New 2019 R3 Delivery: POOR Workmanship

[jnn13]

Hi,
I purchased a new 2019 R3 with the 300 Volvo Penta in September and went to take delivery last weekend. The boat was blocked INSIDE the dealership all winter. In other words, the boat never saw water until last weekend. Upon our visual inspection of the engine compartment, there was about six inches of water in the bilge. Water was visibly dripping out from the engine flush drain. We were able to run about for a few minutes, but the part needs to be replaced before the boat is delivered to our marina. I think the dealer could have avoided this problem just by doing a 10 minute 'water trial'. Any thoughts on the leak? The dealer?

Second, the canvas tunneau covers are very disappointing. there are large sections along the edge of the canvas that are unfinished and fraying. One of the snaps has also come off. Finally, the buckle on one of the tension straps just under the bimini top was not installed properly which make the strap useless for keeping tension on the bimini top. Anyone else have issue with their canvas on day-1 owning their boat?

This is our first boat, and I just want to hear the group's comments on my experience. I am extremely disappointed because I feel the dealer could have avoided all these problems by taking the boat out for a few minutes prior to delivery. There also other issues that I blame on the dealer, not Cobalt. For example, I wanted a battery charger installed and the dealer installed it to the bulkhead, but forgot to connect the wires to the batteries. The dealer also did not provide the seaworthy package (including signal device and PFDs). Also, the anchor was provided, but it was not tied up to the boat. It was found in an aft storage compartment with the spool of rope next to it.

I recognize some of these issues are dealer-related, but some are not....

Thanks for you feedback and happy boating!!

Josh

[BobRae99]

Hi jnn,

Disappointing for sure. I bought a new 2016 210 last year and several of the snaps pulled out with the first few weeks use. At 7 hours, the Volvo Penta power steering pump developed a leak which ran into the bilge. At 20 hours the engine started running rough at idle and underway, under 2,500 RPM.

So my experience hasn't been perfect, but the dealer has bent over backwards to correct the problems. For the power steering pump, they ordered the part and when it arrived they hauled my boat out from the marina, trailered it into the city for repair, and put it back in the marina - all during the week when I was at work. They tidied up the bilge as well.

We all like stuff to be perfect, but I'm sure if you work with your dealer, he will sort things out. From my experience, Cobalt is an approachable company and always seems to want to make things right. That is hard to find in today's market.

Good luck. And congrats on your purchase. I have 2019 R3 heading into production next week. I should see it in 7 weeks. If you have pictures, post 'em. members love to see boat picks.

[Big Block Power]

Welcome. Congrats on the new boat.
Well the boat is water tested at the factory. Was it leaking then? Did it start leaking after sitting all off season? Either way Cobalt should have caught it. If later yes the dealer should have caught it no matter what and fixed it before delivery. The covers. That would suck to have snaps come out already. The fraying I don't think you can get away with out that. Part of sewing fabric I think. The batteries just sloppy. Getrfixed and enjoy summer. You will run into some issues. That's what warranty is for. Once you get the bugs out after this year I'm sure you will have plenty of trouble free years to come.

[sailor55330]

Had issues when I got mine. Engine coolant/power steering tank lost a seal and mixed after a few hours. Engine temp sensors failed at 14 hrs (part of a recall, but mine wasn't supposed to be affected. Gel coat spiderwebbed on the swim platform at 20 hours. The dealer did fix them, but each time was a 2 week wait--not saying anything bad about the dealer, it is what it is--repair time.

As for the snap in covers, been there, done that. Mine sucked from day one and still do. Snaps pull off while underway and some pull out. Mooring cover fixed that.

Yes, there are issues and they can sure be frustrating for the price. I keep telling myself it happens at all levels. I knew people who bought new cruising sailboats that coast 3-5 times what our boats cost and they had the same issues. Bottom line---when boating is good, it's good, when it's bad, it sucks.

[tgrace98]

So far the only issue I have had with my R7 is the Rockford Fosgate head unit was defective. I called my dealer and told them the symptoms. They called me back 10 minutes later and said Cobalt is shipping them a new one and it would be replaced right away. I was down for about 4 days and I was away from the boat the entire time.

I've only got 16.5hrs on mine so far but it has been great for me.

I do agree the issues you have had seem to be dealer related. The leaky heat exchanger sounds to me like it was left out in the cold unwinterized. With it being a closed cooled motor the only thing that will fail due to improper winterization is the heat exchanger.

[Fin]

We’ve had our new R5 Surf for a month or so. About 12 hours on it. Not a single issue.
Tiny nick in the swim step foam, replacement has been ordered and is at dealer ready to be installed at 20 hour break in service. We had about a two hour on water, nearly inch by inch walkthrough of every detail of the boat. And the dealer and Delivery Captain had done pretty much the same thing before we stepped on board.
Maybe we’ll have a problem come up but I’m very confident in Seattle Boat Co to fix any issue. They’ve been providing outstanding service for us.
Sorry you’ve had some troubles, I would not be pleased either.

ST

[Bwilford]

I take delivery of my R5s Monday and this thread makes me nervous. I haven’t bought a cobalt in11 years and this new Malibu ownership makes me cautious.

[cmattj]

I had to re read the OP post. And I wonder if it was never PDI ( pre delivery inspection) at the Dealer.

The get shipped... the trailer is either ahead or behind it’s arrival, and the team removes the rub rails and starts getting it prepped for the owner.

I wonder if it’s a mistake or forgotten and it they just rolled with the delivery when the owner came calling.

