Boat Repair Timeline Discussion

[jikemones]

Took the boat to my local dealership to diagnose and fix the factory installed Perfect Pass. We are going on five weeks and still having related issues! What everyone's thoughts? Since most boats are now $80K plus and the dealers are charging $100 plus an hour for labor, my expectations would be that the dealerships should be well trained and be able to repair items such as a Perfect Pass control module very quickly.

[ranger098]

when you say "going on 5 weeks and still having related issues" i assume you mean you havent gotten your boat back yet?

5 weeks does seem like a long time, though it is the middle of summer and it is normal to have to have your boat sit at the shop for like a week before they even look at it..... its their busy time of year. What do they say when you inquire about their progress? That they havent gotten to it... that they cannot find the issue... waiting on parts....

You kinda have to project manage the shop sometimes- get some next steps out of them, and follow up and hold them accountable if they dont pull through on what they told you.

[zabooda]

I've always found with cars, boats motor home and off-road toys is the best mechanics are not at dealerships but have their own business. I've always dreaded taking something into a dealer for warranty work. Dealerships pay is usually dismal and once they get experience they move on to higher paying jobs or start their own business. The best mechanics I use don't even have a store front, they don't advertise, they aren't cheap per hour but cost wise they are much cheaper as they get right to the problem

[bergermaister]

^^^^ This man speaks the truth. This all day long....

[rje-3]

I can't tell by your post if the issue is related to finding the problem or they just haven't started looking for it yet. Regardless, I can tell you that my 2013 Mobius was just in the shop for non-warranty engine work and it took them 3 weeks to even get the first look at it and a week after that to fix and return the boat to me. So I lost use of the boat for a full month during prime boating season.

In talking to the dealer, they said it was just a busy time and my boat would be seen in the que based on when it came into the shop and when technicians were available to work on it. Remember that they also have technicians going on vacation this time of year as well.

I seemed to get my boat moving forward when I asked the dealer if they would prefer I seek another dealer to work on the boat. I was nice and just suggested that if they were so busy that they couldn't get to the boat for another week or two, I was willing to check around and see if there were other options to lighten up their work load a bit. I don't know if that worked or not, but they sent me an e-mail the next day indicating they had started looking at the boat. Good luck on yours.