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Re: Needed to vent about a Grady White dealership experience
I bought my Grady from Tom last year (drove 5 hours to get there!). I've never had a better experience buying a boat, and I have bought new and used over the years from most of the major manufacturers (Sea Hunt, Key West, Boston Whaler, Scout and Grady). Mine was on consignment, and I had them fix a few minor things that were wrong with it I saw. Like any dealership, you need to ask to have exactly what you want done, and not just say "go through it".
I'm sorry you had a bad experience with them, but I don't think that is typical at all with Atlantic.
I bought my Grady from Tom last year (drove 5 hours to get there!). I've never had a better experience buying a boat, and I have bought new and used over the years from most of the major manufacturers (Sea Hunt, Key West, Boston Whaler, Scout and Grady). Mine was on consignment, and I had them fix a few minor things that were wrong with it I saw. Like any dealership, you need to ask to have exactly what you want done, and not just say "go through it".
I'm sorry you had a bad experience with them, but I don't think that is typical at all with Atlantic.
Re: Needed to vent about a Grady White dealership experience
I live in NC and have not heard anything negative about Atlantic. But I guess that doesn't mean much. This is an example of why I do pretty much all the work on my Grady. I agree with the previous poster that you probably need to be very specific in what you are having done. The receipt indicated all they did was check the fuel water separator. That should probably have prompted a follow up - e.g. I would like you all to pump out several liters of gas from that tank to elimate the possibility of water in that tank. Sorry you had this happen! The bright side: at least it was not a blown motor. Enjoy the summer and the Grady.
I live in NC and have not heard anything negative about Atlantic. But I guess that doesn't mean much. This is an example of why I do pretty much all the work on my Grady. I agree with the previous poster that you probably need to be very specific in what you are having done. The receipt indicated all they did was check the fuel water separator. That should probably have prompted a follow up - e.g. I would like you all to pump out several liters of gas from that tank to elimate the possibility of water in that tank. Sorry you had this happen! The bright side: at least it was not a blown motor. Enjoy the summer and the Grady.
Re: Needed to vent about a Grady White dealership experience
thanks for the replies yes i should have probably asked them to do more but i trusted them in making the decision on fixing the boat as I'm not a master mech and they are. If your not in the position of having the issue you really don't think much of how to fix it so it didnt come to mind of asking them to syphon out some gas when it is their job to ask me here are your options just check the water sep, drain the tanks or tank out the aux tank.etc. for the regular joe they don't know any better. i just feel like they should have at least pumped some gas with the switch on the aux tank by pumping the bulb. They didn't do that or else they would have found water. I mean if i had to tell them exactly what to do then they wouldn't have to do any diagnostics anymore and i would be fixing my own boats.
thanks for the replies yes i should have probably asked them to do more but i trusted them in making the decision on fixing the boat as I'm not a master mech and they are. If your not in the position of having the issue you really don't think much of how to fix it so it didnt come to mind of asking them to syphon out some gas when it is their job to ask me here are your options just check the water sep, drain the tanks or tank out the aux tank.etc. for the regular joe they don't know any better. i just feel like they should have at least pumped some gas with the switch on the aux tank by pumping the bulb. They didn't do that or else they would have found water. I mean if i had to tell them exactly what to do then they wouldn't have to do any diagnostics anymore and i would be fixing my own boats.
Re: Needed to vent about a Grady White dealership experience
you were really trusting human nature. i would have avoided all unnecessary work until it got home and then given the work to a local place with whom you wanted to build a relationship. i am sure they would have been easier to get satisfaction from.
also i would have confirmed any work i asked a dealer to do in writing. email is great and leaves no wiggle room.
best case scenario is that your verbal instructiosn got garbled between the guy you spoke to and whoever did the work.
you were really trusting human nature. i would have avoided all unnecessary work until it got home and then given the work to a local place with whom you wanted to build a relationship. i am sure they would have been easier to get satisfaction from.
also i would have confirmed any work i asked a dealer to do in writing. email is great and leaves no wiggle room.
best case scenario is that your verbal instructiosn got garbled between the guy you spoke to and whoever did the work.
