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Dealer Maintenance Prices? What Are You Paying?


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Just curious. I got a quote from the dealer for getting the "new to us" boat ready for the season. Here is what we got to change fluids and

replace impeller. I was just wondering why a 180.00 oil change?!? :crazy:

Impeller/tranny/v-drive = $232.08

Impeller/tranny/v-drive/eng. Oil = $412.29

Is the pricing inline with most dealers for this type of service?

Thanks,

Rob

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Just curious. I got a quote from the dealer for getting the "new to us" boat ready for the season. Here is what we got to change fluids and

replace impeller. I was just wondering why a 180.00 oil change?!? :crazy:

Impeller/tranny/v-drive = $232.08

Impeller/tranny/v-drive/eng. Oil = $412.29

Is the pricing inline with most dealers for this type of service?

Thanks,

Rob

If all they're doing is changing fluids and impeller (no dewinterizing or inspection/diagnosis) then I'm in the wrong business. I would be more concerned with the $232, all they're doing is taking off 4 screws, pulling thegasket and impeller, replacing, extracting about 3 quarts of fluid, and replacing. About $50 in parts and should only take a decent tech a 1/2 hour. At least the oil change takes some time to do. Study up on here and do it yourself :thumbup:

Edit- But to actually answer your question I think labor rates are around $95-110/hr and their part/material markup is :crazy:

Edited by Ndawg12
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If all they're doing is changing fluids and impeller (no dewinterizing or inspection/diagnosis) then I'm in the wrong business. I would be more concerned with the $232, all they're doing is taking off 4 screws, pulling thegasket and impeller, replacing, extracting about 3 quarts of fluid, and replacing. About $50 in parts and should only take a decent tech a 1/2 hour. At least the oil change takes some time to do. Study up on here and do it yourself :thumbup:

Edit- But to actually answer your question I think labor rates are around $95-110/hr and their part/material markup is :crazy:

It's not that I can't do it myself, as much as time frame. We are not going to have the boat in our possession until around the end of the month.

It's shipping from Washington to Texas. So when it arrives it would be nice to get it on the water ASAP. We live on the North Shore of Lake Travis and

the boat ramp is just around the corner! That makes the lake way closer than town!

Really I'm just making excuses... and I may get the parts and do it myself. However I would like to know if these prices sound in line with what everyone

else is paying for similar services. Just good info to have in the arsenal.

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It's not that I can't do it myself, as much as time frame. We are not going to have the boat in our possession until around the end of the month.

It's shipping from Washington to Texas. So when it arrives it would be nice to get it on the water ASAP. We live on the North Shore of Lake Travis and

the boat ramp is just around the corner! That makes the lake way closer than town!

Really I'm just making excuses... and I may get the parts and do it myself. However I would like to know if these prices sound in line with what everyone

else is paying for similar services. Just good info to have in the arsenal.

Honestly all of that can probably be done in an hour or so. I would do it myself so if something ever pops up on the water I have a basic idea of where things are and what to look for. I wouldn't want my first look in the hatch to be on the water....

While I am at it, I would look at the cap and rotor, if you don't know the last time they were changed. They are cheap and easy to replace.

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for me the 100 hour service and de-winterization is running about 650 - they also check and adjust the rudder box and prop seal, check the trailer brakes, align the engine and make certain everything is properly functioning and correct with the boat and trailer - is this overkill ? probably. last time they checked the trailer brakes they had to replace a part - can i do this myself? yup - I'm sticking with the dealer until the warranty runs out then I'll assume all the maintenance and save some bucks. it's a small price to pay after spending 40k on the boat

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It's not that I can't do it myself, as much as time frame. We are not going to have the boat in our possession until around the end of the month.

It's shipping from Washington to Texas. So when it arrives it would be nice to get it on the water ASAP. We live on the North Shore of Lake Travis and

the boat ramp is just around the corner! That makes the lake way closer than town!

Really I'm just making excuses... and I may get the parts and do it myself. However I would like to know if these prices sound in line with what everyone

else is paying for similar services. Just good info to have in the arsenal.

For $412 you could fly me down to do it for you, buy all the parts, buy all the tools, and still have money left over for beer.

Just do it yourself, but you can spend $150 and do a complete tune up on all maintenance items, spark plugs, belt, cap, rotor, all fluids, impeller, and buy the fluid extractor.

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If all they're doing is changing fluids and impeller (no dewinterizing or inspection/diagnosis) then I'm in the wrong business. I would be more concerned with the $232, all they're doing is taking off 4 screws, pulling thegasket and impeller, replacing, extracting about 3 quarts of fluid, and replacing. About $50 in parts and should only take a decent tech a 1/2 hour. At least the oil change takes some time to do. Study up on here and do it yourself :thumbup:

Edit- But to actually answer your question I think labor rates are around $95-110/hr and their part/material markup is :crazy:

Ndawg, if changing the impeller is that simple why do we have hundreds of threads with v-drive owners griping about it?

