Sbt sucks !!!

[Aquahallic]

:reddevil:

My dealer bought a rebuilt 787 motor from SBT in May 2008 and installed it for me. in my 1996 XP that the original motor lasted for 13 years !!!

I understand the Warranty is only for 1 year, however 3 weeks ago after less then 10 hrs of use, and being serviced as per instructions, stored indoors, the engine fogged during storage, my ski locks up on the first use of the 2010 season.

I take it back to my dealer, he tears down the top end and found the RAV valve supplied by SBT had broken and fallen into the piston.

Both my dealer and myself contact SBT requesting some assistance, as neither one of us has done anything wrong, no flooding, no running lean, very low use etc.

The problem is a defect in material supplied by SBT.

Again both myself and my dealer have contacted SBT by phone, with the same answer - No help, no support, nothing, not pro rated, not willing to assist in repairing the top end, just SOL !!

Thanks - I now have to spend another $ 800.00 to maybe get another 8-10 hrs of use ???

I've tried E mailing them 2 times with my story, and they will not even respond.

 

[JoeZ]

I am very sorry to hear you are having a hard time with them. Usually they are very responsive. I would try to elevate this over the phone to someone higher in the SBT food chain.

 

[Aquahallic]

Thanks Joe,
I tried talking to the manager of the warranty dept. but was told the decision was made. You don't know the name of someone further up the food chain I could talk to do you ?

I'm not asking for the world, only what I feel is fair, they supplied a defective part. In my line of work, I handle a lot of warranty for heavy equipment, and at times we look at specific issues even if it's out of warranty, and go by the instance, not always the letter of the law

 

[JoeZ]

I'm afraid I do not. Wish I could help you out further.

 

[Aquahallic]

And now to update all of you and tell you what kind of no customer service SBT has, I posted on their forum "The SBT" experience, which has a claim of This is an uncensored section where you can read about other's and post your experience with SBT..

I posted my issues, was given a reply, when I posted my response back with no abusive language etc.

MY POST WAS DELETED !!!

They say they want true experience, but when I provide mine, they delete my post !!

Go somewhere else besides SBT, go anywhere, they will not help you, they take your money and run

 

[seadoosnipe]

Experiences....

I have used SBT for several years. In most cases, when I hear of someone having a problem with the SBT motors blowing, or other major problem, I usually ask if they found the "root cause" of what caused the previous engines demise. From your statement, appears that it was just old and got your monies worth from that motor, no root cause should have been there.

In all my dealing with SBT, I have had a problem with a few RAVE vavles. But, this was noticed when I was working the motor. I felt they were not sliding properly, as if they were metal to metal. So, I made a call and and they sent out new ones and I replaced them.

This was of course, during the time of the warranty. About the only thing I don't like about SBT is there policy that you have to agree to when ordering. It requires arbitration verses a law suit. Which in other words, means they win by default.

I'll try calling but afraid that they may agree to the RAVE valve and replace it, but doubt they will help out on replacing the upper end.

Re-reading your thread real quick, I think your biggest issue is time lapse. There is no way for SBT to know how many hours you have on that motor. Do you know how many calls they probably field from people who bought their motor and blew it up because they didn't correct the root cause of their problem.....? I bet it's in the thousands. So, I dont' think it's a case that they won't support claims, just they can't support them that are about 3 years old. If you think about it from a business perspective, you probably wouldn't either, if you were the owner. With no knowledge of who you are, if you were the owner getting a call from someone who had a problem after 3 years, would you help them?

I'm not taking a side, just being the devils advocate in trying to see your point, and theirs.

I hate that it happened but, it does fall outside the scope of their policy that is established, that we all agree to when we buy their products......