Re: Needed to vent about a Grady White dealership experience
not to defend anyone, but it may depend on how "testing for water" was done. if they did pull the fuel line and draw fuel out, 1 gallon of water would have been fairly dispersed on the bottom of a big tank and may have been below the pickup line. once you started bouncing around with the boat, the water would have mixed and run thru the engine (although new water separator filters should have helped some). good luck with the new boat tho. ron
not to defend anyone, but it may depend on how "testing for water" was done. if they did pull the fuel line and draw fuel out, 1 gallon of water would have been fairly dispersed on the bottom of a big tank and may have been below the pickup line. once you started bouncing around with the boat, the water would have mixed and run thru the engine (although new water separator filters should have helped some). good luck with the new boat tho. ron
Re: Needed to vent about a Grady White dealership experience
I bought my used Sailfish in 2006 from a dealer I had been going to since the '80's for all kinds of repairs from chasing electric issues to complete rebuilds on 2 different motors. Great dealer.
They did a lot of maintenance prior to my taking delivery.
2nd time I had it out I had a fuel water problem. Had the tanks pumped and cleaned by a fuel service and he got nearly 20 gals of water out of the main and 5 gals out of the aux.
Turned out to be failed o rings in the self venting fills.
The boat had been sitting outside in s FL for a long time and collected the water.
I changed the fills to standard fill and separate vent and never had another problem.
I chalked it up to buying a used boat. We made it thru the sea trial and 1 trip before the filters got fouled.
Your case is different because you specified that they check for water in the fuel and technically they did but I'd be all over them for not being more thorough.
I bought my used Sailfish in 2006 from a dealer I had been going to since the '80's for all kinds of repairs from chasing electric issues to complete rebuilds on 2 different motors. Great dealer.
They did a lot of maintenance prior to my taking delivery.
2nd time I had it out I had a fuel water problem. Had the tanks pumped and cleaned by a fuel service and he got nearly 20 gals of water out of the main and 5 gals out of the aux.
Turned out to be failed o rings in the self venting fills.
The boat had been sitting outside in s FL for a long time and collected the water.
I changed the fills to standard fill and separate vent and never had another problem.
I chalked it up to buying a used boat. We made it thru the sea trial and 1 trip before the filters got fouled.
Your case is different because you specified that they check for water in the fuel and technically they did but I'd be all over them for not being more thorough.
Re: Needed to vent about a Grady White dealership experience
I had 2 bad dealers back in 1996. One gave me the boat back with power steering hose not attached. I could have crashed it. The hose was in the bilge and you could see the steering fluid all over. I quit this Wellcraft in 1996. Well now in 2012 December I got boat fever and buy a used 1994 Gulfstream with two Yamaha 150's with only 200 hours. I jumped on this and buy it. So here is the problem. You can see that the fuel lines look new and maybe some work was done,but not by previous boat owner from 2002 to 2012. Well I went for my first fishing trip and both engines shut down. The 2 fuel filters were clogged with water. Luckily I not 20 miles out in the Gulfstream for the Sea Tow would be more than $750. Sure I not do a survey when purchased. But I went over the whole boat.assume the Yamaha 4 strokes were good,owner gave me receipts of all updates like harmonic balance when it under warranty. So I had water sucked into both fuel separators on both engines and assumed it was just a little water. So for emergency next time I carry 2 fuel filters and gas filter wrench because I not getting stuck for a tow. Well the next time I had the main tank filled with gas but it was odd that it was on full,it overflowed. But the aux tank took the full 56 gallons. I thought it was my mistake in checking my fuel gauges. So I use the boat and never realized the problem. So after a few trips out the engines went to stall again. I shut them off right away because I not want water in my engines. But lo and behold, here is what I discovered. The problem is that someone changed the fuel lines as I can see they are newer . But who did this? The fuel hoses were crossed on the new install whenever,so when I thought the main tank was full, I was really using the aux tank. Naturally the aux tank ran dry at 56 gallons, but the fuel gauge showed it was full. So when you think the main tank ran out of gas,you flip tank switch and it does show Aux is empty. So I figured out the gauges were correct. The fuel hoses were hooked up to the wrong side of the fuel valves or the labels are wrong. A major screw up I have not ever seen posted on this site. So now when fuel valve is turned to Aux, the opposite applies,Aux means main tank, main tank means Aux. so no one ever figured this out. What happen is when I got the boat I was running the main 96 gallon tank,but actually was using gas from the 56 gallon aux tank so when it went empty,it sucked up the gas on the bottom. What a mess. I just left the lines crossed. It would cost more to do it right and do you think the dealer will believe me. I wonder if anyone else had this problem. I know that you do not run tanks dry or you will suck up the water and debris on the bottom from previous posts.
