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I had a problem with my motor, a 2004 Yamaha 115 carb 2 stroke. It was hard to start. Motor has about 35 hours and I bought it new. Once it started it ran like a clock. I take it to a dealer and he says the carbs need to be rebuilt I would think that a motor with carbs that need rebuilding would'nt run so well, but I say ok. I get motor home and it takes 10-15 times to get it started. The same as before. I bring it back and he says the timing screw is loose. That doesn't make sense, but I bring it home and it is exactly the same, 10-15 times to start. Call dealer and he doesn't have an answer as to what the problem is.
I contact a local mechanic and he comes to my house and fixes the problem in less than 5 minutes. The choke plate wasn't closing all the way. He was able to diagnose the problem right away. The dealer couldn't do it, but he charged me $375 dollars to rebuild the carbs.
I am mad as hell and feel I've been ripped off. Does anybody see it differently?
no..you got screwed, IMO but now you have brought in a a non auth dealer (I assume) to fix it and you don't have much choice - pay the money and find a new dealer that is authorozed and has certified Yamaha master techs....IF YOU ARE DONE WITH THAT DEALER....memeorialize your expereince to Yamaha corp cust realtions and include all the nemes and you ser#'s...
I'm thinking about small claims court. One thing I will do is write a letter to Yamaha customer service. I don't know if it will do any good, but I think they should know what their dealers are doing.
It only costs a few dollars to file in small claims court and more than likely they'll settle before the trial. Make sure you have the 2nd mechanic on standby, it's always a good idea to have an expert witness if they fight back.
__________________ 2004 Trophy 2902 WA with Merc 225 EFIs
Sucks gas and hauls ass!
One step ahead and you are a genius, two steps ahead and you are a misfit.
Best have a statement from the second mechanic and go back to the so called first mechanic and show him.Ask for any labor cost that he did.I don't think you will get a refund back on the parts,but I hope you do.
What is the name and location of your dealer??????
There is a very good chance that there are other members here who use the same one, or might be planning to. It would be a huge benefit to them to know this sort of thing ahead of time.
Also, perhaps someone has used the same dealer and had excellent results, but with a different mechanic, and can give you the inside track on who to request for work at this dealership.
Without naming the dealership, you still get help from the THT. All stop. By naming the dealership, you contribute something back to THT, and may enhance your future experiences as well.
Big Al
__________________ "Pedophiles must die" - Ted Nugent
Small claims court is a bit more than "a few dollars". In Palm Beach County, FL, the filing fee is graduated upwards with the amount of the claim. I would guess for your amount of claim you could figure at least $100.00/$150.00.
Prolineez,
As I read your post I had the problem diagnosed after the first few sentences. If this guy is authorized Yamaha service then Yam definately needs to know about him. We're not all perfect all the time but that was an easy one! Glad to hear you got it fixed though.
Prolineez,
As I read your post I had the problem diagnosed after the first few sentences. If this guy is authorized Yamaha service then Yam definately needs to know about him. We're not all perfect all the time but that was an easy one! Glad to hear you got it fixed though.
Ditto...if you have any other questions about this motor let me know. I have the exact motor on my boat. I've been using the pull out choke on the engine rather than the key choke. Just haven't had time to adjust it yet.
Call the dealer with your dissatisfaction. Let him know that you want a refund. He will likely refuse. At this time let him know that not only will you not service your boat with him again but you will not buy parts or another rig. All your fishing buddies will know of the problem. You are probably not the only person he has not serviced properly and it will take its toll on his business over time. IMO small claims court is not worth the effort for that amount of money.
I'm going to post this dealers name because maybe it will give a heads up to anybody else thinking of going there. I live in New Jersey and the name of this dealer is Lima and Sons Marine on Rt. 17 in Saddle River. I have already spoken to a couple of guys at the fishing tackle store and they know of their reputation. Now they have a better picture. This is my experience exactly as it happened, maybe somebody else had better luck than I did, but I can't understand how a certified mechanic could not diagnose this problem like the 4-5 other people I have talked to recently.
I follow several forums and it seems with Yammi's the standard answer for any problem is " the carbs need to be rebuilt", not sure why but they rebuild more carbs om Yammi's than anything else Of course since its really only cleaning and some gaskets it never cures the problem What is it with Yamaha dealers and carb rebuilds
Carb jobs are easy money for dealers.It is merely an acid bath to remove fuel that has been sitting in the carb and clogged up the very small jets. It is easy money and high profit and not much effort is required. I would have a little chat with the owner of the company and if nothing is resolved take them to small claims court. It costs you very little and they must appear. Slocky inept dealers need to be taught a lesson.
One thing to remember that I learned the hard way:
When you pickup the boat check their work onsite! I had a lower unit in for service over the winter (they removed it and kept it for 3 months) they were to replace the water pump, ANodes, and fluids (not sure why they needed to keep it for that, but it was winter so who cares). They billed me for all these services but when I went to pickup the boat the ANodes were never replaced. I marched right back inside and showed the service manager, he apologized profusely and he had the unit pulled and completed in 2 days.
In the case of a hard start like you had, try starting it right there onsite or have the mechanic do it.
"Carbs need re-building" has been the standard answer for most outboard repairs my whole "boating life-time". And the dealer mechanics are exactly right. Part of carb re-building is cleaning some gum etc. out of carbs. As carbs got more precision built, Yamaha in the 90's, it became more of a problem.
I went thru this on a 115-2s Yamaha a few years back. Ran good once or twice and dealer was claiming more corrosion and gum build-up. Rediculous to rebuild carbs 2 or 3 times a year.
Called Yamaha Customer Service, and got exactly what I expected. Steller response. Customer Service rep was professional and fast. After a call to dealer, a refund check was in mail to me direct from Yamaha.
I "cured" the carb re-build problem buy running a $.99 bottle of WalMart fuel injection cleaner every few weeks and never had the problem again.
Carb jobs are easy money for dealers.It is merely an acid bath to remove fuel that has been sitting in the carb and clogged up the very small jets. It is easy money and high profit and not much effort is required. I would have a little chat with the owner of the company and if nothing is resolved take them to small claims court. It costs you very little and they must appear. Slocky inept dealers need to be taught a lesson.
Very true. I have worked on old cars all of my life, but was intimidated by the three carbs on the Johnson 235 on my old boat. After I let the boat sit for a couple of years, it would not idle properly. My favorite mechanic was tied up at the time, so I decided to check it myself. Turned out to be one needle valve stuck on one carb. Took me about 30 minutes to fix myself.
If you've ever rebuilt an automotive carb, like a Holley or a Q-jet, those old 2-stroke boat carbs are a piece of cake-you won't believe how simple they are. They don't even have an accelerator pump.
I tried to do that, start the motor when I picked it up. He asked me what time I was coming so I got there 45 minutes before he opened just to make sure I was the first one to start it and he had the motor running already. Since once it was started it easily restarted that eliminated any chance of me checking to see if the problem was fixed. Now I know why the sneaky b*&^%$d started it before I got there. When I called up to complain he said " he started it up for you didn't he" and I said no, it was running when I got there and then he hung up on me.
Draught a factual documentation of events, dates, amounts paid w/ proof and to the honest best of your recollection, what was said...no need to show how pi$$ed off you are; the facts will speak for themselves...once you have it written, mail it to him, let him read a copy then tell him he can either pay you back or face the consequences of your sending the letter to Yam, Better Business Bureau and any other affiliated organizations he's(mechanics, dealers) member of...his choice from there, but I'd be lookin' to send it to anybody that he'd be professionally embarassed in front of...that's what I'd do...
My experience with a dealer 
