Cobaltchat.com

Hi all,

I figured I would reach out here and solicit input from guys who are as passionate about cobalt boats as I am. Let me start out by saying this R5 isn’t my first cobalt and I hope it’s not my last. I wear cobalt shirts, drink cobalt wine, hell I even have cobalt stickers on my truck. Needless to say I’m a complete cobalt fan boy and that is why this situation I am in is so frustrating. Last year I bought a 2021 R5 I think it was probably the best day of my life when I picked it up but since the day I picked it up it has constantly been back to the dealership for repairs.
- Safety lanyard had a recall on it as it was self ejecting (boat died on the busiest spot on our lake almost got me an in accident)
- the mounts on both sides of the Bimini top completely backed themselves out (dealership spidered my fiberglass when fixing the mounts then I needed glass work
-several of the screws in some of the seats were to long causing people to get poked in the rear when they sat down put small holes in my upholstery.
-the plate around the glass cockpit is warped
-several of the speakers have screws that are stripped out
-the strike plate on the door to the head had the screws stripped out (waiting for the dealership to fix this)
-the cooler that is built into the seat behind the driver seat fell out of the fiberglass mold this has happened three times every time the dealer “fixes it” it drops out a week or two later. (I have concluded it can’t be fixed as you would have to separate the hill and have glass work done from the bottom to give it the rigidity required to hold it in place (currently the cooler is sitting at the bottom of my hull)
It seems like every time I get on the boat there is a new piece of hardware laying on the flooring or something else to be discovered. I feel like a broken record and I hate calling the dealership every time something is wrong but I can’t take it. It seems unfair that I have paid 150k for a vessel that seems to be a lemon. I hate even using that term in the same paragraph as cobalt because I know they build their boats to the highest standards, I am just out of ideas and don’t know what to do anymore! Does anyone have any advice for me?

Is the dealer actually fixing anything or just bandaid's?.... I would rule out a bad dealer first, unfortunately my experience with two Cobalt dealers is they only care about the sale....My next step if I was you would be to see if you can choose who makes the repairs, if glass work, take direct to someone you trust, upholstery, someone you trust, etc. with no impact to the warranty, your local dealer pays the bill and handles getting paid from Cobalt.

If they can't fix the issue correctly, they need to find someone who can (maybe with your help), and pay them to do it.

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I've certainly seen more of these type of posts in the last few years regarding Cobalt quality a1988. Hoping your experience is the exception rather than the rule but unfortunately the blame it on bu mantra may be a reality. Keep us posted.

afred -- same here. I have a list of things too that my dealer seems to be too busy to fix. I have been fixing everything myself that doesn't need parts ordered for, its kind of BS and its really wearing on us. I even tried to reach out to Cobalt themselves for little things with either no response or telling me everything needs to go thru the dealership. Its like they are just trying to blow us off until our warranty runs out. It wasnt like this before Malibu got ahold of them. I can guarantee with the treatment we have received I will not be throwing them anymore money for anymore new boats.

I would agree with lifelongbtr, the dealer makes all the difference. Also I think the amount of "lemons" produced in every company has probably gone up in the 20-21 and even 22 era with shortages etc... We took delivery of our 22 R8S in march we have about 40 hrs on her so far and no problems as of yet.

Sad to hear but agree that Cobalt has gone down hill ever since the acquisition by Malibu. Like every big company its all about margins and profits and engineering and quality takes a back seat to the bottom line. I have a 2021 R5 as well but can't say I have experienced any of the issues that you state above. Based on my HIN the boat was built in Sept 2020 and the only defect I have come across so far is the illumination lighting on the switch panels which has been an issue since first implemented. Hope everything gets addressed but those SeaRay LX's are looking pretty nice.