My Infinite Sadness (Part 2 : Dealer Trust)

I am at a very strange place. As you might have read in my original post - On Saturday, I had a bit of an accident with a rock shelf in a lake. My prop definately got jacked up and I have some severe vibration.

Sunday, I decided to take the boat into my dealer and have them look it over. Initial thoughts were not good. They said their were "stress cracks" near the rudder and prop. Obviously the prop is looking pretty horrid. The guy there suggested the head guy look it over on monday.

Monday comes along, the guy looks at it and calls me. He thinks my rudderbox, rudder, prop, shaft, and hull are all fubar but thinks that we can get it fixed in two weeks if the fiberglass guy isnt bogged down.

I'm pretty cool with this, even though it sucks. Now is where the story gets interesting.

I go in on Tuesday night because i'm wanting to get my stereo equipment and my wakeboards. The owner of the place starts discussing things and he says he needs to be honest and upfront that it could take 4 to 6 weeks to fix the issue. He also seems rather bitter that I ended up buying the used 2004 Malibu 23ft XTI from another person vs. a 2005 Vride that was left over from him. Keep in mind a) the 2004 Malibu was bought last year from him! b) a 23ft XTI is a much bigger boat than a vride. c) I got it WAY cheaper.

Never the less - he looks the boat over while I'm getting my stuff out and he says the rudderbox really doesnt seem damaged - that its turning with ease, etc. So we start talking and he's like:

"Well, i dont think this is as bad as orginally expected ..."

We start discussing put on a new prop - when I suggest that I might want to try a four-blade prop vs the original three-blade he freaks out, starts slamming props on the internet saying they are "unbalanced" and then tells me that I could burn up my engine if I used one of them. I need the OEM prop.

He freaked out over my stereo (getting involved with my electrical system was a BIG DEAL) and he kept mentioning that I shouldn't be scared, but that I needed to be real and that if I had an engine problem ever I didnt have a transferred warantee(sp?). I wanted to be like, "Look, hitting a friggin rock would nto be a warantee (sp?) issue EVEN if i had bought the boat from you!"

Keep in mind i've already filed a claim with insurance and gone into this head first. I'm now questioning if I just need to replace the prop and give it a whirl in the lake. I dont like the feeling of someone 'having me by the balls'.

When I suggested this - he immediately freaked out and started saying that if it were his boat, he'd not take it out on the water and he'd rather have it all fixed. I agree - but losing 4 to 6 weeks of the best weather vs. fixing in the winter if its not a _major_ issue is something I am willing to at least consider. I guess what it comes down to is that I dont completely trust the diagnosis and that they are telling me this stuff "has to be done" but in reality its just a way for them to make mad cash from my insurance company.

Just FYI - these "stress cracks" could have been there since I took ownership for all I know - the are very hard to see and really not much in my opinion. I guess this is where an unbiased dealers opinion on the severity of "stress cracks" would be nice.

Thoughts, help, etc? Jamie LaMar, could I bring it by your dealership and get an honest opinion (without being slammed on not buying a supra? hahaha)

Maybe you're writing angry, or maybe my reading skills are falling down, but I find your post a little hard to follow.

Your dealer is jerking you around from what I'm reading here and saw in the other thread. Take it somewhere else for a second opinion.

That looked like a nibral prop, and it was not damaged much at all. I've seen all the blades folded down completely around the shaft, and no problems after rebuilding that same trashed prop. Were there any gouges on the rudder or was the steering affected at all by the hit? Did they show you any cracks?

If it's just your prop, it might not even meet your deductible anyway. Some dealers will let you demo props too. Swap a nice 4 blade Acme on there and see what you think.

Are you also saying he told you your warranty isn't valid because of stereo work??

trace: I think i was trying to type TOO much about the problem TOO quickly, hence my horrible grammar, spelling, sentence structure

First off, I dont have a Warranty because I bought the boat used - he kept bringing that up. He was basically was running all of these ideas through my head ie:

could have been improperly winterized,
I didnt have a compression check on the engine so even though it runs fine it could have something wrong with it, etc.

He seemed bitter that I didnt get a new 'bu from him.

As far has the stereo, he was mainly harping on the fact that my electrical system was at risk because I was running these "amps" on it and that if I connected the battery incorrectly I could ruin my ecu.

