An interesting problem

[nickmull]

Folks,

23 days ago I responded to an add in boattrader.com for a 1998 seadoo sportster 1800. The add was from bayview marina in Celina Ohio, they are a seadoo dealer. The add stated the boat was in pristine shape and was powered by twin 110HP Rotax motors.
Great! exactly what I was looking for! I drive about 170 miles to the dealer. We made a deal on the boat. I wrote a check and paid for it in full. The Bill of sale from the dealer stated it was a twin 110 HP rotax motors as well.

There were some issues with things that needed repaired before I left with the boat and the salesman guranteed they had been fixed while I was waiting.
They had not been fixed. I got the boat out on Lake Erie and the exhaust manifold let loose. The bolts were not the correct ones in it and someone had used a silicone sealent instead of a gasket to attemp to rig it enough to get it out of there. As well as replacing the speed sensor broken bolts and stud and gasket.

I received the title yesterday in tha mail. The regestration had not been transferred as promised so I went to the license bureau to get the regestration taken care of and looked at the title and about had a heart attack! lol

The boat is equipped with twin 717 85 HP motors, not 110 HP 787 motors. I called 2 other seadoo dealers as well as the folks who own seadoo and verified the hull ID numbers as well as the engine numbers and yes, they are 85 HP not 110's.
I called the dealer where I purchassed the boat and told them there was a problem. The owners wife called me back and told me the title was in error. That if the motors said 717 on them they were 110 HP and they would fix the title for me. This shows the intent of fraud when the 717 is a 85HP motor. I informed them that I had already verified the information and they were now trying to falsify a title.

The dealership called me again today and offered me my money back less the $585 in repairs, fuel and oil that I had made filling an empty tank of gas and oil, so low that the alarm was going off! lol Not to mention the 7hrs each round trip to thier location.

Mighty generous of them to have me take a $585 loss plus a total of 14hrs of driving to let them off of the hook for what they did and got caught at.

I came to find out that the 1998 sportster 1800 was only offered in a twin 85HP configuration. Any suggestions on this other than calling in the local law enforcement and sending this to the prosecuter? There is no way I believe that a seadoo dealer is going to "accidently" do this.

Nick Mullet
330-674-3244
Millersburg, Ohio 44654

 

[timmyboy76]

Sounds like the same people I emailed about a month ago, rip'n around on ebay, they said it was the 800cc motors, but they werent, think I still have their response, but.....F-them..BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU...

 

[Mirage]

Take them to court, or at least threaten to, you might have even been better off if you had let them fix the title then nail'em!!!

 

[Nate Surveyor]

To play the devil's advocate, maybe the engines were not stock. I say, get somebody you really know and trust, who really knows boats to get you pics of the ser nums on the engines. As matter of fact, mine is 85 hp. It has a tag on it that says it is 717.xx cc. It is on the front of the motor. You should be able to find it yourself, and clean it off with wd40 enough to read it.

So, anyway, I'd make real sure of myself, before I put it to 'em!

(BTW, if they really did try the stunt it appears they tried, I say you have an obligation to nail them)

I mean, some folks will not stop, until they meet enough resistance!

Best Luck!

Nate

 

[nickmull]

Nate,

I found the plate and they are 717 motors. I checked that as soon as I got wind of what had happened.

Nick

 

[Nate Surveyor]

OK...

I now recommend that you do two things.

Check them for deep pockets (see to it they can afford to take care of you).

Have a local law firm draft a letter, outlining some of the problems, and an amount of $ to pay you, and you will go away.

My real beef with this kind of thing, is IF you had not caught it for a yr. and forgot about it, they would go on and screw somebody else.

So, I say, you have an obligation to play bump in the road, for the good of the general public.

Best of luck!

Nate

 

[robin savell lloyd]

Sound like a bad rap. I would ask for some of my money back and use the boat in the mean time if you are happy with the the performance I think I would keep it if it does as you were expecting it to do as the 717 is a litle less hp but it seems to be well known for its long life and less maintenance than the 787. you probbly could take them to court and get a full refund for maybe only the price paid for the boat and you will even have more time invested into this problem sory that I do not have a beter answer. :cheers:

 

[derek]

motors are not interchangable. there is no way someone could have removed 787's and replaced with 717's. not without major fiberglass butchery, followed by re-wiring the whole boat, and replacing the MPEM box which costs more than a motor to buy.