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I did everything your dealer is proposing to do this past fall for the first time ever. I had a long time boat owner/friend go through it with me and it really isn't that tough. Probably spent $150 including filling the tank up completely with gas. I have no warranty left on my boat, so I REALLY don't want to have to take it in for service. DIY!

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Just curious. I got a quote from the dealer for getting the "new to us" boat ready for the season. Here is what we got to change fluids and

replace impeller. I was just wondering why a 180.00 oil change?!? :crazy:

Impeller/tranny/v-drive = $232.08

Impeller/tranny/v-drive/eng. Oil = $412.29

Is the pricing inline with most dealers for this type of service?

Thanks,

Rob

CTWS?

Yes, that $95 per hour labor fee, or whatever it currently is at, is pretty steep and adds up quickly.

FWIW, I'm on LBJ, and they offer oil changes at the marina where I slip my boat for $250!!!

I wouldn't know what CTWS charges for these services because I've been doing them myself,

thanks to detailed information obtained from the Crew. Learn to do it yourself. It's really easy,

takes very little time, and will save you a buch of money.

Even when I've taken my boat into CTWS for the 20, 100, and 200 hour services, I've already

done the fluid changes, and I'll just tell Kenny that I'll replace the fuel filter and impeller first outing

in the Spring. That way, he just performs whatever extra maintenance services are called for

and bills me only for those extras. He'll still list all of the services on the invoice, with a notation

indicating "performed by owner" for those which I did. That way, it's still all documented for

warranty, and re-sale, purposes.

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I wouldn't pay it myself. Thats partially why I hang around sites like this.... so I can become more familiar with my boat & learn how to take care of it. :rockon:

Granted you might save a day or two & get your boat out that much earlier. Or you might save a day or two, pay out the wazzu for their services, learn absolutely nothing, and end up with some simple problem you could have resolved yourself on the water but now your callin the dealer to come rescue you off the lake because they forgot to tighten up some stupid hose clamp.

Talk to your neighbors about who takes care of their boats for them too. Most areas have some guys who will do simple maintenance in your driveway or boat slip for a lot more reasonable rates. Of course he ma be swamped about now & commanding a bit more money than usual. :unsure:

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Just curious. I got a quote from the dealer for getting the "new to us" boat ready for the season. Here is what we got to change fluids and

replace impeller. I was just wondering why a 180.00 oil change?!? :crazy:

Impeller/tranny/v-drive = $232.08

Impeller/tranny/v-drive/eng. Oil = $412.29

Is the pricing inline with most dealers for this type of service?

Thanks,

Rob

Do you even know all those things need to be done? Tranny and vdrive fluid can wait unless you know of a problem. Heck you really don't need to change your impeller unless it's bad. Engine oil never a bad idea but its not likely you'll be doing any permanent damage to anything so long as its not been a ridiculous amount of time since last oil change and impeller is not chunking up already. I'd say change the oil, inspect impeller, have fun on your new boat, then worry about trannys

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My local dealer is CTWS, but the boat was purchased from Sundown in Richland Washington. Its an 06 23LSV with 160 Hours on it.

The last maintenance was performed in September when it was winterized by the same dealer. Its also the dealer that sold the boat to the

original owner. I will start looking at the best way to change the fluids. Is extractor really needed? Just for the V Drive? s***! Guess I better start searching.

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My local dealer is CTWS, but the boat was purchased from Sundown in Richland Washington. Its an 06 23LSV with 160 Hours on it.

The last maintenance was performed in September when it was winterized by the same dealer. Its also the dealer that sold the boat to the

original owner. I will start looking at the best way to change the fluids. Is extractor really needed? Just for the V Drive? s***! Guess I better start searching.

extractor needed for vd rive and tranny, and you could use to change oil (I don't)....I'd suggest you find out what gets done in one of their winterizations so you're not reinventing the wheel.

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I just went to my local Indmar mechanics and asked how much my 20hr break in service would be... and he said a around $250ish... and that is supposed to be all three fluids, oil, tranny and vdrive... plus all the other checks they are req'd to do..

Although from local reputation these are the best guys in the area, the one guy who sounded real knowlegable said that he is aware that the Indmar specs call for the tranny to be drained, opened and the screen or whatever check and cleaned... he straight out refused to do it and siad it was stupid to do it..it was a big PITA.. that it was best to leave it alone..

His argument was that these trannys rarely ever go bad and the only times they do fail is when folks get into them and mess them up, the specs or fail to reassemble properly... he further argued that when you buy a new truck do you drain the tranny after 3K Miles?? I donno, sounds reasonable to me, and their reputation locally is top notch, but to ignore the Inmar specs, possibly void warranty?

What do you guys think?

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I just went to my local Indmar mechanics and asked how much my 20hr break in service would be... and he said a around $250ish... and that is supposed to be all three fluids, oil, tranny and vdrive... plus all the other checks they are req'd to do..