What I’m saying is that all these item could have been avoided if someone just acted like they owned for a simple hour....before the new owner arrived.
All dealers have they’re own operating systems for how the conduct this process . My belief is the next dealer experience will be better.

I’m hoping you called out the Delivering Dealer on the hap hazard experience. The belief that we must make nice for future service should not hold you back.

[jnn13]

Next up on our new boat delivery saga (originally scheduled for May 3, now lucky if we’ll see it for Memorial Day), after waiting two weeks to replace the faulty sea water engine flush valve, we launch the boat at our marina only to experience the same exact leak from the same exact part. Ok. We are still able to run the boat, so we go for a short trip up and down the river. Well, up the river.... after hardly one hour of cruising, the engine just stops with “check shift actuator” error message. We were lucky to reach a nearby dock and called the dealer and they had a mechanic come meet us where we were stranded. He was able to fix the leak and reset the EVC computer which got us back to our marina in good shape. Then, the next day, we get the same error message and the engine shuts down after just putting the transmission in gear. We couldn’t even leave the slip. Now the dealer wants to tow the boat back to his dealership, order a new part and there’s no estimate of timeframe. I’ll be lucky to have the boat for Memorial Day after scheduling an initial delivery of May 3.

Please don’t tell me, welcome to boating, or that’s how it goes. Imagine buying an S-Class Mercedes (which is the same price point as this Cobalt) and the seat is ripped or there is stitching missing (e.g., my canvas problem) or imagine the transmission breaks, engine stops, and you get stuck in the middle of the road. I don’t think anyone will say that’s just the way it is, welcome to Mercedes, or welcome to driving.

This is unacceptable from Cobalt, from Volvo, and from the dealer. I hope that representatives of those companies read these forums to get real user feedback on their products. F

Extremely disappointing.

[AsLan7]

.
Sorry to hear about your boating woes Jnn13. That would be extremely frustrating.

Hopefully the dealer will make things right for ya'.

.

[cmattj]

Geeze it’s just gets worse. Your right as unlike our cars we just pull over. This goes back to rigging as we had another member here with similar “ communication error “ wiring harness issues.
Hopefully Cobalt researches the rigger ( installer) and determines the poor procedure on refastening critical connections. Seems that someone has the hand strength of a newborn baby?!
Stay cranky and disappointed. Your allowed!

[BobRae99]

I'm sure this is very frustrating. You might want to consider writing directly to Cobalt about your experiences. I believe the company does do its best to meet customer expectations, but sometimes everyone falls short. I'm not making an excuse for them - but the dealer preps the boat while the factory makes it - so I think most of this (especially your latest issues) are on the factory.

I have an R3 in production right now and I wouldn't be happy to be kept off the water either. We have a 13-week season up here. But, it's bad when it happens to anyone (regardless of season length) on a new boat.

I hope they get this stuff sorted out quickly for you.

[jhnmdahl]

I will say this about Cobalt as a company. They found this thread on their own, and are trying to reach out to Josh to make sure every issue he has is fixed. I can't remember the last time someone tried to fix a problem for me before I told them I had it.

Josh, I forwarded Cobalt corporate your registration email address. If you don't hear from them, or prefer another means of contact, feel free to reach out to me (such as with your phone number) or contact Cobalt directly. Thanks,

John

[Ytmsn]

Next up on our new boat delivery saga (originally scheduled for May 3, now lucky if we’ll see it for Memorial Day), after waiting two weeks to replace the faulty sea water engine flush valve, we launch the boat at our marina only to experience the same exact leak from the same exact part. Ok. We are still able to run the boat, so we go for a short trip up and down the river. Well, up the river.... after hardly one hour of cruising, the engine just stops with “check shift actuator” error message. We were lucky to reach a nearby dock and called the dealer and they had a mechanic come meet us where we were stranded. He was able to fix the leak and reset the EVC computer which got us back to our marina in good shape. Then, the next day, we get the same error message and the engine shuts down after just putting the transmission in gear. We couldn’t even leave the slip. Now the dealer wants to tow the boat back to his dealership, order a new part and there’s no estimate of timeframe. I’ll be lucky to have the boat for Memorial Day after scheduling an initial delivery of May 3.

Please don’t tell me, welcome to boating, or that’s how it goes. Imagine buying an S-Class Mercedes (which is the same price point as this Cobalt) and the seat is ripped or there is stitching missing (e.g., my canvas problem) or imagine the transmission breaks, engine stops, and you get stuck in the middle of the road. I don’t think anyone will say that’s just the way it is, welcome to Mercedes, or welcome to driving.

This is unacceptable from Cobalt, from Volvo, and from the dealer. I hope that representatives of those companies read these forums to get real user feedback on their products. F

Extremely disappointing.

Josh I'm sorry to hear about your issues. In your last post you said you hope Cobalt reads the forum? Well, they do, and they are trying to track you down to get you taken care of.

Last fall several of us went to Neodosha to tour the Cobalt factory and they rolled out the red carpet for us. They monitor our site even though they never post due to company policy. And when they saw your post they started calling dealers to try to find you. But all they had, until now, is your first name.

The factory called me because I was a point of contact when we did the tour. I alerted John, who created and founded this site, and he called the rep at Cobalt, so you should be hearing directly from the factory soon.

And as John said, can ANYone say a factory has ever gone to the effort of contacting you before you called them? Pretty rare, and definitely pretty cool beans I'd say!

[Big Block Power]

Good stuff Yt!!