Maintenance

MXer478

New Member
Oct 10, 2007
281
San Diego, CA
You know, I picked up my boat from the dealership today and once again, I'm kind of disappointed. It seems like whenever I place my boat in for service, I pick it up and other things seem to be out of place. Like today, the items that I inducted it for are fine, but now I have a few more random nicks, dings and scratches to deal with.

I don't know, I realise that it must be more difficult to conduct maintenance on a boat vs a car but man, am I really THAT picky! I just like to keep my boat "like new" and we seem to keep taking steps backward AT THE DEALER THAT I BOUGHT IT FROM!

Anyone else have these concerns or am I just too picky?!
 
Last edited:
I know exactly how you feel. I try to keep my boat as nice as possible but everytime it goes in for maintance, there is always a new scratch. The people working on the boats don't really care.
 
I know how you feel, just search for some of my posts about my dealings with MM the dealer I got my boat NEW from and every time I take it in it's an adventure. I'm up for one this month so I'll be posting that soon.
 
Unfortunately you have not found the right place for service yet. There is no excuse for poor workmanship. My boat is three years old and has no damage. It weighs about 19,000 pounds and gets lifted out of the water and stored within 2" of other boats that surround it, all with out a single scratch.
 
One of my buddies took a 38ft Scarab into the Wellcraft dealer for work on the windshield and when he picked it up two weeks later it had a blown stbd engine. They looked him straight in the eye and told him he brought it in this way. What they didn't know is he purchased the boat directly from the president of Wellcraft. He made the phone call and the dealership was told they must replace the motor. After that my buddy does all his own maintenance.

I don't trust any of the places around me. They all trash each other on Craigslist. One of these guys even brags about pulling his shotgun on customers who seem to have a problem with his service. It is almost like being in a third world country over here. I will just do my own work or pay somebody to do it at my home while I watch. There is a comfort in knowing that any scratches are from my own mistakes.
 
lol...can you imagine the looks on their faces when the president of the company called them!
 
I know the feeling to bought a brand new 280 dancer got the runaround at MM to get the 20hr service done they said they did it and charged my credit card for it. I had made marks on the oil filters and they were never changed well alot of phone calls later got my money back and won't be dealing with them anymore I'll be doing it all myself.
 
It is entirely possible to have your boat worked on and properly serviced by your dealer with no damage and to get what you pay for.

Try to buy service from your local Sea Ray dealer where you have a relationship since those relationships usually mean something. This whole idea of "exclusivity" when buying service because they sell Sea Ray or are so busy is bunk. I don't care how busy they are, you are buying a service and paying a price for it. You have the right to expect them not to damage the boat and for them to do all the service you are paying for.

If your boat was damaged at the dealer, we feel your pain, but complaining about it here doesn't help since we can't do anything about it. You need to go have a "Come to Jesus meeting" with the service manager at the dealership.

When you buy "service" at the dealership, take the time to get a detailed list of what is to be done on an annual service or a 50 hour or 100 hour or winterization service. Being an informed consumer avoid misunderstandings and makes you better understand your boat and its needs.

Building the relationship with a dealer is a 2 way street and takes some time. Do your part in learning about your boat, ask questions, do required service on time and don't defer it, when something isn't done right question it in a professional manner, and raise mortal hell when they damage something and make them fix it immediately and soon you will be well respected your boat will be the last one they cut corners on or damage.
 
Just had my first year end MM dealership supplied service:
Trailer from water: $75.00
Service outdrive: $180.00
Change oil: $150.00
Change fuel filter/separator: $60.00
Knowledge and information at Club SeaRay: Priceless !!!
 
Just had my first year end MM dealership supplied service:
Trailer from water: $75.00
Service outdrive: $180.00
Change oil: $150.00
Change fuel filter/separator: $60.00
Knowledge and information at Club SeaRay: Priceless !!!

Interesting, they told me $600 to do my 240 Sundeck and I was going to bring it to them so no trailer from water. I wonder why the large difference in price.

Glad you got what you paid for though.
 
Just had my first year end MM dealership supplied service:
Trailer from water: $75.00
Service outdrive: $180.00
Change oil: $150.00
Change fuel filter/separator: $60.00
Knowledge and information at Club SeaRay: Priceless !!!

Are you serious about the charge for changing the oil ($150) and changing fuel filter ($60)??? Holy smokes...people actually pay that for a single engine boat? Yikes. I change my oil for about for about $12-15 and my fuel filter/water seperator for less than $10.

Heck, for those costs you could buy every tool you'd need, all the services manuals needed, and still come out ahead...the very first time!
 
I had some issues with Marine Max and my boat. The GM got all of my issues resolved. I worked with the GM, he agreed that the issue had not been handled properly and then he took myself and wife and three other marine max boat owner couples out to a nice dinner and asked us to help them improve on what they could do better. They covered pretty much everything about the whole boat owning experience. They do care and they should know if something is not handling correctly. The GM called me the next morning and thanked us for providing feedback and they are working on steps to insure the problem doesn't happen again.
 
Atleast it sounds like other MM's have the same issues and are working to correct them.

Yes 20hr Service costs $160 and they change the oil and filter and give it a look over.

As soon as someone makes a maintenance/training video for my boat/engine/outdrive I'll be all over it and doing as much as I can myself.
 
