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Tighten seat with elevated helm

Nick ,were you able to get your seat tightened ?
 
I would think the seat is thru bolted to below the decking with a spacer in the elevated helm.  The fiberglass would not be strong enough IMHO
 
Well, no luck. The helm is bolted down with about 4 bolts and an L bracket on the front side. I can't tell what's holding the back end down so I thought maybe it was a bracket where it slides forward underneath something at the back to hold that part down, then the screws on the front secure that part and keep it from sliding back. I tried backing out a couple of those screws and they just spin too! Next I tried getting some tension under some of the loose chair screws to see if I could even begin to tighten them. Tried it a number of ways and they do nothing but spin. I think the same idiot who put the cup holder under the throttle must have been on the job for this one. Off to the 'used-to-be-a-dealer' this week to see if they can figure it out. 
 
Bummer but a-plus for attempting it a field fix. Hopefully they get it all tightened up.
 
Well, my seat is finally tight again. After leaving it with the dealer for a couple weeks, I called to see if it was going to be ready soon. I'm taking my boat back down to Lake Powell next week and I'm leaving it there for the foreseeable future, so I wanted to make sure it was taken care of. They said they had it all ready, they were just waiting on Bennington to approve the warranty repair of the seat. I asked how long that will take and they just said 'not sure, waiting on a call'. So I told them that I needed a better answer because I'm taking my boat away for the rest of the year in a few days. "Well, I'm not sure what to tell you", they said. "We're just waiting for them to call". I pressed for more info and was told they first called a couple weeks ago, and several times since. I asked why this possibly would not be covered under warranty and they acknowledged there was no reason, but would not fix it unless I agreed to pay $130 per hour for it if B would not. At this point, I may have been losing it a bit and I told him that I would pay it if push came to shove and asked him to give me the number at Bennington they were calling. 


I called the number and was quickly connected to a real human in Indiana. She transferred me to a nice guy named Jay. As soon as I started explaining the situation to him, he told me how strange their story was, and how they would have just said 'yes, fix it', like he was telling me on the phone that I so easily reached him on. Despite my extreme frustration, he was awesome and called the dealer to tell them to fix it. A few minutes later, I received calls from both Bennington and the dealer. The dealer was like "boy you really must have stirred some stuff up because they were all over that!". Obviously, it seems that my dealer is a lying sack, they've shown that many times before, but I am just so perplexed why that all went down the way it did. Wouldn't they just want me to be gone and on my way? Is it really any harder for them to call Bennington and ask for approval than it was for me? Bizarre. 


Okay, that was just a rant, now the useful details. Jay first confirmed to me which part of the seat was loose. There was a common issue with a run of pedestals where they would get loose up top which is an easy fix. After confirming it was at the base, he told me that the only way to fix it is to remove the wave shield and tighten them from underneath. Definitely not a DIY job, especially with the ESP package under there. So after a couple more days, I called and they said I could pick it up now (yeah, they don't call). I went in today to find out they charged me over $1100 for my 200 hour service. First (and last) time I've had them work on my engine. How normal is $130 per hour labor for working on an outboard!?


Sadly, this all was a wake up call that it's time to sell my Bennington. My dealer is out of the game and I don't think my sanity can take much more dealing with what's left of their commitment to servicing my boat. Going 6+ hours to Vegas or Cheyenne for service is just not realistic. When I asked Bennington about it, they said that when a dealer gets dropped, they usually pick another up in the area ASAP, but my dealer was still listed as active. They seemed confused by it all. 


Sorry for the rant - short story, you probably can't tighten your own seat bolts if you've got three tubes and a wave shield, even if you have the elevated helm. 
 
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I'm seeing a west coast theme here...
 
Wow Nick, sorry to hear you had to go through so much!
 
What???  $1100???  Did they completely disassemble it?
 
kaydano said:
What???  $1100???  Did they completely disassemble it?
Click to expand...



That's what I was wondering at first. I only had them do it because Yamaha has several dealer only inspect/replace if necessary items on the 200 hour service and I wanted to make sure I dotted my i's and crossed my t's to keep my extended warranty valid. They asked me if I really wanted the 200 hour service done and I told them I really wanted to keep my warranty valid. Next thing I knew, that was my bill. The only extras they actually replaced were the spark plugs and the impeller. Parts came to $171 and 'shop supplies' another $41 but labor came to $838. And then tax on top of all that. $130 per hour really adds up fast. I have a hard time comprehending the logic behind their labor rate, unless it's just how they gouge manufacturers for warranty labor. 
 
Wow. I think I was told $150 to replace my impeller at the 3 year mark which is in a month or so.


$130 per hour seems high, but not by much. Just about any skilled labor is $100 per hour...


I would have gone into shock with $1100. Maybe PADS isn't so expensive after all...
 
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