Tohatsu "setup" $160????

[TOHATSU GURU]

Re: Tohatsu "setup" $160????

I am going to hate myself tomorrow for equating this, but.....When you buy a lawnmower at Home Depot, take it home, add oil and cut the grass, is it really anymore complicated that adding a quart of oil to an outboard? The answer is no. Some people can't take a cutting blade off of a lawnmower to sharpen it, those are the same people that bring in a 4 hp outboard to a service station to have the spark plug changed. That's the exception, not the rule. For every 50 outboards we sell and ship to a consumer in Smalltown, USA we might receive a single phone call asking a question about how to operate the engine or if something special needs to be done to use it. Out of the last 675 we sold and delivered via boxed delivery there have been 8 warranty claims filed....5 of those were for concealed feight damage that Tohatsu took responsibility for. There is just no reason to pay a local dealer to add a quart of oil and tell you not to run the engine out of the water.<br /><br />As to the rare occasion when there really is a problem....some dealers really show their character flaws, some go out of their way to help that LOCAL CUSTOMER THAT THEY LOST TO BEGIN WITH. When we have a local customer who has made a purchase from someone else come in for service we look at it as a second chance to earn their business. We do not punish them for bringing business to us. If they want a PDI done on that 5 hp that they bought from somone else....great. That's $25.00 to $50.00 in our pocket for 30 minutes of our time. Do we treat them the same as someone who just bought an engine from us? We better, if we want to gain their future business. Most of the time these people send their frends in to us. Why? Because we didn't treat them like redheaded stepchildren. <br /><br />All dealers need to take a close look as to why they have lost a sale. Was it because the consumer didn't even know they sold that brand? Was it because they didn't have that model available? Was it because they were unwilling to order it? Was it because they had it priced too high? Was it because they have a reputation for being cranky? Was it because of the final cost being to high because of sales tax? Was it because you slept with the guy's wife back in high school and he found out just as we was ready to order it from you?<br /><br />If you buy a new Ford across town from a dealer and three months later you take it to the dealer that is only a 1/4 mile from you because some silly xss sensor has failed, do you think she is going tell her service department to put you dead last? Of course not. It's not personal. Marine dealers should not make it and take it personal either.<br /><br />Having said all that...it does hurt a little when Bubba shows up with a new one in a box and you didn't sell it. But you really do have to rise above it, smile and EARN his business and goodwill for the future.

 

[rodbolt]

Re: Tohatsu "setup" $160????

internet<br /> my findings are strictly profit motivated.<br /> customer relations are great. its very rare to see a warrenty claim on a tinymite but everyone is a money loser. takes unpaid time for testing,ordering and filling out the claim on a motor that was sold through a chain store for less than a dealer can buy it from tohatsu, much less buy it and compete with a chain store.<br /> normally if we ship a crate motor we willl PDI it first. usually any claims can be handled long before the consumer gets it.<br /> part of what your buying when you buy from a dealer is the dealers service dept. there is a lot of overhead that does not go away in the cold months. this is not like the automotive business. most dealers dont get reimbused at their shop rate. so would I rather lose 25 dollars on a warrenty claim that I did not sell the unit or make 50 dollars doing real work, knowing that the only reason the customer is there and not in his bro-inlaws garage or buying wally world oils and fluids is because no one else will touch it and if its non-warrenty or a napa part you will never see the customer again.<br /> was a post about the little etachs a bit ago. e-tec and ficht works on chainsaws. however the cost of a e-tec 6 hp motor will drive the price out of any competative price range . there is no profit in tinymites so we normally dont play with them.<br /> I am not a dealer but I do understand profit and loss statements. I can make more money selling a set of plugs to a customer with a v6 than ill make on a PDI on a 5 HP. if you try to compete with chain stores on selling a 5 HP ya lost money. everytime. takes 30-45 min just to do the sale. thats an hour of shop time.takes 30 mn to prep it, if ya have to donate it thats another 1/2 hour shop time. while I enjoy customer relations and I do give away blocks of time answering questions at the end of the month its all about the profit and loss colum.

 

[TOHATSU GURU]

Re: Tohatsu "setup" $160????

Tohatsu, unlike every other manufacturer, only has a 3% price difference between what a dealer who buys 3 engines pays and what a dealer who buys the max engines pays. Any Tohatsu dealer can compete on price with what Boaters World or what we sell them for. The problem is that some dealers just don't get it that their local customer choose NOT to buy from them for a reason. THEY lost the customer. Whoever else gets that customer does so because they did something better or at least didn't screw up somehow. <br /><br />PDI's are another issue. If the engine manufacturer builds such a piece of crap that there is a good chance that it will have a problem out of the box...guess what...It will always have problems because the design and manufacturing quality are poor. PDI's are a recent invention and were not required until manufacturers became concerned about dealers selling them wholesale to non franchised dealers and selling them to consumers outside of their local market. Do PDI's need to be done by a dealer on a 5 hp? Of course not. Does a PDI need to be done on a 150 hp? Maybe, but I still think that anyone who wants to by a 150 hp in the box and take responsibility for correctly installing himself should be allowed to. Under the present manufacturer rules a tech with 20 years on Yamaha's is deemed to be too stupid by Honda to rig a 25 hp Honda remote engine or do a PDI on a 2 hp. <br /><br />In comparison to larger engines the 25 hps and below are not big money makers for a service shop. But, what's the alternative? Refuse to work on engines unless you take home a minimum amount of money? An independent tech can...and probably should blow off small engine repair. But a dealer does not have that option and should not have that option. There are a lot of exceptions to that, like older junk engines, money pit engines and saltys that are mostly corrosion. But remember what this topic started off about. The closest dealer was 68 miles away, lied about it being required to have a PDI and wanted $160.00 to add a quart of oil and drop the engine in the tank and test run it for 5 minutes. That's a crime even if it is not punishable under the law.

