Crazy service prices.

[agallant80]

I just got my monthly marine max service email. I think these prices are crazy. $309 for an oil and gear lube change? $125 to empty the holding tank and flush a gallon of pink stuff down the toilet? Who knew people were willing to pay this much. By their cost it would cost me $745 to put the boat away for the winter. Not to mention the $500 they would charge to replace the impeller.

$309 - Oil
$125 - Head
$165 - winterize
$146 - fresh water system with heater
_______
$745

Off Season Recommendations

Engine Winterize:
Single Stern Drive - $165
Twin Stern Drive - $260
Single Outboard - $145
Twin Outboard- $232
Freshwater System - $95
Freshwater w/ Water Heater - $146
Port-a-Potty - $36
Vacuum Head -$125
Engine Yearly Maintenance:

Outboard Oil Change:

Up to 115HP - $165

Stern Drive & Oil Change:

4 and 6 Cylinder - $289

8 Cylinder - $309

10% off ALL MarineMax Dry Slip Customers!

 

[explorer 542]

Re: Crazy service prices.

no one said boating was cheap but $165.00 for a oil change for a single outboard is crazy

 

[greenbush future]

Re: Crazy service prices.

Some folks have more $$ than time, if it was me I would find the time to avoid these guys and their view of boat maintenance. Are you currently using these folks for any of your needs?

 

[agallant80]

Re: Crazy service prices.

Some folks have more $$ than time, if it was me I would find the time to avoid these guys and their view of boat maintenance. Are you currently using these folks for any of your needs?

No, I almost bought a 2011 Searay 260DA from them but we could not come to an agreement. During the sales process I was entered in to the email system. I look it over from time to time to get a giggle of what they are doing. I am putting the boat up Friday and between 6 gallons of pink stuff oil and gear lube I am about $81 in to it pluse the 6 hours it will take to wash/wax/clean/change fluids etc.

 

[81 Checkmate]

Re: Crazy service prices.

This is why iboats is so popular.........iboats is a must for your average boater that dont own a bank. So Glad i found this site......saved soooo much money.

Thanks!

 

[agallant80]

Re: Crazy service prices.

I just have an issue trusting that the service tech did it right. My aunt and uncle owned a monster of a 47 foot sail boat for years. They always had issues with the work the yard did. Like the one time they had the risers changed, the yard put in ones that were too short allowing water to flow back in to the motor destroying it. You have any idea how expensive a Yamar Diesel marine motor is? They had to fight with the yard to get it fixed and at that they only rebuilt the heads.

 

[WIMUSKY]

Re: Crazy service prices.

It seems like no matter what the recreational activity is, it costs a fortune. Whether it's for parts, maintenance, whatever.... If you're going to play, you're going to pay. I think that's why more and more people are becoming DIYers.......

 

[greenbush future]

Re: Crazy service prices.

The advantage that these larger established boat repair shops/marinas offer is that they are insured and usually have a reputation that they value. They also usually have full time mechanics to do the work load. The price points are really based on what they feel the service is worth. What you and me find outrageous, others may see value in. No one says you have to do business with them.

 

[Slip Away]

Re: Crazy service prices.

One of the reasons we got out of owning a cruiser (8 years) was the costs like these. So glad we are back to a trailer boat.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Crazy service prices.

I am putting the boat up Friday and between 6 gallons of pink stuff oil and gear lube I am about $81 in to it pluse the 6 hours it will take to wash/wax/clean/change fluids etc.

You realize that your $81 in fluids cost you a lot more than that. Fuel costs. Time to get there and back. Wear and tear on your vehicle, etc.

What's your 6 hours of labor worth if you had to pay your own health and unemployment insurance, vacation and sick leave costs, the mortgage and still put food on the table at the end of the day?

While it might sound like a lot of money, nobody is getting rich off those prices.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Crazy service prices.

The advantage that these larger established boat repair shops/marinas offer is that they are insured and usually have a reputation that they value. They also usually have full time mechanics to do the work load. The price points are really based on what they feel the service is worth. What you and me find outrageous, others may see value in. No one says you have to do business with them.

Agreed. I will pay for the comfort of having someone stand behind the work; even a simple job can have expensive consequences if there is a problem.
And the guy with the boat on the trailer in his driveway never factors in the value of the time for the mechanic to leave his shop with the necessary tools, travel to and get on the boat at the marina/storage, do the work, clean up, carry the old stuff off and go back to the shop.

Even though the shop I use when I need it is "20 minutes away," that's if the boat is on the trailer hooked to the car. For me to get the boat from the house to the ramp, get the trailer from storage to the ramp, haul it out and secure it, easily an hour (and all those places are within 10 minutes or less of each other). Then when it's ready, reverse the process to get the boat, launch it, return the trailer and get the boat home. Comes to three hours easy--whether it's to take the boat in, or pull it out to change the LU oil myself (which I do). That cost of time off the work clock would often justify paying that extra money to have them come to me.

