I'm struggling with what to do about the "break in" service. A

Spoiledrotten

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I'm a do-it-your-self-er, mainly because I don't trust very many with my toys or equipment.

I now have 30 hours on my new boat. I went through the break in period just as I was supposed to; not over 2000 RPM for the first hour, not over 4000 for the second hour, alternating speeds with in that range, then for the next 8 hours, run it the way I want to, making sure to alternate the speeds. Although I didn't rawhide it, I still took it easy for the remainder of the 10 hours, and also most of the next 10 hours. Now, I called the dealer where I bought it, and told them I had 30 hours on it. How long would it take to get the fluids changed out? They told me a couple of days. What is that crap? You can take a car to the shop to get the oils changed and they can do it in an hour. What is it about a boat that would take a couple of days unless they don't mind you bringing your boat and letting it sit in line?

Another thing I'm a little worried about is how do I know if they are actually change all of the stuff that should be changed? That could be a mighty easy $235 for them to leave it on their lot for a couple of days and tell me to come get it since the work has been done. If I change the fluids and the filters, I KNOW it's been done and done right. 

What have you guys done about the break in period maintenance and the yearly followups? As you can see, I don't trust many.
 
I also don't trust many! It's not really that I think they would do nothing, I just know that their service area is a dirt area and I would flip if their tech guys got mud and crap in my boat. Not to mention the people that have had scratches or dents "magically" show up. I actually scheduled a time that I could be there when they did it. Although this is a little easier and not quite as weird for me since I deliver to them almost every day and they know me well, and know I'm an idiot about my boat! haha, I let them do the service a couple times, both times I watched, this last time I did it myself. It is fairly simple once you know what to do and have the right tools. I would have no qualms about letting the dealer where I purchased the boat from doing any of my work as I trust them and since I help them out at the boat shows talking to people, I know they would take care of my stuff. Unfortunately, they are almost 5 hours away, so I go to my local Yamaha dealer. My biggest worry is that since I really don't know what some bad "signs" are of engine problems, that I may miss something. I watch a lot of you tube videos trying to figure it out! 
 
I have the same issue with taking it to my dealer. I didn't even get the "in a few days" answer, it was more like "it will be done when it's done". I just changed my oil and did my 100 hour service. I'm not that mechanically inclined and I've never even changed oil in a car, but it was a breeze to do on the boat. You can order a whole kit from Sim Yamaha (assuming you have a Yamaha) with all the right amounts of oil, gear case oil, fuel filter, etc. 
 
Thanks for the great responses, guys.
 
When I was younger I used to do everything myself.......bought our 1st house with an unfinished basement. Did all the drywall, built a deck, painted etc.......used to change oil in all the vehicles, rotate tires, flush antifreeze etc.......bought our 1st boat. Did all the maintenance, plugs, changed oil, fuel/water separator, winterize etc........

Now.............LET A PROFESSIONAL DO IT!!! At the end of every boating season I have the marina mechanics do the maintenance and winterization. But now that I've moved to Lake Norman I have to find a reputable mechanic to do the work because............I'm not doing it!!!
 
Real easy to do, why not do it yourself, will not effect warranty. I do most all my own work as well but then again I was a heavy diesel tech for near 20 years so am set up with all I need lol. Only thing my rigs ever see at a dealer is warranty issues.
 
The thought that the marina might take a boat in and not perform the service work to make an easy $235 is paranoia.  These are million dollar businesses that are not going to jeopardize their business for a lousy $235.  How could you even spend the kind of money we all spent if you suspect them capable of such an act.  I realize that some dealers are not as inclined to perform top notch service after some of the things that I have read on this forum but I doubt if any of them are thief's or they would not last very long in business.

When it comes to service work the only one I don't trust is me
 
I'm the opposite Mark. The sales teams and service teams can be very different. Ask me how I know!!!!!

I do the maintenance myself. A heck of a lot cheaper and less risks of dents as mentioned above. Plus it's the only time you stand in your driveway, lube up your lower unit, twist the shaft a little and not get arrested.
 
Lakeliving, now, that is funny! Thanks for the laugh. I was worried mostly about the warranty. I had a bass boat many years ago, and did all of my own fluid and filter changes, and with my new boat, I'd rather trust myself than someone else.

And paranoia when it comes to customer service in this day and time? You bet. :)
 
I'm the opposite Mark. The sales teams and service teams can be very different. Ask me how I know!!!!!

I do the maintenance myself. A heck of a lot cheaper and less risks of dents as mentioned above. Plus it's the only time you stand in your driveway, lube up your lower unit, twist the shaft a little and not get arrested.
You're still killin me!
 
My understanding from my dealer (who sells both) is that Yamaha doesn't mind if you do your own maintenance as far as warranty goes (keep the oil/filter receipts just in case) but he said Mercury is different so for DIY'ers like me, you should probably verify first.
 
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speaking of which......I'm  doing my 20hr today
 
I have a great dealer (Sportsmen Center). The first change after the break in period is material cost only no labor. They come to the marina pull the boat out and do it there. I do not have to wait for it to be done at the shop. Done during the week and ready when I need it. They also have a great track record and reputation on not damaging boats. They are always working on that next sale or upgrade and want you happy. I am also big on doing it myself but had rather spend time on the lake then working on the boat. My biggest reason for buying the new Benny. Happy Pontooning All
 
I'm the opposite Mark. The sales teams and service teams can be very different. Ask me how I know!!!!!

