In the first marine industry customer satisfaction survey ever undertaken by J.D. Power and Associates, Ranger Boats customers were the most satisfied with their bass boat purchases.

In the bass boat category, "Ranger ranked highest, followed closely by Triton and Champion," J.D. Power stated. Ranger was the only bass boat manufacturer to receive the highest possible rating in all categories:

ManufacturerOverallF&CInteriorExteriorR&H
Ranger*************************
Champion**********************
Triton**********************
Skeeter*******************
Stratos****************
Javelin***************
Sprint************
Tracker************
> Overall = Overall Quality and Reliability
> F&C = Features and Controls
> R&H = Ride and Handling
***** = Among the best
**** = Better than most
*** = Does not really stand out
** = The rest

Ranger Is Proud

"We take great pride in being the highest-ranked bass boat in a study of this kind," said Ranger president Randy Hopper. "J.D. Power and Associates' credibility and integrity among consumers is unsurpassed.

"We know unequivocally that our customers believe in what we're doing, and we will continue to deliver what we call 'Signature Quality,'" Hopper added. "It's our personal commitment to excellence to every Ranger owner. Our customers know they are getting the highest-quality bass boat available with a resale value that is unsurpassed."

Forrest Happy Too

Ranger Boats founder and bass fishing legend Forrest L. Wood said: "We've always strived to exceed our customers' expectations for the past 33 years, and we feel the J.D. Power study demonstrates we are keeping our promise.

"We will continue to be innovative in our design and construction of Ranger boats to ensure that we improve the product we deliver in the future."

You Get What You Pay For

"The old adage that you get what you pay for definitely holds true in the boating industry," said Frank Forkin, a partner at J.D. Power. "With few exceptions, the higher-priced boats had fewer problems and higher customer satisfaction than did the lower-priced boats."

According to J.D. Power, the problems most frequently cited by bass and other boat owners included difficulty starting the engine, the engine idling rough or stalling, gauges not working properly, emblems and pinstriping peeling, gel coats chipped or scratched and the boat pulling to one side.

Engine Problems

J.D. Power found that nearly one-third of the problems experienced by new boat owners involve the engine. It also found that "in all aspects of owning a new boat -- including sales, service, warranty and satisfaction with their new boat and engine -- the component that consumers are least satisfied with is the engine warranty.

"Given the high performance demands placed on a boat’s engine and its challenging water operating environment, consumers expect longer and more comprehensive coverage."

Yamaha Rated Best

Generally Yamaha had the highest overall quality among two-stroke outboard engines, particularly in the 200- and 250-horsepower engine segments, J.D. Power stated.

Other engines that "really stood out based on their owners' observations" were: Mercury 175-hp EFI; Mercury OptiMax 200-hp engines; Evinrude 115-hp; Evinrude 150-hp Ficht models; and Honda four-stroke 130-hp motors. (Nissan/Tohatsu and Suzuki outboards were not included because the sample size was too small.)

Service Times Too Long

J.D. Power also looked at customer satisfaction with dealer boat service, and found that boat buyers "are much more likely to be satisfied with the sales process...than with their experience when bringing their boat back to the dealer for service."

Of all the service attributes measured, consumers were least satisfied with the time it took a dealership to complete service work. "Given the relatively short boating seasons in many parts of the country, the last thing consumers want is their boat tied up in service," Forkin said. "However, due to limited resources at the dealership, many service departments just can’t keep up."

"Dealers and boat builders should work together to find ways to reduce the time it takes to service a boat," he said. "The data clearly show that those manufacturers whose dealerships do a better job servicing the boats they sell are much more likely to retain that customer the next time they are in the market for a new boat.

"In general, boaters report lower satisfaction with their sales and service experience than we see in the auto industry," Forkin added. "However, the fact that many of the highest-ranked boat builders are on par with the best in the auto industry should send a signal to the rest of the marine industry that improvement is possible."

Expectations From Auto Industry

"Consumer expectations of quality in the products they purchase are often shaped by quality experiences from various industries," noted Forkin. "You can bet the marine manufacturers have taken note of the dramatic increases in product quality in the auto industry and the potential impact it’s having on their customers’ expectations."

He noted that 26 percent of boat owners indicated that the number of problems they had were more than they expected, compared to 18 percent in the automotive industry.

Ratings Will Help Quality?

J.D. Power stated that the Marine Quality and Performance Study was "developed to provide the marine industry with quality and customer product satisfaction benchmarks with which to measure the impact of its quality improvement initiatives."

"Improving quality and reducing the number of problems should be paramount to every manufacturer building boats or engines in the marine industry," Forkin said. "In addition to increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty, improvements in quality can have a direct impact on the bottom line by decreasing costs associated with recalls and warranty claims."

Study Background

The independently-funded J.D. Power 2001 Marine Quality and Performance Study measured on-the-water experiences of 6,000 new boat owners across the three boat categories (bass boats, center consoles, runabouts).

Headquartered in Agoura Hills, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is a global marketing information services firm best known for its customer satisfaction ratings in the automobile industry.

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