Surfside 3 Thoughts

M

MarkDeMartini

Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2000
RO Number
2432
Messages
38
Hi all... so here it is springtime and my thoughts are again with boating. I am now seriously considering a second "just for fun" boat. I was at a recent boat show and was speaking to a salesguy from Surfside 3 in Haverstraw Marina about a smaller Sea Ray. He seems to have a few good deals that could work but I am more concerned about things like:

1) Reputation
2) Service
3) Honesty
4) Warranty issues when they arise

Can anyone comment about the Surfside plus' and minus' as pertaining to the boat purchase, servicing, warranty work, etc? Should I be looking elsewhere (perhaps Marine Max) etc. It would be a great help to me, moreso than the actual price.

Thanks in advance.

MarkD
 
Mark...
I might be wrong but I think Surf Side 3 in Haverstraw is Marine Max...I have a fellow who works for me that just bought a new one from them and he was telling me they just brought his boat over to Peekskill (Marine Max) to Prep it for delivery...Perhaps someone else can pop in and clear this up...

I did some comparison pricing between the Sea Ray and the Chyaparrel and I thought he would have done better with the chap but I am also a 14 year past owner of a Chap and I loved it..I thought they offered more in the end.

If your down in the area stop by and look at what Penny Bridge has to offer. As far as reputation, you wont find anyone better. There service department is one of the best. Only ones that work on my boat. Im sure others on the board will say the same things about them..
 
My last 2 boats were purchased from Pennybridge. Most reliable facility around. Great service. The last purchase was a Chaparral. Great vessel. A buddy purchased a 40 ft Sea Ray from Marine Max in Haverstraw but took delivery at Peekskill. Don't know the relationship. Anyone??

I concur, buy used. Check out the inventory of used Chaparrals located at Pennybridge. You won't go wrong.
 
I was originally looking for used, but the deals for the new ones are "nearly" the same price as a decent used one. It seems like Brunswick is dropping their drawers for price to move some volume. Granted I am only looking at the 18' variety (185 sport). It appears like many of the people who've bought in the last 2 years and now need to sell are being unrealistic. They must either be upside down on their loans or are just plain unaware of market conditions. We'll see how it goes.
 
The signs at the marina still say Surfside, but I think the change was made to MarineMax sometime last year.
 
Mark, good to see you are still around. Oddly enough, just this morning I was wondering what had become of you - figured Pete had you locked up in his root cellar!
 
quote:
Originally posted by blackdog

A buddy purchased a 40 ft Sea Ray from Marine Max in Haverstraw but took delivery at Peekskill. Don't know the relationship. Anyone??

Click to expand...


Strange as it sounds, Surfside's service department is over in Peekskill. When Belle Harbor was for sale it was rumored that Surfside was in the running to buy it so they could move their service department to the same side of the river.

FWIW Haverstraw Marina is a collection of independent businesses that co-exists but compete with each other for business.
 
Dammit Mike, I had him locked up but he got out!!!
 
No way Mike, I was just working too hard and couldnt lurk about... maybe thats why my ears were ringing! I did escape from the root cellar for some spring boating! I really do feel like a mushroom though. Keeping me in the dark and feeding me poop. LOL. You're right about the service dept though. I was looking around for a stuffing box for my old boat and those guys helped me out alot. They did alot of checking around for me and actually gave me the name of the OEM that made SR stuffing boxes for them. They didnt have to do that and it made me think highly of them (at least for that transaction anyway).

Hi Pete! We'll see you Saturday for the dock party!!! that is, if it doesnt rain too bad.
 
Ugh! I hope it doesn't, but we'll see. I was up there today as I had someone looking at the Bayliner. The guys would have bought it, too. Except that the damn thing WOULDN'T START. I think the starter went. So I promised them I'd straighten it out and bring it down to Mahopac so they could see it at a place closer to home and hopefully we'll get this transaction done. Oh well, some big time boat dealer I am - I can't even sell a boat to my best friend and when I finally do get a customer the boat takes a crap [:-ouch] ...
 
Pete, If Stingray would stop pricing their boats like Hatteras I'd be right there with you buddy! : )
 
Yeah, I know. It doesn't help that Sea Ray is giving all their boats away right now. They've taken quite a few sales away from us. Like I told you, if you buy that thing please remind them folks that you saw the boat at the Metro Boat Show and that's what made up your mind. At least that will make my life easier in getting them to sign up again next year!!!
 
