1st service

[cruiser42]

Had my first service done yesterday on my 115 merc 2st and was taken back buy the cost ,is this a standard price $255 for a first sevice.I asked what was done to it and all they did was change fuel filter and tighten and inspected the motor.It took 2.5 hrs @$85 hr +parts and incidentals.It was done by an authorized dealer.Will it void my warranty if i source a private mechanic to do all my services in the future.? Cheers Dave

[Spectre]

Dave

So long as who ever does the services during the warranty period is an authorised Merc dealer u are OK.

Might pay to shop around a bit for your next service...which will no doubt cost more !!!

Cheers
Phil

[griz066]

B O A T ;D

Bring Out Another Thousand :'(

[Poseidon]

It does seem expensive and it would be nice to find someone who could do the job for a fairer price.

After all, what would be involved in first service, 5 minutes to change the filters 10 minutes giving the motor a run and splash a bit of new grease here and there, 10 minutes filling out the book.

2.5 hours seems a bit rich, however you would bet that there won't be much difference between dealers.

Regards Cameron.

[onerabbit]

Cruiser,
I have a new 115 merc, bit of a shock at the first service as well, (thought it would be free) , remember your first service should have had protective sprays as well as filters , oils, grease etc.
I know what you have paid roughly for yours, I didn't blink in the end to give mine what she needed.

Muzz

[timbacutta]

Dave,
Sounds about right, my 50 hr service on my 50 hp 4\ cost around $300. Only 1 merc dealer in town so had to grin and bear it.

Jeff.

[Streetkid]

I have paid 200 and nearly 400 bucks for the same service from different boat yards.

[barfly]

the cost of servicing these brutes is kinda steep but the labour is the thing that blows it out i would like to think its money well spent and the more hours you put on it pays for it so use that boat as much as you can and get the enjoyment out of your hard earned. cheers barfly

[winston]

Cruiser, Keep your eye out for TAFE couses on outboard maintenance, I did one years ago and has paid for itself many times over. What prompted me was the cost of my first service, the dealer charged me for three hours labour (which he cited was the recommended time) but it took significantly less time. As soon as my motor came out of warranty I did all the services myself, except the 500 hour service which required removal of cylinder head. There seems to be an understood rule amongst dealers that motor servicing in an opportunity to fleece the customer. I pay $100 to service my rideon mower and there would be as much if not more involved than in an outboard service. Aha me hearties, piracy is alive and well. Cheers winston.

[BaysideMarine]

First service (10hrs) is clean plugs and change gear oil.

[Seahorse]

if first service only involves clean plugs and change gear oil and costs $200 then iam in the wrong business. if you take it to an authorised dealer why should there be a difference, especially if they do the same job.
really makes u wonder. if one dealer is particular expensive they should be told about and this will save someone some money.
this site is for the boaties and fisherman , not the dealers. well thats what i thought. correct me if iam wrong.

[BaysideMarine]

Yes but hang on..... every up side has a down side..

Sure, you may make great quick money for the first service but thats an offset of sorts to the many jobs that don't go to plan and involve hours of labour that you can't seem to justify charging.

It doesn't matter what industry you belong to, there are always cream jobs in it and shockers as well. You cop both and hopefully wind up better off in the long run.

Cheers

[Spaniard_King]

First service (10hrs) is clean plugs and change gear oil.


Not having done a first service on a 115 merc 2 stroke, however I do have reservations as to the above comments.

Would not the following be done as a minimum

check throttle syncronization
check engine nuts /bolts to be tight
check compression (review condition of spark plugs, personally I would be worried if they needed cleaning after 20 hrs)
check Engine mounting bolts are tight (be ashame for it to fall off :o)
check gear shift operation
change gear oil
retorque head gaskets (if required by manufacturer, most do not require)
grease all the approriate points

I concider the above to be the minimum 8-)

If I wanted to make some $$ attend to any abnormalities noted by the owner.

I would think anymore than 1 /12 hours labor you can concider yourself beeing reemed :o

What people don't hear of is how much time is spent and not charged to the customer for a difficult fault. Most times a flat rate time is payed by the manufactuturer for a designated fault, unfortunately I have never found an outboard to run to the script as far as faults go....that time is lost by the dealer

Garry

[Seahorse]

we are talking about a service here. bayside marine has just admitted to making great quick money for first service. if anything else goes wrong after first service for first 3 years would be warrenty. if someone admits makinggreat quick money then iam sorry they wouldnt get my first or subseqent services.

[michael_k]

Sure, you may make great quick money for the first service but thats an offset of sorts to the many jobs that don't go to plan and involve hours of labour that you can't seem to justify charging.


what happened to charging people for time on job, isnt that what your hourly rate is designed for.
cheers
mick

[BaysideMarine]

Who said servicing was based on a per hour rate charge basis?

Most large dealers have a schedule of charges based on horsepower. No-one said it had anything to do with the amount of time to do a particular job...

In any case, don't harass me about it. I didn't take your money and do the job. If you want to bitch about it, go to your dealer and bitch to him, after all he took your money so there is some implied liability there.

Sorry to sound harsh but I get tired of all the people on fishnet.com.au and obviously this site too, who complain about the cost of fuel and the cost of servicing and the cost of repairs........

