Quote:
Originally Posted by LIforrelaxin
When Brunswick bought Bayliner they cheapened the brand, which caused lots of problems and issues. leading the bad reputation.
Bayliner had a loyal following prior to being acquired by Brunswick, which allowed Brunswick to sell them fairly easily especially in the west. Unfortunately the quality problems Brunswick introduced quickly caught up to them.
As a Redmond Wa. company the original Bayliner boats where built well and lasted. My Father bought a 1975 Bayliner quartermaster which we had for 30+ years, and the biggest problem was that a cat decided to ruin the upholstery which we had to replace eventually. When the boat was given to charity, it was still in great condition, and the same era Tower of Power from Mercury Marine was still running strong as well..(in 1975 Brunswick hadn't bought Mercury Marine yet either)
Sea Ray like Bayliner suffered when bought by Brunswick Marine although not as significantly. Unfortuantely as time has marched on Sea Ray and Bayliners have been massed produced and flooded in the market, They both are pretty plain, and pretty introductory level boats.... hopefully Brunswick will be able to sell Sea Ray, so that the brand will continue to live on.
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Completely agree with your Bayliner assessment but not Sea Ray. In my opinion Sea Ray's are not plain, introductory level boats but are amongst the best in their class. As stated I have owned many boats over my life and the quality of my 2 Sea Ray's have been outstanding