Just made a call to my Dad about Bayliner boats and this story.
He also says the story seems to have a lot of holes in it. (sorry, pun intended) He couldn't believe another dealer could be as bad as the story related.
Back in the early 80's when he was selling, Bayliners were considered more of an entry level boat. The majority of his customers were first time buyers. He also says the smaller outboard boats were pretty good with very few problems, but the larger more expensive boats, especially I/O's, seem to have more than their share. Then again, when spending more dollars, the customers expect way more.
Also he only had trouble collecting on warranty repairs during the last few months that he was selling them, mainly because he quit ordering more boats to sell.
The line about Bayliner management was true, but it had to do with a gel coat problem on a cheaper boat. He says the factory rep that they sent was a real ass. Usually Bayliner stood behind their product 100%.
His main reason to quit Bayliner was that his other boat lines were more profitable.
See the trouble you can get into when relying on poor memory.
Sorry that I made Bayliner to sound worse than they are.
He says they still use them for fishing reefs, though.