I do the maintenance myself. A heck of a lot cheaper and less risks of dents as mentioned above. Plus it's the only time you stand in your driveway, lube up your lower unit, twist the shaft a little and not get arrested.
Lakeliving, I have no problem with people that want to do their own maintenance.  The boating business for dealers is a very bottleneck type of business, the work comes in all at the same time; I want my boat out of storage all on the same week while he is also rigging the new boat sales.  As a business owner I can understand how hard it is to provide world class service during those times.  I can see why many would want to do their own to eliminate delays.

I had a problem with the thought that a dealer would take in a boat and not do the work.  Bob at Snug Harbor is an honest hard working dealer whose goal is to satisfy all.  Still at times I am sure that some things do not work out quite as well as he would like them to.  One thing for certain, I get my back hair up if someone would suggest the dealer being a thief. 
 
Oh, that has definitely happened to me  :angry: , not with my current dealer though.

I sometimes take a sample before oil changes and send it to www.blackstone-labs.com in Ft. Wayne, mainly to monitor the condition of my engines. They analyze the sample and can easily tell you whether the oil has been changed or not if you do it right after it's changed. If you do it prior, they'll analyze for wear patterns, moisture, metal, contaminants, etc. There are example reports on their site for the curious. $25 plus postage per sample and the test kit is free, just pump a little bit out.
 
Lakeliving, I have no problem with people that want to do their own maintenance.  The boating business for dealers is a very bottleneck type of business, the work comes in all at the same time; I want my boat out of storage all on the same week while he is also rigging the new boat sales.  As a business owner I can understand how hard it is to provide world class service during those times.  I can see why many would want to do their own to eliminate delays.

I had a problem with the thought that a dealer would take in a boat and not do the work.  Bob at Snug Harbor is an honest hard working dealer whose goal is to satisfy all.  Still at times I am sure that some things do not work out quite as well as he would like them to.  One thing for certain, I get my back hair up if someone would suggest the dealer being a thief. 
If I made your backhair stand up.... sorry about that. I wasn't accusing anyone of doing such a thing. I DO think about the possibility because you know as well as I do that people are focused on the bottom line and, with the right/wrong person, whichever the case may be, will cut corners when possible to make that bottom line more pleasing to the eye/bank account. I don't know the people that I bought the boat from, personally. I've never seen them before I went to look at the boats on their lot. I will tell you that trust with me is earned, not a given. I will need to get to know them better before I can lift them up and start praising them on a forum. On the same note, I'm also not going to say anything negative about them on a public forum unless they do something that merits that.

I'm simple putting out the possibilities, and getting feedback. Everyone has seen those "caught on camera" videos where service reps sabotaged people's belongings to make more money off of them. If you don't believe that, have your wife take your car to a new to you service center for an oil change, and see what they try to sell her. 
 
I just did the 20 hr. oil change on our 90 Yamaha.  I didn't want to take it out of the lake, so I floated it in backwards close to shore and ran it up on the Sea Legs, and did it while in the water.  Future annual oil changes in my shop will be no problem, but things got more complicated in the water.  There's a neat little rubber tube around the drain plug; I figured that would work nicely to funnel the used oil into an empty 2 1/2 gallon oil jug.  Sounds good on paper anyways.  So as I'm holding the oil jug under the rubber tube and have unscrewed the plug with the socket extension, I get the thought "uh-oh, now what do I do?"  As oil starts to run down the socket extension into the jug, and all over my hand, I pull the extension out of the opening of the jug.  And proceed to drop the plug out of the socket and into the lake...  Luckily only in a foot of water, but having a third hand would be nice about now.  Wife walked down to the dock about now, so I had to enlist her assistance.  Had enough paper towels handy that I didn't have much of a mess.

I changed the oil filter too.  Used the Knipex channel-lock to get it turning, and packed paper towels under it to catch the oil.  I wasn't able to change the lower unit oil that day, since I underestimated the strength of the Japanese fellow that had installed the lower drain plug, so I will have to do that on another day when I bring out the impact screwdriver.  I bought new gaskets for the lower unit plugs, and a pump for the quart bottle.  We'll see how that goes, I guess.

I bought the Yamalube oil & filter at the local dealer.  Cost me $108 dollars for all the stuff, including tax.  Told the guy at the counter I needed 5 qts of 10w-30 Yamalube, he put out a gallon jug plus a quart.   Wish I would have looked at the prices while I was still at the dealer.  $38.99 for the gallon jug, and $9.22 for the extra quart. <_<    You do the math on that one.  Guess I should have gotten an itemized receipt too instead of just credit card receipt, so I'd know how much the filter was.  Must have been around $30?  I'm keeping the old filter and the empty oil bottles in a bag on the top shelf of the garage, in case I were to need proof for warranty issues.
 
I didn't mean to laugh while reading your post, LorenMN, but when you got to the part about dropping the plug, I'll have to admit, you were setting yourself up after the comment about "looking good on paper". I knew there was a good story coming. :)
 
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I have been working on something since I was big enough to hold a wrench, I have pulled engines out with a chain hanging from a tree. Rebuilt a Ford truck in my front yard and an 8n tractor under a lean to. Now I have a 5 car garage and don't want to any mechanical. Whats up with that!!!

I do change my oil in the boat, New truck came with 4 oil changes :D
 
Have fun on the lower unit. You have to remove both plugs. Not a big deal, but you have to pump it in from bottom, then take that out and put the plug back in.

Make sure you have lots of rags, and wear rubber gloves, cause you are going to have stinky gear oil all over you !!!!!  :D
 
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