Engineers responsibility for work carried out and warranty

[Chi Man]

I recently bought a boat which has had a brand-new Outboard fitted plus brand-new throttle cables fitted at the same time (End of November 2020). The throttle is extremely stiff, goes into tick over okay but when you want to power forward so stiff it is not controllable. I had only taken the boat out on test prior to purchase within the marina and thought it may just be me not being used to the controls on a new boat. Having now tried the boat a few times the throttle is too stiff, I know there is an adjustment that can be made, however as it was fitted just over a year thought best to go back to the engineers who fitted it for them to diagnose and fix.

Firstly, I have now been waiting over five weeks for them to even have a look and secondly they are saying this work is not under warranty. I think it should be, what are your thoughts and advice?

The engine warranty is transferable (so long as I used the same engineers that installed it to service etc) But I would have thought the installers should have some warranty over their installation of the cables??

 

[Portofino]

Whats in writing ?

 

[Seastoke]

You don’t say when you bought it or off a dealer.

 

[Bandit]

A person's work only has a limited warranty to the person that employed them to do the job.

Ie if I own a boat and an engineer undertakes a job for me and i sell the boat not as a dealer there is no warranty from the engineer to you.

If a dealer sells a boat that he has worked on a limited warranty is probably in place.

Also a year is a long time and probably outside of a warranty.

 

[stelican]

Can you get the control unit manufacturers to confirm they are compatible with the engine and then move forward from there.
Maybe inspect control unit for wear.
Are cables new

 

[Momac]

What work is required ?
If its a small adjustment whats the fuss about?

 

[volvopaul]

I recently bought a boat which has had a brand-new Outboard fitted plus brand-new throttle cables fitted at the same time (End of November 2020). The throttle is extremely stiff, goes into tick over okay but when you want to power forward so stiff it is not controllable. I had only taken the boat out on test prior to purchase within the marina and thought it may just be me not being used to the controls on a new boat. Having now tried the boat a few times the throttle is too stiff, I know there is an adjustment that can be made, however as it was fitted just over a year thought best to go back to the engineers who fitted it for them to diagnose and fix.

Firstly, I have now been waiting over five weeks for them to even have a look and secondly they are saying this work is not under warranty. I think it should be, what are your thoughts and advice?

The engine warranty is transferable (so long as I used the same engineers that installed it to service etc) But I would have thought the installers should have some warranty over their installation of the cables??

Sounds like the friction screw is too tight , a very simple adjustment required.

 

[Chi Man]

Sounds like the friction screw is too tight , a very simple adjustment required.

Thanks "volvopaul" yes I know about this adjustment but was hesitant to do anything in case there was some sort of warranty and did not want to invalidate this by doing anything myself. Reading other people's comments it is consensus that there is no obligation from the engineers who installed the engine and control cables, I was just hoping they may offer some aftercare sorting out any teething issues, sadly this is not the case !

 

[Chi Man]

Whats in writing ?

Only the invoice supplied to the previous owner and the engine guarantee which can be transferred, so no aftercare from the engineers who did the installation !

 

[Chi Man]

You don’t say when you bought it or off a dealer.

Hi, bought via a broker so not a dealer as such

 

[Chi Man]

A person's work only has a limited warranty to the person that employed them to do the job.

Ie if I own a boat and an engineer undertakes a job for me and i sell the boat not as a dealer there is no warranty from the engineer to you.

If a dealer sells a boat that he has worked on a limited warranty is probably in place.

Also a year is a long time and probably outside of a warranty.

Fair comment and agreed ! Just was hoping the engineers would offer some sort of aftercare for their work !

 

[Chi Man]

Can you get the control unit manufacturers to confirm they are compatible with the engine and then move forward from there.
Maybe inspect control unit for wear.
Are cables new

Thanks, all cables new and replaced when new engine was fitted, so was hoping the fitters could come back and do some "aftercare" but alas no !

 

[Chi Man]

What work is required ?
If its a small adjustment whats the fuss about?

That is the problem I do not know what the issue is. I was asking the engineers who installed the new engine and controls to come and have a look hoping they would consider the visit an after care (warranty) service call but they are treating it as new and chargeable job. So I was asking people whether they thought this was fair, considering the engine etc has only done about 4 hours since job was completed, irrespective of when it was done. The consensus among replies from forum members seems to be, yes, chargeable !

 

[Momac]

Seems like it was badly adjusted when fitted and should have been reported back to the fitters by the previous owner .
Sounds like a quick fix. Is this not something that can be adjusted by yourself?

 

[LittleSister]

You seem to be assuming that the fault is with the installation of the cables. That may or may not be the case. Other things may cause the problem - e.g stiff from lack of use; cable stretch from a lot of use, and perhaps jumped off part of a control mechanism; something moved/put in alongside the cable run constraining its clear run; etc.. It's a long time since they installed it. It could also be there was a problem before, the previous owner had been told it was probably the cables and so instructed the engineers to install new ones, but the fault had always lain elsewhere and remains unaddressed.

I agree that it is most unlikely that the engineers who installed them have any legal obligation to you. They might, if they thought that the fault was theirs, or subsequently discover it to be so, wish to correct it without charge, or at a reduced rate, as a matter of goodwill, but I wouldn't hold your breath.

So it is down to you. If you feel unwilling or unable to investigate yourself, there is no reason why you should go back to the same engineers for the work, especially if you are convinced they were at fault. Are there others who could do it at shorter notice, and perhaps lower hourly rate?

 

[Laysula]

You know who you won't use for boat work in the future.

 

[penberth3]

You know who you won't use for boat work in the future.

Why do you say that?

 

[vptech]

Thanks "volvopaul" yes I know about this adjustment but was hesitant to do anything in case there was some sort of warranty and did not want to invalidate this by doing anything myself. Reading other people's comments it is consensus that there is no obligation from the engineers who installed the engine and control cables, I was just hoping they may offer some aftercare sorting out any teething issues, sadly this is not the case !

Just adjust the screw, it wouldn’t void the warranty anyway. Also check the cables if it continues, I have seen them get bent during installation many times. Pop them off at both ends, check for free movement

 

[Sneds]

Why do you say that?

Wouldn't hurt them to take a look when they were next down on the pontoon, then either tweak the screw or quote to repair.
Goodwill for future business

 

[Chi Man]

You seem to be assuming that the fault is with the installation of the cables. That may or may not be the case. Other things may cause the problem - e.g stiff from lack of use; cable stretch from a lot of use, and perhaps jumped off part of a control mechanism; something moved/put in alongside the cable run constraining its clear run; etc.. It's a long time since they installed it. It could also be there was a problem before, the previous owner had been told it was probably the cables and so instructed the engineers to install new ones, but the fault had always lain elsewhere and remains unaddressed.

I agree that it is most unlikely that the engineers who installed them have any legal obligation to you. They might, if they thought that the fault was theirs, or subsequently discover it to be so, wish to correct it without charge, or at a reduced rate, as a matter of goodwill, but I wouldn't hold your breath.

So it is down to you. If you feel unwilling or unable to investigate yourself, there is no reason why you should go back to the same engineers for the work, especially if you are convinced they were at fault. Are there others who could do it at shorter notice, and perhaps lower hourly rate?

thanks, after no joy with engineers (waiting 5 weeks for them to even have a look)I am going to investigate myself