• Welcome to the Checkmate Community Forums forums.

    You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions, articles and access to our other FREE features.
    By joining our free community you will be able to:

    » Interact with over 10,000 Checkmate Fanatics from around the world!
    » Post topics and messages
    » Post and view photos
    » Communicate privately with other members
    » Access our extensive gallery of old Checkmate brochures located in our Media Gallery
    » Browse the various pictures in our Checkmate photo gallery

    Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our community today!

    If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact support by clicking here or by using the"contact us" link at the bottom of the page.

I/O mechanics

E

elcomm03

New member
ok...i just dropped the boat off at the marina, should have a complete diagnosis of any wear and tear on parts and pieces....importants question here....i dont know crap about boat motors or the related mechanicals...i dont want to get gouged, or outright ripped off......so if any of you could please...tell me the "weaker" points of an inboard/outboard omc...its an OMC v-6 with omc lower unit.....what are the things that would be a good idea replacing/repairing if needed, and are there any "iffy" areas where a boat mechanic may be apt to "stack the deck" in his favor, as far as parts that may need replacing or rebuilding......
thanks alot and hope to hear everyones opinions
Bruce
 
ok...i just dropped the boat off at the marina, should have a complete diagnosis of any wear and tear on parts and pieces....importants question here....i dont know crap about boat motors or the related mechanicals...i dont want to get gouged, or outright ripped off......so if any of you could please...tell me the "weaker" points of an inboard/outboard omc...its an OMC v-6 with omc lower unit.....what are the things that would be a good idea replacing/repairing if needed, and are there any "iffy" areas where a boat mechanic may be apt to "stack the deck" in his favor, as far as parts that may need replacing or rebuilding......
thanks alot and hope to hear everyones opinions
Bruce
 
Why does everyone assume that when you drop your boat off at a dealer you are going to be ripped off. We have flat rates and price structures we need to follow just like an auto dealer. Independent service centers can be a different story. What year is the boat. The OMC Cobra drive came out in '84 I believe. If the updates have been done it was a decent unit, and parts are available but getting expensive. If its older than that get ready to spend lots of money often. Newer Sx units are made by Volvo and are very dependable, they should be serviced by an authorized dealer. We have an exchange service available on all Mercruiser drives and Omc Cobra drives. We ship all over the U.S. if you need it.
Bob
 
Bob... I commend you on your reply and that you are one of the "honest" dealers, but I understand what Bruce is saying.

So many boat dealers are NOT playing fair, and they DO rip people off! Most of the dealers & marinas that I know of (Michigan), I wouldn't trust them for hardly ANYTHING! I worked at one that added additional repair items to invoices to pad the bill (work that was never done)... I quit!!! You don't even want to get me started on the TOTAL SCAM's the dealers pull on insurance companies for repair work!!!! What a LOAD of CRAP that I have seen and experienced.
brickwall.gif


It's a shame that "dealers" get such a bad rap, but when they gouge people, do unnecessary repairs to up the bill, and take their sweet old time on doing even a simple job... Screw them! The problem is that THEY are recking the rep's of good honest dealers!!! Is there a way of REPORTING bad dealer business???

BOB... any insight would be GREATLY appreciated by all!
thumb.gif
 
Mercury Marine would be more than interrested in knowing about any of there dealers that are doing unethical business practices. All of there dealers have a rating. We have a platnum rating. You achieve this partially on how much you sell, partially on how much training your people have, and partially on how many complaints you don't get. No body ever calls to sayyou did a great job so it is assumed that if you don't get complaints that your doing a good job. Let me know if you want consumer affairs phone number.
Bob
 
cobra drive's came out in late 85.Since it is an 84 model it will have a stringer mount model 400 or 800 depending on the hp of the motor.They seem to be good drives from my experiance you will only see ball gear wear and maybe waterpump wear otherwise the are very dependable units.I have 325 hp infront of a 800 for two seasons with no problems so far and about 60-70 hours a season.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Roberts Marine:
Why does everyone assume that when you drop your boat off at a dealer you are going to be ripped off. We have flat rates and price structures we need to follow just like an auto dealer. Independent service centers can be a different story. What year is the boat.
Bob </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
thanks Bob...here in lies the problem, the closest "dealership type" dealer is a good 60 miles or so from here....just dont have the time to go that far out. here in my area, i have 3 "authorized service centers", and a half dozen or so "mom-n-pop" backyard outfits. to be honest, i feel more comfortable with the mom-n-pop places so far, ive had a difference of over 300 bucks for my first quote on labor for a $400 part (steering). was enough of a difference to make me start asking myself why. also had a difference of over $250 on a part, and these are parts that were looked up in a parts book. was also told by one that additional labor would be charged if he stripped, or rung off a screw or bolt, now, i worked for goodyear for a couple years way back when....and i never remember charging a customer additional time for replacing a screw i stripped the head on. i dont know...maybe thats how it works these days....but just doesnt sound right to me.
 
I don't know, its hard on both sides. I know of a independent in this area that charges a 12% shop fee on top of the bill. He claims this is a realistic cost of operating a business, and he works out of his home. I have always tried to treat people like I would expect to be treated, and its hard when they walk through the door expecting to be ripped off. Then you have to spend alot of extra time covering your butt and explaining your actions. Last year I had a guy bring in a gear case with a hole blasted through the front. He brought in his own housing that he had found at a junk yard and just wanted me to transfer parts. The case he brought in was older so I had to change some bearings to make it work. I charged Mercury retail for the parts and the labor I had quoted him. He took the unit home, took it apart, found some bearings at a local bearing house that he claimed he could get for half of what I charged and stoped payment on his check. This was a 2000 or newer boat and his insurance would have covered the damage. Aany way back to OMC. If you have a Cobra make sure you fill it from the middle plug till it comes out the top. If you have a stringer drive they have 5 oil reservoirs on the drive you need to keep track of. They have so many sealing areas it makes them more pron to a leak some where. Find some one you feel comfortable with, we are here if we can help.
BOb
 
apples to apples and oranges to oranges.. not everything is brand new.. and sometimes corrosion can be a bit on the onery side.. i looked at the pics on ebay.. and i'd say there is a lil bit of corrosion there... it not your fault.. and its not theirs either.. but if it takes some time to get whats left of the stud out.. thats what it takes.. you need to find a mechanic you trust.. and understand that its gonna take a lil time to get things right..
 
I had an estimate once where the 15% Misc charge was around $1500. They were estimating that on top of everything. Even the core charges. so that whatever my final bill was they made at least 15%.

My shop rate is $45 an hour in the summer and $75 in the winter. .20 a mile if I have to go get a part and nothing if you bring it to me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top