HisDoghouse
05-19-2008, 01:19 PM
I'm presuming many of you are familiar with some of the bad press that has been posted on a number of boating-related websites. To paraphrase some of the negative comments, it was stated by some boat owners that Luhrs management did not take sufficient care of them. My posting here is in no way an attempt to minimize the problems that any other Luhrs owner may have experienced, but rather to state how my own experiences with Luhrs have gone.
I purchased my 2004 Luhrs 38 Open from a local dealer in March 2006 as the first owner, getting a very good deal on the boat and new electronics. The boat had been used as a demo by my dealer and another dealer before them, and it had 150 hours on each engine when I took delivery. During our initial inspection, there were a number of "punch-out" list items, many of which were taken care of in a timely manner by the dealer. Some did take considerably longer than others, but most were completed satisfactorily.
The second time my wife and I took the boat underway, we were powering up to get on plane, when we heard a clunk, and the engine synchronizer disengaged. I powered down and after testing the transmissions, discovered that there was no propulsion from the port side. As a former outboard motor owner, I didn't know what was wrong, suspecting that there was a problem with the transmission. We returned to the dock, and got it into the slip (with some difficulty). We had a diver check, and he took pictures of our shaft that had no prop on the end. The shaft had snapped at 160 hours. During my phone conversations with the dealer, where he accused me of hitting something and explained that Luhrs didn't cover running gear, I explained very patiently that we hit nothing, and that Luhrs SHOULD cover the repair as I had done nothing wrong. To make this part of a long story short, Luhrs stepped up to the plate, and they paid for everything; the haul out, the on-the-hard storage, the TWO new shafts (a crack was discovered under the hub of the starboard wheel), a new prop for the port side, and the labor.
Roll the clock forward almost two years. Now I have on the engines almost 500 hours (340 hours I put on them since the shaft broke last time), and I'm heading out on a Saturday morning with a group of friends in early February to try for some striper. Upon powering up outside my inlet to get up on plane, I hear a clunk, the synchronizer disengages, and I power down. At this point, I knew EXACTLY what had happened, did an about face, and headed back for my slip. I was able to put it into the slip with MUCH MORE confidence and tied the boat up. I dropped an underwater video camera over the stern, and got confirmation that my port shaft had again snapped, and the wheel was gone. I contacted my dealer that day, and they contacted Luhrs on Monday. By Thursday, Customer Service at Luhrs was asking me where I wanted my two new shafts and new wheel shipped. No arguments, no fuss, no muss.
Even when I had to take my dealer off the case as far as completing the repair, Customer Service at Luhrs was extremely supportive. They covered the haul out and labor in addition to the two new shafts and new screw. This on a boat that I had purchased just shy of two years previously. Obviously there was an issue with the two sets of shafts that failed on my boat. But Luhrs recognized the problem, and got for me two new shafts from a different manufacturer, and I have been assured that there will be no more problems with these shafts on my boat.
With all the Luhrs-bashing out there, I wanted to relay my own story of how they supported me with my boat. My dealings with Luhrs corporate on these two occasions, as well as on a couple of other issues, have all been very satisfactory. Luhrs Customer Service has taken very good care of me. I for one, based upon my own personal experiences, would not hesitate to recommend Luhrs as a manufacturer to anyone. And before anyone comments, I am not, nor have I ever been, an employee of Luhrs. I am not receiving any compensation for these unsolicited comments. I am a satisfied customer.
Joe
I purchased my 2004 Luhrs 38 Open from a local dealer in March 2006 as the first owner, getting a very good deal on the boat and new electronics. The boat had been used as a demo by my dealer and another dealer before them, and it had 150 hours on each engine when I took delivery. During our initial inspection, there were a number of "punch-out" list items, many of which were taken care of in a timely manner by the dealer. Some did take considerably longer than others, but most were completed satisfactorily.
The second time my wife and I took the boat underway, we were powering up to get on plane, when we heard a clunk, and the engine synchronizer disengaged. I powered down and after testing the transmissions, discovered that there was no propulsion from the port side. As a former outboard motor owner, I didn't know what was wrong, suspecting that there was a problem with the transmission. We returned to the dock, and got it into the slip (with some difficulty). We had a diver check, and he took pictures of our shaft that had no prop on the end. The shaft had snapped at 160 hours. During my phone conversations with the dealer, where he accused me of hitting something and explained that Luhrs didn't cover running gear, I explained very patiently that we hit nothing, and that Luhrs SHOULD cover the repair as I had done nothing wrong. To make this part of a long story short, Luhrs stepped up to the plate, and they paid for everything; the haul out, the on-the-hard storage, the TWO new shafts (a crack was discovered under the hub of the starboard wheel), a new prop for the port side, and the labor.
Roll the clock forward almost two years. Now I have on the engines almost 500 hours (340 hours I put on them since the shaft broke last time), and I'm heading out on a Saturday morning with a group of friends in early February to try for some striper. Upon powering up outside my inlet to get up on plane, I hear a clunk, the synchronizer disengages, and I power down. At this point, I knew EXACTLY what had happened, did an about face, and headed back for my slip. I was able to put it into the slip with MUCH MORE confidence and tied the boat up. I dropped an underwater video camera over the stern, and got confirmation that my port shaft had again snapped, and the wheel was gone. I contacted my dealer that day, and they contacted Luhrs on Monday. By Thursday, Customer Service at Luhrs was asking me where I wanted my two new shafts and new wheel shipped. No arguments, no fuss, no muss.
Even when I had to take my dealer off the case as far as completing the repair, Customer Service at Luhrs was extremely supportive. They covered the haul out and labor in addition to the two new shafts and new screw. This on a boat that I had purchased just shy of two years previously. Obviously there was an issue with the two sets of shafts that failed on my boat. But Luhrs recognized the problem, and got for me two new shafts from a different manufacturer, and I have been assured that there will be no more problems with these shafts on my boat.
With all the Luhrs-bashing out there, I wanted to relay my own story of how they supported me with my boat. My dealings with Luhrs corporate on these two occasions, as well as on a couple of other issues, have all been very satisfactory. Luhrs Customer Service has taken very good care of me. I for one, based upon my own personal experiences, would not hesitate to recommend Luhrs as a manufacturer to anyone. And before anyone comments, I am not, nor have I ever been, an employee of Luhrs. I am not receiving any compensation for these unsolicited comments. I am a satisfied customer.
Joe