Thinking about buying that New Ranger...Think Again!

LINE DAWG

New Member
Joined
May 23, 2021
Location
Sardis TN
Best Catch
8.6
Boat
2020 Ranger RT198P
#1
Just going to rant for a minute...

06JUNE2020...

Bought a New 2020 Ranger RT198P, 150 ProXS 4stk, dual axle Ranger Trail. Drove 400 miles to pick her up, in the rain, I'm stoked!

Give the dealer the check for the boat and lay $10k down on the counter in the showroom, I'm ready to rig her up with electronics, Jack-plate, install the power-poles I had with me and they tell me it'll be 3 weeks before they can get to it. A little dismayed, I head 400 miles back home. Get her home and I notice the cover strap has worn through the paint down to the aluminum. Call the Dealer in MO and he tells me I put the cover on wrong. Of course I had to remind him that "He" put the cover on for me! I'm a little pissed because the first thing out of his mouth is, it's your fault stupid, so I start looking and I find a couple other minor blemishes from shipping I'm sure. Strap marks on the rub rail, decals jacked up and a couple scratches. Call them up and I'm told, "bring it back and we'll get them worked out, may take a month or two". Not even an option as far as I'm concerned.

I find a Dealer that wants my business and 3 days later he calls me and tells me to bring my boat in and he'll have her ready to go by the end of the day! Lawrenceburg Marine in TN if you need a go to Dealer/Maintenance crew, they're awesome!

Get the boat in and they go to work. As they are taking things apart to do installs, I start noticing other things and they start pointing things out. I'm taking pictures of the things that normal people would not let out the door. Metal shaving under the trolling motor where the holes were drilled to mount the thing, they didn't even bother to wipe the shavings away before they put the trolling motor on. When they pulled the console and the TM control to put the electronics on, screws were stripped out and not attached to anything. They didn't even bother to clean the shavings under the fiberglass and the holes were cut/drilled too big for the screws to have any use. I asked them to pull the prop and check the lower unit oil. Keep in mind this boat has "0" hours on it. Lower unit oil checks good, but there is no "0" grease on the prop! The manufacturer even failed to cut out the passenger rod holder, have the rubber square with holes for 4 rods mounted to the bulkhead, but the rod butts only go in 1/4" and fall out when running. Keep the boat covered if it's raining...it does not drain and smells like hell even with all the hatches open! Took a week to dry and the carpet looks like shit now all matted up. Hatches are starting to wear through the carpet and the foam that was glued to the underside started peeling off as soon as I opened the first hatch. A couple weeks into use, got home, cleaned her up, went to plug her in and I noticed a piece of aluminum laying in the battery compartment. It was the wiring diagram for the boat that was riveted to the hatch. So I send yet another email to Joe Palmere, the Quality Assurance Guru for Ranger Boats, with the latest of "things that are wrong with this boat"! I asked him if he could send me a couple of the Team Ranger PFDs just in case this thing sinks. He said the rivets just came out...easy fix, haven't received the PFDs or anything saying I'm not going to get them either.

So, I try not to think of any of these things while I'm on the boat and today, the trailer breaks! When I say it breaks, I mean I'm pulling the boat up on the trailer, calm day, almost glass like conditions on the river, idle up to the trailer, cut it back to neutral to let it settle on the trailer then give it a little power to bring it up to the roller and the nose of the boat slips to the left then back to the right. I have the trick steps on and the handle is pushed over to the side of the truck. The upright the winch mounts has broken away from the trailer. The aft shackle is intact and attached, the forward shackle is attached, the plate that holds it to the trailer is split in half at the weld. I've had this boat for less than a year, I have had the tires balanced twice and continue to have vibration issues. Now, this!

Gentlemen and Ladies, I am U S Army Infantry (Ret), served 24 years in the Military (12 Navy/12 Army, 6 Deployments and 2 Combat Tours) and I have been married 5 times. I've made some bad decisions in my lifetime (59yrs), but, without a doubt, the purchase of this boat was my worst decision , EVER!






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