I'm back and need help with some warranty advice!!!!!!!!

[EricU]

I know you are a great dealer Dom and I have a lot of respect for what you contribute to the forum, but I respectfully disagree. I have owned just about every brand under the sun in the last 20+ years. I have had major issues with 3 new boats, none of them being Tige's. One was a MC, one a Nautique and one was a Ski Challenger(US Marine/Bayliner Product). All were bought new and all developed major issues with components from a supplier(transmission, engine, etc.) Never once did I need to deal with the supplier. I dealt with the manufacturer of the boat and the dealership that represented that brand. Thats the way it should be. I am buy a Tige boat, not a PCM Engine or wet sounds speakers, or Clarion Stereo, or Tsunami pumps. A large part of these boats is not actually made by Tige(heck most of it) its brought in from outside suppliers and simply installed. If you are telling us that enforcing warranty on each supplier is out responsibility as the owner then owning a boat with a warranty would be a full time job. Most people don't even know who makes 75% of the vender parts in their boat, how are they supposed to track down the company to get warranty.

I fully agree. He bought and paid for a "Tige", he did not buy a Factory Five kit car equivalent.

Also, I currently own a Tige because of the way my local dealer takes care of me, and I bought my Tige used. My dealer use to handle the service department for Natique, back when I bought a brand new '03 Natique Super Team Air. I never had any major problems with the boat, but the service department treated me so well that when I found out that they became a Tige dealer, that is what I went out and got. I did have a problem with my current Tige that I purchased used in another state and purchased along with it an extended warranty. When I needed some warranty work, my local dealer took care of it if as I had bought the boat new from them. (Go CMS in NorCal!!!!) And when I do buy another new boat, it will be from them and I will expect them to back it up.

No, Tige should not have to send in a mobile mechanic, but they should arrange to service and repair the boat at the nearest dealer.

[IDBoating]

I think what Dom is trying to say is that, legally speaking, your engine warranty is with the engine manufacturer. The paperwork clearly spells this out. When you buy a new boat there's even a separate warranty registration card from the engine manufacturer for you to send in. You have a separate legal relationship with the engine manufacturer with its own terms, its own duration, etc. For example, you might get a one year warranty on the overall boat but a three-year/hour number warranty on the engine.

(BTW, this is exactly how my "Cummins engine that came wrapped in a Dodge truck" worked. The overall truck had a 3-36K warranty, but the engine had a separate 5-100K warranty with Cummins.)

That said, I suspect in most cases Tige and your dealer are your primary point of interface for warranty issues. You as the owner don't know or care how it's all sorted out behind the curtain, just that it gets done. It gets more complicated when you don't have a Tige dealer nearby.

I was in exactly this situation - a PCM transmission problem in my still-warranted (both of them!) Tige boat, with no local dealer. Since Tige didn't have a dealer in the area, and since the part in question wasn't warranted by them anyway, I didn't figure it would improve things to stick Tige in the middle of it. So I dealt directly with PCM since I knew I had a warranty relationship with them. I called PCM, had them approve a local PCM shop (the Nautique dealer) to do the work, and took the boat there. PCM shipped a new transmission straight to the shop. They exchanged it and sent the old one back to PCM for analysis and (I presume) refurbishment. I got my boat back and the only cost or paperwork I ever saw was for ~$40 in extra labor I had them do while they had everything disassembled anyway.

Summing up: The engine (and in my case, the whole drivetrain) does indeed have a separate warranty. Tige may in some cases play the middleman for warranted engine work, but if you're not working with a Tige dealer it seems to me they would just complicate the communications. However, given the history of this particular situation, this may be one of those cases where they need to jump in and put out the fire. I hope it gets resolved and we soon read of another thrilled Tige owner!

[Ewok]

The issue seems to be he's out of Tige dealer range. Should Tige be expected to send in a mobile mechanic?

The issue to me seems to be getting the advice to just keep running it even though the tranny is essentially going dry every outing. I can see from PCM's perspective not being too happy about that. Does PCM's warranty necessarily cover every bit of bad advice that every PCM shop may give?

