deck wood on crestliner

[brabham 64]

ok i found a paper from the purchase paperwork for my 1997 20' Crestliner! The paper was from GREENWOOD FOREST PRODUCTS. It stated that the wood on the boat was covered by a lifetime warranty on rot. Well I called the company because the wood is roten and they told me that the company was sold around 2000 and that all the prior products/warrantys would have to be transfered to the previous owner of the company! Well I contacted him and he told me that Crestliner put alot of different companies plywood on the deck! But they would simply put the Greenwood Forest warranty paper in the paper work because they had the best warranty. He told me to look for the company stamp on the bottom of the wood! Well I will pull the wood off in a few days.

But my question is.

Does anybody know if Crestliner really did this? Or is the guy just pulling my leg hoping that the stamps have worn off and he dont have to replace the deck?
Or does anybody know another way I can be for sure that it is or is not a Greenwood forest product?
Could I track it through the vin?

Any help would be great.


Thanks,

[jimrs]

Welcome to the real world. This is the new way that American companies survive in today's world. I don't care if they are making cars, boats, planes, shoes, or candy bars. They don't accept blame on anything, they want you to have to get a lawyer and take them to court.

There is not a wood product made that will not rot if 1. it gets wet, 2. it is close to water, or ground. They used to treat wood and it would last 20 years but the new treatment that they use will not hold up for but a few years. And most of them use marine plywood which by my understanding is not treated but better quality and better glues. If it gets wet and stays wet it will rot.

I hope that they come through for you but I doubt that they will accept responsibility for it rotting. Welcome to the new and improved America. But if they do then someone at the company still remembers what it's like to actually run a company and stand behind their products.

[GXPWeasel]

I agree with jimrs here. Good luck on getting them to replace anything. My guess is he is either giving you the run around, and isn't going to replace anything for anyone, or is telling the truth, in which case your wood would have been cheaper, but the company wanted to "up sale" by stating it had such and such wood that was a lifetime guarantee. You do know that lifetime means the life of the wood, not the boat. So they could say that the lifetime warranty that the wood will last as long as the woods life, maybe 3-5 years.

Honestly, I would cut my losses, and just replace now with a good quality wood, and treat it yourself before installing.

[Venturous]

If it were me, I would not take no for an answer. I may not get what I want... but they will get real tired of hearing from me if not. A warranty is a warranty.

[GXPWeasel]

If it were me, I would not take no for an answer. I may not get what I want... but they will get real tired of hearing from me if not. A warranty is a warranty.

"You can put a warranty on a box, but the product still may be a piece of shit. So all you're left with is a warrantied piece of shit". Chris Farley, Tommy Boy...

[dockholiday]

My dock was built in 1980. But doubt there is anything (wood) that would hold up that long now. Similar to the termite protection put down when they built my house. It was supposed to be something like 20 year protection. Shortly after the house was built, I heard they were forced to discontinue use due to it being too strong for the environment. Similar with what happened about the treated wood chemicals. It is treated today but doubt seriously it will last the warrantied time (what ever that is now)

They say the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Maybe if you keep after them they will satisfy your claim. I think you are justified. The companies that give these lifetime warranties just make it so hard to collect on them. Mostly it is just part of their sales pitch. They also know it cost more in legal fees than the claim would be worth. Sending written correspondence might get their attention, thinking you are documenting everything. Anyway good luck with it.
doc

[WaltF]

[Venturous]

The paper was from GREENWOOD FOREST PRODUCTS. It stated that the wood on the boat was covered by a lifetime warranty on rot........He told me to look for the company stamp on the bottom of the wood!

To this I would simply state NO. YOU have the paper that states YOUR boat has the Greenwood Forest Products. Burden of proof would fall on them to proof it wasn't. And if it wasn't, their complaint would be with Crestline, not with you. Tell whoever asked for the stamp proof to pound sand and insist they honor the warranty or you will file suit. Companies and contractors LOVE push overs. Don't be one.

