Do all boat dealers suck?

[matt711]

OK, tell me if I am wrong here.

My wife and I finally decide to buy a boat last year. We go to the big local dealer and pick out what we want. The salesperson tells me that Suzuki is running a special and it includes the first service free of charge.

So after a year of boating joy I schedule the service and drop off my boat. When I return to pick it up they slap me with a $280 bill. I inform that service manager about the promotion and he tells me that he has never heard of such a thing. The sales manager gets involved and finds my original salesperson. He does a lot of umm and well.. and claims that he does not remember saying anything about a free service. At this point Im a little pissed but as I didnt have anything in writing I just pay the bill.

So then I look at the invoice. They changed the oil in the engine and also in the lower unit (transmisison/gear set). Only the engine oil is supposed to be changed according to my owners manual. The invoice just says 10W40 oil, no brand is listed. When I ask what type of oil they say Valvoline. At this point I am pissed at them and at myself since I didnt ask more questions when I dropped off the boat. I assumed that the 20 hour service would be done accoring to what Suzuki calls for.

When I get home I go onto the Valvoline website and learn that they don't sell an NMMA FC-W certified oil in the USA. This certification is required by Suzuki if the Suzuki brand oil isn't used. The dealer has a big display of Suzuki oil in their showroom.

Am I wrong to assume that they would use Suzuki oil? This dealer makes a big deal out of the fact that they claim to be the Southeast's largest Suzuki dealer. What would you guys do, if anything?

[Bill Douglas]

I'd talk to Suzuki about the issues.

[berettafan]

I have found the boating industry in general to be greasy (as Bubbles would say it).

Ask the dealer about the oil brand and suggest that you might send a sample of the oil from your motor to Suzuki to confirm they are meeting warranty requirements.

Incidentally you will find that oil brand for outboards is at LEAST as contentious a subject as it is on the 911 forum.

Lastly take time to cruise 'the hull truth' forums. lots of nonsense but also lots of good resources.

[legion]

Yes.

I have multiple family members with boats. (What they go through is enough to turn me off to the idea forever.) I have one family member who is a boat mechanic.

My impression is that most boat salespeople are people that have been fired from a used car dealership for ethics violations. People who own boat dealerships tend to be pretty shady. Most boat mechanics seem to be people with no formal technical training.

[asphaltgambler]

Sounds like the boat dealers are well following suit with the auto dealers...............

[matt711]

Well I just got a call form the dealer. Joe Bob the service tech says that they have always used Valvoline and that they get it in bulk. He seemed clueless that there was a oil specification for marine applications and kept quoting API specs. What a douch...

I seriously doubt that the Valvoline will hurt anything but the ignorance of the dealers service guy just kills me. So $280 for 6 quarts of bulk Valvoline 10W40 dino oil and 2 pints of SAE90 gear oil and a $12 filter. Now I want to pull the cowling and check the filter. If it's a Fram I will probably blow a gasket.

[legion]

Oh, and just to be clear, the mechanics, salespeople, and dealers all lie to each other too.

Like:

"Did you change the oil in that lower unit?"

"Yep."

[matt711]

Legion, Your not helping...

[asphaltgambler]

Originally Posted by legion

Oh, and just to be clear, the mechanics, salespeople, and dealers all lie to each other too.

Like:

"Did you change the oil in that lower unit?"

"Yep."

Jesus H Christ!! THIS^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^is spot on!!!!!!!

[matt711]

You guys are killing me, I guess I know what I am doing next weekend... What I should have done to start with. DIY maintenance.

[legion]

Matt, I'm really not trying to be a jerk.

My wife's cousin's husband, the boat mechanic, has a degree in mechanical engineering and is anal retentive as hell. He is a boat mechanic because he fell in love and it was the only job he could find in the economically depressed area he lives in. I'd classify him as the single honest guy at the shop he works at. He constantly has to deal with the other mechanics lying to him and lying to the owner. Not to mention the salespeople lying to customers. (That 40 on the side is just the model number, it's a 100 hp motor!)

One story he told me this summer was that one of the other mechanics was the trusted mechanic for a local family. They always personally requested him to work on their boats. Apparently this year their boat came in with a lower unit failure while their preferred mechanic was on vacation. It was clear to him that the gear oil had never been changed through the life of the boat, despite there being an invoice for it every year...

[Rickysa]

I've actually had pretty good service from the folks you are talking about (if you bought local)...Yamaha tho.

[matt711]

Legion, I know your not man. Im just hyper sensitive about this damn boat. Outboard motors are crazy expensive but to be honest with you I know the damn thing will last a long time. I grew up with boats and rememebr the old days of two stroke engines. We would rebuild every other year. These new 4 strokes are as reliable as an Accord or Camry and just about as quiet too.

I should have expected exactly what I got from the dealer. It won't happen again.

[matt711]

Rickysa, Im sure we are talking about the same place. Dealer in Sanford. I was very happy with the initial service and I got a fantastic deal on the boat so I can't complain about the sales side of this business. I shuld have known better and I should have asked more questions when I dropped the boat off for service.

[onewhippedpuppy]

DIY and never look back.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

DIY and never look back.

Either that (for typical stuff) or find an independent just like with p-cars (and not necessarily one on or near a lake). I've had pretty good luck with small independents, but I've owned mine over 25 years now (2 stroke, still runs like a champ) and I've had to find "new" places as some of the older guys have gone out of biz. Good luck!

[matt711]

KC911, Yeah, my buddy down in the Keys had an outboard rebuilding business for years. The old 2 strokes were his bread and butter. Now it's probably 90% 4 stroke and he is ready to call it quits. When I am back home I can't believe how dominant Yamaha has become in the outboard market. When I was a kid it's was probably 60-70% Evenrude/Johnson, 20-25% Mercury and 5% OMC. Now Yamaha has things about wrapped up. I love my Suzuki and it was $5,000 cheaper than a Yamaha.

[911SauCy]

Yea. Prolly.

[gprsh924]

See if you can find a mobile mechanic that can do your work. Our guy comes to the house and does everything on the lift or in the driveway.

[GWN7]

I wouldn't have paid the bill. I would have told the salesman that life is hard, it's even harder when you are stupid and lie to people to make a sale.

I would have told the service and sales managers that you didn't pull the first service free deal out of your a$$ and you expect them to make good on it.

Now that you have paid for the service and have figured out that they did it wrong I would contact Suzuki. Explain what has transpired. Tell them the dealer admitted to using Valvoline oil and you want to know if your warrantee is now void? I would bet you get your service redone for free and get the money you paid to the dealer for them to do the work done wrong back.