*THE HULL TRUTH is the world's largest FREE network for the discussion of Boating & Fishing. Whether you're researching a new boat, or are a seasoned Captain, you'll find The Hull Truth Boating & Fishing Message Forum contains a wealth of information from Boaters and Sportfishermen around the world.
Welcome to the updated THT!
If you are having trouble signing in, please email feedback@thehulltruth.com with your username and we will help you. We thank you for your patience as we help you access the new site!
Random Quote: I don't lone out my boat or wife,one or the other would have a rod thrown in it!
I'm posting this in the hopes that no one else makes this mistake.
I took my Shammy to Weis Choice Marine in Mathews Va on the recommendation of Engineman a frequent poster and supplier of info and parts to the guys on the Shamrock board,Tim gave me 3 to choose from, I seem to have made a less than wise choice.
Started out as a valve job,Weis recommended an electronic ignition @$200 installed which never was done and he later stated wasn't available for that engine and new manifold/riser if needed and he would magnaflux mine to be sure for $1200 IF I needed manifold/riser.
He found a bad piston which morphed into a rebuild of a 4 cyl chevy block.
The man quoted $2200,not to exceed $2500 to rebuild engine and all of the above.
A week later he has the engine apart, no damage, asks for $1500 to cover the parts, the head is done so I gave him $2000 to cover it & work done so far, shows me timing cover rusted through quotes $40 which later became $90 to replace recommends spin on gas filter @ $33 which later never was installed, I said OK.
My wife asks how much when it's done, he says $500 and we leave, she questions difference, I say probably tax and consumables.
Mr. Weis calls, says job is done price is $1167,I question how he arrived at that figure, he says he changed the starter, alternator. I stated mine were fine and why no phone call. he changed the flywheel which he did out of the kindest of his heart at no charge but later charged $100. I asked him to recheck his figures and I would be down to pick up the boat.
When we got there, boat isn't ready after all, he can't find my old parts or the receipt for the parts I paid for, the carb is off for a second rebuild but it will be ready next day or day after.
Finally get him on the phone after 2 weeks, he demands $1167 CASH and launches into a tirade of verbal abuse, even after 20 years in the Navy I didn't think anyone could use F#$% that many times in one sentence.
I called my lawyer, have to file a warrant in debt and fight it out, made an appointment to do so and called Tim to see if maybe I was wrong and to let him know what happened.
He agreed with me that the guy couldn't mark up prices after I had paid for the parts and that he should have called on the other things and volunteered to call him as he felt responsible, he'd known the guy for years and that they were friends and that this was out of character, said the $2500 was fair and we agreed that the only winners would be the lawyers.
He said the guy may not be home but he'd try and would get back to me, never heard from him or got a reply to an email so I filed the warrant.
Called Tim again, went over the whole thing and he again agreed with my position, volunteered to call him and get back to me, mentioned that this guy could hold me up for the whole summer before we ever got to court, never heard another word.
Rather than lose the summer we went down yesterday with a deputy to keep things cool to once again attempt to arbitrate with Weis and retrieve my boat. Rather than fight me in court, he had removed the parts, manifold/riser, starter, alternator and carb from my boat and it cost me $500 to get it back, torn apart.
The old parts he returned do not appear to be off my boat especially the starter, I now have to persue this in court which will be done vigorously but my boat sits half finished with no degree of confidence in what was really done and no warranty.
I leave you to draw your own conclusions, but this could have been avoided, the days of a man's handshake or word meaning anything are gone listmates, get it in writing, cross the T and dot the I's.
Comments are solicited.
Dick
Unfortunately, I've heard stories like these before usually from auto repair shops. Sounds as if the least a BBB complaint should be filed and if your out of pocket or if he worsened your boats condition a piece of litigation may suffice.
Maybe the post should have been titled, 'Shammy Get's Shammed'.
I had thought a new short block could be purchased for about $2500?
I've never tackled a job of that magnitude but stories such as the one you just told are the reason I don't let anybody other than me work on my rig. I may be slower than a "professional" but at least I know what I need/want actually gets done and done right.
get the very best lawyer money can buy.then sue sue sue.put a price on time lost also.you say that you have nothing in writing ,but if you look at the parts that he says he took out of your boat i beleive each piece has a vin # on it if they don't match maybe you can get this guy on a felony.show him what jail time looks like ,i'm sure he'll fix the motor alright,get a lawyer with an imagination then sue and make a federal case out of it,remember the squeaky wheel gets the oil.
A sad story that my closest friends just went through. How much do you have invested in this nightmare, 500-1500? Unfortuneately, suing someone and winning are two different things. You said it yourself, your boat will be tied up for months or longer and there is still the chance you won't win in court. I would go to another mechanic, hopefully someone you or a friend knows, get it fixed right and write it off! I personally would not write it off, but after watching what my friends just went through, now I wouldn't think twice about it. The only winners are the attorneys! The only advantage you may have is if you have a close friend who is an attorney and won't charge as much or anything to help you.
Now, as far as writing it off, I'm only talking about the money! As far as the individual who did this to you, the BBB is only a start. I would personally see to it that none of your friends family, co-workers etc. ever spend a dime at his business! Eventually, if they all tell someone else what happened to you, hopefully he will suffer because of it, one way or the other. Now, if you can find an attorney to work cheap, fix your boat, keep the other parts and all your records and then sue the pants off him, but only after you fix and are using your boat again. Imagine how you will feel a year from now when nothing has been settled, your boat is still in pieces and you have missed an entire summer or longer with friends and family in your boat because of this guy!
capndick, I am only recommending you write it off after the experience my two friends had. Imagine how angry you are going to be when this is over and you have dropped 10 grand! Good luck!
