MacGregorSailors.com

Billy wrote:I have to defend Bill here. I've talked with him a few times (at least 3). I like the conversations with him. All business and straight to the point--no time wasted, I can appreciate that. He honored my boat even though out of warranty and has sold me various parts I have destoried while sailing.

Consider Roger's business model. The factory is for production. The dealers are the retail link to the public. (Most people don't call the Ford factory if they're thinking about buying a car--they talk to a dealer. Usually the same with needed parts.) I have dealt with many manufacturers that simply route you to "your retailer".

I have contacted virtually every c/s dept for each car I have owned..Only Audi gets poorer marks than Macgregor...

Macgregor really should have a C/S person/dept.

They are pretty lucky to own the low price trailor sailor market. Since they are the only game in town, guess they can do what they want.

I mean especially when you are a potential customer.

My first experience is when I found Havencraft was sold..I was quite concerned with a dealer that operated out of FL/VA. No brick+mortor building like Havencraft was before...It was quite a shock to me..sounded risky and a bit shaky to me at best..he basically didnt seem to care..This is/was a big deal for us...buying a boat mail-order. No, zippo local support like it was with Art. No sales people, no staff..no parts..no service.. What were we thinking? We should have known then what a wild ride we were in for.

Only the Audi ownership experience dwarfs the Macgregor experience.

Paul

Billy, you were totaly correct in your analogy in my opinion. My dealings with Bill Snedeker were always good, and I always was helped in getting the correct parts. It's a shame but as they say, you can please some of the people some of the time, but not all the the people....all the time!

So Paul, maybe I have missed your posts were you have had an enjoyable experience with your Mac? I too would probably feel the same way if I had even some of the quirks you had in the buying experience!

My '05 Silverado is giving me grief also, I won't gripe here about it, but I am going through the process of getting it rectified! Fifty grand machine, and yes it does have issues. Not big ones, but issues none-the-less. I was selling Foretravel Motor Coaches that were going for a half a million bucks. They had issues also, and customers were actually quite understanding when this occured. It was our less expensive Motorhomes that we sold that caused us the most hassles as far as customers disatisfied! My point is NOTHING that man makes is perfect! And if man can make it, man can break it. Most of us out here are fixer's of some sort, and can attest to that fact!

You persued alot of avenues until your situation was rectified, hopefully to your satisfaction....all I want to know, have you had ANY good times on your boat, or are you ready to just get rid of it, and find out upon purchasing another product out there, you still have the same bad experience?

I am not trying to offend you, but wow, I have been reading about your disatisfaction for sooo long, please tell me something is good about your boat?

Rant over!

Yeah, I almost bought from Havencraft myself. I too was worried about what kind of support I could realistically expect from someone so far away.

So, I talked a closer dealer into matching Havencraft's price, which ended up being cheaper overall since the shipping was cheaper.

But, my dealer hasn't been very helpful. Of course, since I cut out a good chunk of his profit, I didn't really expect much support. So, my wife and I did all the rigging, and other dealer prep work, right down to pulling the plastic film off the galley wood and paper off the bulkhead mirror...

We didn't mind. Since we had VERY little experience sailing, figuring out how it all goes together was helpful, at least in the end...

When I contact my dealer, his response is to tell me to call Bill. So, I will. hull, it is much more efficient that way. When we first picked up the boat, we noted a few deficiencies and the dealer was going to order replacements. But, he had Macgregor ship them to the wrong address. So, I had to call Bill and get him the correct address.

No, my expectations of support, dealer or factory, are relatively low. Of course, I haven't had major warranty/quality issues yet anyway.

The first time I drove it onto the trailer, I lost a bow bunk, but this is all to common. Just search this site for lots of examples... I fixed it myself, including a little Marinetex for the boat. It just seemed easier that way...

My latest issue is that my winch pulled loose from the trailer. The frame of the winch split around the lower bolt and just pulled away. I've already bought a 2000lb winch and cable from Harbor Freight which I'm going to install. The frame of the new winch is much much thicker and even has a little lip, so I'd rather have this upgrade than a replacement anyway...