 

[WOOSAB]

I had 2 sbt motors in my yamaha at the beginning of the year. Both went bad within 2 hours of use. Also when i replaced my motors only 1 need replacing but i replaced both just so the motors would be the same. On the left motor cylinder 1 and 3 went out. This was the side where the motor was working fine was just 9 years old and compression was a little low. on the right side cylinder 3 went down as well. SBT did warranty them and the dealer did do the work again no charge to me. But i personllay would never use SBT again. I just let the dealer sell the boat and i bought a new one.

I agree SBT motors are not very quality.

 

[JoeZ]

That's pretty terrible if your post was deleted without cause. There are a lot of people on SDF who have SBT replacement engines, and most dealings with SBT that we hear on here are positive. We aren't associaed with SBT in any way, but they have been a good source for people on the forum in need of an engine.

Threads like this are difficult, since only one side truely gets to voice the situation. Since the OP was able to put our their side, and the resolution, I don't think at this point there is anything else that can be added..

This thread is not being deleted, but is is being closed. Anything added will just be bashing which isn't quite fair to the other party.

I'm sorry for your experience with SBT, but glad you were able to share your story. If you have any further updates, please PM me and I'll reopen the thread so you can post a followup.

 

[Aquahallic]

New Update,
I posted yesterday on SBT website about my post being deleted, they responded quickly and advised a PM had been sent to me ( I had not seen this ) and were deleting my post.

I have read the PM, and understand the reason for the deletion of my posting and they are still in communication with me

 

[jimraab]

Keep us posted on what they do for you. Until I hear a positive response I will never use them and will share your experience with all my Jet Ski friends to do the same.

 

[Dr Honda]

I'm glad they are still in communication with you about it. As a person who spends a lot of $$$ on PWC every year... I hate to see someone get screwed.


BUT... I tend to agree with Snipe and STB. I am a manufacture of motorcycle parts, and I always try to see it from my customers side... but there have been a few times were I had to deny a warranty because of neglect.

In this case... you are past the warranty period, and they have know idea on how many hours are on the engine.

If you would have had the failure 2 mother earlier, I'm sure they would have given you a new engine.

I'm not taking SBT's side. I'm sure the engine was built wrong, but they can only be responsible for so long, and... you had the option to pay for a 3 year warranty if you wanted it.

Sorry... just stating my 2 cents.

 

[fubada]

I had a 787 fail from SBT also under 10 hours of use. Engine lost all power and shut off at WOT, checked compression 150 MAG but only 30-60 PTO jug. Talking with SBT regarding a replacement.

 

[nikko_m]

sorry to hear about this...you mean the rave valve broke into 2 pcs?havnt experiance that before with the oem rave valves..and i was thinking on trying the sbt rave valves on one of my 800's...good thing i read about your post.

 

[TheChad]

There is a reason why many of the better engine builders out there won’t take an SBT engine as a core.

That said, with a company that rebuilds as many engines as SBT they are going to have some failures, whether it be from bad manufacturing practices or just bad parts. What would make the company stand out above all others is how they handle warranty claims.

My understanding is that while in warranty they are great at handling claims, outside of warranty it becomes "management discretion". On one hand they have a warranty, they have every right to stick to it and make no exceptions. On the other hand if they make exceptions for certain cases where it was definitely something that was a manufacturing flaw and not caused by neglect, it makes them look more respectable to the customer base.

That said, if they make an exception for one person, every other person expects them to make an exception for them too.

It's hard to take a side because both sides have a good argument. I think the best resolution would be to meet in the middle.


Just my $0.02.

-TheChad

 

[rxtxfreak88]

What was the reason for deleting your post? We have not used SBT in about 6 years due to the fact nothing is really Sea-Doo in them. Just about everything is over sized and will not work right.

 

[srilla]

i bought a steering cable for my gsx from SBT the 3rd turn i took...SNAP.

 

[chaseschrecker]

Sbt just sent me replacement power valves on my 2 week old motor. When I was pulling the raves I noticed the didn't bother to put the o-rings under the rave housing! Woops! No wonder it kept melting the plastic rave piston.