Q about FlatRate manuals

alexr254

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jun 21, 2011
Messages
262
I have a friend who has a small boat/engine repair business here in FL. He has been looking for a industry standard flatrate guide.
I found one from a site called Spader.com. But they are asking nearly $1K for this...

Is that normal? Can anyone help me find something cheaper for him?
 

Capt Ken

Commander
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Jul 30, 2002
Messages
2,269
Re: Q about FlatRate manuals

When dealing with saltwater engines, throw any flat rate manual out the window.
 

Don S

Honorary Moderator Emeritus
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Aug 31, 2004
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62,321
Re: Q about FlatRate manuals

Flat rate manuals are only good if the engine/drive is sitting on the floor. They may give you 30 minutes to replace a raw water pump impeller, but that goes out the window when you have to remove the engine from the boat to get at the pump. Or to replace a starter, of lots of other things.
Flat rate manuals are basically what the manufacturer will pay the dealer to fix the problem. That typically gets adjusted on the fly as well.
 

alexr254

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jun 21, 2011
Messages
262
Re: Q about FlatRate manuals

Flat rate manuals are only good if the engine/drive is sitting on the floor. They may give you 30 minutes to replace a raw water pump impeller, but that goes out the window when you have to remove the engine from the boat to get at the pump. Or to replace a starter, of lots of other things.
Flat rate manuals are basically what the manufacturer will pay the dealer to fix the problem. That typically gets adjusted on the fly as well.

I would think the Flat Rate guide has that info as well, like time it takes to remove a specific engine, from a specific type of boat, remove any pump or impeller..etc.. Time adds up of course.

Anyway, i dont think its worth paying close to $1k for the flat rate guide from Spader. I was hoping for other solutions besides none.

Thanks
-Alex
 

Capt Ken

Commander
Joined
Jul 30, 2002
Messages
2,269
Re: Q about FlatRate manuals

Nope, unlike cars, they have no idea what boat or type of boat the engine is mounted to. They just give a flat amount of time to remove an engine no matter what boat it is in. So if you have to remove an engine from inside a cabin, you get the same as one sitting out in the open on the back deck. Estimating a job comes from experience and best guessing.
 
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