MY YAMAHA 225HP 4 STROKE IS USELES AFTER ONLY FIVE SEASONS
The Short Version
I paid over $16,000 for a brand new Yamaha 225hp 4-stroke motor in March 2006.
After only five seasons of weekend use, and with less than 600 hours of use and proper maintenance, I am faced with a $12,000 repair bill as this motor has corroded from the inside. I bought an extended six year warranty, took great care of the motor, and kept my service receipts, and Yamaha has claimed that they don?t cover corrosion.
The Detailed Version
When my wife and I decided to invest in a new boat and motor, my research told me that it should be powered by Yamaha for their reputation as the most reliable outboards on the market. We paid over $50,000 for a 22 foot Key West center console powered by a Yamaha 225 4 stroke. We bought the boat in March, 2006 from Kevin Burke at Action Marine in Holyoke, MA. At the time of purchase, Yamaha offered us a choice of either a $750 rebate check, or a three-year extension on its standard three year warranty, bringing the warranty to six years from the purchase date. We chose the extended warranty.
We took great care of the boat and motor, and have enjoyed fishing and boating in the waters of Long Island Sound for the past five seasons. We have always been very careful to clean the boat and motor, and flush the engine with fresh water after every use. At the end of each season, we had Mike Bassett at Louis Marine in Westbrook, CT service and winterize it for us.
We launched the boat this year on April 23rd, and it was on May 14th that I noticed water coming out from under the motor?s cover. When I opened the cover to see what was causing the problem, I could see a hole in the top of the head, approximately 3/8? in diameter, where sea water was flowing out and all over the engine. I anchored the boat and applied an emergency putty to block the hole, and made it back to Louis Marine. A week later, Mike Bassett confirmed that this hole had been caused by corrosion, and that the repair job would be too much for his company to handle. He referred me to Boats, Inc. in Niantic, CT, and Reynolds? in Lyme, CT. Both are Yamaha authorized repair facilities. I chose Reynolds? because it was a shorter distance to my home, and I prefer doing business with family-run companies.
It took over two weeks before Reynolds? could look, as it is their busy time. Tom Reynolds called and told me ?This is the worst case of corrosion I have ever seen.?, and The Reynolds Company has been in business since 1859! He contacted Yamaha, and then reported back to me that they do not cover corrosion. He added that Yamaha may offer some assistance, but how much he didn?t know. Tom suggested I call Yamaha?s customer service dept. myself to see how much assistance they would be willing to give me. ?Once we get that figure, we can decide whether to go forward with the repair, or buy a new motor? (yes, it is that bad).
So I called and spoke with Greg in Yamaha?s customer service department, who was just about the rudest person, in a customer service position, I have ever spoken with in my 50 years on this earth. He said ?We ain?t gonna do nothin? for ya until we see a repair estimate first.? So now Reynolds? wants to know how much assistance Yamaha will give before proceeding and Yamaha won?t offer assistance until Reynolds? submits a repair estimate, and I?m stuck in the middle. In order to make an accurate repair estimate, Reynolds told me that the motor must be taken apart completely, and that I would be responsible for the estimated $400 cost in labor to do this. Since I really had no choice, I agreed to it.
While waiting for the results of the tear down and repair estimate, I did a little research on the Internet and found that I am not the only one with this corrosion problem on this motor for this year. It seems that Yamaha may know about it, but is unwilling to admit the problem as it may cost them to fix the motors of their other customers who?ve experienced the very same problem. Does Yamaha really believe it?s okay to sell a motor to their customers for $16,000 that lasts only five years??? I would never have thought so until now.
I spoke with Tom Reynolds today (June 14) who told me that Yamaha will offer $3,500 towards the repair, or a new motor, leaving me with about an $8,500 burden. So my choice is to pay $8,500 to repair a motor that basically disintegrated on me, or buy a brand new Yamaha motor, which will likely cost me around $15,000. So I called Yamaha customer service to see if someone in a position of authority would be willing to do the honorable thing and amend the $3,500 offer. I spoke with David, who told me that the decision was ?reviewed by the Call Center Manager, and that my choice is to take the $3,500.00 or get nothing?.
I?m really mad about this, and I?m still paying off a loan for the original purchase! I simply don?t have $8,500 to pay for repairs. My boat and Yamaha motor will now sit on a trailer until I win the lottery.
I am extremely disappointed with The Yamaha Corporation, and their unwillingness to stand by their product. _____________________________________________________________________________________
Bill Adams ∙ Terryville, CT ∙ 203-561-7837 ∙ mailtobilladams@gmail.com
The Short Version
I paid over $16,000 for a brand new Yamaha 225hp 4-stroke motor in March 2006.