Gunn,

You think that's bad... here is a partial price list at my marina (I have a 340DA, twin 8.1 Inboards. I have marked the items that I would need):

[ ] Hauling (will be needed on all stern drive winterizations) $6.00 per foot
--------------------------------
[ ] 4 Cylinder I/O (parts & labor estimate $430)
[ ] 6 Cylinder I/O (parts & labor estimate $430)
[ ] 8 Cylinder I/O (parts & labor estimate $475)
[ 2 ] Inboard (parts & labor estimate $495 per engine)

***Service Includes: Changing Engine, oil/filter, out-drive fluid, & water separating filter. Winterize engine, check battery & water levels, and disconnect batteries.
--------------------------------
[ ] Pull Outdrive, Grease U-joints/check engine alignment ($125 plus parts, check gimble ring torque)
[ ] Replace Zinc on each Outdrive (if needed) (parts & labor estimate $210 to $240)
[ ] Add additional Mercathode protection to Bravo 3 units (parts & labor estimate $360 to $550)
--------------------------------
[ 1 ] Fresh Water System Hot & Cold ($125 plus antifreeze)
[ 1 ] Marine Head ($125 plus antifreeze)
[ 1 ] Air Conditioner ($125 each plus antifreeze)
[ 1 ] Ice Maker ($62.50)
[ 1 ] Generator (parts & labor estimate $195)
[ ] Return to Slip ($62.50)

--------------------------------
$1,622 = 495+495+125+125+125+62.50+195
Plus Antifreeze and additional parts. They usually get about $1,800 -$1,900 for the job. For a 260DA with the 6.2 I/O, they would charge about $1,200.

I do the work myself for about $350 and it takes 3-1/2 hours (including changing the transmission fluid). For those who do not do their own basic maintenance/winterization, I highly recommend doing the work yourself. It does not take a lot of skill or tools, just some good old fashion organization and time.
 
Well. . .the relationship is CRITICAL.

But you have to know when to cut the crap and seek alternate service options. I personally feel that when I pay for *top dollar* service, I expect good results. I stopped using the dealer because of problems with the quality of service.

I think they understand where I am at, because the last two jobs I had them estimate for me, I didn't utilize them. The first was for winterization/spring commissioning -> which was so crazy high in cost it wasn't funny. The other was for a GPS/Depth finder install (complete with equipment purchase)-> the lack of knowledge displayed by the service writter was so significant that you had to attribute it to either (1) total lack of knowledge of the boat, or (2) willful cost escalation.

I am currently using a local mechanic. I am not 100% certain of his capabilities after an overheat fiasco (a non-trivial problem that took too many attempts to fix), but at least he is honest and doesn't overcharge. I guess if I don't go outside of his experience base, he does good work -> so I will keep using him.
 
Interesting, they told me $600 to do my 240 Sundeck and I was going to bring it to them so no trailer from water. I wonder why the large difference in price.

Glad you got what you paid for though.


Morpheus - do you change your own oil? $150 seems like alot. It appears that the oil drain plug is easy to get to... I am thinking of doing it ourselves next time.
 
April Fools - I think I recognise that price list !


Next year I will be doing my own maintenance and winterization, except for the outdrive maint. I will pay the price to have PWM do it. Of course I do not want to invalidate my warranty, so I will have to read the fine print there :)
 
Unfortunately, I have received multiple $150+ price quotes for Mercruiser oil changes. Even from the dirtball low end. I can't fathom it myself. I watched my guy do it. . .sure the access is a LITTLE tougher than in my car. . .but not FIVE TIMES tougher.
 
Comsnark,

You can always purchase an oil change pump and remove the oil from the dipstick. It is a much easier way to change oil. I recommend the JABSCO Port-A-Quick Oil Changer from Defender.com $139.99 + shipping ($179 at your local marine store). This pump has a garden hose type fitting (3/4”) that can be screwed onto the dipstick opening. Just warm up the engines for a few minutes, attach the oil change pump, and siphon the oil out in about 2 minutes. The pump also comes with a 1/4" fitting for draining your Gen-set and transmissions. The pump is a one-time expense that you will recoup after two uses.

Your twin 5.7’s require just over 5 quarts each, so you can pickup 2 gallons + 3 quarts of oil to complete the job. If you are buying Mercury Marine (Quicksilver) oil @14.49 gallon, 4.99 quart, and filters for $12.99 each the material costs will be $74 (with 5% tax). So the $150 price quote that you have been getting is only 2x the actual material cost. If you purchase the oil change pump, your cost will be $220 this year and you will save $76 each year after.

Also, if you are winterizing, I found that you can purchase the STA-BIL 32 oz bottle of fuel treatment from Auto-zone or Pep-boys, or even Walmart for $5 as apposed to the West Marine price of $20.
 
Morpheus - do you change your own oil? $150 seems like alot. It appears that the oil drain plug is easy to get to... I am thinking of doing it ourselves next time.

No not yet, MM has messed up enough that they have owed me a couple but I plan on someone showing me or figuring it out.

With the newer searays there is an oil drain hose attached to your drain plug pull it out and drain your oil should be pretty easy even for someone like me who's never changed oil in anything ever.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
112,950
Messages
1,422,862
Members
60,932
Latest member
juliediane
Back
Top