Fair Service charges??

J

jdhatch

New Member
Oct 16, 2008
15
Panama City, FL
Boat Info
310 Sundancer
2008
Engines
twin 6.2 Mercruiser
Bravo III
310 Sundancer.

AC not working so dealer (removed name) took a look at it.

"There was a clog at the outlet of the heat exchanger that we flushed out." :smt038

On this system there are 4 hoses and hose clamps on each.

Sounds like no parts used and charging for 3 hours of labor, so over $300. :wow:

Does this sound legit?

All fitting and pipes are readily accessible. It sounds like a 30 minute job. (be glad to pay the minimum 1 hour fee)
 
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Its hard to tell... They may have tried other things before they found the problem... I would ask them why is cost so much to do what seems like a simple job...
 
Could also be a minimum charge for coming out. You sure the marina looked at it? Sometimes they farm out specialty work like that and then they take a piece of the action.
 
I talked to the service manager and he reduced the labor charges to 1 hour for one man and 1/2 hour for the helper.

I am satisfied with that as it seems realistic for the job.
 
jdhatch said:
I talked to the service manager and he reduced the labor charges to 1 hour for one man and 1/2 hour for the helper.

I am satisfied with that as it seems realistic for the job.
Click to expand...

So, they ripped you off to see if they could get away with it, then backed down when questioned about it.

Nice.
 
I doubt it. The service manager was on vacation last week and one of the service writers just completed the work order based on the hours stamped on the time cards. There are a couple of newer guys in service and most likely one of them was used to hold the dumb end of the hose. This is a 2 man job since acid is used to clean the system.

This can also be a tough problem to fix in our area due to the marine growth. With a BIII, I'm guessing your boat is barn or lift kept, so any growth in the system will have dried out and be almost petrified. The fix is to work with hose pressure until you get some flow, then use acid to clean the system. Its not instantaneous and I have seen it take 3 hours or longer.

A tip you might use in the future is to clean the system yourself with a weak solution of phosphoric acid sometime in the summer the again before winter so growth doesn't accumulate. Other folks just drop a 1" cholrine tablet in the strainer when you are going to use the system all day. I do both an have never had to have my system "professionally" cleaned.
 
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fwebster:

The true irony to your statement is that the Friday BEFORE they "fixed it" on Monday I teed in a 5/8 tube and garden hose adapter between the sea water pump and the heat exchanger. The pump could not pump up the 1 foot length of hose I added.

The garden hose produced flow backwards through the strainer and when I closed the strainer and seacock I got a solid stream out of the discharge on the port bow.

Long story short I feel it was more likely a pump issue and something "loosened up" the impeller. So I doubted their diagnosis in the 1st place.

Oh well, now I have added a nice way to flush the AC and will add the same for the generator.
 
I'm a new boat owner and customer to this same marina. I have been very pleased with them and have found them to be fair and true to their word. As a small business owner, I know that mistakes and miscommunication happen, and unfortunately people sometimes assume the worst. I doubt they would still be in business if they tried to rip off folks like that. And it's tough when you try to make a customer happy and then get slammed and accused of ripping them off. I fully expect them to try to make a profit, and I sincerely hope that they do. All I ask is that they do what they say they will do, and they have certainly done that for me so far.
 
I've been a customer there and have kept an over 40' boat in their marina since 1988. I do most of my own maintenance, but there have been lots of repairs and maintenance in that time that I either couldn't do or didn't want to do. Never once in 20+ years have they miss-diagnosed a problem, failed to fix whatever was wrong on the first try, or made a mess of my boat. Sure, there have been times I didn't like the charge, but for the most part, given labor rates on the water, their guys are fast and thorough and the bills have been fair.



jdhatch-
The impeller in the a/c system has a magnetic impeller so in case of an obstruction, it won't burn up the motor. My guess is that you had a barnacle or oyster shell in the impeller housing slowing it or preventing it from doing its thing.

You guys stop by and see me some time.........I'm in the 3rd covered slip.
 
CW and FW .. generally I have had good results with the big stuff: (out drive leaking gearlube) and hard grounding with bottom work and out drive work.

We seem to run into issues with responsiveness and resolution of the little stuff: several AC issues, CO detector repeatedly going off, the endless issue with autotrim control not working
 
I will second everything that Frank said! I've purchased all 5 of my boats at Treasure Island and have had great service from them. Like Frank I do my own maintenance and T.I.M. does the big stuff. And like Frank there are times that I don't like the bill but that is part of owning a boat. They are always nice to me and treat me well.
 
Bridog. I did not realize the volume of posts related to the allowed content.

I was asking if this seemed like a 3 hour job. Sorry if you take it as "calling out".
 
I am sure suckered was an inflammatory term and should not have said that.

I just felt and still feel the labor charge did not reflect the task at hand.

None the less they took care of it.

"R" has promised me they will get to the bottom of the ATC problem as well. So when that gets taken care of after 6+months I am sure I will be happier with the service going forward.
 
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It might seem (not to me) that since you mentioned the service provider by name and questioned that you thought you may have been over charged for services there might be some back lash. I personally couldn't give a rat's ass if you were, or not.
 
By naming the marina by name I am getting good feedback from people who HAVE used their services and advice regarding a specific technical issue from a fellow boater who is in the same marina.

I will take that backlash (Thanks Frank!)

I will edit it out as I am NOT trying to be obnoxious toward them (although the positive comments in this tread in response to my negative should give me and anyone else pretty good confidence in their work).
 
sfergson727 said:
It's a free country (at least it was once) and we have freedom of speech (or do we?) so I don't understand your beef with the OP, Bri. When he offered to remove the dealer's name, you countered it better than the dems bringing HC back from the brink. What gives, why are you busting his chops?

If he felt he was wronged, he has every right to voice his opinion. It's not slanderous if it involves factual data and there is an honest concern, so what the problem is?
Click to expand...
Your right... Fixed!
 
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