Nor Cal MC in Pleasanton

Just want to get it out there that I had a lot of problems dealing with Nor Cal MC in Pleasanton. I also want to make sure that I mention that the NCMC in Sac took care of fixing a lot of the problems I had in Pleasanton.

The first thing was when I took the boat out for the first time one year I noticed that the wheel that you put down on the front of the trailer was mangled and bent. I don't know how I missed it when I picked up or dropped the boat in my driveway but I know for sure I didn't leave it down. I felt stupid for not noticing it when I dropped it in my driveway 16 months before so I let it go. I didn't ride for a year recovering from ACL recon after blowing it boarding. I ended up mentioning it a year after I found it when I had other issues. John, the service manager, told me they had a guy that used to work there that was not putting the wheels up and damaged some - OK points for honesty on that one but no reimbursement for the new lift that I bought at West Marine. Ok no big deal.

Next. I took it in on April 12, 2010. I was having problems with the ballasts and needed regular maintenance. While they had it, they called and told me there was some noise when you put it in gear which I never heard but he told me that is an indicator that the flex plate could be going. He said that if this plate goes, it could be catastrophic. He said he's even heard of them blowing parts through the hull of the boat. I said OK fix it.

We went to take the boat out and noticed that there was oil in the driveway. I dragged the boat 45 minutes down and left it and drove home. Then went and picked it up again. We took the boat out a couple of times and then noticed that there was still oil in the bilge. I thought maybe it was residual but then knew that it wasn't. I took the boat back in, left it and drove home. They told me that they had forgotten to put the gasket back on the oil pan plug. They had to order the part. Still no boat to use. This was June 10, 2010.

They called me and told me that there was a noise and it sounded like the flex plate was going. They said it should be replaced or it could do catastrophic damage. I got chills up the back of my neck. I thought - holy crap! I just blew that money. This is just how the guy boosts up the repair bills. Everyone that comes in, they just tack this work on.

I said, you just did that exact repair on my boat two months ago. He said, wow, those usually don't go bad that fast! I couldn't believe he had the nerve to say that. Yeah, two or three trips out. YEAH! That seems a little soon. BTW - again, I didn't notice any noise or problems. I told him that I wanted to come get my boat now and that I didn't want anyone else to touch it.

We talked for a while and I finally gave in. He guaranteed me I wasn't being ripped off. I told him to take pictures of my engine out of MY boat and send them to me with a camera phone. I told him to save the part and he agreed. I figured I'll get this done once for sure even if I didn't need it.

I got the boat back and put it in my driveway. The next week we took the cover off the boat (where it had been since before I picked it up at NCMC. I went to drop it in the water and the battery was completely dead. I noticed that the ballast pump switches had been leaned against and the ballast pumps had run down the battery. I was pissed. I called a guy a know at the shop so he would know that it had happened. I jumped the boat and drove it that day. I told the guy that my alternator was going to be shot after this and probably my impellers in my ballast pumps and maybe even the pumps. He said, ok we'll see. Sure enough, all those things went bad.

I called the manager of the store (not a very nice woman but not necessarily rude). She agreed to pay for certain things but not other things. I thought that was totally ridiculous since they had screwed up my boat again! I finally got a hold of the owner, through the manager of the Rancho Cordova store and he agreed with me and they fixed everything (impellers, ballast pumps, and alternator).

Why did RC have to do it? Because John in Pleasanton refused to do business with me ever again! Like some how ANY of that could be my fault!!

I just want that out there somewhere. Do with it what you will.

Mike

Wow I wouldn't have let them have that much leeway did they also replace the flux capacitor?

That really sucks. I bought my boat there and had a very good purchase experience. I have also taken my boat in for regular maintenance there and have had good luck. I will say that the service manager lady has been less than helpful in the past. When I first bought my boat I complained about the window being off set, not centered correctly. Same lady said there was nothing they could do. I continued to complain ... long after the first year warranty. FInally one of the techs there went to bat and got the manf to cover the removal and resetting of the windshield as it was installed in-correctly ... which was obvious from the beginning. I was on the fence with the service dept there until they got this fixed for me. Other than this issue I have had good service there.

Now normally I would be right there with you. There is NOTHING, absolutely nothing worse than taking your boat to get it fixed just to have more problems than when you started. I have been there and am VERY picky about where I take my Sanger.

We moved to the East Bay a year ago and I have taken my boat to NorCal Mastercraft twice. In fact, I just picked it up from the 100 hour service there today. Each time i have been completely satisfied and they've gone above and beyond on my boat. Today, while inspecting the detail job they did on my interior, i couldn't beleive it. Their service dept has been responsive, and complete.

That doesn't change what happened to you, so i get it. But i cant throw out the baby with the bath water on this one. So far so good. I'll be taking my boat back there in the future.

Like I said, I'm just putting it out there. If all I do is make people aware that they might be running this scam about the flex plate - I did my job. Maybe there aren't. Maybe there's actually another problem with my boat that nobody has fixed yet. Maybe they stopped their crap after the owner chewed on them a bit. I don't know. I have just met WAY too many cool wakeboarders not to put that info out there.

Take care all!

This is exactly why I am a Do It Yourselfer....It may be an oily, sweaty at times bloody PITA to work on your own stuff but you don't ever get hosed over. Plus if something goes wrong on the water you are pretty familiar with your craft and may be able to fix it on the water and continue your day.

I've heard nothing but good things NORCAL MC. They are very supportive of the local riders and scene around here. But it sucks things didn't go so hot for you.

Servicing a boat is really no different than servicing a car other than changing the impeller. Get a good set of tools read the manual etc. and you can save thousands of dollars over the life of the boat, more money for gas, gear etc. I don't get why people spend all the bucks for a winterization and summerization when it can merely be done in a few hours twice a year, especially here in our mild climate.

It's funny. I've got a lot of experience working on cars - i've dropped trannys, replaced an engine and still do some of my own work and used to do ALL of it because I didn't trust anyone - just because of bad experiences and the cost. It just seems like there is NO room to work on that engine. It just seems like too much trouble. May have to revisit that opinion.