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Have i been hosed

D

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Regular Contributor
Just had a cooling service don

Just had a cooling service done on my BF50.
The following parts were replaced:
Thermostat & gasket $62.50
impellor $47.00
gear oil & gaskets $10.00
shop supplies $2.00
labour $145.00

Grand total of just over $300 Canadian

seems expensive to me ?
 
"It is really hard to judge.

"It is really hard to judge.
First it depends on the labor rate of the dealer.
It also depends if the engine was brought in for an overheat or just a standard change the impeller as a routine maintenance.

I usually quote (over the phone of about 1 to 2 hours plus parts if the customer wants the services you listed. If it comes it with an overheat, you first have to determine what is causing the trouble. That takes some time...it is not always intuitively clear.

If it seems like a lot...consider the following work that needs to be done...
Bring the boat into the bay; uncover the boat;turn on the battery;charge it up since 50% of the time boats come in with dead batteries;Check/run the motor to see what is actually wrong with it (many times just a plugged discharge);pull and check thermostat;drop lover unit;contend with corroded bolts (some even break in in salt water);seach for missing impeller parts if it is not intact;backflush system from thermstat housing;clean surfaces of water pump;install new water pump;reinstall lower unit;make sure shift linkage is connected correctly;install new thermostat and gasket;run engine again to check that it is coming up to temperature, pumping water, and shifting;change the gear lube;dispose of old gear lube;clean up your boat if we made a mess;turn off battery;cover up and write up what was done.

As you can see, to do it right, there are a lot of things to do. The parts prices seemed in line. The labor rate can make a big difference.

Hope this helps you feel a little better."
 
"Agree with Mike - actually, i

"Agree with Mike - actually, it seems you got a reasonable price. Marine engine labor rates in my area - Virginia, Chesapeake Bay, seem to vary from $55 to $85 USD per hour. And, you get what you pay for. If your mechanic took two hours, which is very reasonable, that's $72.50 per hour. Consider how long it would have taken you to do it yourself, and how many things could have gone wrong in the process. A knowledgeable marine mechanic is worth every penny."
 
"Thanks for the input,the mech

"Thanks for the input,the mechanic is a good guy...
he runs a mobile business. he dropped the leg in my backyard, removed thermostat and took the lower unit to his shop.(took about 1/2 hr)
next day he came back , put in the new thermostat
bolted the lower unit back on. don't know how long it took.
No real complaints, just seemed a little pricey."
 
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