Any issues purchasing from an Internet dealer? (austinkayak)

I've ordered various items online from austinkayak.com and found them to be wonderfully helpful and speedy. But if I buy an actual kayak (Revolution) from them, what happens if I have any warranty issues? Any thoughts and/or experience?

Thanks!

I bought my tandem Outfitter and all the other goodies from the San Marcos store and I have my TI on order with them. Always had great service and then have helped me with a few minor issues. I would guess they would honor all Hobie warranties if bought online. I have sent emails to customer service and always got quick responses.

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I'd rather be sailing,
Mark.

I could be wrong, but I don't think your local dealer gets a plugged nickel for handling a warranty claim. Of course, dealers expect to take care of their own customers, but have no obligation to service other Hobie customers. Most probably do anyway with some hope of earning your business in the future. Nevertheless, I imagine many or most aren't too happy about doing the schlep work for online dealers tho make the profit and let the local dealers do their dirty work without any compensation.

Then too, in this economy if the local dealers don't get the local business because (for instance) the law says they have to charge sales tax, they may be out of business when you are counting on them to service the boat they didn't get to sell you!

IMO, before bypassing your local dealer that you may be counting on in the future for warranty work, I think he should at least have the opportunity to sell you the boat. If you plan to use a distant dealer, I think he should tell you how he plans to handle your possible warranty claims. Then you'll be in a better position to decide what's the best way to proceed.

I haven't had any warranty problems with my Adventure I bought from Austin Kayaks but there was a problem with the company that was shipping the kayak.
The trucker decided that he didn't want to deliver the kayak on the day that was guaranteed and the shipping company had the nerve to ask if it would be delivered a week later.
Austin Kayak called the trucking company and I had the kayak the next day.
Admittedly, it was two days late but Austin Kayak certainly went the extra mile and I have bought all my accessories since then from them and will buy future boats from them also.

Edit: Roadrunner has an excellent point about supporting your local store. My local kayak store doesn't sell Hobie.

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Although I can't speak to buying a boat online, there are two Hobie dealers within a couple hours drive of me. The closest one being about 15 minutes from my house. Once I was done doing my research, I went to the local dealer first, (after receiving a price list from the dealer who was further away).

We talked about the boat, and when it came down to price, I just told him honestly, "I want to support you because you are my local dealer, but I also want to make sure that I'm getting the best price. I'm willing to pay a fair price for the boat, but I don't want to be out on the water having a conversation with someone who has an identical boat, only to find out that they paid considerably less."

The dealer was honest with me, they explained how the other dealer who sells them is new to selling these boats, and they will undercut my local dealers price. Apparently that is what was going on for some other people. They were honest about how much they could sell the boat for, and said that the dealer up the highway would likely sell the boat for $50.00 less. With all the help that they had given me, we decided to buy locally instead.

We are SO glad that we did. I had done some research on roof racks before buying the boat. Until I visited the local dealer, I wasn't aware that they also had roof racks. (They are primarily a sailboat store) The dealer took the time to explain the benefits of all of the different roof racks, and offered us, BY FAR, the best price on the roof racks. When it came time to pick up the boat, they were able to offer us an even better price on the roof racks. They then had one of their people explain exactly how to set up the racks, exactly how to work the kayak, and took more then the expected time to make sure we were completely happy.

We ended up with a defective paddle that the dealer went out of their way to have replaced free of charge, (thanks also in part to Hobie's tremendous quality assurance).

So keep in mind, the internet might have a great deal, but if you have a local dealer, I have to agree with RoadRunner on this one. At least give them a shot to earn your business.

I guess my dealer deserves a mention, as they've been fantastic. http://www.foghmarine.com/index.asp Fogh Marine in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

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FYI............During a " Wintering " in SW Fla. I attended a demo day run by a local DEALER for kayaks ;was sold on the simplicity & fun of it all.
Did some research,and discovered a kayak with pedals! Hmmmm........found a local DEALER,tried 3-5 different models;was convinced,and bought a Hobie Revolution -Mirage drive system.Returned home and really enjoyed my kayak experiences.THEN............along comes the next year's model with a neat rudder deployment system !Called my local Hobie DEALER.....they ordered in the parts,and I dropped my kayak off for the retro-fit.THEN........to my surprise,when I p/u the kayak,something didn't look right !The conversion kit had been installed "outside" the hull with lines going everywhere.I voiced my concerns to both the DEALER & Hobie that this conversion didn't look like the Hobie sales video ?
The DEALER called ,and I returned the kayak for "adjustments".When I returned to p/u the kayak,all was in order,just like the video showed !
AND AT NO EXTRA CHARGE.

My point here,is simply this :yes.... there are on-line sales goods to be had;but the DEALERS are the best way to go.

Hobie called this particular DEALER on my behalf (thousands of miles from the DEALER that I purchased from ),and the customer was served !
It gives me great pleasure to recommend a DEALER.....(FOGH MARINE,TORONTO )...to anyone with concerns over On-LIne vs.DEALER purchasing.

I've order some parts from austinkayak.com and have been very pleased this their service and products.

I purchase my Adventure from a local dealer. He made the price right by throwing in some extras. He didn't unpack the kayak until I arrived and we went through the set up together. Every time I go back to the shop he gives me the small parts I need if he has some used parts and give me a discount on everything as it is marked in the shop. Has free launch site and has gone out of his way to help me out.

Glad I purchased locally.

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I'm right 98% of the time. The other 3% I don't worry about.

Well, I visited my local dealer yesterday... The Boat Locker in Westport, CT.

They were pretty nice and their prices are exactly in-line with internet pricing... the only difference being the $170 in CT sales tax that I will have to pay for buying locally. I'm not typically one for "supporting the local stores" no matter the cost, but in this case it certainly seems reasonable.

Now I just need to decide exactly which boat to buy.