I went through a problem when trying to purchase a new boat. I signed the contract but had clauses written in saying they had to fix some things. They did not fix them so I asked out of the contract. They would not give me my deposit back, I had put the deposit on my credit card so I called them and they got my money back.
Well the boat store sued me. It cost me 2000 bucks just to pay the lawyer to get out of it. I could not counter sure because the contract they had stipulated that if it went to court they could not be sued for lawyer fees.
So make sure suing is worth what you have already invested, because if the guy is a slim ball he will close down and bankrupt the current business and open under another name or coporation.
It is going to cost at least 2000 dollars to sue this guy, and you still might not get anything out of it.
Only thing I can add is at least you and some of us may have learned from this. Unfortunately, there are honest people in this business that also get hurt by these bad apples.
It sounds like you had a good process to chose a repairer but it doesn't end there. There is so much room for misunderstandings when it comes to major mechanical repairs. It is so important to either define exactly the work up front ( and the price) that you want done - or to agree to pay for diagnostics and get an estimate for what the job will cost. Then after knowing the scope of the job you could get secind opinions and decide where to go from there - (rebuild , new short block, new boat, other repairer, etc.) I learned this the hard way years ago with Cars.
Nevertheless, sounds like the root of your problem is an unscrupulous person and there doesn't seem to be any easy solution on the horizon.
And gw204 is right - this is why so many of us are DIYers whenever possible.
Well, that's not the only reason I do everything myself.
I can't afford to pay someone $300 for a carb. and fuel pump rebuild. $50 in parts, an afternoon, a six pack (once complete ) and I'm back on the water!!!!
Again, good luck in getting everything worked out.
I know Wayne Weis. He is an A*SHOLE. I'm sorry you are his latest victim. You are one of many. I do not know anyone in Mathews who speaks highly of him. Most people tell the same story about him that you do. He's the kind of guy who will tell you he can fix your boat and then gets mad at you when he can't. His motto must be "Its always the customers fault."
Anyway, heres the Wayne Weis Story:
A couple years ago Wayne was using fresh water from a garden hose while working on his own boat. When he was done he left the hose running in the boat. A couple days later when the bilge pump finally killed the battery the boat filled up with fresh water and sank.
Now I have known some people who have had boats sink (me for one) But I have never known anyone but Wayne Weis to sink his own boat by filling it with fresh water from a garden hose!
Hell, if he can't keep from sinking his own boat I sure don't want him touching mine!
Capndick, if you see him again ask him if what I say is true. That big fat head of his will turn bright red. It always does when a local teases him about the time he sank his owe boat with a garden hose!!!
FIRST - Dick, I'm sorry to hear about this MESS!!! And WHAT a mess it is!!! Next time I'm down in Mathews, I gotta' stop by there and see what this guy is all about!!! I boat near there fairly often, but think he must be IN Mathews (on "land") and not at a marina? Unless my Yama dealer "does me wrong", I'll NEVER take my motor anywhere else to have it repaired! Inboards and I/O's are a different animal but, IMO, STILL "require" someone you KNOW to do the work.
BELLEISLAND - Dean, I WELL REMEMBER the crap you went through with those folks(?) whose name STARTED (they're GONE, now! ) with "C" and that boat ("S" - ALSO gone! )!!! Sorry to hear it cost you $2K to NOT get that boat!!! Hope your Maxum is doing fine and that you're enjoying it!!!
61FLATHEAD - GREAT story about this guy! LMAO!!! Sounds like he's VERY deserving of it!!! WHERE have you been hiding? Bud's got that BEAUTY of a Performer over there for sale - you outta' go see how NICE it is for a '91!!!
Flathead,You made my day with that one.
If I get the chance I'll lay it on this bum.
I was hoping to get some feedback from anyone who had bad dealings with him.
Bruce,he has a place at the end of Rt 14,full of junk boats.
I never met a guy who was so unfamiliar with the truth or ethics,but as they say,it ain't over till the fat lady sings,cops in small towns take it personally when they get lied to.
Thanks for the laugh,
Dick
I had a similar experience only it had to do with a warranty on an outboard. The oil injection failed after the break in period and I wiped a cylinder. He had to tear it down and replace everything from that cylinder and reassemble. He charged me the cost of the piston and machining and the total came to $600 plus. I just purchased the motor as a rebuild with a hand written one year warranty. He said “the warranty covers the motor not the oil injection”. I let him know I felt like turning him in to hamburger but $600 was cheaper than a lawyer and I wanted my boat back. Oh and one more thing, the boat came back with instructions to mix the oil 50:1 in the gas and all oil injection components missing. I even asked for them back (they are expensive and I could reinstall and rebuild my self later) but he could not provide them. If anyone is in the Tampa/St. Pete area DO NOT use Panther Marine over by Bay Pines marina. I would recommend a six pack of beer and fishing from the dock before having your boat repaired there. Just my opinion...
Took mine to get a transom rebuild last Labor Day '02 Talked into painting,8 WEEKS Max ! Well I got it back 4 Days ago ! Now the Heat is Here.
No cool weather to work on Her.
Only 'bout $2800. over !
Your KNOT alone.
Took mine to get a transom rebuild last Labor Day '02 Talked into painting,8 WEEKS Max ! Well I got it back 4 Days ago ! Now the Heat is Here.
No cool weather to work on Her.
Only 'bout $2800. over !
Your KNOT alone.
horror story
)!!! Sorry to hear it cost you $2K to NOT get that boat!!! Hope your Maxum is doing fine and that you're enjoying it!!!