I agree with this post. Wallacmc, do you have any documentation from the mechanic who gave you the advice to keep topping off the fluid and drive the boat? Is that dealer or mechanic willing to make a written statement on your behalf in case there is no documentation? Sounds like PCM does not approve of you continuting to use the boat with the fluid loss issue. This situation might be cleared up if that mechanic can talk to PCM and get you cleared from your "liability" in this mess. Hopefully you can get it sorted out this way and get the actual problem fixed by next spring.

[dom w. forte]

As a dealer I tottally agree with the statements about the warranty, what I was refering to is that we as dealers are the first line of action and it is our responsebilty to diagnoses properly and go to bat for what ever the problem is, all items on the boats are covered by the boat manufacturer except the engines, that is a seperate warranty, your stuck in a bad spot because of the dealer issue, so what I was refering to is the battle is with PCM and Tige wouldnt have much clout trying to help at this point until all avenues are exhausted through normal channels, thats why I would get all my documentation of everything that happened and all records of warranty work done thus far and speak dirrectly to PCM warranty department if you cant get the dealer to solve the problem.

[EricU]

As a dealer I tottally agree with the statements about the warranty, what I was refering to is that we as dealers are the first line of action and it is our responsebilty to diagnoses properly and go to bat for what ever the problem is, all items on the boats are covered by the boat manufacturer except the engines, that is a seperate warranty, your stuck in a bad spot because of the dealer issue, so what I was refering to is the battle is with PCM and Tige wouldnt have much clout trying to help at this point until all avenues are exhausted through normal channels, thats why I would get all my documentation of everything that happened and all records of warranty work done thus far and speak dirrectly to PCM warranty department if you cant get the dealer to solve the problem.

And that is why I will stick with my current dealer (as long as he doesn't go only Balyliner!!) when I purchase my next boat. It is his service and knowledge that I will pay for, but spending over a $100k on a toy, I will expect a certain level of service as to compared to back when we were buying used jet boats and V-drive flat bottoms that were ten years old and then modding them.

Hope all turns out for the OP.

[wallacmc]

Ewok,

I wish I would have had the experience at the time to know that topping off the tranny regularly wasn't a good idea. However, there is no way that is the underlying issue, and this is what has me so chapped. The underlying issue is a misalignment problem, evidently. And, this issue has been attempted to be fixed twice, and the reality is that it was never fixed even for one day. There is one PCM shop in Cincinnati, but they are the guys that attempted the second fix. And unfortunately, they will not work on my boat anymore because I got into a fight with them over labor on the second fix. Also, they are the kings of inboards in Cincinnati, don't need my positive opinion of them, and have no incentive to go to bat for me on a warranty issue.

[talltigeguy]

Best wishes Wallacmc on getting this resolved. I have to agree with you that since there is clear documentation that the problem began under warranty, then there should be some goodwill on PCM's part. I can see them being upset that you got some bad advice to keep topping the tranny fluid off.

It seems to me that when Tige left Marine Power, we saw a lot of threads where the warranty service suddenly got crappy from MP. I think we are also seeing the same thing here.

[dom w. forte]

If its under warranty why were they charging you at all, that doesnt make sense and allso you said alignment problem what exactly did they attempt to do?

[dom w. forte]

Best wishes Wallacmc on getting this resolved. I have to agree with you that since there is clear documentation that the problem began under warranty, then there should be some goodwill on PCM's part. I can see them being upset that you got some bad advice to keep topping the tranny fluid off.

It seems to me that when Tige left Marine Power, we saw a lot of threads where the warranty service suddenly got crappy from MP. I think we are also seeing the same thing here.

We to this day have never had a problem with MP and warranty , long after the PCM were in the Tiges, who had problems just curious?

[talltigeguy]

We to this day have never had a problem with MP and warranty , long after the PCM were in the Tiges, who had problems just curious?

A friend of mine did, who does not post on here. His MP engine failed with 150 hours. blew a hole in the piston. I did a quick search, and found nothing objective, but wasn't going to spend all night on it either. My perception may be all screwed up since there was 1 that was close to me...wouldn't be the first time.