Does your dealer charge for travel and mileage?

D

DebtStar

Member
Dec 4, 2006
91
Rochester, NY
Boat Info
2007 320 Sundancer
Engines
350 Mags w/Bravo III drives
Just got a bill from my dealer for diagnosing and replacing a bad thermostat. One of the biggest line items is $85.00 for "Travel to and from boat 21 miles". They also charged me $10.19 for 21 miles x .485 for mileage. Do all dealers do this?
 
My guess is one line item is for the time to travel and the other is the expense to travel. So, I can see how the marina would justify the expense.

That being said, did you sit there as the work was done so you could see how easy it was to change the thermostat so next time you can buy the thermostat plus the 2 gaskets at a expense of about $30 and do it yourself?
 
The $85 is probably the labor rate for the drive time. Keep in mind you're taking a mechanic away from another job he could be doing in the shop. The other is wear and tear on the truck. Some places may have one set fee for travel (meaning both labor and wear/tear) - it looks like your dealer is just breaking it out into the actual fees. There is no real "standard" for your scenario. It will vary - and may vary quite a lot.

On edit: Darn-it! I hate when I don't press "submit" fast enough and end up basically saying the same thing as the post above me!!!
 
Interesting. I have not seen it billed as both before. Usually it's just a travel fee that is all inclusive, then the clock starts once they are on site, or it's mileage if they are relatively close.

Doug
 
I can't say about marine mechanics, but it is fairly typical to charge for travel time by the hourly rate and mileage by a mileage rate in industry. You don't pay tax on the mileage fee, so it is usually kept as a seperate item.
 
Thanks for the replies. Just wanted to know what to expect in the future and what is fair. Most of the work I have had done has been under warranty or when the boat is pulled. This is the first time I have seen a travel charge. I guess my only complaint might be that they spent the previous afternoon replacing two exhaust manifold gaskets under warranty but did not replace the thermostat at the same time. It was on my list.
 
DebtStar said:
Thanks for the replies. Just wanted to know what to expect in the future and what is fair. Most of the work I have had done has been under warranty or when the boat is pulled. This is the first time I have seen a travel charge. I guess my only complaint might be that they spent the previous afternoon replacing two exhaust manifold gaskets under warranty but did not replace the thermostat at the same time. It was on my list.
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Well, now that's a different story. They should've allowed enough time to do it all at once, or went back to your boat for free. The t-stat absolutely could've been done while they were there. I would be upset about that if it happened to me.
 
Lazy Daze said:
Well, now that's a different story. They should've allowed enough time to do it all at once, or went back to your boat for free. The t-stat absolutely could've been done while they were there. I would be upset about that if it happened to me.
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I agree with Dennis.

I’d go see the service manager and have a polite chat.

You may want to print this out and explain that you have received feedback from other experienced Sea Ray boat owners as well as a fellow Sea Ray dealer.

Up to this point you have not named the dealer so they should have no gripe with you seeking advice on the internet.
 
Thanks again to for the input. To be clear, my Sea Ray dealer has been great to work with and has done a lot to make me happy since buying my boat in '07. This is my second new boat and I have learned a lot about the value of good communication and documentation when dealing with service. My previous boat was a nightmare (not a Sea Ray) and the dealer offered no support. I'll likely take this as a learning opportunity and make sure in future we have a clear understanding of what will be repaired and how many trips to the marina (at $95 per trip) it will take.
 
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