should i go to a dealership repairs or outbourd handy man?

[wpg manitoba]

I have been having problems with my 87 30hp 2 stroke mariner. it is running erratically at idle and high throttle and I can not figure out why. I don't know much about outboards and I only found 1 non dealer outboard handy man. Now the question that comes to my mind is would I save money going to the handy man, or will the dealer do a better job at figuring out the problem and fixing it?
Also is there a lack of outboard handymen because I could only find one guy in my city (Winnipeg mb).

 

[Yesterday]

Re: should i go to a dealership repairs or outbourd handy man?

Inhhh like with any of these things, there are risks going with the "handyman" approach. But then again you can find the same with crooked dealers as well. There is no sure fire simple answer to your question. The alternative is of course, if you're even remotely mechanically inclined, given that you're using perhaps the best resource known to man for related information, perhaps you might want to start the learning curve yourself?

 

[tpenfield]

Re: should i go to a dealership repairs or outbourd handy man?

I have been having problems with my 87 30hp 2 stroke mariner. it is running erratically at idle and high throttle and I can not figure out why. I don't know much about outboards and I only found 1 non dealer outboard handy man. Now the question that comes to my mind is would I save money going to the handy man, or will the dealer do a better job at figuring out the problem and fixing it?
Also is there a lack of outboard handymen because I could only find one guy in my city (Winnipeg mb).

:noidea: We don't know the reputation and skills of the dealer nor the handyman. You might be able to gather some of that information. Most likely the dealer will be more $$$, but that is not always the case. Then there is the matter of who can fix it the best . . .

 

[minuteman62-64]

Re: should i go to a dealership repairs or outbourd handy man?

Is that a Japanese made Mariner? Don't know what the situation is where you live, but, based on a couple of inquiries I made here in San Diego, I found that the dealers are not very interested in working on the older, Japanese made Mariners (grumbling about parts being hard to find, etc.). By default, I went to an independent (handyman type) mechanic and had good results. Subsequently, I've been learning as much as I can about how to do stuff myself.

 

[JDusza]

Re: should i go to a dealership repairs or outbourd handy man?

You can do anything the dealer can. That's why my philosophy is to tackle it myself and if I can't get it, then I'm sure the dealer is WORKING for his $$. When you use a dealer, you want to be sure they're WORKING and not pilfering your wallet. This forum is great and will give you terrific troubleshooting and repair methods. If running erratically at idle, you can work on it in the driveway with water supplying the water pump.; garden hose and muffs. You'll hear people speak of three main components. There's really four....compression, fuel, spark and TIMING. That's it. You can do it!
J
p.s., Ask this repairman how he would troubleshoot ignition. He'll need a voltmeter with a DVA. Anything else and he really doesn't know ignitions. Compression is a simple spin of the engine with spark plugs out and a compression gauge in one cylinder at a time. Also, when running at idle, pull one spark plug at a time. If the engine performance falters, the cylinder was functioning. If you pull a spark plug lead and there's no difference, that cylinder is not working.
So, there's some simple things you can do to get on the right path.
Let us know.

 

[wired247]

Re: should i go to a dealership repairs or outbourd handy man?

Many dealers do mostly newer motor warranty work and dont have many techs proficient in the older motors. You might be better off with an independent mechanic.