We know we bought a compromise boat (both in terms of sailing v. powering as well as in terms of quality v cost), but so far, we're happy with the capabilities, as we'll never even think about that magical CA to HI crossing... hull, it'll be years before ours even sees saltwater. So, we got a boat that is much more capable than we are, that we can grow into, and that will always be a source of fun - provided I don't destroy it on the learning curve...

The bottom line is that we don't have a top of the line boat, but we are very happy with what we have...

Perhaps it's a matter of reasonable expectations? Agreeing w/ Billy and others, it's pretty rare (and typically a gigantic effort) to speak directly w/ the manufacturer.

I've talked with Bill half-a-dozen times, once for a possible warranty question (broken gooseneck casting, actually my own fault) and the other times for my own convenience. Each time that I've called him, keeping in mind that I'm asking for a favor, he has gone overboard to help - as long as it can be handled quickly. They give quick, free advice. They also send out free stuff, even though I wouldn't have expected it.

Advice on adding split backstay (succinct)
Advice on Rigid Vang and protecting the gooseneck
Advice on forestay tab & bow roller
Advice on replacing spreader
New gooseneck casting (two times)
New backstay tab
Several extra liner plugs (twice)

No complaints.

I agree with Billy on correspondence with the factory. I have called the factory 4 times and was patched through to Bill every time. He gave me the information I needed and I found him informative and courteous. Remember he is an Engineer at the factory, not PR or customer service. I figure any information or advice I can get from a factory engineer is a benefit not found in many companies today and I really appreciated his taking the time to talk to me.

Greg

Talk about being the ultimate in cheap... I bought my new 26M from a dealer who stated that he was quitting the business and I was buying his last boat. The boat was exactly as it was delivered to him... it even had the grease pencil marking still on the hull and all the original factory dirt. I got a great discount for the extra hassle. The dealer told me to call the factory for my warranty needs and questions. He told me that the factory would honor the warranty on the boat, but I would have to work directly with them. I was somewhat skeptical, but wanted to take the gamble to save the money up front.

I spoke with Bill at the factory on a number of occasions. He told me that the dealer is supposed to provide the user and warranty support. I told him who my dealer was and he knew that they were no longer in business. So, he told me that it was OK to call him with my warranty concerns.

Bill has answered most of my questions which I asked him and provided me with missing parts as I discovered them during the rigging process. It took several calls on occasion to get him to remember to take his promised actions.

I must have said the right things because I found Bill to be very helpful. He even added information to his answers which he thought was important without me even asking. I got the feeling that it could have gone the other way if I had'nt said just the right words. I expressed gratitude for his service even when I thought that he could have been more helpful or when I was calling him for the fourth time about my missing gooseneck cylinder.

Ultimately, I got everything that I needed while still maintaining a reasonably cordial relationship. Keep in mind that I have only taken minor issues to Bill... nothing major.

Actually, under MY circumstances, I feel that Bill has exceeded my expectations.

Still, most of my info about the Mac has come from the owner's manual and more so from this board. If I had to ask ALL of my questions to Bill or a dealer for that matter, I expect that I would be left severely wanting for information and with a less than cordial relationship with the provider of the requested assistance.

Regards,
ROB

Bill has been knowledgeable, helpful, courteous and to the point in the several times I have called him since 1988 re my ex 26D and present 26X.

I had several smaller sailboats previously (including an 8 year old Mac Venture 17), spent time studying both the D and X boats before purchase ( a good part of the fun), ignored the usual sales puffery in this market (less with Mac than some of the competition I think) and both boats have been exactly what I wanted when I bot 'em and during my use of them. So I am an enthusiastic owner and I don't hesitate to let Bill know that when I talk to him. However, there are some 30,000+ Macs out there with owners calling daily and he is a busy guy...so I try to be brief and not take up some other owner"s time slot.

Bill, if you happen to read this, thanks for your help over the years and try not to retire for a while yet.

Ron Tanis