I love boating and have been into boating since I was a little boy. Sure I have no servicing costs other than parts but the fuel still costs me just like everyone else and parts still cost me (less than retail, but they still cost money).

One of my customers who bought a Bertram 25 flybridge from me told me a while back, "when I complain about the cost of filling the tank, then its time to sell the boat". That epitomises boating to me...... And his tank costs about $600 to fill......

Cheers

[Seahorse]

well if ur tired of people on fishnet.com.au and obviously this site too, as quoted by u, then maybe time to find another. it was u who opened ur mouth saying that u make great quick money on first service. i said that if someone admits that they make great quick money, sounds like a rip off to me, but hey iam only 1 person stating his opinion. no ones harassing u, just following up on ur statement.

[Poseidon]

BaysideMarine, it was you that offered the statement ,you may make great quick money for the first service, which infers that this initial service is overpriced. To then go on and try to justify this overcharge to compensate for those other jobs that go pear shaped is a bit rich.

What I find amusing is that you use a business name on a forum and go on and blast people from it and another forum, sure is great advertising for this business ?

Anyway, thanks for clarifying your customer service policy, I am sure people here are grateful for your honesty.

[Seahorse]

cam, u r right in saying that bayside marine r suggestin they overcharge on first service. this bloke has admitted this. this is the point i have been tryin to make. i dont know if this bloke owns or works there, but it was a big statement. i only know 1 bayside marine and thats at capalaba, and i will stand corrected if iam wrong. but if it is that dealership then i will not buy a boat there as i have been in there few times over last few months getting prices. knowing now about there methiod of getting quick money.
by blasting people on these forums, isnt really doing a business name all that good.
i didnt think anyone was complaining about cost of fuel and repairs, just servicing. but hey i could have missed something.

[cruiser42]

Thanks for the input guys,i might shop around for the next service and once the warranty is expired i might take that idea of doing a tafe course and looking after her myself and give it to the dealers or self employed mechanic for anything to major. Cheers Dave

[blaze]

baysidemarine (Nick) works in his own business in VIC.
cheers
blaze

[Seahorse]

thanks blaze.

cheers

[BaysideMarine]

Fair enough. Was a bit harsh looking back. Sorry bout that :)

By the way I didn't say that I charged people those rates..........

[Murks]

its times like this that i am glad i decided to go with an E-TEC :)
300hours or 3 years first service...ya gotta be lovin that ;D
will not last the three years though......
Murks

[BaysideMarine]

That has proven to be one brilliant piece of marketting.

Especially as BRP knows full well that most people will still put it in for a service annually.

I guess if they start having some major issues in the first 3 years then that will alter the 300hrs thing. Time will tell.

Great arketting ploy though. The number of people who site the 300hr hing as a major reason for buying an etec is very high..

Cheers

[PADDLES]

great marketing ploy indeed! i can only speak for myself here and i reckon that the etecs and their technology are an awesome thing, but there is no way that i would have an outboard and not have it checked (from new?????) in the first three years of it's life. especially if my life and the lives of others in my boat depended on it working correctly. what happens if for instance, a leak occurs into the gearbox, we stumble along blindly for 3 whole years thinking everything is all good cos evinrude says it doesn't need looking at and there's a hand grenade waiting to go off at the bottom of your leg. one of the main things i'm after in a service is not just someone to change the oil and spark plugs (anyone can do that) but a fully independant set of eyes to go over everything and hopefully find the little things that i missed cos i'm not an expert. yeah sure the cost of that first service seems excessive ( i pay those sort of dollars for a normal annual service) but i guess what i'm trying to say is that a good mechanic will do much more than just drop the oil, he or she will give you that extra peace of mind to enjoy your days out. there's good ones out there but there's also bad ones. i suppose i might have been lucky so far.

ps i'm not a mechanic either, just a poor schmucko that keeps putting fuel in it and enjoying my boating 8-)

[Murks]

FOOTNOTE:
I HAVE ALREADY HAD THREE CHECK UPS VIA THE COMPUTER INTERFACE ON THE E-TEC...FOR PEACE OF MIND AND THIS WAS OFFERED BY THE DEALER AS A REGULAR SYSTEMS CHECK...NO CHARGE...
I AGREE SAFETY FIRST ...FOR ME AND MY CREW...THATS WHY I HAVE HAD THE ONGOING CHECKS...
Murks

[PADDLES]

that's pretty cool that they offer that as a free service. do they do a quick visual check of other stuff at the same time too?

[merc]

I have a 90 opti had it serviced at 100hrs and got slugged $680.00 by a merc dealer but this did include a water pump as well. Thing is you can turn the key and off it goes no worries. I think once a year its worth it when you consider how much these things are worth new.

[Sportfish_5]

I have a 90 opti had it serviced at 100hrs and got slugged $680.00 by a merc dealer but this did include a water pump as well. Thing is you can turn the key and off it goes no worries. I think once a year its worth it when you consider how much these things are worth new.


Holy crap :o :o :o

Was that the first 100 hr service or had they water pump done more hours ?


My 100 hr service on my old 140 zuke 4st cost $290 including dropping the leg to inspect the impellor - all ok so back together she went till next 100hr.

[Murks]

yes Paddles they check all the obvious things and give a fully detailed printed report with everything you want to know and then some
Murks

[PADDLES]

sweet, that's an excellent deal then if they do all the checking for you and fingers crossed nothing major for three years.