COST FOR WORKING ON OUTBOARD MOTOR

roscoe

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Oct 30, 2002
Messages
21,798
Re: COST FOR WORKING ON OUTBOARD MOTOR

I would gladly pay the $75-100 for a qualified wrench that actually did sone diagnostics on the engine, not just start throwing parts at the motor.<br /><br />Seems if you bring an older (70's or 80's) motor in, they figure you are stupid enough to take whatever they can feed you, and you will pay, and come back next week when you find out it wasn't fixed properly. Then you can get at the end of the waiting list for another 3 weeks, then pay again, then come back again, then wait...pay...then get told that your motor is junk and they won't work on it any more.<br /><br />I figure, if they can't fix it, and the parts they threw at it did no good, they I shouldn't have to pay. The old parts should go back in.<br /><br />Now before all you pro wrenches get upset, you are the good guys, thats why you are here helping others. In my local, there is only one dealer within 60+ miles, He sells plastic bass boats and has a rack of Yamaha motors, Honda motorcycles and atv's, Yamaha cycles, Husky lawn mowers and chainsaws, and some brand of snowmobiles. He hires mostly parttime help and provides no health ins. except to his family members. He has no service or tech info on any ob motors except the newer Yamaha outboards. So if you have another brand, good luck. He will not pick up or drop off your boat, will not test drive it in the lake ( which is less than a mile away). will not repair a trailer, and closes at 3pm on Friday, for the weekend. Oh, and he gives you a hard time if you want to buy parts to service your own motor.<br /><br />Yes we live in a northern part of the US and you need to carry multiple line to stay in business as boating is only seasonal, but you also need to be competent. His service department consists of 3 people, one is his father, one is his son. I know for a fact the son has had no schooling.<br /><br />But the locals keep going back to him to have him throw parts at their engines. On the second trip into his shop, he told my uncle that he had a bad cylinder and it would need to be rebuilt. I replaced a bad coil and the fuel pump, the motor has been running like a champ for 4 years now. ...?????? Go figure? <br /><br />Like I said, I'd gladly pay the price for someone that knows what they are doing. If I can't fix it, I have to drive over 90 miles to find someone I trust.<br /><br />rodbolt, you need to raise your prices.
 

uscboy

Seaman
Joined
Jul 27, 2004
Messages
59
Re: COST FOR WORKING ON OUTBOARD MOTOR

We recently paid $500 for rebuilding 3 double-<br />barrel carbs, new plugs, new impeller, and a <br />general cleaning/tune-up on a 150HP '83 Johnson.<br /><br />You're paying for knowledge. That's the case <br />with many things in life. No one has the time <br />to learn everything about everything. Therefore <br />if your car needs work or your computer is <br />screwed up or you have medical problems, you <br />need an expert. You can't expect them to not be <br />compensated for what they know.<br /><br />Time spent complaining about rates on message <br />boards could (and sounds like it should) be <br />spent learning how to fix it yourself apparently.
 

rwise

Captain
Joined
Jul 5, 2001
Messages
3,205
Re: COST FOR WORKING ON OUTBOARD MOTOR

around here, an engine that is more than 20 years old the shopd wont look at. they will gladly sell the parts though, fine with me I grew up in an auto salvage, so its just another engine to work on. I think I would not take it back to this shop and would not buy parts from them. get the manuals and order your parts online!
 

Chinewalker

Fleet Admiral
Joined
Aug 19, 2001
Messages
8,902
Re: COST FOR WORKING ON OUTBOARD MOTOR

Another thing to keep in mind... Most of the good marinas are on the water somewhere. In my area, waterfront taxes are outrageous! My house is across the street from the water and my taxes are 1/4 of the taxes on the lot across the street on the water - and I have more land and a bigger house! Multiply that out over a marina with several hundred feet of waterfront, a couple acres of land, plus dock slips, storage buildings, etc. and the property taxes would likely give most of us a heart attack. Throw in all of the other factors listed and you're getting a deal at $60.00 an hour...<br />- Scott
 

