Video

The "Leopard" brand is owned by Robertson and Caine and used by the broker. Robertson and Caine continue to use these Lewmar portlights with a record of them prematurely failing and no guarantee of a change in production process. Imagine customers realising this and being disgruntled for having their time wasted.

Hey Abraham, thanks for our comment which is exactly right ! Spend such big money should not amount to such bad treatment. Obviously it should be the opposite. Shortly we will be doing a video about whether we would buy a Leopard again. Watch that first before making a decision 🙂

Hi Matthew, protecting and informing existing owners and prospective owners is a primary part of our goal. We wish we had had this info before choosing a Leopard. Can you believe that we have actually had a handful of owners complain to say that we are devaluing their Leopards. They seem unable to understand that Leopard have devalued their boats and that if Leopard began to do the right thing, their boats would re-value. Thanks for your support. Kevin & Melinda

Yes, a very sour lemon at that. We wish that we could return it

We were supposed to come spend time with Trent in November but he said he'd be leaving by December, so we passed on by. We don't have any plan to come that far south because in the coming season, we plan to spend time in the Bahamas. Why do you ask? Will you come to the Bahamas?

Thank you for your comment and support. You are not alone ! Because of their poor service, many people have crossed them off their buy lists. My hope is that they are clever enough to realise that they and not their customers, are the problem. If they are, then the folk calling them out would have helped future buyers to buy Leopards without having to endure what we, Travel Sketch and a bunch of non-CZcams Leopard owners have had to endure

Thanks for your comment George. We met many owners in the Caribbean that have resigned to being scammed by Leopard. Some had 50% offers on the repair costs, some had no replies to their communications. Some had their warranty claims outright declined, as did I in the beginning . . . . I received one email from the 'bad' guy in Cape Town saying that all warranty items on Utopia had been declined by the factory. When I asked for an explanation on a per item basis, he refused to reply. Soon after that I called the VP who told me that he had looked into the 'bad' guys communications and found no fault and that CZcams is not the correct forum to handle warranty claims. I wish he was correct. We are South Africans that emigrated to Australia years ago and I have to agree, in the 13 MONTHS it took Leopard to complete the aftermarket work on Utopia, we came across many scam artists in South Africa. It could be just the marine industry or perhaps it is what South Africa has become since I left: Nigeria mark II

Thanks George. I only want them to do what they should do i.e. the warranty work that they are directly responsible for. However, if they refuse some of it, they will pay for all the costs they have caused us to incur. We don't want that because it implies lengthy legal processes and frankly speaking, we'd much rather live our lives at see, enjoying the ocean

Thanks for your support. You are totally correct. Our first season in the Caribbean was a nightmare, not a pleasure ! You are also correct about Leopard ducking and dodging. In fact I can honestly say that the issues might have even been borderline acceptable if Leopard had handled them properly with integrity and efficiency and genuine customer concern. Instead they have really tried to dodge the issues.

Hey Mick and Nikki, thanks for your kind support. Actually, Leopard have now refunded our costs for the work that we did in the Caribbean. I would say that the VP is the person responsible for that decision. We have heard less than ideal things about his attitude but good things about his ethics. So hopefully when we meet him in October in Annapolis, he will agree to attend to all the warranty issues in Ft Lauderdale in November. Hopefully they are professional with the work but I think that might be too much hope to hold on to. Of course, that payment doesn't cover the lost season and all the costs associated with chasing around the Caribbean, after tradies. Our issue with Leopard now is the remaining warranty work. We want them to attend to all of at the one stop at their Ft Lauderdale facility in November but they are holding back and pulling back on some of it, even though we have had to sail and motor so far for it. Leopard agreed to handle the alternators through Just Cats, which is a biggie. And don't worry, I would never sign an NDA. Once Leopard does the job properly, there will eventually be no longer need to focus on warranty. In fact, if they handle it well, that's what will be reported on CZcams. We simply convey what happens but they don't seem to realise that. In fact, we tend to tone it down a bit, so that we can't be accused of exaggerating, or the like. We absolutely will keep on with videos, regardless of Leopards warranty. Check out the schedule near the end of the video that Melinda talks about. Take care, Kevin & Melinda

