I order a rocky xanadu and it came in today at my local surfshop.For those who don’t know its a fish with what they call a moon tail.The tail looks like a half moon shape.Anyhow during shipping the tail got damaged.It looks like the board got dropped directly on its tail.I’m not obligated to buy it but if I want it the manager said he’d take $45 off the $525 price.I don’t think its a good deal but if I go for it how, complicated is it to repair myself or how much do you think it would cost to repair it?Basically the damage is about a half an inch on each side of the bottom of the tail.No part of the tail fell off but I can see the cloth and foam under the cracks.We tried to pinch the tail together because it buckled out but we didn’t want to damage it any more.In order for me to get the tail back to its original shape I might have to remove some of the epoxy resin.Is all this worth me saving $45.thanks steve
By the time you either pay somebody who does epoxy repairs or buy the epoxy and such to do it yourself, you’re over $45. I’d charge something in the $50 and up range for that repair, probably quite a bit up 'cos it has to look just right. If there’s airbrush work, I dunno if I’d take the job at all. And you still have a less than ideal board. No good way to get that buckled tail down without major surgery either, cutting it open and basicly redoing the tail with filler in place of crushed foam and then covering it with new cloth, if I understand your description of the crunch. That puppy got JAMMED down, hard.
And you still have a buggered up repaired board, not new, even if you do it perfect, heavy tail full of resin and filler and so on.
Shine it on. You don’t want that deal.
The dealer can collect from the shipper for the replacement dealer cost of the board - he should have looked at the boards carefully before accepting the shipment, I do, every single time, open the boxes and check everything on every board very carefully and any, repeat any damage gets noted. I’ll send back a whole shipment for one board in the shape yours is in, or else I want the damage noted and the driver and/or the shipping company guy signing off on my damage claim right then and there, with my valuation on the shipping damage, not theirs. If your guy didn’t, well, he screwed up and it’s not your fault or your problem . If he was to say something like $100-150 off, then it might be worthwhile, or repaired it perfectly and still gave you $60-75 off and no repair charges, that’d be okay too. 'Cos that’s the kind of settlement he should be getting from the shipping company if not full dealer replacement cost. Again, if he didn’t, his problem, not yours.
Doc’s right. Pass it on to some desperado. At those prices (I believe they are made at the Cobra facility) you should start of with a perfect one. When they get dinged, water intrusion is a HUGE problem with those boards and accepting a damaged board will probably mean that you can’t go back with any problems on down the road. For the full price you will have Peace of Mind. PS. for one of those things to get dinged in shipping, it must have gotten WHACKED!!! And the tail tips and nose are the worst spots…
Something very similar happened to me today with a used board (a beautiful 9’ 4" Robert August handshaped Wingnut model). It was traded in and they had it listed for $550. A great price for an RA. So since my birthday is right around the corner I have them hold it for me (figuring it’ll be gone this weekend if I don’t). Took the wife by this afternoon so she could see it and she says, “What are these spots from?” Well someone dropped the board from the time I put it on hold yesterday morning and when we got there today. Has two 1 1/2" fractures now on the right rail. They told me I had two options: 1) they’d take $20 off and give me a free tube of Sun Cure or 2) they’d repair it for free and it’d take two weeks. The board is yellow with red rails. I asked if they’d match the color of the rail. Nope. Sounds like they’ll basically just put Sun Cure on it as well. They kept telling me it’d be about $20 to have someone fix it but I’m afraid to do it right (including matching the color) it’d be much closer to $50.
As much as I hate to pass on what I think is a good deal, I’m afraid I wouldn’t feel right about it. I realize it’s a used board, but it’s one thing to have a couple of minor pressure dings. Any other thoughts?
Anything is fixable, therein lies the dilemma. If you have them fix it then you can call them out on it later, trouble is the problems will creep up on you so slowly that it will be too hard to know before it is too loaded with water. On the other hand if it looks like an easy fix then go for it. They are handing you EPOXY suncure and NOT regular, right? Regular has the potential of melting the EPS foam core. = more problems. Also I have seen the dings extend well past the layer of the outer paint shell. A visible crack might have two other cracks running parallel to it under the more flexible paint. I am not particularly fond of the Thailand-built boards and they look so nice on the outside; basically what I am saying applies to any board with and EPS exposure at the rail. Hope this helps…
Well, it seems there was some confusion with the Sun Cure also. The first guy handed me epoxy, but the guy I spoke with originally (before the damage) grabbed the regular stuff. Maybe that should be enough to worry about. I’m totally unfamiliar with epoxy (other than I thought it was supposed to be more durable…I believe). I was surprised that there were roughly 2" spider cracks leading out from the main spots. Also, I was surprised that the spots were pure white. Maybe I haven’t seen enough dings in colored areas but it seemed odd that what used to be a red rail was now white.
Also, like you said, there may be more damage underneath. Correctly repaired I wouldn’t expect there to be other problems, but something could rear it’s head down the road. I guess I’m just not feeling warm and fuzzy like I was yesterday. It’s a bummer, too. It was really a sweet board.
$550 used vs $650 new list price? ( http://shop.robertaugust.com/surfboards/Wingnut_Model_Surfboard.html ) …I don’t think so. Shop around, you can prolly find one new for something in the $600 or less range, especially if the shop owner needs the cash and it’s a 2003. That board, used, is more in the $400 range. And if I took it on a tradein in pristine shape, I’d give $350, ask $450 and take $400 cash money and $425 check or credit card. That’s the surf biz.
Suncure goop dabbed in is a miserable excuse for a permanent repair, it’s adequate as temporary filler. When I do a repair that’s had suncure on it, I charge a minimum of $25 extra to take it out. Epoxy is the safe bet if the guy doesn’t know what the thing is ( a bad sign, if he don’t know if it’s a popout or a custom ) but if it’s not a popout it’s unnecessary.
2" of cracks, that was a pretty good hit. Another reason to shine it on. And then they will either fix it free or give ya $20 and a tube of sungoo? Let’s see, they let it get damaged after you put it on hold, they were overcharging in the first place, and they will either nail ya or nail ya for the damage. . I think, like Lee said, find another shop to do business with. Those people in that shop are turkeys or ripoffs or a combination. You don’t need 'em.
…the spots were pure white. Maybe I haven’t seen enough dings in colored areas but it seemed odd that what used to be a red rail was now white. …
Those white areas are probably seperation in the layers of glass, or possibly where the glass has seperated from the painted blank. Without more info, it is more than likely layer seperation. If this is the case, the upper layer(s) of glass have to be sanded out and patched. It also could be some kind of blushing if it is over large areas.
Thanks for the info guys. Doc, you’re right about the price. I was surprised when I saw the new price was just $650. I should’ve known better. This shop is a tourist trap more than a surf shop and the owner only cares about making a buck. Only stopped by because I didn’t snap up the 10’ noserider I’d seen at my preferred shop and the RA caught my eye.
I’ll keep looking for my next longboard, though. Thx!
Gads. Maybe not so good. Couldn’t leave well enough alone and trust my instinct so I shot Robert August an email with the board’s serial to see what they could tell me about it. Well, all Sam August said is this:
"Its a good deal …
RA Surf Co"
And I explained the damage as I did here. The board is supposed to be handshaped as opposed to a popout. I’m figuring the $650 on the website is for the latter which is why it’s only $100 different. Wish he would’ve answered my question about that also. Here I go overthinking and second-guessing just like always. :-/