After only five seasons of weekend use, and with less than 600 hours of use and proper maintenance, I am faced with a $12,000 repair bill as this motor has corroded from the inside. I bought an extended six year warranty, took great care of the motor, and kept my service receipts, and Yamaha has claimed that they don?t cover corrosion.
The Detailed Version
When my wife and I decided to invest in a new boat and motor, my research told me that it should be powered by Yamaha for their reputation as the most reliable outboards on the market. We paid over $50,000 for a 22 foot Key West center console powered by a Yamaha 225 4 stroke. We bought the boat in March, 2006 from Kevin Burke at Action Marine in Holyoke, MA. At the time of purchase, Yamaha offered us a choice of either a $750 rebate check, or a three-year extension on its standard three year warranty, bringing the warranty to six years from the purchase date. We chose the extended warranty.
We took great care of the boat and motor, and have enjoyed fishing and boating in the waters of Long Island Sound for the past five seasons. We have always been very careful to clean the boat and motor, and flush the engine with fresh water after every use. At the end of each season, we had Mike Bassett at Louis Marine in Westbrook, CT service and winterize it for us.
We launched the boat this year on April 23rd, and it was on May 14th that I noticed water coming out from under the motor?s cover. When I opened the cover to see what was causing the problem, I could see a hole in the top of the head, approximately 3/8? in diameter, where sea water was flowing out and all over the engine. I anchored the boat and applied an emergency putty to block the hole, and made it back to Louis Marine. A week later, Mike Bassett confirmed that this hole had been caused by corrosion, and that the repair job would be too much for his company to handle. He referred me to Boats, Inc. in Niantic, CT, and Reynolds? in Lyme, CT. Both are Yamaha authorized repair facilities. I chose Reynolds? because it was a shorter distance to my home, and I prefer doing business with family-run companies.
It took over two weeks before Reynolds? could look, as it is their busy time. Tom Reynolds called and told me ?This is the worst case of corrosion I have ever seen.?, and The Reynolds Company has been in business since 1859! He contacted Yamaha, and then reported back to me that they do not cover corrosion. He added that Yamaha may offer some assistance, but how much he didn?t know. Tom suggested I call Yamaha?s customer service dept. myself to see how much assistance they would be willing to give me. ?Once we get that figure, we can decide whether to go forward with the repair, or buy a new motor? (yes, it is that bad).
So I called and spoke with Greg in Yamaha?s customer service department, who was just about the rudest person, in a customer service position, I have ever spoken with in my 50 years on this earth. He said ?We ain?t gonna do nothin? for ya until we see a repair estimate first.? So now Reynolds? wants to know how much assistance Yamaha will give before proceeding and Yamaha won?t offer assistance until Reynolds? submits a repair estimate, and I?m stuck in the middle. In order to make an accurate repair estimate, Reynolds told me that the motor must be taken apart completely, and that I would be responsible for the estimated $400 cost in labor to do this. Since I really had no choice, I agreed to it.
While waiting for the results of the tear down and repair estimate, I did a little research on the Internet and found that I am not the only one with this corrosion problem on this motor for this year. It seems that Yamaha may know about it, but is unwilling to admit the problem as it may cost them to fix the motors of their other customers who?ve experienced the very same problem. Does Yamaha really believe it?s okay to sell a motor to their customers for $16,000 that lasts only five years??? I would never have thought so until now.
I spoke with Tom Reynolds today (June 14) who told me that Yamaha will offer $3,500 towards the repair, or a new motor, leaving me with about an $8,500 burden. So my choice is to pay $8,500 to repair a motor that basically disintegrated on me, or buy a brand new Yamaha motor, which will likely cost me around $15,000. So I called Yamaha customer service to see if someone in a position of authority would be willing to do the honorable thing and amend the $3,500 offer. I spoke with David, who told me that the decision was ?reviewed by the Call Center Manager, and that my choice is to take the $3,500.00 or get nothing?.
I?m really mad about this, and I?m still paying off a loan for the original purchase! I simply don?t have $8,500 to pay for repairs. My boat and Yamaha motor will now sit on a trailer until I win the lottery.
I am extremely disappointed with The Yamaha Corporation, and their unwillingness to stand by their product. _____________________________________________________________________________________
Bill Adams ∙ Terryville, CT ∙ 203-561-7837 ∙ mailtobilladams@gmail.com