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THANKS DIVER_DAVE

S

sroberts

New member
"I have the Phoenix 29 with 19

"I have the Phoenix 29 with 1986 Crusader 350s. I sent the thing to a "mechanic" and he cleaned the HE and replaced hoses and replaced Zincs on the cooler, still overheating. From posting here I was told to check the T-stat by Diver_Dave. Sure enough that is what it was. I replaced it myself in about 15 minutes!! Now here is a question: I just got a $900 bill from the "mechanic". I have my boat in a slip, can he come get it if I don't pay him? I am not trying to shuck my responsibilities, but I took it to a professional because he was supposed to have experience. I trouble shoot for a living and I know to start with the simple stuff first. I know nothing about engines so I trusted him, I feel like I got hoodwinked. I know you guys aren't lawyers, but I want to know if he can still slap a mechanic's lein on my boat and come get it from my slip. Thanks again Dave and all the others who helped. You guys are great.

Shannon"
 
"Yes. If you invited him to wo

"Yes. If you invited him to work on the boat, he can state that he had a verbal agreement with you.

If he worked on your rig and put parts on it, (zincs).. you should probably pay the man. Maybe you can talk him off such a big number since he didn't solve your problem.

I always tell buyers of repair services to suspect incompetence before a hoodwinking.

Did the t-stat solve the problem, btw?"
 
"900 seems steep, but you real

"900 seems steep, but you really don't want to get the reputation of screwing mechanics, because then when you really need one, they won't come, or the bill will be massive.

I would call and ask exactly how many hours of labor he charged (rates around me start at $100+/hr) and then exactly what the parts came to. Then determine what seems fair. I would grant he probably spent a few (2-4) hours working, and then zincs arent cheap. Call, be calm, and negotiate!

Cheers!"
 
"Communication is your best to

"Communication is your best tool. Just as you don't want to get the reputation of not paying your bills, he doesn't want to get the reputation (unless he already has it) of shoddy workmanship. Explain to him that it's not your fault he spent so many hours on the problem and that if he started with the common maintenance issues, he would have found the problem right away.

BTW he can't take your boat with a mechanic's lien, he can only prevent you from transferring the title, which basically means you can't sell it without paying him.

Good luck,
Rick"
 
"Replaceing hoses, cleaning th

"Replaceing hoses, cleaning the heat exchanger, and replacing zincs are all maintainence items that need to be done at specified intervals if it is overheating or not. Unless these things were done recently, it was prudent to do them.

That said, it should have been verified that the repairs corrected the problem before a bill was presented. In my opinion, this is where the mechanic went wrong."
 
"I haven't had many mechan

"I haven't had many mechanics work on my boat. When I have, I have been dissappointed with the work and the price. One exception was a mechanic who worked on my Kohler 7.5 KW generator. He spent time with me giving me the bad news upfront. His charges matched his estimate and the generator ran after he completed the work.

As I look back over the years I have to believe my dissappointment has been the result of my lack of communicating with and probing the mechanic to establish expectations on his part and mine.

I will never say to a mechanic "come fix my boat". I had one mechanic to tell me that I needed a new port engine. I had the carb rebuilt and changed the spark plugs and it ran like a swiss watch and still does.

Whenever I have been "messed around" I have always paid the bill and made a note not to call on that mechanic again.

Chuck"
 
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