Outboard Mechanic screwed me over need advice :P

[scorps]

Hey guys,

As the title states I got screwed over by a mechanic and am looking around for some advice

(please no one post saying ths is a reptile forum I am aware of that and am posting in the chit chat section for that reason)

OK guys hers the situation im in:

so basically I have this motor on my boat, starts perfectly everytime only problem with it is If I cruise around for a little while (30 or so mins) it will cut out but then it will start again first turn of the key, It will also stall driving slow after I have been driving for ages.

Turns out one of the thermostats is broken and it needs a service, closest evinrude mechanic (brand of the motor) is in tully so I look for a local mechanic and find a lady who claims to be an evinrude mechanic but stopped because she had a baby but still does local house calls for spare cash.

She goes over motor with me and says shell do a full service and I pay for parts and $100 labour. She was meant to do the full service on monday then come back on the thursday and instal thermostat but she told me boat would be fine to use inbetween, She told me it would take 1.5 hours to complete, after 3 hours she says its done and to turn it on before she leaves. We try and turn boat on it rolls over a few times and dies, several attempts later it starts and theres heaps of smoke coming out,She apoligizes and spends another hour pulling it apart and eventually tells me to turn it on again which i do, 3 attempts later it turns on but is sitting there thumping and making funny noises which I ask her about, she claimed it was just the new stuff settling in and should go away soon enough (it was now 10pm and I wasnt that observant)

The next day a freind and I arrive at boat ramp (she new we where going out)Boat goes in water and starts like the night before and sits there loosing revs and jumping around. As soon as boat is put it in gear it looses revs and stalls, the boat continiues to do this and the ignition returns to how it was the previous night only starting occasionally. Apon speaking to the mechanic they eventualy agree to come back over and have a look but conitinually denying it was any cause of theres.

After pulling the boat apart they can not get the motor to even start let alone drop out as the starter motor is not ingaging

The total cost was meant to come to $230 for the parts in the boat, $100 for labour and $50 for the thermo although it wasnt installed in the end. I ony had $200 on me on monday night so I offered to pay the remainder on thursday when they where meant to finish the job which they agreed to.

After giving up on the boat today they start going on about how I still owe them money and its not there responsibilty, they say that after they left I played with the insides of the motor and moved stuff around (which I didnt) I was at the reef the day before they touched the motor which I told them, they said I was lying and the motor most likely never ran before they got to it and I was just tryng to set them up, I have 3 different people that where in the boat within a week following up to them servicing it that can vouch it worked.

So basically now there gone and Im left with a boat that doesnt work at all now and only option I really have is to pay someone else as well now to fix what ever it is they broke.

 

[Jacknife]

I'd be contacting someone for a bit of legal advice and a few letters sent if that's the way they're going to handle the situation from their end...

 

[scorps]

I was thinking small claims case?

 

[Stuart]

I was thinking small claims case?

One possibility, but at the same time, get another mechanic (regardless of brand) to just give the engine a once over to find or suspect a cause. You should be able to claim any additional cost of the check as well.

Good luck

 

[pythoncrazy]

Look at the end of the day you tried to do it on the cheap(which I would of done myself) and you got stung. Your best bet now is go to a real mechanic that will fix the problem and probably charge the earth and take at a lesson learn't. As for small claims you may win but they still wont pay.

Hey guys,

As the title states I got screwed over by a mechanic and am looking around for some advice

(please no one post saying ths is a reptile forum I am aware of that and am posting in the chit chat section for that reason)

OK guys hers the situation im in:

so basically I have this motor on my boat, starts perfectly everytime only problem with it is If I cruise around for a little while (30 or so mins) it will cut out but then it will start again first turn of the key, It will also stall driving slow after I have been driving for ages.

Turns out one of the thermostats is broken and it needs a service, closest evinrude mechanic (brand of the motor) is in tully so I look for a local mechanic and find a lady who claims to be an evinrude mechanic but stopped because she had a baby but still does local house calls for spare cash.

She goes over motor with me and says shell do a full service and I pay for parts and $100 labour. She was meant to do the full service on monday then come back on the thursday and instal thermostat but she told me boat would be fine to use inbetween, She told me it would take 1.5 hours to complete, after 3 hours she says its done and to turn it on before she leaves. We try and turn boat on it rolls over a few times and dies, several attempts later it starts and theres heaps of smoke coming out,She apoligizes and spends another hour pulling it apart and eventually tells me to turn it on again which i do, 3 attempts later it turns on but is sitting there thumping and making funny noises which I ask her about, she claimed it was just the new stuff settling in and should go away soon enough (it was now 10pm and I wasnt that observant)

The next day a freind and I arrive at boat ramp (she new we where going out)Boat goes in water and starts like the night before and sits there loosing revs and jumping around. As soon as boat is put it in gear it looses revs and stalls, the boat continiues to do this and the ignition returns to how it was the previous night only starting occasionally. Apon speaking to the mechanic they eventualy agree to come back over and have a look but conitinually denying it was any cause of theres.

