Engine Service - Quick Rant !!

[Matthewb]

Blimey! I’ve been phoning around for quotes for an annual service for my single KAD32 – what a shocker! Volvo Penta main dealers are quoting between £350+vat and £457 +vat. Trouble is, the cheaper guys aren’t local so want to charge travel on top which brings the price up to almost the same as the higher quote.

So how come the same service from approved dealers can vary by over £100? The problem is the damn thing is still under warranty so I have to get it done by an “approved” service centre so my options are limited.

And as for the outdrive service – I am being quoted £360 +vat just for that, plus the cost of a lift out, say £250 +vat. And if I want the coolant changed, that’s even more on top.

All in all this little lot comes to about £1250 inc the dreaded taxman’s cut. I’ve only done 45 hours which equates to £27/hour in service costs alone!

OK, so my life may depend on the engine running or on the leg bellows not leaking, but this still strikes me as a rip-off!

And I thought a Merc was expensive to service!!! I think I need to change career and become a marine mechanic… I’d be laughing all the way to a bigger boat!

Rant over.....

Matt


<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[PGD]

Welcome to the Volvo Engine owner club, i'm facing that same cost shock at the end of this year. Engine will be two years old and need full service, plus the leg too if I want to keep the warenty.

Haven't done the summs to see if the warrenty is worth the investment.
Peter

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.mssa.org.uk>http://www.mssa.org.uk</A> Marine Service Standards Assistance

 

[MickJ]

Its all true! Just paid £1200 for a standard service on my AQ31/DP. I wouldn't mind, but it didnt need any parts over and above the standard consumables. God knows what it will cost when something goes wrong!

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[rickp]

Is this a volvo malaise, or are all new marine engines equally expensive to get serviced by an approved dealer?

After the warranty period, presumably its cheaper as you can use any competant engineer (or do it yourself)?

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[Solitaire]

The problem is finding a competant marine engineer! I'm sick as a parrot at the moment due to marine engineering incompetance and the real shame is I can't prove it/forums/images/icons/mad.gif beyond reasonable doubt. I'm just hoping that the company installing my "new" diesel are OK. When you find a good, reliable engineer, hang on to them, they are like hens teeth.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[Happy1]

BLIMEY, and I was looking at a KAD32 or TWO of them!!!! Well this has opened my eyes after moaning about my 4.3ltr Volvo service, and at least I can get my boat out on the trailer, no hefty lifting bills!

Well back to the spread sheet and get some figures adjusted I guess /forums/images/icons/wink.gif

Thanks for sharing the info.

<hr width=100% size=1><font color=purple> "You only see what you recognise, and you only recognise what you know" <font color=purple>

 

[whisper]

Gawd ! At what hours does this become due ? Also, any idea what a comparable petrol engine's cost would have been ?

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[sjh]

Just had our engine and leg serviced by Marine Power Ltd at Deacons Boatyard, in Southampton (our engine is a Yanmar). This was the 50 hour service and thought it would be expensive. Not only did they do the service on both engine and leg, they replaced anodes on leg, connected calorifier and sorted trim gauge problem, checked engine anodes, checked air filter, greased drive shaft and greased gimbal bearing- the cost (including parts) £398.78. We were very pleased and they did an excellent job - I'd recommend them to anyone with a diesel engine.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[duncan]

amazing value - greasing the gimbal bearing means dropping off the leg doesn't it? -mind you they will have checked engine alignment as well and that needs it dropped. Drive anodes are 70 + so you have an amazing bargin there!

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[Mr__Max]

Re: money for old rope

hmm....here's how it goes

Engine oil insert suction pipe and set suction pump going...oil filter (canister type) unscrew and replace.... fuel prefilter drain water seperator... replace filter (element type)....remove and replace fuel filter (canister type) ....bleedfuel system by pumping lift pump handle until fuel comes out of filter housing ( unless its a Yamaha and then you can use the electric pump)..check drive belts (replace if necesary)...clean strainer (if they remember)..replace impellor (if its easy if not tell them it wont need doing yet)...change the air filter (foam sock)...spray oil dispersant over everthing (so it looks and smells like its been serviced) oh and refill with oil

Leg service: undo drain plug in bottom of leg (drain oil)...undo hydraulic rams from side of leg (two nuts, four if your really unlucky)...undo the six nuts holding the leg in position, slide off leg, flip off cable clip, leg now on floor....grease UJs (special tool required err..grease gun).. grease gimbal bearing ( special tool required ...err grease gun).....check rubber booties but dont tell them it needs replacing as its a pain)...reverse proceedure and fill with oil.

Time taken to do servicing aprox 3hrs
Time taken making up bill aprox 3hrs
so thats 8hrs labour ( cos counting is trickey ) plus parts and VAT @35% cos its a boat and you can afford it

hey presto....£600 ish per lump....is warranty worth while ... in my experience yes...cos you spread the cost of repairs by paying over the odds for servicing (oops did I really say that)

ha ha mines out of warranty in a months time

<hr width=100% size=1>One life...Live it

 

[andrewa]

Ah, sometimes nice to have a petrol, only sometimes mind. Last service on a Merc 7.4 Bravo well lets just say I got change from £200.00, not main dealer though. Some of you guys seem to be spending half my yearly fuel budget just on servicing!

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[Solitaire]

Do'nt go far then?/forums/images/icons/wink.gif

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[burgundyben]

£250 for a lift out? sounds alot, I paid last week for a lift, scrub, chock up, launch inc antifouling the patches and ten days ashore £150 plus VAT for a 28 footer, Foukes Chandlery Barge at Swannick top of the Hamble. It'd b less for you as only a little yard they leave your boat n the boat mover whilst the engineer did it, then just slip her back in, or leave you over night if you wanna antifoul.

I dunno if its the same for boats as cars, the warranty on mine ran out 34 years ago...but when I last bort a newish car I was told as long as it was serviced by a VAT registered garage that the main dealer could not void the warranty, apparently a EU directive prevents car manfs/main dealers from tying you into thier service centres? dunno if this is right, think it would be a well kept secret by the trade



<hr width=100% size=1>Sod the Healey - I think I'll buy an E-Type.

 

[terryw]

Things changed many years ago (probably in excess of 15 years). The only stipulation for engine warranty is that the servicing is carried out in accordance with the Manufacturers instructions. The time it changed was when they printed in the Owners manual/Service Booklet exactly what needed doing at each service interval. Any reasonably competent person can carry -out the service, and "stamp" their own book.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[ianainge]

sort of ben, as long as the dealer is Vat registered as you say, and they use genuine parts warranty cant be void, problem arises when there are safety recalls( dont really apply to boats)when a car comes in for any work the dealer can type in the details and any outstanding recalls under warranty would be rectified, if the car has a problem due to a recall not being rectified because the owner has not had servicing done by main dealer, then the recall fault would be chargable.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[BarryH]

Ah yeah, but then the makers of the expinsive cars came up witht the idea of service warning lights that had to be reset with a oh so special bit of kit that J Public had no access too. Agree thatdealer servicing is a load of horse crap. Be it car or marine. The bloke who serviced the wifes vauxhall was trained by ford and had only been working at the vauxhall dealer for a week.

Theres no such thing as a mechanic nowdays, they is all fitters.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[andrewa]

Are you saying that the water doesn't stop past Lymington!

<hr width=100% size=1>