Terrible experience with bennington.

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JDB
Posts: 83
Joined: Mon Sep 13, 2010 7:01 pm
Location: Odessa TX

Terrible experience with bennington.

#1 Post by JDB » Sun Oct 02, 2011 2:05 pm

After more than a year of research and homework to decide what I thought would be the ideal fish / play pontoon, meeting the dealer and the bennington rep @ a boat show 300 miles away, several E-mails and phone conversations with the dealer and the rep, (daniel hahn) - I ordered a 2275 FSI with ESP, a 300 offshore, command link plus digital dash, 55 gallon fuel tank, extended rear deck like a Berkshire has, rough water package and a few other odds and ends.

When it came in - It was essentially a 2550 R series boat with 2275 FSI furniture bolted down on it. Even the dealer was shocked when it arrived at how long it was. It was 2-1/2 ft longer than it was supposed to be (I had no way to store it), had the standard 31 gallon fuel tank instead of the 55 I ordered and no command link plus display. In hindsight - I dont even think bennington knows what command link plus is - even though the arrogant rep told me face to face that they installed command link plus on ALL of their high HP Yamaha powered boats.

I reluctantly told them the only way I could accept their screwed up mess would be for them to discount the boat enough that I could extend my boat storage enough to fit it. They acted like the bennington Gods built me a boat and that I should just be happy with whatever they built. Never so much as even a simple apology for their mutiple mistakes.

I asked them to refund my deposit and they said no. I reminded them that we had a written and verbal contract stating exactly what I ordered (including pictures) - and a few days later I had my deposit refunded.

I would not recommend Jerry Whittle boats or bennington under any circumstances and I hate the fact that I ended up with one of their boats but its a decent hull and I got a good deal on it - so I couldn't pass it up.

I would have gone with a Manitou but their web site clearly states that they will not do anything custom because they offer so many different layouts that their should be no need for anything changes - LOL they lost me there because their fish and play offerings are lame.

In my experience, bennington is currently little more than a group of arrogant dealers and reps resting on the shoulders of hard working, dedicated employees long gone.

Jon Dell Blair
2010 Bennington 2275 FSI ESP
Yamaha F250 Offshore Digital Elec. Controls
15-1/2 x 17 3 blade SS 43mph normal load
3.6 MPG @ 20 cruise 1.9 mpg @ WOT
Command Link Plus Digital Dash
Sea Star Power Steering
Minn Kota Terrova 36 / 101 / i-Pilot
5 Batteries

Bamaman
Posts: 3679
Joined: Fri May 06, 2011 1:44 pm
Location: NW Alabama--Tennessee River

Re: Terrible experience with bennington.

#2 Post by Bamaman » Sun Oct 02, 2011 4:41 pm

Sorry you had such a bad experience. I've only heard nice things about Bennington warranty/customer service on boating forums, however nobody's perfect. It sounds pretty straight forward.

Fortunately, pontoon/tritoon boats are somewhat generic, and there are many other super premium brand pontoon-tritoon boats on the market--Manitou, Premier, Harris, Tahoe/Avalon and many others. These are all really close together in features, quality and performance.

When you go top of the line, you expect to get what you ordered, and shouldn't be expected to compromise for less.

I'm jealous of your new boat, but the wife's demanding her 3 carat diamond and a new 5th wheel trailer going into retirement.

Best of luck to you in your boating experience.
'12 Bennington 24' SSLX Yamaha 150

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Leisure Kraft
Posts: 170
Joined: Wed Jul 20, 2011 12:08 pm
Location: Crossville, TN
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Re: Terrible experience with bennington.

#3 Post by Leisure Kraft » Mon Oct 03, 2011 12:36 pm

JDB wrote:After more than a year of research and homework to decide what I thought would be the ideal fish / play pontoon, meeting the dealer and the bennington rep @ a boat show 300 miles away, several E-mails and phone conversations with the dealer and the rep, (daniel hahn) - I ordered a 2275 FSI with ESP, a 300 offshore, command link plus digital dash, 55 gallon fuel tank, extended rear deck like a Berkshire has, rough water package and a few other odds and ends.
They couldn't have just snagged the wrong rig to begin their work, they would have noticed when the furniture package resulted in that extra space inside. I can only guess that they ran out of supplies/rigs and thought that you'd be happy with their little "upgrade" on the length.
JDB wrote:...had the standard 31 gallon fuel tank instead of the 55 I ordered and no command link plus display.
When you add this into the mix it sounds like they just weren't reading the order at all.
JDB wrote:They acted like the bennington Gods built me a boat and that I should just be happy with whatever they built. Never so much as even a simple apology for their mutiple mistakes.
My guess is that the dealer started worrying that they were going to be stuck with an un-sellable boat.
JDB wrote:...and a few days later I had my deposit refunded.
I'm glad you got out of that one with relatively less grief than the dealer did.
Michael Blankenship 931-484-2681
Leisure Kraft Pontunes - 1996 Peavine Road, Crossville, TN 38571
http://www.LeisureKraft.com
Find us on the Pontoon Forum members map: http://www.zeemaps.com/295621/Leisure_Kraft_Pontunes

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