"It doesn't help that Sea Ray is giving all their boats away right now. "

How come Pete, overstocked?

Walter
 
Quick Update:
I did end up signing a deal to purchase the boat from these folks. I have a delivery date of April 26th (Saturday) in Peekskill. I figure it was better to do it there since I will be trailering to Kingston shortly thereafter. As it stands, the experience has been low stress and easy to deal with. I am hoping the rest of the deal goes as smooth. I did mention to Ginny & Ken that I saw the boat at the Westchester boat show and they said they knew 'you' Pete and Charlie Melchner as well. That is a plus in any event. Hope it encourages them to atend next year too.

As to the incentives and rationale for the lower pricing... IMHO, I truly believe that they are sacrificing a bit on price in order to move some volume. The typical owner buys a boat and then in a few years trades up. They are counting on that cycle to bring them additional business down the road. They are also counting on their service business to help offset some of this cost too in the short term. But....I could be wrong. Regardless, I think I got a solid deal at a price near to what I was seeing for 2-3 year old boats of the same model.
 
Now is a great time to buy a Sea Ray if you're so inclined, because yes they are greatly overstocked and they are giving boats away in order to get them off the dealers' lots. Brunswick has laid off workers and SR is closing the Merritt Island plant. Mark got a tremendous deal on his boat, one that I could not match even at zero commission for me personally(lest anyone get any ideas, I'm only offering THAT deal to my best friend [:-mischievous] - and I even let the bastard borrow my truck last weekend when his wheel fell off!)...

The market will swing around eventually and Sea Ray will stop offering the factory discounts, so act now if you're going to do something with them. Otherwise contact me about a Stingray and see what a REAL boat looks like (kidding) [:-mischievous] ...

PS - Otto, thanks for mentioning to the S3 people about the Metro Show. I want them to realize how much their investment with me paid off for them!!!

PPS - did you get your truck fixed yet? Was it worse than you thought???

PPPS - see you Saturday!!!
 
LOL, do you people know I actually got some grief for my above posts on this thread!?!?!?! Seems some of the other industry-types out there feel I'm giving too many trade secrets away - I guess that's what I get for being honest. Oh well...

To even the score, and in the interest of fairness, I should point out the following: First of all, just because Sea Ray is offering these seemingly sensational deals on their products doesn't mean that every other boat out there is a bad deal - many other brands offer desirable features/promotions that may not be matched by Sea Ray...

For example, the brand I sell, Stingray, tends to be a faster, more nimble performer than comparable Sea Ray models, and as I pointed out to Mark before he bought his boat, my price included the full 5 year warranty from Volvo whereas his didn't come with the extended program from MerCruiser. As another example, Chaparral, which is another fine boat brand, may be priced higher than the Sea Ray but it offers very solid models in that size range which some buyers will find to be more solid-feeling, more comfortable (especially the bow seating), and more plush. And Chaparral can get you either Merc or Volvo power. So I wouldn't just jump at the Bayliner-esque prices from Sea Ray without at least considering the merits of competing brands...

Finally, I might point out that the marine industry isn't like the auto industry - there are precious few marine dealers out there and each one of 'em is struggling to make a profit these days. So if we insist on bargain basement prices for these boats, we might find out someday that our dealer isn't there anymore when we go back for service, and other dealers are NOT required to take you as a service customer, or at least they don't have to give your needs a priority over their other customers. So please also keep in mind that the relationship you have with your dealer is worth money too. This is not to bash Surfside 3 - they are a wonderful dealer. But so are others, such as Zoller's, Pennybridge, MacDonald Marine, Mahopac Marina, and a few dozen others that I'm forgetting to mention at this late hour...

Just FYI...
 
quote:
Originally posted by PBardunias

LOL, do you people know I actually got some grief for my above posts on this thread
Click to expand...


Seems like getting grief for posting on BE is an ever increasing sport. Jobs are important but always hold on to your core beliefs!

Have a great day Pete!
 
Pete,
Nice back peddle ... PRoves you just never know who reads this stuff.....

Rob
 
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