After pulling the boat apart they can not get the motor to even start let alone drop out as the starter motor is not ingaging

The total cost was meant to come to $230 for the parts in the boat, $100 for labour and $50 for the thermo although it wasnt installed in the end. I ony had $200 on me on monday night so I offered to pay the remainder on thursday when they where meant to finish the job which they agreed to.

After giving up on the boat today they start going on about how I still owe them money and its not there responsibilty, they say that after they left I played with the insides of the motor and moved stuff around (which I didnt) I was at the reef the day before they touched the motor which I told them, they said I was lying and the motor most likely never ran before they got to it and I was just tryng to set them up, I have 3 different people that where in the boat within a week following up to them servicing it that can vouch it worked.

So basically now there gone and Im left with a boat that doesnt work at all now and only option I really have is to pay someone else as well now to fix what ever it is they broke.

 

[fourexes]

I would suggest next time seeking a licensed mechanic unless you know them well.
you know what BOAT stands for? Bust Out Another Thousand!

sounds like a small problem made worse by someone who didn't know what they were doing but went ahead anyway as a means to make some spare cash in a time of need. At least with a licensed dealer you are protected by the laws of fair trading.

Sorry thats not alot of help but by the start of your post it just sounds like it was fouling plugs at low revs and could be running too rich. Didn't sound like a thermo problem at all but I'm not a mechanic. In my opinion if the thermostat was stuffed it would overheat at low revs and not start? Just goes to show how many opinions people can have when they don't know lol.

Boats run in the worste environment imaginable and when I used to build and repair them, the people that were most happy keeping their second hand boats got new motors. Troublesome motors on boats are like cars but 10 times worse, especially when you can get stuck offshore (not sure how big the boat is)

 

[Wrightpython]

sounds to me like the carbie needed a clean out sometimes in the off season if your boat gets that the two stroke fuel can gel in the carbie and just blocks enough fuel getting thru at low revs the 30min stall is a weird one maybe as stated earlier to oil rich if motor mixing fuel. Best bet is take it to a qualified (as in has some paperwork licence that you can record in case this happens again) mechanic and tell them the story and see if they can help, hopefully you aint damaged those parts she put in and he can reuse them to make it slightly cheaper. With boats treat them like a helicopter and make sure the mechanics work perfect as there is too much riding on it.

 

[cement]

Yeah I agree the problem sounds like its too rich and, oil injected motors can have a habit of running like that at slow revs because the mixture is the same as at high revs. But thats just what it sound like. Basically you have learn't a lesson, forget the money, courts etc you got stitched up move on. Don't trust your motor with cheap services, get it done right pay the proper money and at least with a shop mechanic you got call back if your not happy.

 

[jairusthevirus21]

You got a woman to fix your Evinrude???.... lol ha ha ha

 

[Sock Puppet]

To have it serviced by an unlicenced mechanic who offers no guarantee on service or warranty on parts is asking for trouble before they even turn a spanner. It's often tempting to do it on the cheap, but that often works out to be more expensive (as you are now finding out), than shelling out the extra bucks on a proper job in the first place.
Write it off as an expensive lesson & get it looked at by a pro. It's not worth risking getting stuck out on the water with a motor that won't get you home.
Good luck getting it fixed, & hope you get out on the water sooner rather than later.

 

[scorps]

I didn't go for the mechanic because of price, the closest evinrude mechanic is in tully a 3 hour return drive from where I live, so I would have to drive there drop it off then drive back another day and pick it up, I went with this mechanic because it was convenient because they came to my house lol

I have since spoken to a mechanic and gotten some legal advice, I will be contacting the small claims tomorrow then the boat will go into the mechanic, If it's not major damage then I'll cut my losses and leave it there

If there's major damage I'll attempt to obtain compensation, I have several messages saved from them that will help

 

[thomasssss]

dont know to much about boat motors but in a car the thermo just opens once its warm and allows a water flow , id assume it would be the same on a boat , so id think it would over heat if the thermo was gone not just stop and start , as for the revs as others said could be rich in oil but also could have the fuel screw on the carby (do they have one ?) set wrong , i know i get the same problems with bikes if the fuels screw is played with and that could also foul plugs if it stalled a few times

 

[bigjoediver]

Had a problem like that on a dive shop boat I used to be involved with, turned out it was blocked fuel tank breathers( boat had under floor tanks) the motors would run until they where unable to draw fuel from the tanks then cut out. As soon as you opened the tank fillers to check the fuel level air would enter the tanks and they would start again. Hope this helps

 

[Becceles]

If it's a licensed mechanic I would be contacting the ACCC and asking for advice on your next move. They will probably tell you to put it all in writing and send the mechanic a copy stating if the issue is not resolved within a certain time period (say 48hrs) at no further cost to you then you will be lodging a claim with the ACCC. The establishment is there to protect your rights as a consumer, just the threat of it has always been enough for me thus far.

Good Luck with it.

 

[Snowman]

You got screwed for being tight. Next time take it to a licensed mechanic. Expensive lesson to learn. You won't have a leg to stand on trying to get it fixed or money out of these people.

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You got screwed for being tight. Next time take it to a licensed mechanic. Expensive lesson to learn. You won't have a leg to stand on trying to get it fixed or money out of these people.