[dudders]

Gidday guys,
I purchased an SX18 that was just 6 months old with less than 35hrs on it.
I had a few niggling little problems with it - like nav lights not working, oil and temp gauges looking like they were wired opposite etc. Nothing major just annoying little things. And also little air bubbles in the hull.
I fired off an email to Stewart Mitchell and here is his reply:

Mr. Dudfield,

Thank you for inquiring with Mariah Boats. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the issues you brought up in the e-mail below are only covered under the terms of our warranty for the original owner of the boat. There may be other warranty's associated with your boat (possibly from the dealership or through Mercruiser), but our company's warranty on your boat have expired. You should inquire where you have scheduled a service appointment for more information. Thank you for your understanding.

Sincerely,

Stewart Mitchell
Customer Service
Sea Fox and Mariah Boat Co.
843.761.6090 Extension 33


So much for the warranty they claim to give eh? Not worth s*%t
Make sure you tell anyone who is contemplating buying a newish second hand one.

[ShabahZ250]

Wow, sorry to hear that! I would have thought they would have stood behind their product a little more.

[Straad]

yea,

new Mariah isnt the same as old Mariah

really sorry bout your luck, damn

[MariahMan]

Sorry to hear that Tony. I would have expected SeaFox to step up and at least cover the bubbles in the hull as they claim to have a "Liftetime Hull Warranty." Mr. Renken (erenken), co-owner of SeaFox boats registered as a user here not to long ago so maybe he'd like to chime in? I haven't seen him in the visitor logs since he first registered so i doubt he will.

Again sorry to here your trouble with SeaFox. I guess the new Mariahs really are not like the old ones.

[boxcar]

I would guess that if pressed, SeaFox Mariah would have to take care of the gel coat issues as warranted. There are probably paper work issues with the lifetime warranty that would have to be ironed out. They will have to meet their obligations in that respect. As far as the gauges, if they are Faria they should be lifetime warranty for the parts at least and are easy to change in most instances saying it is the gauges themselves and not a wiring problem.

I think we are back to where one almost always lands with warranty type work. It usually comes down to a relationship with the dealer who sold the boat. Press the issue with SeaFox and they should take care of the gel coat.

[dudders]

thanks for your understanding and comments guys. Yeah sounds like the old Mariahs **** all over the new ones. Would be real nice if Mr Renker did reply to this email, cause he is getting a bunch of bad mail floating around forums because of this. And we all know its dedicated boaters that join and read this stuff.
Thanks again guys.

[180diablo]

Hmm, well its a shame, but I guess if thats how their (new?) policy is regarding first and second ownership, then there really isnt much you can do but get it fixed.

I know being the parts biz, warrantys for shocks, engines etc are only tied to the original "parts purchaser" and it cannot be transferred to a possible second owner.

The hull is a kicker .. however the electronics and the other minor things, I would just start working on it and figuring out where the problems lie. There is quite a few knowledgeable people on this site that should be able to help you out.

Whenever possible, post some photos...

[dudders]

Yeah its a bummer, I can kind of see their side of it - but being LESS than a year old - Geez its harsh.
I tried to take the nav lights off the front to check if it was the globes but couldnt budge the whole unit, didnt want to force it so just left it alone. There was a couple of screws holding it down which of course I took off but the rest wouldnt come. The wiring "seemed" to be ok but again when it got to the switch there was no way I could see if the wires were in or corroded as you couldnt see from under the dash.
With the bilge pump, its again almost impossible to even see it let alone get to the damn thing. So will just have to bite the bullet and let the mechanic do it.
I will talk to the Sales manager and see if he will come to the party as far as the gel coat bubbles are concerned. Will keep my fingers crossed and will let you all know the outcome of the whole deal when its done (Late Sept).
Thanks again guys.

[dudders]

Surprise Surprise, I took the boat in a few weeks ago to get the Blower and bilge pump looked at (both were popping the overload switches) and also got the nav lights fixed and a couple of little bubbles in the hull fixed. Also one really funny thing that required attention was the fact that when I started the motor the temperature came up immediately but the oil pressure took ages to reach operating level. I thought the wiring had been accidentally switched around at the factory (as this had been happening since I bought the boat.)

Well the brilliant guys at Hayway Marine repaired all said items above and put it all on warranty...................

Both blower and bilge pump were siezed !!!

And as I suspected the wiring WAS swapped around

They are now no longer dealers for Mariah which is a real pity cause the closest we now have is on the other side of the country (a bit far to tow !!!).
But still a great result at the end of the day. And here I was mortgaged the house already to pay the bill.

[WetWilly]

Hi dudders,

Glad to here the great news!!

Sounds like you got a great team in your corner at Hayway Marine.

It's always refreshing to know the "little guy" comes out on top every now and then.

Now you can really enjoy your SX18!

Gi'day,
WetWilly