lakeboater
New member
Here is a post related to repair costs for a Bravo 3, for those that are interested.
I have a 2003 Cobalt 226 with 170 hours on the 350 Mag. I keep it in northern Michigan.
I lost about 6 oz of drive oil last season so I decided I would get that resolved as well as take care of some PM.
I had a good experience at a large dealer downstate (250 miles away), so I decided to stick with them. There are a lot of boats in MI and we all know that good techs are not easy to find, so I wanted to take the safe route.
They determined the drive leak was from the shift cable exit apparently due to a shift shaft seal leak. They quoted $755 to $830 for the drive service that includes shaft and seals and 5 hours labor.
I told them I wanted PM work done that they recommended. I suggested bellows, lower shift cable, water pump impeller and pump, if recommended. They agreed and suggested plugs, cap, rotor and misc. seals.
Now this is where there may be some interest. Here is a summary of the itemized labor quote. The parts were list price, as expected.
Ignition: 3 hours
U-joint and exh bellows: 10 hours
Shift cable, bellows, adjust: 3 hours
Water pump replace: 2.5 hours
Lake test: 1 hour
Labor rate: $115/hour
First off, I will do the ignition myself….as slow as I work, I can probably do that in 3 hours. I thought the rest seemed high, so I looked for some info on forums. One active forum pro indicated that “3-4 hours” should be enough for all the bellows. (13 hours???). I found what was reportedly a flat rate list that suggested the water pump should take 1 hour and all 3 bellows were 7.5 hours. I politely asked for a review of the charges, specifically the bellows quote, and they offered a 2.5 hour reduction. It still seems high, but I will go ahead with the repairs, I don’t have any known options. If the work is done right, I will get over it. I recognize skilled techs and stable companies are valuable.
So, for those requiring repairs, here is my experience. And I’m curious about the pros’ viewpoints.
I have a 2003 Cobalt 226 with 170 hours on the 350 Mag. I keep it in northern Michigan.
I lost about 6 oz of drive oil last season so I decided I would get that resolved as well as take care of some PM.
I had a good experience at a large dealer downstate (250 miles away), so I decided to stick with them. There are a lot of boats in MI and we all know that good techs are not easy to find, so I wanted to take the safe route.
They determined the drive leak was from the shift cable exit apparently due to a shift shaft seal leak. They quoted $755 to $830 for the drive service that includes shaft and seals and 5 hours labor.
I told them I wanted PM work done that they recommended. I suggested bellows, lower shift cable, water pump impeller and pump, if recommended. They agreed and suggested plugs, cap, rotor and misc. seals.
Now this is where there may be some interest. Here is a summary of the itemized labor quote. The parts were list price, as expected.
Ignition: 3 hours
U-joint and exh bellows: 10 hours
Shift cable, bellows, adjust: 3 hours
Water pump replace: 2.5 hours
Lake test: 1 hour
Labor rate: $115/hour
First off, I will do the ignition myself….as slow as I work, I can probably do that in 3 hours. I thought the rest seemed high, so I looked for some info on forums. One active forum pro indicated that “3-4 hours” should be enough for all the bellows. (13 hours???). I found what was reportedly a flat rate list that suggested the water pump should take 1 hour and all 3 bellows were 7.5 hours. I politely asked for a review of the charges, specifically the bellows quote, and they offered a 2.5 hour reduction. It still seems high, but I will go ahead with the repairs, I don’t have any known options. If the work is done right, I will get over it. I recognize skilled techs and stable companies are valuable.
So, for those requiring repairs, here is my experience. And I’m curious about the pros’ viewpoints.