Dhadley

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Feb 4, 2001
Messages
16,978
Re: COST FOR WORKING ON OUTBOARD MOTOR

Same around here. Plus the waterfront property is worth way more than the dealership will ever probably make. <br /><br />The folks who bought our old marina are doing OK but they aren't getting rich by any means. They are seriously considering selling to a developer. Its hard when someone waves a couple million bucks at you.
 

duck64

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
May 25, 2004
Messages
144
Re: COST FOR WORKING ON OUTBOARD MOTOR

WELL I'M THE ONE WHO STARTED THIS, ALL I ASK WAS WHY IT COST SO MUCH TO WORK ON A 2 CYCLE MOTOR. $500 TO CHANGE A HEAD GASKET ON A 350 CUBIC INCH CAR MOTOR VERSES $2000 ON A 2 CYCLE MOTOR. A $7.00 WATER PUMP PART $250 TO CHANGE, CAR $60 HERE IN TEXAS. SORRY I UPSET EVERYONE
 

seahorse5

Rear Admiral
Joined
Jan 24, 2002
Messages
4,698
Re: COST FOR WORKING ON OUTBOARD MOTOR

Where do you find a $2000 outboard head gasket replacement? It's about an hours job on most large 2 stroke V6 outboards. <br /><br />Now if you are talking about a head gaket replacement for a dual overhead cam 4 stroke EFI V6 Yamaha, then that's a different story.
 

rodbolt

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Sep 1, 2003
Messages
20,066
Re: COST FOR WORKING ON OUTBOARD MOTOR

seahorse<br /> so far I have not had to remove the head on a v6 yammi 4stroke. I did price one though cause I know as we get more out there the heads will start craking due to overheat and such. the labor to do a rebuild on a v6 yammi will probably be someplace in the 55 to 60 hour range. if all the steps in the service manual are followed and all the clearences checked a 4 cyl is almost a 40 hour overhaul. its outrageous.<br /> good luck and keep it cool :)
 

roscoe

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Oct 30, 2002
Messages
21,798
Re: COST FOR WORKING ON OUTBOARD MOTOR

bmcgee1, who's upset?<br /><br />The answer to your original question is, "Because people are willing to pay that much."
 

jafa

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Mar 10, 2004
Messages
172
Re: COST FOR WORKING ON OUTBOARD MOTOR

There may be an element of "if you can aford to buy the boat you can afford to maintain it" in some dealers mind. Dont flame me cos I know thats not true but you wonder how so many people can afford a boat the same price as a house. Anyway what I wanted to say is how are you guys going to stay in buisness. Many years ago you could find a local automotive engine builder who could hone a bore or reprofile a cam. Most of those guys have gone now. My local builder sold up and the land became a pub !!<br />How are the wrenches gonna fix one of those vorado's in ten years time , long after the warranty has expired without a degree in electronics never mind replacing a piston.
 

bernieb

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Feb 9, 2003
Messages
209
Re: COST FOR WORKING ON OUTBOARD MOTOR

When you stop to think about it,a "good" outboard mechanic (which I'm not) has to know more than a doctor, when you think of the "time spent" learning electronics .Hospital costs tells it all.Outboard repair charges are a bargain for the joy that it brings.
 

stsmith

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Jul 5, 2004
Messages
98
Re: COST FOR WORKING ON OUTBOARD MOTOR

A doctor does not warranty his work. Niether do hospitals. Yet they charge more than repair personel. Many people do not want to get their hands dirty or learn to do the work themselves. Those are the people the repair shops cater to and shops do have a high overhead. As long as cost continue to rise so will the prices charged by shops. Stop and think if you pay someone $10.00 an hour to work for you after you pay the employment tax in reality you are paying $13.00 an hour for that employee. Plus anything he breaks or screws up you have to pay for. This is one reason jobs are going overseas. But I agree prices are just too high for everything.
 

swist

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jul 1, 2004
Messages
678
Re: COST FOR WORKING ON OUTBOARD MOTOR

In real life I run a service business (non marine). I am being murdered by the cost of health insurance. I keep dropping the benefits, raising the deductibles, etc, but they keep raising the premiums. Also, workmen's comp is now 500% more than it was just 4 years ago. Liability insurance has also gone up although it is not (yet) in the same league as those policies driven by medical costs.<br /><br />Service based business are going to be in big trouble real soon. I hope you guys don't mind going to India for outboard repair.
 