Although from local reputation these are the best guys in the area, the one guy who sounded real knowlegable said that he is aware that the Indmar specs call for the tranny to be drained, opened and the screen or whatever check and cleaned... he straight out refused to do it and siad it was stupid to do it..it was a big PITA.. that it was best to leave it alone..

His argument was that these trannys rarely ever go bad and the only times they do fail is when folks get into them and mess them up, the specs or fail to reassemble properly... he further argued that when you buy a new truck do you drain the tranny after 3K Miles?? I donno, sounds reasonable to me, and their reputation locally is top notch, but to ignore the Inmar specs, possibly void warranty?

What do you guys think?

It is darn near impossible to change the tranny screen because there is almost no clearance between the bilge and the transmission, I can't imagine any dealer in the country who does that as part of the 20 hour or any transmission service for that matter.

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Extractors are nice for changing the oil too. Since the engine is inside the hull, it can be tough to drain without making a mess. I use the extractor from the dipstick tube. Then when it is close to empty, I'll pull the drain plug out of the drain hose, insert the extractor tube (like a giant catheter), and get all the oil out of it.

If I didn't do it that way, I have to pull one of the ballast pumps, then thread the drain hose out the thru hull fitting. And the oil takes bloody forever to drain thru that hose.

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Just to add more fuel to the fire I have the Hammerhead as well..... boy search will make your head spin. :Frustrated: Going to just get the rig here and start poking and prodding. My local dealer here in Austin is only asking 436.00 to do complete 100hr service. Although I was told that it could cost a bit more due to differences in fuel filter and if the factory K&N filter needed servicing. Note to Self: These boats are not quite

uniformly outfitted! NUTS!

This would give me a base line to start from for future maintenance. It seems fluid requirements for the North West and Texas may be a bit diffrent.

Multi-viscous oil vs non. Lord know what else I may need to add to the ol' gray matter.

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The Indmar engine manual lists all the required maintenance/winterization/de-winterization and is a great resource. I would think the dealers would charge a lot more if they actually performed all the required items.

I use the same method as Bill for the oil. My extractor is a giant syringe I picked up at the local Cal Ranch store. You can see through it how much oil is coming out, what color, etc. A great tip I picked up from the crew is to add a little fresh oil at the end until you see clean oil come out the tube. Then you know you got all the old oil out.

It definitely takes some time to do it all yourself, but it's worth it imo.

Edited by Dexter
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running the manual drain tube out the transom drain and let it drip overnight, or run the oil extractor up that rubber drain tube... good tips... Delaer mechanics said they have a vacuum thing that attaches to the rubber drain tube and sucks the oil out fast...

Wondering... if the oil is much easier to extract if the oil is warm/hot and you run it for a few mins just before trying to suck the oil out? also, jack the front of the trailer up to tilt the engine back make a difference to get more of the old oil?

Edited by nyryan2001
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Your best friend when you are changing fluids. I ddn't search for the best price or who had it in stock. There are several different brands/types out there.

This one or similar will extract the fluids. This is so easy you'll wonder exactly who invented "Summerization". That's just another way to get you to the service bay and drop more $$.

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running the manual drain tube out the transom drain and let it drip overnight, or run the oil extractor up that rubber drain tube... good tips... Delaer mechanics said they have a vacuum thing that attaches to the rubber drain tube and sucks the oil out fast...

Wondering... if the oil is much easier to extract if the oil is warm/hot and you run it for a few mins just before trying to suck the oil out? also, jack the front of the trailer up to tilt the engine back make a difference to get more of the old oil?

Yes, you'd want the engine warm before changing the oil. Whatever extractor you use, will work well if it seals at the end of the drain hose. Here is what I use. One extractor for ski-vee and tranny fluid, and one to pump antifreeze into the heaters (water in the spring). The syringe sucks out any oil left in the pan after draining. About $40 total.

post-11321-066799100 1299689194_thumb.jp

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I use that same extractor that Ronnie posted. It's great. Holds like 6 or 7 qts of oil in it so you just use it to haul the old oil to the auto parts store to dump it. I pump it a few times & it sucks oil for several minutes while I kick back & suck beer. :crazy:

29588_M1.jpg

I've tried warming the engine up to drain out the drain hose. The hole in the end of the hose is so small that it takes forever no matter how warm the oil is. Siphoning it out with an extractor is far less frustrating.

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Why not just drop the hose out the bottom, let it drain over night? It only takes a few min to do and you could start this project up on Wed and finish up on Sat with the rest of the service. That is unless you are hitting the water every day.

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Why not just drop the hose out the bottom, let it drain over night? It only takes a few min to do and you could start this project up on Wed and finish up on Sat with the rest of the service. That is unless you are hitting the water every day.

Or if your boat stays on a lift. Hard to do over water. Also hard to do if your boat doesn't have a drain plug under the engine like the older boats have. :Tease3:

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