Over on another water forum
there is a bit of lop sided discussion on
At dealer service, mobile service
Parts, labor and Time Frames
And deferring seasonal maintenance?????

parts are parts.. imo cost is or can be insane for oem,
Especially for older drives , etc
you have to choose between india, china, Vietnam or maybe usa made part .

Mobile service for seasonal maintenance is actually a no brainer for folks that have boats up on lifts, no trailer etc
with me being in half leg cast since October
makes me look at getting a mobile tech to come do the seasonal stuff..we had 4 days of 77 or above..
I would have liked to have been on the water
No moving to FL is not optional at this time
although.......its being looked at real hard for pensacola area.
I have all the parts.. omc drive parts. Reproduction or oem new old stock took a bit of research

Inboard engines are easy part.
Imo
I like touching and eyeballing every part during seasonal maintenance
Engine rebuilds or removal. Plus drive overhaul
Is going to be..find a reputable shop.
Imo. If you have the boat... why would you cheap out on seasonal service and maintenance???

"Cheap Out" is too low resolution to have much of an opinion.

What does it even mean? The amount of money never totally correlates to value and effective mechanical issue prevention.

It's like getting an oil sample. Buy expensive quality oil...have it tested at a few milestones...then replace it when you feel the oil is no longer able to perform to your informed expectations. No 'need' to change it every 20 hrs...as an example. Low hrs that season? Maybe it's gtg for the next one too. The oil is either good...or it isn't. No reason to change it if its not acidic or contaminated etc. Test it...know your parameters...run the machine.

External factors...getting maintenance done when techs are available...maybe better rates im the slow season.

OEM parts are no longer guaranteed to be a quality item. That's one the benefits of communities like OSO...sharing personal experiences on what works.

Inspection and confirmation of health miletsones can likely be pushed a few hours if everything checks out. Oil sample and oil filter examination support that. Basic tests like compression and leakdown. Solid accurate data on an engine over time creates info on best practice.

my CHEAP out
is hearing a guy say i am skippy this seasons maintenance because i think its ok, i only went out a few times,
never mind the boat sits in a spot, no cover rotting away
OEM part... i was on my phone so it was a short , but yes even oem parts are found missing oil passages, right tolerances
as an aircraft mechanic , for over 40 years
even brand new parts get inspected before they go on.
same in my boats. i dont like failure when failure could have been prevented.

It seems every time I search out an OEM part or some aftermarket parts, shipping is outrageous. I know shipping is expensive in this day in age, but I recently priced an O-ring - something that could probably be shipped with a postage stamp- and it was stupid expensive. I needed two and the shipping cost went up like I was shipping them to different addresses. I find myself putting things in a cart, seeing the shipping charge and then not ordering it.
Anyone else notice this? Does the marine service industry have to pay ,then pass on, outrageous shipping fees as well?

If it's anything like the automotive/machine shop parts systems, they would have a stout overnight shipping program at minimal cost. Depending on location of course.

Why do you care what other people do?? I do what I want and use the parts that I want. 98% of which I do myself. I think some people do way too much and others don't do enough. I will give my opinion if asked, but I could care less what others do to their own boat.

Agree .....whats the point of this thread

well ...i was mentioning some stuff that grabbed my attention
personally if thier stuff breaks,it does not affect me, except the laugh i get ..when they leave for the lske 1k yards away...only to return half hour or so later pissed off because boat is not starting, or something broke at the ramp, or at the dock
🤣