Lund Renegade

[NYBasser]

9 hours ago, A-Jay said:

In a perfect world, everyone would be happy.  Reality doesn't work that way.

People do crazy stupid stuff and expect someone else to pay for it. Seen it first hand. Unfortunately we aren't going to be able to find the solution here.  So I'm done.

Good luck moving forward and I hope you don't have to build your own boat.

A-Jay

Thanks, I’m very satisfied with my phoenix and their customer service has been nothing short of stellar. I wish you luck with your boat going forward as well.

[slonezp]

On 7/28/2023 at 1:54 PM, NYBasser said:

I'd agree that most if not every boat company has stories like these about warranty issues, but there has to be better ways of dealing with it than what Lund is doing here to my friend and to others who have posted. Timely communication and customer service are key, and in other industries, can often make or break a business. One of the major reasons I went with Phoenix is because of all the really good experiences other owners have had regarding customer service and getting things fixed and covered by the company.

 

I understand that a lot of the time, warranty fixes are up to the dealer, but in the case that the dealer refuses to help, the company has to step up and make things right, especially when guys are spending upwards of 50k-100k+ on a new boat. Also, it is true that others' experiences may not be directly applicable to another person's, but it highlights a negative and worrying pattern. Why do they selectively choose to help some of their customers out but not others?

 

As a customer, we shouldn't allow companies to treat us like this and personally, I would not purchase any boat from a company that doesn't honor their warranty across the board and treat their customers as they should.  

Warranty work is done at the dealer level in numerous industries. Your new car that breaks down the day you drive it off the lot has the dealership handle the warranty repairs, not the manufacturer. My dealer should have looked into the paint issue a little further and found a competent shop to paint it. If he couldn't find one, he should have approached Lund and said "We don't have a local shop capable of doing the repaint" I blame my dealer for the warranty problems not Lund. 

 

From a consumers standpoint, I think Lund should have stepped it up a little once the claim was in their hands. The boat sat there last in line waiting for the production boats to get painted. From a business standpoint, I get it. Take care of the boats that have already been promised. 

 

As a customer we shouldn't allow companies to treat us poorly. But we should also have reasonable expectations of the processes to make things right. Everything isn't always about me. I was fortunate I didn't lose any time on the water because my issue was cosmetic. 

 

 

[NYBasser]

17 hours ago, slonezp said:

Warranty work is done at the dealer level in numerous industries. Your new car that breaks down the day you drive it off the lot has the dealership handle the warranty repairs, not the manufacturer. My dealer should have looked into the paint issue a little further and found a competent shop to paint it. If he couldn't find one, he should have approached Lund and said "We don't have a local shop capable of doing the repaint" I blame my dealer for the warranty problems not Lund. 

 

From a consumers standpoint, I think Lund should have stepped it up a little once the claim was in their hands. The boat sat there last in line waiting for the production boats to get painted. From a business standpoint, I get it. Take care of the boats that have already been promised. 

 

As a customer we shouldn't allow companies to treat us poorly. But we should also have reasonable expectations of the processes to make things right. Everything isn't always about me. I was fortunate I didn't lose any time on the water because my issue was cosmetic. 

 

 

I can’t speak as to how Lund handles their warranty as I have never owned one, but my experience at Phoenix has been that if the dealer is unable to complete the warranty work, the boat goes back to the Phoenix factory to get work done. I’ve heard of multiple cases of this on the Phoenix owners page and in d**n near every case, Phoenix steps up and handles the issue at no cost to the owner.

 

All I’m saying is that Lund has room for improvement in their Customer Service department and there are ways to do it instead of just giving the blanket excuse that “every boat company has unhappy customers”. A simple google search of “lund customer service” vs “phoenix customer service” will prove my point.

[slonezp]

28 minutes ago, NYBasser said:

I can’t speak as to how Lund handles their warranty as I have never owned one, but my experience at Phoenix has been that if the dealer is unable to complete the warranty work, the boat goes back to the Phoenix factory to get work done. I’ve heard of multiple cases of this on the Phoenix owners page and in d**n near every case, Phoenix steps up and handles the issue at no cost to the owner.

 

All I’m saying is that Lund has room for improvement in their Customer Service department and there are ways to do it instead of just giving the blanket excuse that “every boat company has unhappy customers”. A simple google search of “lund customer service” vs “phoenix customer service” will prove my point.

Phoenix does $5M in sales annually and Lund, $250M. you're not comparing apples to apples. 

 

That being said. I run a store and have to deal with manufactures warranties weekly, sometimes daily. Every company has their own way of going about the warranty process. Customer service and warranty are 2 completely different animals. I rep a large amount of manufacturers in the HVAC/R industry and, while I am not a manufacturer, I have to abide by their warranty process like it or not. I am a dealer. My customer service skills are exceptional. I have zero control over warranty except for what they allow at store level.

 

My point is, to discount a proven leader in the industry because of some negative warranty issues(myself included in that bunch) is wrong. I almost bought a Legend bass boat before the Lund. Probably a good thing I didn't do that. Legend was the latest and greatest boat on the market at the time. There is a reason that Lund has been around for 70 or 80 years. It's not because they build crappy boats.

