Sea Ya

Same problems here. Waited the whole month of June for a coupler to be installed. They kept putting me off. Local dealers tell me to my face that since I didn't buy my boat from them thier regular customers will come first. Well excuse me for wanting an offshore performance boat in an area that just sells cabin crusers, pontoons and bass boats. Not only does the service suck but they also cop an attitude because they know they have you by the twins. Next time I'll drive out of state.

Turbojack

Word of mouth is the BEST.
I think everone's problem including mine is we get in such a rush to get boat back that we do not think straight. We take the word of first person that says what we want to hear & go for it.

Raypanic
I thought about that, I was going to build a spare motor incase I tore one up & I could be back on water next week. Of course on 7/4 a $2.85 part for the oil reservir broke & it is a none stocking item. Looks like boat is going to say on trailer rest of weekend

MERCMAN

tell you what i'll make you all a deal , everyone move to the same community somewhere and i will put together a crack team of guys that will have your boat back the next day regardless of the problem and we will stock every engine part ever made. sounds like a perfect world. wouldnt that be great.

Dredgeking

What do you do if the mechanic performs unauthorized work? I emailed the builder and asked him to contact me regarding cams for the engine he was rebuilding. 3 weeks later he had not called me back and was not returning or taking my calls. I left a message stating that I wanted to spend more money, but I oucln't do that until he called me. I still wanted to get a cam before he was done with the engine. He calls me back and I ask him about cams. He says he's having one custom ground. He ordered it with out talking to me. I get the bill and the is a $440 cam and $615 roller lifters on there. I would not have spend over a grand for a cam had I know that's what he wanted to do. Now I have a custom ground cam in my engine that isn't making the horsepower it should on the dyno. Now what rights do I have?

Turbojack

MERCMAN
You sound bitter.

As far as your comment earler about only having a small window to work in. As an electrican we get busy & we get slow. When the work is there we work 12-15hrs 6-7 day per week to get the work done. Why do boat dealers only work 5 days a week? Today (friday 7/5)I was trying to hunt down parts to get my boat back on the water after breaking a small part yesterday. Half the dealers I called today were closed. I wish I was still at the lake to day but was working because we have a lot of work at the moment.

Please do not take this as an attack on you, I am not attacking you. I have a number of guys that I can not get to work over a 40hr week when we get behind even tho they will get paid overtime for hrs over 40. These guys are the same one that ***** when we are slow.

Pure Energy

Seasonal businesses always overbook! Most customers will be happy but I don't care how good you are you will screw someone over. Unfortunately I was one of those people. Brought my boat for the first time to a reputable performance builder in March, they blew both motors and it July 4th weekend and my boat is still having problems. I have posted my problems earlier keeping his name out of it but that will change soon because i have had it and am going to burn another bridge.

MERCMAN

oh , i am not bitter , i just no how both sides of the field are , i build alot of race engines for people but guess what? im not in the marine industry , i own a nightclub. here in savannah boating is seasonal as well and i just dont know how people stay in buisiness , and as i said , theres no way it takes 6 weeks to get these parts they are "so called" waiting on to fix your ride. the customer obviously gets screwed , if it was my shop i wouldnt take on the work unless it could get done on time and i would work til the crack of dawn if i had too , these guys attitudes are more like i work 9 to 5 get over it or else!!!! the only place i know of that stays busy year round is south fla!!!!! if i lived there i would open a 24 hour boat repair shop , hey dont steal my idea i might retire in lauderdale!!!!!

hirschy77

I think the key is to get to know who you are doing business with more on a personal level. As a saleman I always qualify my client and get to know him/her personally. Now most of my customers are very good friends and very loyal! My boat mechanic is no different. After 2 yrs and alot of money spent with him, he is a friend, and knows exactly what my needs are.Granted, his shop is 45 min. away but he goes out of his way to service the customer. In fact yesterday he even picked my boat up from my house, to finish blower adjustments and other mods. He always calls to see how the boat is running and is vey happy to see the me happy with his work. In MN. the season is very short and finding a boat mech with intengrity is crucial, they are out there,you just need find them.

NineLives

Maybe I got lucky with my performance/maintenence marine shop. I was reffered to them from an engine builder/friend who said the shop could get me a better deal and had more wrench time on the parts I was ordering. Since day one with this shop I have yet to have gotten the run around. Sure on occasion they underestimate the time they will take to look at my boat but they are on the phone to me to let me know it will take an extra day or two before I even have a chance to call and nag them. These guys show me around the shop every time I stop by, and they let me see what they are doing on other customers boats which is great to me cause I get to see how everyone else is getting treated. They do the work fast and clean and even let me see what/why they replaced what they did. The best part is the owner has never tried to feed me an answer he didnt know. If I ask him somthing he doesent know he directs me to someone who does. I really have no problems with them at all. The shop is called Pro Boat and they are in Kennesaw GA.