OK, so here I am on the preverbal soap box, please excuse my rant but I am angry and I think you guys need to know about this. The following is a summary of my current dealings with Raymarine. Before you spend a red cent with this company read this.
When I purchased my 275 Tournament back in 2008, I purchased my electronics new as well. After a review of what was on the market at the time and consideration of the fact that Raymarine is New Hampshire Company right down the street from my business, I decided to purchase from them. I bought a brand new 2008 Raymarine model C120 Classic display, SR50 satellite module and a DSM300 depth module. At the time I was considering an Arch and radar for my boat but could not swing the extra money at the time. My electronics guy said hay no problem, you can do that later.
Well, later is here and guess what, when I went to purchase the radar dome last week I was told they are no longer available and that that they were discontinued back in 2009. WHAT!!! How do you sell a product, the C120 Classic to be specific in 2008 and discontinue the peripherals for it in 2009 with no transition period or notice to the owners of the existing systems??? So, I emailed Raymarine to ask them this very question. The answer was a diatribe of pure psychobabble that boils down to this. You can add radar to your C120 Classic, we don’t sell it but you can add it and here are the part numbers, but be assured you can expand your system. I called around to the usual suspects in the electronics retail business and got laughed at. Those domes have not been available for a couple of years now, if you find any let us know we have lots of call for them!!!!
Next, in a subsequent email, Raymarine had the unmitigated gall to say that your best real option is to replace your equipment with current equipment.
EXCUSE ME, a 2008 C120 Classic is current equipment "expletive" "expletive" and I am not spending $6,500 on new electronics to add a $1,200 radar that I should be able to purchase at West Marine. So bottom line, Raymarine has left me (and now that I have looked into it hundreds of others) out on the cold and their only answer is in the plan words of a construction guy, JUNK YOUR CURRENT PERFICTLY FUNCTIONAL EQUIPMENT AND BUY OUR NEW SYSTEM. Well Raymarine, it will be a very very cold day in hell before I every buy anything from you again.
BUT WAIT it gets better! I was also told that Raymarine is now on a flat rate repair schedule for the C Series Classic system displays of $1,750. If the system completely dies $1,750 if a button stops functioning $1,750, get moisture behind your screen $1,750. My electronics dealer told me they heard out of mouth of a Raymarine sales executive that Raymarine’s strategy is to force the owners of these systems to buy new system through high repair pricing. OK, I can buy that if the system was six or seven years old but not three to four.
Oh yah, and while we’re at it, for all of you that are unfortunate enough to be in the situation with me, if you decide this winter, hay, I think I’m going to add Weather Satellite to my system, guess again. The SR50 modules have been discontinued as well and are harder to find than the radar domes.
Just thought I would pass this along to anyone thinking about new electronics.
I yield the soap box.
When I purchased my 275 Tournament back in 2008, I purchased my electronics new as well. After a review of what was on the market at the time and consideration of the fact that Raymarine is New Hampshire Company right down the street from my business, I decided to purchase from them. I bought a brand new 2008 Raymarine model C120 Classic display, SR50 satellite module and a DSM300 depth module. At the time I was considering an Arch and radar for my boat but could not swing the extra money at the time. My electronics guy said hay no problem, you can do that later.
Well, later is here and guess what, when I went to purchase the radar dome last week I was told they are no longer available and that that they were discontinued back in 2009. WHAT!!! How do you sell a product, the C120 Classic to be specific in 2008 and discontinue the peripherals for it in 2009 with no transition period or notice to the owners of the existing systems??? So, I emailed Raymarine to ask them this very question. The answer was a diatribe of pure psychobabble that boils down to this. You can add radar to your C120 Classic, we don’t sell it but you can add it and here are the part numbers, but be assured you can expand your system. I called around to the usual suspects in the electronics retail business and got laughed at. Those domes have not been available for a couple of years now, if you find any let us know we have lots of call for them!!!!
Next, in a subsequent email, Raymarine had the unmitigated gall to say that your best real option is to replace your equipment with current equipment.
EXCUSE ME, a 2008 C120 Classic is current equipment "expletive" "expletive" and I am not spending $6,500 on new electronics to add a $1,200 radar that I should be able to purchase at West Marine. So bottom line, Raymarine has left me (and now that I have looked into it hundreds of others) out on the cold and their only answer is in the plan words of a construction guy, JUNK YOUR CURRENT PERFICTLY FUNCTIONAL EQUIPMENT AND BUY OUR NEW SYSTEM. Well Raymarine, it will be a very very cold day in hell before I every buy anything from you again.
BUT WAIT it gets better! I was also told that Raymarine is now on a flat rate repair schedule for the C Series Classic system displays of $1,750. If the system completely dies $1,750 if a button stops functioning $1,750, get moisture behind your screen $1,750. My electronics dealer told me they heard out of mouth of a Raymarine sales executive that Raymarine’s strategy is to force the owners of these systems to buy new system through high repair pricing. OK, I can buy that if the system was six or seven years old but not three to four.
Oh yah, and while we’re at it, for all of you that are unfortunate enough to be in the situation with me, if you decide this winter, hay, I think I’m going to add Weather Satellite to my system, guess again. The SR50 modules have been discontinued as well and are harder to find than the radar domes.
Just thought I would pass this along to anyone thinking about new electronics.
I yield the soap box.
