Dont sit that boat!!

[amateurfishing]

Took the boat in yesterday for a tune up after previous owner un-used it for past few years. Mechanic says cha-ching!! new fuel line (current one leaking) only 1 cylinder sparking, timing off, & impeller. $700 later, gee this may have not been a good deal after all last fall. Mechanic actually said boat & motor very nice condition, motor just not taken care of like needed to & now I get full blown bill. Is this a decent price for all this stuff? Mechanic seems very genuine and knowlegable, i was fourth boat in his yard yesterday.

[marine_man]

If he replaced some electrical components due to only 1 cylinder firing, with everything else you had I don't think $700 is too far out of line. Ignition parts on boats are not cheap.

marine_man

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

ouch

[amateurfishing]

ya, he said he got the motor started but it sounded like [PoorWordUsage], said only 1 cylinder had decent spark and whatever checks or regulates that he said would be best to replace completely, that was $250 alone i think, then add water pump, fuel line with new rings & gaskets, blah blah. cant afford it right now but he is cool. will start tinkering on it in spare time till tax refund comes through.

[boatfixer]

Hmmmm? Well what engine are we dealing with? Hp, yr cylinders? Yes MM is right, ignition parts can be pricey. Which leads me to my next thought. "Thinks it would be best". I would want to be certain that the proper ignition tests were made in the right sequence. Parts Replacing can be both expensive and frustrating.

[amateurfishing]

its a 1984 mercury 75 hp 4 cylinder

[boatfixer]

I would have to think he suggests replacing the switch box. An aftermarket sierra would cost about 185 and one made by CDI would run about 240.

[amateurfishing]

correct, he said the box that makes them all fire correctly & quoted a price for that of $250

[boatfixer]

So 300 or so for the box, impeller and hose. 400 for labor? I only counted 2 hrs. Maybe I still do things the old fashioned way

[amateurfishing]

i think there was more than that but will call him on monday & write stuff down

[amateurfishing]

Just got off phone with mechanic, this is how he broke it down:

Hose assembly $20

new spark plugs 24

carb kits 10

switchbox 230

impeller 17= 301 total parts

labor-350,does not charge by hour, charges by specific "job",is this a fair or accurate bill for these items? am I getting hosed on labor, nothing has been ok'd to do yet but would like to know if its fair or should look around more. he is in my backyard and dont really feel like takin boat on 5 mn road trips, im in elk river

[echotrail]

Like most of us if you don't have mechanical skills the true meaning of "boat" (Bust Out Another Thusand) becomes becomes very meaningful.

[SkunkedAgain]

Sounds about right for that work. It ain't cheap to own a boat.

[FM_Mike]

Price seems fair to me. Lot of work to do some tedious some not.

Mike

[varmithtr]

I dropped my boat off one day, picked it up 2.5 hrs later. It was already out of the shop and waiting. My bill charged for 3 hours labor. I questioned this. He brought out some book saying that job was a 3 hour labor job. I told him I couldn't care less what his book said, I would pay for the time worked. Obviously, I didn't win! I have, however, never been back.

Perhaps that is very common.

I have no trouble paying someone for their skills, and a per job cost vs. per hour probably would have sat better with me.

[RiverFish]

Would have sat better, but would have cost the same.

[bobbymalone]

not sure how mechanically inclined you are, but some of that stuff can be a fairly easy diy project.

My boat sat in my pop's garage for 12-14 years. Some carb kits, plugs, a new starter, impeller and seal kit, this and that, a shop manual, and whammo - boat runs and I'm only out a few hundred and a several nights out in the garage.

[amateurfishing]

second boat, first real decent one, no mechanical skills at all, have tried some other learning starter projects and usually does not come out well at all. Took me 2 weeks just to figure out trailer lights. would be willing to learn from someone but my educational process is better by watching someone else, i have never gotten far by reading & doing. Put together furniture with instructions and i dont get along at all. I prefer leaving some things in life up to people that do it every day and can do 100 times faster & better. If its a fair price, im good. just need to wait for income tax refund to afford it. rrrrrrr thx for all the info

[MichaelSwan]

I get into the Book Time and Real Time spent w. my pal and nemesis The Mechanic. The argument I make is that if you are going to charge me what the book says, than I might as well go anywhere I like, why go to THEIR shop when every mechanic reads the same book? There are mechanics that are closer to my house than the guy who charges me a book price. Loyalty went out the window.

[ozzie]

yeah I don't get, the book says when it comes to mechanics, but in the same sense when bidding a job you estimate man hours and I am sure it rarely is discounted to the customer if you finish early...

[delcecchi]

This the book from the manufacturer for warranty stuff or some third party book? Probably a good market for books that have the times a little easier than the ones the warranty guys use. Or am I just a cynic?

[SkunkedAgain]

If I have two mechanics that are both going to charge me the same price for work because "the book" states it will take x hours and cost $xxx, I'm going with the guy who finishes the job quicker and gets my boat/motor back to me sooner. Some of you are actually claiming that you would rather go to the slower mechanic. I'm all for that if the other guy is going to charge less, but that's not likely the case.

[bobbymalone]

i believe there were several third party books that have evolved into internet databases. i know they have them for auto repair but not sure about boats, i wouldn't doubt it.

You plug in the make and model of the car, plug in that you need a passenger side transmission output seal replacement, and it will say that takes 1.5 hours. You get billed for 1.5 hours, even if it takes 45 minutes for a skilled/fast mechanic.

My bro in law is a mechanic, and he says you also get billed for 1.5 hours if it takes him 2.5 hours to do it. His pay is based on what he can get done, so he is rewarded if he is able to get stuff done faster than what the "book" time is. On a lucky day he might be able to get 10-12 "hours" of book time done in an 8 hour shift. I don't think his time card says 10-12 hours, but he gets some sort of commission like pay based on these "book" hours. Same goes for days when he has difficult job that takes longer than book time.

I thought it was funny because surgeons are sometimes paid in the same way,

At least that is how I remember it from him explaining it to me a couple years ago. I'm sure one of the mechanics that floats around in here could chime in.

[boatfixer]

When I worked for dealers in the past, I had to go by the book, wasnt my choice. Nowadays Im not trying to pay other employess and all the overhead cost associated with doing business with every guy who backs into my driveway so I charge what I believe is fair. Then again, I consider it my 23 yr hobby. Running a business is a little different ball game.

[amateurfishing]

To boat fixer

When I worked for dealers in the past, I had to go by the book, wasnt my choice. Nowadays Im not trying to pay other employess and all the overhead cost associated with doing business with every guy who backs into my driveway so I charge what I believe is fair. Then again, I consider it my 23 yr hobby. Running a business is a little different ball game.

So boat fixer, is this a fair price? thx