Few people on this site place any value on their time, so they see the cost of restoring a junk boat as parts only, or don't grasp the economics of paying someone to do your work while you make more at your job, or don't expend valuable free time.

Also, "oil change" is usually a lot more than just that, just like with cars. INcludnig disposal; businesses have to pay to get rid of it.

I do have a problem with a flat labor rate so that the cost for painting the bottom is the same as rebuilding carbs. But if they have to take a guy away from a carb job to paint a bottom, the lost opportunity cost justifies it.

At first I bristled at the half-hour "book time" for a car dealer to replace a dead battery. But time yourself in your driveway, to relpace one, including driving to the auto parts storem, standing in line, swapping, and back home: always more than 30 minutes I guaranty.

 

[Natesms]

Re: Crazy service prices.

If you are like me and the boat is 3 hours away, those prices can seem a lot more reasonable.

My marina is awesome about helping to keep things affordable. They are willing to divide up the work if you want to keep costs down by doing some things yourself. I helped change a transmission earlier this year and they allowed us to pull everything out and put back in everything but the transmission itself. Saved 6 hours of shop time and they still back the work on the transmission.

 

[81 Checkmate]

Re: Crazy service prices.

Agree 100% with home cookin.....People that own a buisness have to make a profit to pay the bills...Some charge more that others to do a specific task. So it comes down to trust, do i trust that the work is being done correctly....that's up to the boat owner.
It would be nice to just drop it off, come back a few days later and pay the man and go boating.

As to the DIY....yes we never factor in our labor and how many trips to the parts store.....but in the end... we know that is was done to our Satisfaction and dont have to worry if some dingleberry did the job right.

When we bought our first i/o boat we were at the mercey of the shop to get repairs done...like a gimble bearing ect and i had to pay the price...... knew nothing about i/o boats....but now i can do the job myself and save some cash....but will still have to make multiple trips to the parts store....:joyous:

 

[explorer 542]

Re: Crazy service prices.

There was a time when if you had fuel and spark you could just about get anything running but with all the computers telling the engines what to do and when to do it if something goes wrong with your engine you have no choice but to take it to the shop and pay the costs that come with it. It is one thing to change your own oil, plugs and gear lube but if you have a real problem you have no other option but to trust a shop and hope the costs are reasonable if you want to play you have to pay.

 

[agallant80]

Re: Crazy service prices.

Im supprised by the amount of people here that support the idea of the mechanic doing it. I don't have any thing against the mechanic besides I don't trust them to do the work properly. I know businesses have overhead and need to charge accordingly but for real $165 to pump out the head and put two gallons of pink stuff down it?

 

[Slip Away]

Re: Crazy service prices.

$165 yep. You are paying the rate $90 to $100 per hour, no matter what the mechanic does. It's similar any place you take the boat in for service. The sad thing is, too many people buy these boats "because I can" and never even consider the associated costs of maintenance, storage, fuel, etc. Just "what is the monthly payment". And it can be a shock to the system when you need work done. Only way to avoid it is DIY.

 

[airshot]

Re: Crazy service prices.

Here is the part I do not understand....yes people have bills to pay and overhead for their facility but....I work in a multimillion dollar machinine shop with many 250,000.00 CNC machine centers along with numerous other machines for removing metal. No way can we charge 100 per hour, we would be out of business as no one would pay it. Best we can get is 65-75 per hour and our overhead is much higher than the marina's. Fact is at that rate it is a gouge but obviously enough people are willing to pay it. I have a friend that runs a small
marine repair and his charge is 60/hr and he has more business than he can handle, probably turns away about 50% because he is not willing to go really big. Does not make any sense to me other than just a gouge like the oil companies.

 

[JASinIL2006]

Re: Crazy service prices.

I imagine the fact that much of the business is seasonal has a lot to do with prices.

I can see the point about paying more to get the work done correctly and to have someone that stands behind the work. I wonder whether that is really the case, though. High prices for boat work seem to be pretty constant, while the quality/thoroughness of the work seems pretty variable.

 

[limitout]

Re: Crazy service prices.

no one said boating was cheap but $165.00 for a oil change for a single outboard is crazy

that's $100 for one hour labor and the $65 is for materials (oil, filter, gaskets, oil disposal fee), that's an average price but I think its a lot too but that's the going rate so its not higher then average

anything dealing with factory warranty work (car/boat dealers) is going to charge $100 an hour because its the factory paying that "most of the time" and they don't/can't have different "reasonable" prices for the non warranty work

 

[QC]

Re: Crazy service prices.

Truck shops and car dealers get over $100 an hour. I am with those that support dealers. Even with those rates it is hard to make money. Risks are much bigger than you imagine, and management of mechanics is horrible. I ran a 20 bay truck shop. Wouldn't wish it on anybody.