 

And I do 1/2 the revenue that Phoenix does out of a 2 man operation in a 2000 square foot storefront. Admittedly, I have folks behind the scenes doing a lot of the busy work but, the revenue is solely generated by myself and my employee and our reputation in the industry. 

 

I'm thrilled you love your Phoenix. I no longer own the Lund. It's not apples to apples.

[NYBasser]

3 hours ago, slonezp said:

Phoenix does $5M in sales annually and Lund, $250M. you're not comparing apples to apples. 

 

That being said. I run a store and have to deal with manufactures warranties weekly, sometimes daily. Every company has their own way of going about the warranty process. Customer service and warranty are 2 completely different animals. I rep a large amount of manufacturers in the HVAC/R industry and, while I am not a manufacturer, I have to abide by their warranty process like it or not. I am a dealer. My customer service skills are exceptional. I have zero control over warranty except for what they allow at store level.

 

My point is, to discount a proven leader in the industry because of some negative warranty issues(myself included in that bunch) is wrong. I almost bought a Legend bass boat before the Lund. Probably a good thing I didn't do that. Legend was the latest and greatest boat on the market at the time. There is a reason that Lund has been around for 70 or 80 years. It's not because they build crappy boats.

 

And I do 1/2 the revenue that Phoenix does out of a 2 man operation in a 2000 square foot storefront. Admittedly, I have folks behind the scenes doing a lot of the busy work but, the revenue is solely generated by myself and my employee and our reputation in the industry. 

 

I'm thrilled you love your Phoenix. I no longer own the Lund. It's not apples to apples.

You make a fair point here that Lund is a much larger company, although, I feel that being a larger company does not excuse them from their shortcomings in the customer service and warranty department. With 250M yearly revenue, you'd think that they could afford to hire a couple more customer service representatives or take care of their customers better in regards to their warranty. 

 

As consumers, we should call out industry leaders when they go wrong, simply because consumers as a whole get to decide who is the industry leader based on where they choose to spend their money. If the company doesn't do its best to help the consumer when something goes wrong at the company's fault (I'm talking about structural failures here), why should the consumer keep supporting the company?

 

I'm not trying to discredit Lund here, all I am trying to do is spread awareness and show that people should do adequate research before they decide on making a large financial decision, such as purchasing a boat. My friend obviously didn't do his part and now he is paying the price for it, quite literally.

[Krux5506]

On 7/15/2023 at 9:36 PM, michiganoutdoorsman said:

I like how the Lund Renegade (1875, 1975) is laid out, but can’t find much on how they do in bigger waters. I know it’s an aluminum, it’s lighter and will not handle rough water as well as glass. I have searched far and wide and find guys love them, but never say how they are on bigger water. It would occasionally be on Grand Traverse Bay, the glacial bodies of water in the greater Traverse City area, and LSC. I’m not currently going to buy a new boat right now as I just bought my Lund Rebel last year. But in the next few years I’d like to upgrade. I would love a Pro V Bass, but that’s crazy expensive for me right now. 
 

Should I consider the Renegade for what I’d like to do, or should I look at older, more reputable glass boats? I would consider looking at Ranger, Skeeter, Triton, etc. for a new (old) boat. And if I could find a Phoenix for the right price maybe that also, but I doubt that I’d be able to track one down that would be in the price range I’d have. Thanks!

Which Rebel did you get? I have a 17' Rebel xl sport from 2010. Nice boat but eventually I'd like to upgrade. I go out often on Lake Ontario with it but stick to calm days. The boat can handle the chop out there but getting into 3-4ft waves isn't even fun to fish in so regardless of what the boat can handle out there it's not always what I can handle while trying to fish...if that makes sense. As far as what a boat can actually handle it's hard for me to see how any bass boat with such little freeboard could possibly be safer than a deep v especially on the great lakes. 

[NYBasser]

4 hours ago, Krux5506 said:

Which Rebel did you get? I have a 17' Rebel xl sport from 2010. Nice boat but eventually I'd like to upgrade. I go out often on Lake Ontario with it but stick to calm days. The boat can handle the chop out there but getting into 3-4ft waves isn't even fun to fish in so regardless of what the boat can handle out there it's not always what I can handle while trying to fish...if that makes sense. As far as what a boat can actually handle it's hard for me to see how any bass boat with such little freeboard could possibly be safer than a deep v especially on the great lakes. 

I have never felt unsafe running my Phoenix 920 on Ontario and the St. Lawrence through 3-4 ft chop. That being said, I would not want to be out there fishing in that stuff, given the choice.

 

Also the difference in freeboard between a Lund deep V style boat and a bass boat isn't as big as you think. Take a look at some photos of them on the water side by side.

[SussexEd]

Should I consider the Renegade for what I’d like to do, or should I look at older, more reputable glass boats? I would consider looking at Ranger, Skeeter, Triton, etc. for a new (old) boat. And if I could find a Phoenix for the right price maybe that also, but I doubt that I’d be able to track one down that would be in the price range I’d have. Thanks!

[gim]

@SussexEd we’re gonna need some more details on what kind of water you generally fish, your towing vehicle, garage size, etc.
 

All of these items should be a factor when purchasing a boat. As should location and service reputation of the dealer.