[slingshot]

Since when is it the customers job to find out what company made the deck wood so you can find out if Crestliner will cover it. If my power window motor fails on my Honda Civic and I take it in under warranty I can assure you they won't tell me to find out who made the motor that particular year and depending on the manufacturer they may not honor a warranty. It's a Crestliner, Crestliner should take it from there. This cite has a manufacturer review board, I suggest you use it. When people are lookng for which boat to buy this site is one if not the only site they might hit because of the name (pontoon forums) which is a regularly googled phrase when looking for such information. I'm sure the manufacturers review this sight regularly. Good luck and let the boat manufacturer review board know what happens. If Crestliner burns you, you should make sure that any of their prospective customers know so thay don't make a big mistake. Good luck.

[badmoonrising]

Agreed. A warranty is a warranty. If there's a dealer nearby, bring it in and insist they fix it under warranty. Personally, I'd drop it off and sit in their showroom and make a scene, order pizzas, tell prospective buyers what's happening, etc. (lol). I guarantee they'd get tired of me and fix it just to get rid of me.

I learned from my Dad. He had a '78 Chevy pickup that had a ton of defects. He told the salesman if it wasn't fixed right he'd drive it through the showroom window. And he would have. Fortunately it was fixed at the end of the day.

[FloterBoter]

if it was me...

i know some lawyers and i'd have one of them do me a favor by writing a nasty letter on their letterhead.
then i'd follow up and tell that asshole who won't honor the warranty that i'm having a really bad month
and i'm going to do everything in my power to to give him and his company a really bad year.
and then i'd do what bmr said. definitely order the pizzas, pop open your lawn chair, kick back and
start telling every customer that walks in the door how this dealer doesn't honor warranties.
when they try to throw you out hand them your lawyer friend's card and tell them to suck donkey dick.

btw, replacing the wood means your carpet/vinyl flooring has to be replaced, so those bastards need to
pay for that, too.

i'm kind of jealous of all the fun you're going to have!

[jimrs]

"and then i'd do what bmr said. definitely order the pizzas, pop open your lawn chair, kick back and
start telling every customer that walks in the door how this dealer doesn't honor warranties.
when they try to throw you out hand them your lawyer friend's card and tell them to suck donkey dick.

btw, replacing the wood means your carpet/vinyl flooring has to be replaced, so those bastards need to
pay for that, too."

That is real stupid, unless you want to go to jail. You can come in and talk to them but to start telling every customer your story, and refusing to leave when asked, is asking for an quick arrest record and another lawsuit. Also the carpet won't be covered by the wood warrantee.

[brabham 64]

OK thanks guys. I've figured that he was screwing me. And I would take it to a crestliner shop but idk where the closest one is. I live in morenci Arizona and its like a 4 hour drive to phx and a 3 hour drive to Tucson. And I'm a pretty good handyman. By I was hoping to get it paid for!

But my next question is if I replace the wood myself do I really need to buy marine grade wood? Or can I get away with regular plywood and water seal it?
And another thing is instead of putting carpet on the deck could I use like a truck bed liner roll on kit? I've seen that overtons sells a roll on kit that's similar to it. But has any of you used it? What's your pro's/cons.

[ROLAND]

If it's under warrenty, then it's under warranty, no if's, and's or buts... double check your paperwork. make sure the warranty is transferable, otherwise you are s.o.l. If it is, then I agree with boat floater, have a lawyer send them a nasty letter letting them know you demand satisfaction. The cost for the lawyer and his letter should be nominal. Suing them might cost more than replacing the deck yourself... but before you go that route, it might be worth you playing a bluff with the lawyers letter. Good luck!

[Venturous]

You can come in and talk to them but to start telling every customer your story, and refusing to leave when asked, is asking for an quick arrest record and another lawsuit.

True. What you do is put a big sign on your car.. "ASK ME WHY I WILL NOT TO BUY FROM XXXXX" and park on public area as close as possible to the dealership. Same effect, but you are not trespassing. Be sure to have good pictures of your boat and copies of the warranty on hand.

Some will argue that it is easier and less time consuming just to accept it and pay for the wood and be done with it. And, in reality, fighting this may not be worth the cost of the wood.. BUT.. if we all roll over on crap like this.. warranties will never mean anything. I hope you fight this.