Need Opinion if work done on my Sea Doo Jet boat by repair shop was really necessary.

[Boating-4-Curt]

My 2000 Jet Boat was in storage for well over 3 years. After that we couldn't start it.
We took it to this boat repair shop, who said, when asked if they were an authorized Sea Doo repair shop, "Yah, we can fix that". (They are not authorized.)
I'll try to be brief.

We waited only 2 weeks for the boat to be fixed. The final bill was over $1,100 for essentially installing 3 carb kits. (I had turned down an earlier offer over a year ago from another boat repair shop of $600. My bad.) I complained about several, what I thought were excessive or unnecessary charges, but paid them.

We dropped the boat in the lake. It started and idled ok. After it was warmed up, I started slowly moving. Eventually having to give it full throttle to start hydroplaning at 15-20 mph. That is when it stalled and died. We needed to be towed back to shore. It wouldn't start even when 2 knowledgeable guys helped us. They discovered that 2 carbs were leaking gas, at least a drop a second.

Discussing the Invoice:
The boat repair shop says they needed 2.5 hours to discover the problem. To quote "Gas Pouring Out of Bottom (2) Carbs - Carb Rebuild Needed". When I complained that 2.5 hours was excessive, they added a compression test as part of the 2.5 hrs
.
Two questions for whom ever is reading this is: (1) This compression test appears to have be done before the carbs were rebuilt. Was this test necessary at that point in time? They would not have been able to rev the engine, it would have flooded. How reliable are the readings (131-136 psi range) when the boat is only idling AND 2 carbs would have been leaking gas. Aren't compression tests done when there is blue exhaust indicating oil is leaking into the gas (or the engine isn't running smoothly/balanced. )

One last remark, when they siphon the old gas out, they damaged the gas gauge. It now beeps when I turn on the ignition. This explains why the gas tank was empty when I picked the boat up. No comments on invoice of gas gauge not working when I dropped the boat off
.
So last question, (2) should I bring the jet boat back to them to fix the still leaking carburetor issues? When I asked them if they would charge me more money for fixing the still leaking carbs, they said "bring it in". Right.

By the way, I discovered after the carb work was completed, that they do not warranty fuel related work. During that whole discussion to repair the carbs, they never told me that. I should have read it off the poster on the far wall that one time I came in.

There is more...

 

[NHGuy]

A compression test verifies the engine's integrity. They want to do that to avoid acknowledging their repair failed. It's not always associated with smoke, but can be necessary when smoke appears.
Carb work isn't verified complete til the engine runs under a load. That MAY BE why when it idled it was OK. Can't be sure though, dripping fuel is quite an indicator.
They will keep charging you money and are apparently incompetent and not ethical. Find someone else. Offer the other place a chance to repair it for money, but here's where it gets tricky. You may want to NOT tell them who did the previous work. Just say that's a lesson learned. If you find someone fair it could be an easy repair, assuming the first place got the right parts.
As far as the gas gauge, maybe you'll get lucky and find the wire off the sender.
I'd consider the first place bad and save your documents, go after them if you want. But it will cost you more than you have already "sunk" in this. Depends on how motivated you are to hit them back.

 

[Brian 26]

$1,100 is steep for 3 carb rebuilds. The kits (IF they used the right kits and not cheap knock offs) are $125 - 150 each. I'd say $750 for the 3 carbs parts and labor would be a dealer type of price. I've never heard of someone rebuilding 3/4 carbs, I never would.

Yes the compression check is normal, almost every mechanic starts with that on a jet ski (your boat is a big jet ski).

They did carb work and the carb is leaking, they should address that a no additional charge. I would probably bring it back and make this point very clear. If these guys get any more shady and try to hold your boat hostage for more money letters from an attorney usually get a really good response, hopefully it doesn't come to that. Sorry to hear your situation, hopefully it all works out for you. Let us know what happens.

 

[Boating-4-Curt]

From Boating-4-Curt

So from what I'm reading, doing a compression check when boat idling (can't be rev-ed up) and when carburetors leaking gas, would still return reliable results. I really thought they could have better justified a compression check after the carburetor kits were installed, not before. Wow. Their hourly rate varied from $105 to $125. I have disputed this charge with the credit card company and they want me to work it out with the repair shop - I really don't want them to touch my boat.

They never gave me a reason for carbs still leading gas after they had "fixed" it - just bring it back in. Is there ever an acceptable explanation for what they did?. They never dropped the boat in the water for a test drive - I did the QA for them. Thank you guys. I do appreciate you comments.

 

[BlueFishCrisis]

A compression check is performed with the motor stopped, as the tester is threaded into the spark plug holes. It also takes about 5 minutes to perform, especially if the engine compartment is already opened up. The condition of the carbs has no bearing on the compression check.

Unfortunately with a carb rebuild, as with any rebuild, you never really know what they installed. I prefer genuine OEM parts for carb rebuilds, while several aftermarket companies produce them as well.

 

[Brian 26]

They never gave me a reason for carbs still leading gas after they had "fixed" it - just bring it back in. Is there ever an acceptable explanation for what they did?.

This I actually agree with them on, they can't diagnose it over the phone. Any shop would do the same. The explanation is they screwed something up. If I was in your shoes what would worry me is - are they going to start billing (and gouging it would appear) by the hour again when you bring it back.

Everyone makes mistakes, it's how you fix those mistakes that matters.

 

[dazk14]

Just bring it back to them. Mistakes happen. This isn't warranty repair, they haven't completed the job yet.

Compression test is very important, and takes more than 5 minutes.

Especially important to check compression if motor ran lean (lack of fuel), the most common cause of frying a 2 stroke PWC cylinder.

Did the $600 include draining the fuel - a PIA and getting difficult to get rid of old fuel, although often can be used/mixed in an auto, as long as moisture is removed, if any...but do you want it in your car?

The diagnostic charge seems a tad high, certainly 1.5hr is reasonable, but overall the difference of an hr on a $1,100 job, is reasonable.

Did you ask for an estimate?

They likely pulled out/off the sending unit to drain the fuel - the best way to do it. There are 2 wires that are connected to the sending unit and they usually have to come off, because the wires simply aren't long enough. Easy to miss re-attachment, and a simple 1 screw or nut for each. Probably missed the ground.

The sending unit is mounted to top of fuel tank under floor and is often accessible via a pry off or screw off 6", or so deck plate. Sometimes access is under floor via
bilge which would not use a deck plate.

Below is a screw out, as noted by the 2 recesses for fingers to twist. a pry out would have 2 very small edge openings to pry out with screwdriver. Note: both have a permanently mounted outer frame.

 

[Brian 26]

I'm guessing Curt is gone but I just re read my post and saw a mistake.

$1,100 is steep for 3 carb rebuilds. The kits (IF they used the right kits and not cheap knock offs) are $125 - 150 each.

That should say $125-150 per pair

 

[slag]

125 per pair, plus testing, plus reassembly, testing, tweaking, ensuring popoff is correct, etc. It can quickly get expensive when you take your boat to a shop to fix which is why it is a good idea to learn how to do these things yourself.