Thanks for your comment. The chiller is an option that I never took. Instead, thinking that they would be low-draw, I went to a third-party supplier for 4 x 48v aircons but unfortunately the same brand as the chiller - Frigomar. They are definitely not low-draw . . . together, the four units (total 58k BTU) can draw of 5kw ! Also, the 3rd party dealer/installer was another South African industry scam artist. Crap install job

Thanks for your reply. You are very right. It is sad. Their overall design is good. Management is the issue ! Sad

Thanks for your reply. Actually, the issues have existed before they sold to the Czech company about 18 months ago but since the two original owners stepped out of the company. We knew that we were buying a caravan. It was want we wanted because we would be at anchor for upward of 95% of the time. They are very heavy boats, so definitely not performance oriented. Even though we knew it when we bought it, while sailing, I find myself yearning for a proper performance boat. Thank you for your well wishes

mmmm...you might be wrong in saying, "South Africa has never been considered a centre of industrial leisure boat excellence"...They have Xquisite(Tamas the owner has pride in his company and after service) Kinetic, Knysna, St Francis to mention a few...but that is high end yachts so you need the money. I think Leopard is in the same class as Lagoon, with their own issues.

Thanks for your comment. We have been doing EVERYTHING to try avoid a long drawn-out legal process. We have been hoping that all will come right from our meeting with the Vice President of Leopard at Annapolis in October AND their management of Utopia when she is with them to fix, in Ft Lauderdale in November. Unfortunately, we think that their management of the warranty repairs will be a nightmare because we don't confidence in Leopards being a competent company. We really hope to be proven wrong. Also, word has it that the VP is arrogant. On the other hand, word has it that the VP is a person of integrity. We'll just have to wait and see how they perform but if we end up going legal, it will not be for lack of trying to resolve the warranty directly. Stay tuned for the verdict 🙂

@@sailing_utopia seriously do yourself the favour and get a toothy shark with the law degree and save yourself the emotional shit show from disingenuous showroom floor staff that have no genuine interest in getting a full resolution for you for the issues their parent company created. I have followed along listening with disbelief of the abhorrent treatment your family has received and quite honestly the brand company shows full well their disdain for the customer and the urgency of the safety issues put to the provider for their utmost urgent response.You have been well patient,personally I’d ask for a full refund and compensation for pain and suffering,they put your family lives at risk with an inferior product and service. Do what you feel is necessary but don’t take less than what you guys deserve,they fucked up your dream start,I apologise for language but am very disappointed from what I’ve heard from you and other owners so it’s not isolated issue with poor quality and service.Be safe and safe sailing ⛵️,Dirk.

@@sailing_utopia sounds like running out the warranty period,honestly,I apologise if I cause upset with my thought process,in todays age one can’t help but be suspicious when all we encounter is obstacles,walk backs on promises and outright denials of ownership of the issues.Sorry bro,chin up old chap,lol,Newcastle here.

@@svthorasailing4868 Hey Dirk, I love your passion. You are correct, they fucked up big time. They have and still are fucking up the dreams of a lot of owners. I gave them a commitment that if they PROPERLY fix all the warranty issues in November, 100% at their cost, I would not go legal. They have not disputed that any of the listed warranty issues are valid, so they know full well what they are. However, they don't seem to recognise my commitment because they are still nit-picking. If it went legal, I might just go for a full refund plus interest but I certainly would be going for a heck of a lot of indirect losses that Leopard have caused us. If you are in the area, look us up.

@@svthorasailing4868 By the way, am in Sydney now. Email is kevindeanferreira@outlook.com

Thanks for your comment Frank. There are good manufacturers as well as these bad ones. I hear that Seawind are a good one. Sometimes it is not just the warranty problems with the boat but instead the issue is the people that should be attending to the warranty problems

You are correct Dave, I've had far better treatment buying a fridge, TV or small car. Back in the day, I was a young sales person selling $3,000 personal computers. We were taught always to thank a customer for his order ! I can promise you that if you saw the lack of any reaction from Leopard to me placing the order with them - Total value about USD1.2m - you'd be shocked. In the period after signed the order, I had the sense from them, that they were doing me a favour. I could take over that company and turn it 360 around, in under 24 months or as long as it took to restructure the warranty part of the contract with the factory

Thanks for your comment ! You hit the old proverbial nail right on the head

Hey Dave, yo be honest, I would rather the huge issues we have had than structural issues. Thanks for your support