BillP

Captain
Joined
Aug 10, 2002
Messages
3,290
Re: COST FOR WORKING ON OUTBOARD MOTOR

Originally posted by rodbolt:<br /> seahorse<br /> so far I have not had to remove the head on a v6 yammi 4stroke. I did price one though cause I know as we get more out there the heads will start craking due to overheat and such. the labor to do a rebuild on a v6 yammi will probably be someplace in the 55 to 60 hour range. if all the steps in the service manual are followed and all the clearences checked a 4 cyl is almost a 40 hour overhaul. its outrageous.<br />
rodbolt,<br /><br />Those hours are labor for engine rebuild right? How many hours for head gasket replacements? <br /><br />billp
 

mellowyellow

Vice Admiral
Joined
Jun 8, 2002
Messages
5,327
Re: COST FOR WORKING ON OUTBOARD MOTOR

man am I lucky! only 1 mechanic within an hour.<br />he charges $50/hr and has no problem working on<br />old motors and doesn't throw parts at a problem.<br />he recently rebuilt my trim pump (sticky actuator)<br />instead of selling me a new one.<br />of course I am smart enuff to take the time to<br />make friends with him... stop by once in a while<br />and buy a little something and shoot the breeze<br />for 20 min. gave him a couple of nice fish pics.<br />to hang on the wall and even took him some brownies<br />one time when he snuck me in and fixed a problem<br />the morning I was leaving for vacation....
 

seahorse5

Rear Admiral
Joined
Jan 24, 2002
Messages
4,698
Re: COST FOR WORKING ON OUTBOARD MOTOR

BillP,<br /><br />I don't have the flat rate manual handy for the headgasket replacement, but a complete valve job is just over 13 hours for the 24 valves.
 

JasonJ

Rear Admiral
Joined
Aug 20, 2001
Messages
4,163
Re: COST FOR WORKING ON OUTBOARD MOTOR

I have always done my own work, thankfull that I was blessed with a natural tendency towards anything mechanical. I have also at times helped others by doing work for them, ranging from engine rebuilds to just simple tinkering. I have always charged a fraction of what the shops charge, largely because i just like fixing things, but people still gripe. I rebuilt a guys inboard and he had the sack to complain about my price, which was marginal compared to a shop rate. What I have learned is to not do anything for anyone because they always complain no matter what the price. My thoughts are, either learn to do it or shut up and pay those who have taken the time out of their lives to learn how to do it, not to mention the thousands of dollars they have spent on the tools that are fixing your crap.
 

rodbolt

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Sep 1, 2003
Messages
20,066
Re: COST FOR WORKING ON OUTBOARD MOTOR

yep<br /> if you count the three years of training in the navy's advanced electronics field plus the 4 years of vocational shop, plus all the ac/delco,rochester,holley. chevy, volkswagon,mazda, porsche, olds, chebby, volvo, merc and mercruiser,yamaha,suzuki,force chrysler tohatsu and honda training I di over the past 20 years or so I have over 7 years in school just to play with this. I am not the smartest "bidness" man but I can fix an outboard. I am very good at what I do and modest as well :) :) . I spend a great deal of time and effort making sure my customers get the best. however I demand my customers maintain thier rigs in first class shape or the must find another tech. dont ***** when I do a 100 hour service and replace a bad auto bilge switch or light assy. either maintain the boat as close to new as reasonable or take it to Rusty Bolt Bob and his can o kyrlon repair shop.<br /> nuff said<br /> yall have a nyce day now ya heah
 

2 lund bums

Recruit
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Messages
4
Re: COST FOR WORKING ON OUTBOARD MOTOR

My dealer is not on the water and charges $90 hourly. He has his costs for sure and his overhead must be staggering, his wrenches earn their money, but charging for an estimate is a little tacky!
 
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