Dilemna! Need advice!!

[BadbluSi]

Hey guys, I need some advice from all of you more experienced boat owners. I recently bought my first boat a 2000 Supra Santera on the 2nd of July. Since then Ive had it on the water for literally 6 days!! The first issue was after the first weekend when we noticed a visible trail of fuel behind the boat. The dealership found the issue and the recalled fuel canister part was ordered and replaced around a week later. First water test after that the water pump took a crap and again another part had to be ordered and replaced. They ended up having it for almost 3 weeks, and I finally got the boat back last friday. We got it out and didnt even have it out but a few hours and had an awful hesitation at speed and then oil psi spikes and irratic rpm's. So again it has to go into the shop, and worse yet I couldnt even get across the lake and it DIED, this time no restarting and I was stuck!! Now since I just bought the boat I still have part of the 45 day window in which i can basically return the boat and void the contract and loan. I wanted to get your advice to see wether you think I have a bad egg or I should stick it out and see if it gets fixed properly this time??



Boat 2000 Supra Santera has 650 hours

[warek1814]

Well a boat that keeps breaking will sure suck the fun out of things. The boat may have sat up for a while and will need small things here and there replaced. It may hundred dollar you to deth though. If it were me that boat would be going back. When you buy a used boat I would water test it for a couple hours. If they won't do it move on to the next one. What did you pay for this ride if you don't mind sharing? You have any pics? If it is a real clean boat and you got it for a good price it may be worth sticking it out and dealing with the little things that are going wrong for now.

[BadbluSi]

They had it listed for 21,000 and I ended up getting it out the door for 17,500. I need to know how to post pics and I can show you what it looks like! I added a pic in my profile for right now till i figure out how to post pics!

[warek1814]

When posting scroll down below preview post. there will be a box that says manage attachments. click on it. Price sounds fair if the boat is clean. I would not say made out like a bandit though. It looks clean in the pic how is the interior?

[BadbluSi]

Interior is really clean. Has a small place in one of the cushions where the seam is letting loose but other than that its in good shape! I also really like the wrap around bench seat, gives us a ton of interior room!

[firstdogriver]

Here is a thought. If all the work so far has been covered under a warranty and it has not cost you any additional money. In my mind you are sitting good. You've had a lot of work done and new parts. If you have additional time left on the warranty I would get that boat out on the water and find all the other issues and have them taken care of.

[BadbluSi]

Very true! I guess just the frustration and lost time is getting to me right now! This is also my first boat, always dreamed of owning one and hoped for a bit longer honeymoon time. And if there was a time to have the worst happen it would be when they have to pay for it.

[BadbluSi]

Well I just heard from the dealership and it was the fuel pump that crapped out!! And I guess that all the problems are related, just going out in order. Why wouldn't they just fix the damn things if they knew there was a chance of having problems anyway!!?? Ahhhh frustrating

[tre]

Is there another dealer in your area? Yes the boat has had problems, but the dealer should not take 3 weeks to replace a water pump. They should have something like that in stock and even if they did not, there should be no problem getting the part over night. Even the fual pump is easy to replace and wasy to get one on the Internet if they don't have one in stock. They seem to be the real issue to me. It also makes me wonder if they screwed up the fuel pump wiring or something else with the fuel pump when they did the recall. That was a known issue where they did have to order a specific "kit" to fix it.

[BadbluSi]

I agree Tre, I'm seriously questioning the dealer at this point! And if one part that's replaced is supposedly higher volume wouldn't common sense say that the subsequent related parts are doomed and should be replaced as a cautionary move?! I'm only stayin with the current dealer bc of it being under limited warranty and it's on their dime!

[rludtke]

Whenever one purchase a used vehicle (in my professional experience it was client owned airplanes), one will spend many months chasing the work and / or decisions of the previous owner.

I don't know how many times I found myself in this position as the mechanic of a wealthy client whom I have just advised them on the purchase a very expensive, and supposedly pristine collectable airplane. I began to advise my clients of this very phenomena, and would recomend them to budget extra dollars for it.

No matter what, you will spend valuable time and money fixing your newly purchased "turn-key" boat. Don't beat yourself up, as it doesn't matter how much you search, or how much you spend, or how much you labor over the desicion to buy, the odds are you will find yourself chasing gremlins. Once over the initial pain, you will probably experience good service. It's just one of those "facts" of life that the previous owner/mechanic simply will not live up to your standards. ;)