I had 2 bad dealers back in 1996. One gave me the boat back with power steering hose not attached. I could have crashed it. The hose was in the bilge and you could see the steering fluid all over. I quit this Wellcraft in 1996. Well now in 2012 December I got boat fever and buy a used 1994 Gulfstream with two Yamaha 150's with only 200 hours. I jumped on this and buy it. So here is the problem. You can see that the fuel lines look new and maybe some work was done,but not by previous boat owner from 2002 to 2012. Well I went for my first fishing trip and both engines shut down. The 2 fuel filters were clogged with water. Luckily I not 20 miles out in the Gulfstream for the Sea Tow would be more than $750. Sure I not do a survey when purchased. But I went over the whole boat.assume the Yamaha 4 strokes were good,owner gave me receipts of all updates like harmonic balance when it under warranty. So I had water sucked into both fuel separators on both engines and assumed it was just a little water. So for emergency next time I carry 2 fuel filters and gas filter wrench because I not getting stuck for a tow. Well the next time I had the main tank filled with gas but it was odd that it was on full,it overflowed. But the aux tank took the full 56 gallons. I thought it was my mistake in checking my fuel gauges. So I use the boat and never realized the problem. So after a few trips out the engines went to stall again. I shut them off right away because I not want water in my engines. But lo and behold, here is what I discovered. The problem is that someone changed the fuel lines as I can see they are newer . But who did this? The fuel hoses were crossed on the new install whenever,so when I thought the main tank was full, I was really using the aux tank. Naturally the aux tank ran dry at 56 gallons, but the fuel gauge showed it was full. So when you think the main tank ran out of gas,you flip tank switch and it does show Aux is empty. So I figured out the gauges were correct. The fuel hoses were hooked up to the wrong side of the fuel valves or the labels are wrong. A major screw up I have not ever seen posted on this site. So now when fuel valve is turned to Aux, the opposite applies,Aux means main tank, main tank means Aux. so no one ever figured this out. What happen is when I got the boat I was running the main 96 gallon tank,but actually was using gas from the 56 gallon aux tank so when it went empty,it sucked up the gas on the bottom. What a mess. I just left the lines crossed. It would cost more to do it right and do you think the dealer will believe me. I wonder if anyone else had this problem. I know that you do not run tanks dry or you will suck up the water and debris on the bottom from previous posts.
Re: Needed to vent about a Grady White dealership experience
What makes you think a dealer did the work on the fuel lines? That may have been a previous owner replacing all the lines and he hooked them up backwards. I replaced all fuel lines and vro lines on my Grady, so it is quite possible that the slack replacement job was done by an owner. I took my time and did mine right.
I bet this would be an easy fix if you do a little research.
What makes you think a dealer did the work on the fuel lines? That may have been a previous owner replacing all the lines and he hooked them up backwards. I replaced all fuel lines and vro lines on my Grady, so it is quite possible that the slack replacement job was done by an owner. I took my time and did mine right.
I bet this would be an easy fix if you do a little research.Re: Needed to vent about a Grady White dealership experience
Why not just switch the fuel lines at the selector block???
Why not just switch the fuel lines at the selector block???
Re: Needed to vent about a Grady White dealership experience
Exactly. Should be easy fix with some investigating and line swapping.
Exactly. Should be easy fix with some investigating and line swapping.