 

[rodbolt]

Re: Tohatsu "setup" $160????

I do agree that 160 to prep and PDI a 5 HP is almost criminal. but in the early 90's when suzuki started requiring a PDI or no warrenty they found powerhead and gear case failures fell off dramatically. in the mid ninties I worked for a honda/tohatsu dealer. every tohatsu I took out of the crate in the 90 HP + range had to be correctly adjusted. they would in fact start out of the box but nothing was ever set correctly.<br /> seems with the smaller 4 strokes we never touch them. just test everything and insure the stop lanyards and tilt latches all work and no fuel leaks. <br /> seems the biggest problem is educating the customer that the prop in the box may or may not be the one he needs. aint nothing like watching them take it off the dingy and hang it on the back of a 30 ft sail boat with 2 tons of keel.its actually amazing they last as well as they do most times.

 

[TOHATSU GURU]

Re: Tohatsu "setup" $160????

I'm not sure how to respond except to say that Suzuki did not require a PDI until after we stopped selling them in 2000. And that any remote control engine, by it's very nature of having to have controls added to it, has to be adjusted. I don't think we are really in disagreement so much as we are just looking at this stuff from two different perspectives.

 

[accord_guy]

Re: Tohatsu "setup" $160????

I live in Indiana and the Tohatsu dealer told me he would sell me the 9.8 4-stroke for $150 more<br />than on-line. This would also mean $100 more <br />in sales tax. He also had an attitude about warr.<br />service. He said it would be a long time before he would even look at it. He also didn't keep them in stock so he would have to order it and I would have to pay shipping to his shop. That puts it over $325 more. What kind of deal is that? I buy it from him so I can be on his good side? I'm fed up with boat shops and their attitudes. They need to learn to compete<br />instead of complain. I ordered on-line and it'll be at my house in 5 days. I wouldn't let him touch<br />it if he paid me.

 

[TOHATSU GURU]

Re: Tohatsu "setup" $160????

Good for you!!! Wait a minute...we didn't sell one into Indiana in the last week....You need to cancel that order and buy it from that local dealer so you can get the benefit of his sparkling personality.

 

[CATransplant]

Re: Tohatsu "setup" $160????

Dealers are all different. The good ones recognize that everyone who walks in the door is a potential customer, even if they walk in carrying an eggbeater motor they bought online.<br /><br />The guy with the eggbeater is probably going to be in the market for more than that one day. He may want an entire boat.<br /><br />There are two Evinrude/Johnson dealers within 20 minutes of my house. One won't even talk to me about my ancient Johnson, even though he has some of the parts I need in stock. The other one takes a few minutes and helps me find what I need. He pulls out the parts book for my outboard when I walk up to the parts counter. He knows my name.<br /><br />Now, next year, I'm probably going to buy a brand new boat, motor, and trailer. I'm saving up for it this year, while I use my ancient boat and outboard. I pay cash for the things I buy. Which dealer do you suppose I'm going to patronize? I can guarantee it won't be the first one. The second one? Absolutely. He'll be my first stop, and probably my last.<br /><br />Treating customers badly is just never a good idea.<br /><br />The guy with the $160 setup charge for an eggbeater motor is just plain stupid. If he were smart, he'd tell the guy he'd do it for $50, just to get him in the shop. Let's see, he could sell him some PFDs, an anchor, maybe, a new pedestal seat...whatever. I shop online a lot, but I buy stuff like that locally. Who needs to wait?<br /><br />Instead, he's made an enemy of a potential customer. This enemy will bad-mouth him to all his friends, who will tell their friends. Bad news travels quickly.

 

[oby]

Re: Tohatsu "setup" $160????

sorry for sounding like a complete idiot but what does pdi stand for and what does it involve ??

 

[TOHATSU GURU]

Re: Tohatsu "setup" $160????

Pre Delivery Inspection...It will vary depending <br />on the size and type of engine. On a small one...It takes 5 minutes on a big engine...Up to an hour, not counting the time it takes to rig the engine.

 

[DJ]

Re: Tohatsu "setup" $160????

I am squarely on the side of the dealer on this one, with one VERY LARGE caveat.<br /><br />Marine dealers, a great percentage of them, need to get their act together.<br /><br />Most marine dealers I walk into I need to beg someone to help me. So many of them seem to have sour personalities. Again, I'm not saying ALL.<br /><br />I see why people want to buy from the internet and other places, but for a large purchase, I still like the local relationship factor. A USED engine is a completely different story.