then buy it from them? Seems like the Indiana dealer shouldn't care much since he's getting out of the Scarab business, and the Virginia dealer has an opportunity to get a new sales customer and then support them as such.

Car dealers (at least used to) do this when a customer wanted a car that an out-of-area dealer had. They'd transfer it to the customer's local dealer to make the sale. Maybe that doesn't work for boats?

Jeff

 

[Taylorman]

This situation is unbelievable to me. Scarab is allowing their dealers to erode the biggest value prop they offer - new boat warranty. Without that there’s insufficient value to pay the premium for a new boat. Just wait and find a used one. Additionally, now you know that anytime you take a Scarab in for warranty work the dealer will try to sell you on non-warranty work because Scarab doesn’t pay enough. So what exactly is the value prop for buying a new Scarab at this point? I would run far and fast from any new Scarab boat, but that’s just me. To each their own. Best of luck to you.

 

[Judge]

I'm worried about this myself with Yamaha.....

I tried to buy a Yamaha 275SD from the local dealer in Cape Coral. He wouldn't even take my money for a downpayment because delivery is so bad. I asked if I bought a boat from another dealer would they do my service. The sales guy said he heard of other dealers not wanting to do service but they would service it. He said they would put their customers first but they wouldn't deny me with service.

I'm still a little leery but I have a deposit on a boat in NY but I am docking it in FL. I am going to call the FL dealer tomorrow and tell him I would be willing to purchase the extended warranty through his dealership if they will treat me equal when it comes to service. We'll see what they say.


This same thing is a big issue in the RV industry as well.... even worse. RV quality and workmanship is horrible and dealers don't want to service what they did sell. RV dealers are also horrible in their own right..... I do my own repairs because I know I can do it faster and better than the dealer. It can take RV dealers 6 months to get repairs done.

 

[Lngray]

I am wondering if there's an option, like with car dealers, to transfer the boat from the Indiana dealer to the Virginia dealership and then buy it from them? Seems like the Indiana dealer shouldn't care much since he's getting out of the Scarab business, and the Virginia dealer has an opportunity to get a new sales customer and then support them as such.

Car dealers (at least used to) do this when a customer wanted a car that an out-of-area dealer had. They'd transfer it to the customer's local dealer to make the sale. Maybe that doesn't work for boats?

Jeff

I had suggested this. I was told that the Indiana dealership has it marked down to move. So by the time it was moved to another dealership the boat would be a negative profit incentive.

 

[Lngray]

This situation is unbelievable to me. Scarab is allowing their dealers to erode the biggest value prop they offer - new boat warranty. Without that there’s insufficient value to pay the premium for a new boat. Just wait and find a used one. Additionally, now you know that anytime you take a Scarab in for warranty work the dealer will try to sell you on non-warranty work because Scarab doesn’t pay enough. So what exactly is the value prop for buying a new Scarab at this point? I would run far and fast from any new Scarab boat, but that’s just me. To each their own. Best of luck to you.

I completely agree with you. I`ve found a dealership 4 hrs away that said they would handle warranty work but even they said they only have one mechanic that deals with Rotax engines and they have to prioritize their existing customers so I would be in the back of the line no matter when I bring it in.

 

[Lngray]

I'm worried about this myself with Yamaha.....

I tried to buy a Yamaha 275SD from the local dealer in Cape Coral. He wouldn't even take my money for a downpayment because delivery is so bad. I asked if I bought a boat from another dealer would they do my service. The sales guy said he heard of other dealers not wanting to do service but they would service it. He said they would put their customers first but they wouldn't deny me with service.

I'm still a little leery but I have a deposit on a boat in NY but I am docking it in FL. I am going to call the FL dealer tomorrow and tell him I would be willing to purchase the extended warranty through his dealership if they will treat me equal when it comes to service. We'll see what they say.


This same thing is a big issue in the RV industry as well.... even worse. RV quality and workmanship is horrible and dealers don't want to service what they did sell. RV dealers are also horrible in their own right..... I do my own repairs because I know I can do it faster and better than the dealer. It can take RV dealers 6 months to get repairs done.

I am currently looking to purchase a '23 Yamaha 212SE. I am being told because of the higher interest rates and inflation I am first in line. I feel with the number of boats Yamaha puts out and the dealer network that does warranty support I will get better service should I need it. Additionally I can get a 4yr extended warranty and still be less than the cost of a Scarab. With that said. The Scarab is just so sexy and I would love the 600hp 215ID. i just can`t get past the lack of support for what should be a great warranty. I`ve had numerous used boats and almost always had to work thru previous issues. I want a new boat for peace of mind provided by the warranty.

