The Horrible Economy...

[HollaGeo]

I was turned down by a boat mechanic because he only works on Mercs. and I have a Johnson.

 

[5150abf]

Re: The Horrible Economy...

That is pretty typical I think and doesn't have anything to do with the economy, he doesn't work on Johnson/eveinrude, alot of Johnson mechanics won't work on Mercs.

 

[Joshua Nichols]

Re: The Horrible Economy...

Went to a place that wouldn't touch a outboard older than a 88 and wouldn't work on a I/O that wasn't a Mercruiser and newer than a 96... How that for strange.. When I was in the service world, In the winter we would work on about anything if we could line up parts for it somehow...

 

[Joshua Nichols]

Re: The Horrible Economy...

I was turned down by a boat mechanic because he only works on Mercs. and I have a Johnson.

He has to stick with what breaks down the most often... Just playing Merc owners

 

[veritas honus]

Re: The Horrible Economy...

Manufacturers have different specs, configurations, and specialized parts for their engines, drives, and outboards. This all equates to education, and different specialized tools. You can certainly find mechanics out there who not only have the ability and means to work on various manufacturers equipment, but some have multiple specialty skills, ability, knowledge, and certifications. Today, unfortunately, we find too many "manufacturers puppet" type mechanics. They are trained to read a computer and change parts. I'm not saying that this is the case with your mechanic. There are some fantastic mechanics out there who limit themselves to one or two manufacturers for various reasons.

As 5150abf said, this likely has absolutely nothing to do with the economy. It would seem to me, that in a recessed economy, mechanics would be more likely to branch out than limit themselves to only one discipline. Just my .02

 

[scoutabout]

Re: The Horrible Economy...

Actually, I'd rather have a guy declare up front he doesn't work on a particular kind of equipment instead of jumping in with both feet and doing more damage than good. I ditched my last marina after they made two mistakes on my Yamaha that 1) stranded me out on the lake and 2) toasted part of my electrical system. When I first hooked up with them a couple of years ago I asked about their specialities. "Don't worry - we used to be a Yamaha dealer." Yeah, right. Emphasis on used to be...

 

[bonz_d]

Re: The Horrible Economy...

I believe it comes down to specialty tools and parts inventory. Runs up a ton o money. Secondly as only a familiarity with one brand.

 

[archcityBob]

Re: The Horrible Economy...

I agree with Scoutabout. The mechanic (hopefully) keeps up on the training and service bulletins for Mercs. With a Johnson he would have general engine knowledge, but possibly not know the tricks and problem areas. So he would spend more time poking around and running general diagnostics to find what a specialists would jump right onto. Then also he might miss the "everyone knows" stuff like when you replace this, you also go ahead and replace that.

 

[ajgraz]

Re: The Horrible Economy...

I dunno, even if a shop is best at only "Brand X," seems to me that instead of saying "we won't touch Brand Y" they should say "we'll look at your Brand Y, but it's gonna cost Z% extra."

 

[CVX20SPRINT]

Re: The Horrible Economy...

Honda motorcycle dealers are even worse than that(in the States at least).They have a 10 year rule.Not all but most.They won't even touch one of their own bikes if it is over 10 years old even if they sell it.Doesn't matter if the bike is like new or even a model that hardly changed in a 12 year model run(GL1500 Goldwing).I ran into to this last year in NC.Ran the tires right off the bike in Deal's Gap and noticed at the next fuel stop.Called a local Honda shop and was very surprised that for no amount of money would they install tires on my bike.Said they would be more than happy to sell me and install tires on my rims if I brought them in.Had to drive for an extra 1/2 hour(right past their door)to another multi-product dealer.Not a good feeling on a multi-lane hiway,loaded 800+ lb. bike with the wife on the back and very bald rear tire.

 

[bonz_d]

Re: The Horrible Economy...

I dunno, even if a shop is best at only "Brand X," seems to me that instead of saying "we won't touch Brand Y" they should say "we'll look at your Brand Y, but it's gonna cost Z% extra."

And then what? To spend and charge 10 labor hours to only come back and tell you they can't fix it. No thanks. I'd rather they be honest and up front unless of coarse it was an emergency on water breakdown..

 

[Brewman61]

Re: The Horrible Economy...

Since it's still a (relatively) free country, businesses are free to "Reserve The Right To Refuse Service......". I'm thinking the shops that turn away work simply don't need it. And obviously don't want it.
Who really would want to strongly insist that someone fix their stuff? Not thinking their heart/head would be in the game.
But there are always alternatives. Look around for a shadetree type of place- one of those guys who's been around for decades and can fix em all. Dealers will specialize, and at $120 per hour labor (here) plus parts profits, they're making plenty of money.
Shadetree guys won't have extensive parts inventory, but will know where to get them.

 

[Reel Kahuna]

Re: The Horrible Economy...

I ran across the same situation where a particular shop only worked on Yamaha, Johnson and Evinrude. He did however look at the motor I had and gave me advise on what it could possibly be the problem, which btw he was right. After that the next motor I bought was a Yamaha because of him helping me. He's been servicing my Yamaha for over 5 years now and is very fair on his prices and always delivers on time.

 

[BTMCB]

Re: The Horrible Economy...

Yip, I agree with those who say.....I want the mechanic who knows the product to work on my engine and I admire the mechanic who admits up front that he does not work on x brand. When I needed back surgery, I looked for the best surgeon that specialized in backs - wasn't looking for a surgeon that only had experience in cosmetic surgery (let the admiral use that guy!).

 

[cwhite6]

Re: The Horrible Economy...

Try getting a Harley dealer to work on bikes older than the present twin cam. I am building an EVO (the engine right before twin cam) based bike and they will not touch it. Don't stock parts for it either.

 

[Flyvet]

Re: The Horrible Economy...

When I moved to Charlotte in 86 I went by the VW dealer to buy some parts for my 78 Beetle convertible. They had the part but the service manager said they didn't work on bugs because none of his mechanics had ever worked on air-cooled VWs. And this was the VW dealer!

 

[wbc1957]

Re: The Horrible Economy...

I too have a discontinued powerplant, the OMC stringer. Using Craigslist finds older techs looking for work to suppliment their income in retirement. $30 per hours for OMC quality work is sure a sweet deal.