 

[Jim_in_Delaware]

Glad you seem to have found a solution with the Yamaha.

Honestly though, I don't know why you would be first in line for a 2023? One would think that even if new pre-orders have slowed down, there would still be a list of folks who ordered boats before the Summer began. I have recently priced some boats from a couple of other manufacturers and am told I am currently looking at a late Spring/early Summer delivery if I order now.

Jim

 

[Judge]

I am currently looking to purchase a '23 Yamaha 212SE. I am being told because of the higher interest rates and inflation I am first in line. I feel with the number of boats Yamaha puts out and the dealer network that does warranty support I will get better service should I need it. Additionally I can get a 4yr extended warranty and still be less than the cost of a Scarab. With that said. The Scarab is just so sexy and I would love the 600hp 215ID. i just can`t get past the lack of support for what should be a great warranty. I`ve had numerous used boats and almost always had to work thru previous issues. I want a new boat for peace of mind provided by the warranty.

I read posts from two guys this weekend who ordered '22's in August '21 and July '21 and both were just told they aren't getting boats. They will be at the top of the list for '23's but they will be paying ~10% price increase.

The local dealer just called me back from last week and told me the Yamaha Regional Reps have their '23 kick-off meeting in Canada in two weeks. They will then learn how many boats Yamaha thinks they can build and what can be allocated to dealers.... plus the new pricing.

It sure sounds like it will be at least 9 months until '23's start to hit. Between the some guys ordering a year ago and then not getting a boat and the substantial price increase, I'm probably going to stick with the new '22 275SD I have a deposit on. I think that is my least amount of risk... plus cheaper in terms of purchase and paying for a boat slip that I can't use for 9 months or more. Plus after the email that went out to dealers last week, there will be a lot of people waiting for boats that are going to get added to the '23 list making it more crowded.

I'm going to call the local dealer this morning and ask about buying an extended warranty from him in exchange for getting support after buying from an out of state dealer.


I looked at a used '22 Scarab 255 ID recently. While I liked some things about it not having a clean-out port was a big negative but it also had the wake package, which I didn't want. It only had 30hrs but the guy was the second owner so the warranty would not transfer to a third owner.... strike 3.

I then called a local Scarab dealer and asked about ordering a '23. He said he might be getting some in and might be able to configure one the way I want (I do credit Scarab with the ability to select a lot of different options). I never heard back from the guy again and decided to stick with Yamaha.

 

[Lngray]

Glad you seem to have found a solution with the Yamaha.

Honestly though, I don't know why you would be first in line for a 2023? One would think that even if new pre-orders have slowed down, there would still be a list of folks who ordered boats before the Summer began. I have recently priced some boats from a couple of other manufacturers and am told I am currently looking at a late Spring/early Summer delivery if I order now.

Jim

I think they meant first in line at that dealership as they have no deposits yet for the boat I want. I will be able to get the first one Yamaha sends them once Yamaha decides to send the dealership an allotment. Who knows when that will be.

 

[Judge]

Just to circle back around….

Talked to the local Yamaha dealer. He was very understanding that I wanted to take the 275SD I foulnd at another dealer given the uncertainty and pricing increase with the ‘23’s.

I told him I wanted to do business with them and that I’d be willing to purchase and extended service plan from them. He said they offer manufacturer and third party warranties so he is going to have someone contact me with pricing abd options. But ultimately they will provide service for me.

So offering to buy an extended warranty from another dealer may be a way to get service and treated like their customer. They usually make good margin on the extended warranties.

 

[BuckInNC]

You should look beyond warranties when considering where to purchase a Scarab. Far more important is the quality and expertise of the service department. A lot of Scarab dealers are really just ATV/off road bike guys that just happened to get a Scarab franchise. And, unfortunately, their boat volume is relatively low comparatively, so their techs are real rookies when it comes to understanding how properly service and maintain them. Rotax engines, pumps, buckets, INR, etc., are just not in their wheelhouse. And you may have an issue they have never seen before. It is a real aggravation to have to return to the dealership because they did not correctly service it or, even worse, created a new problem. You may have to go a lot farther than your local dealer, but the issue with service is not nearly so much warranty or not, but whether you are back on the water with a fully functional vessel.