When people talk like that, they turn me off because I think the aftermarket is an important part of the industry.

I'm going to contact another dealer around here and get a second opinion and maybe they will let me demo a prop... Thanks for that suggestion, as I hadn't even considered that.

Any major work I've had done on my boat's in the past never go back to the dealer. You should look for a good honest boat mechanic in your hometown, in my exp. they usually get the job done faster, cheaper and just as good or better. My second boat I owned I ran into a sandbar and fubar'd everything you mentioned, my local mechanic had me on the water in 5 days! dealer would have taken 4-6 weeks. and to top it off he got the work done before I got the insurance check and he still let me take the boat out that weekend.

(Message edited by acurtis_ttu on June 21, 2006)

Clayton, Aren't you the one who tore up your trailer wiring on a piece of tire shrapnel on the road just a few weeks ago? tough luck man..

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quote:

could have been improperly winterized,
I didnt have a compression check on the engine so even though it runs fine it could have something wrong with it, etc.

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What does any of that have to do with hitting a rock? Were you having any other problems?

Stay away from that dealer, period, especially if you're out of warranty. Learn to do most things yourself, and find a good independent mechanic for the stuff you don't want to tackle.

If nothing else looks torn up, I wouldn't be afraid at all to swap on a new prop and take it to the lake. If there's no vibration, you are good to go. Have your old prop rebuilt to keep as a spare so you won't lose a day on the lake next time. Done.

Find a new dealer / mechanic to take your boat to. This guy sounds like he's trying to talk you into a new boat.

I agree with trace, get a new prop and take it for a spin. Ease into it a bit gradually upping the RPM's, Take a friend along to sit on the rear seat so they can feel for vibration. Get it all the way up and then do the same with the ballast full. Try hole shots too. No vibration with a new prop means your shaft is fine.

CraigStrait, Yeah, same guy. Same guy that a week later then has his trailer hit by a drunk in the parking lot, and then same guy that ran his prop into a rock shelf! I've not had good boating luck thus far.

Trace, it doesnt have anything to do with my situation - hence why I am upset and dont totally trust the dealer.

Mark B: true.

Flux: thanks, i'll get my roomie to ride in the back.

If you damaged the shaft, chances are the strut would be bent as well. The stress cracks could be there just from the bolts that hold the hardware in there, and they could be just gelcoat spider cracks anyway. The dealer has you scared and it sucks.

Look at the shaft strut underneath the boat, does it look bent?? How bad are the cracks?? Are they just gelcoat?? One easy check for shaft damage is to simply turn the prop by hand. Boat off of course, and in nuetral. There will be resistance from the rubber bushing. You can spray some soapy water into the bushing to lube it. The shaft should turn smoothly through the full rotation. If it tends to bind, the shaft or the strut is bent or misaligned.

If everything seems visually ok and you can turn the shaft by hand, put a new prop on there and head to the lake for the vibration test. You won't lose any money on another prop, you should have a spare anyway. that whole OEM prop thing is Bullshat. There are high pitch and low pitch props made for torque at different RPM's. Chances are you can get a better prop for wakeboarding. We changed ours to a middle of the road pitch from a low pitch and get a much better hole shot with only a slight increase in RPM's. For wakeboarding, our engine is now working less to get on plane.

Call OJ or Acme and they will help you out.

Yo, your prop doesn't even look that bad. Spin the shaft with the prop attached. It should spin with the same amount of effort all the way around. If not, then something is bent and is cause for concern. If it spins with the same resistance, then order a prop from a reputable source and a puller and change it yourself. Try a four blade if you want. Then water test and enjoy. I have a feeling you'll be just fine.

Your dealer sure sounds like he's jacking you around. I'd look elsewhere.

Good luck.

If you have a velvet drive, you should be able to find the specs for shaft alignment in your manual. The last time I shredded a log I just used a feeler guage to check alignment. I believe that is all the shop will do.

As far as the dealer, if you feel uncomfortable or don't trust him, there is usually a reason. Don't leave your baby with someone you don't trust!

Good luck, I hope your season gets better!

All great advice here. Good luck, and post your results.

My input on the spider cracks in the gel. I've been told by a couple of marine gel specialists that small spider cracks near the rudder are pretty common and usually only cosmetic. They are created by repeated stress on the gel from the rudder and they find them on wake boats all the time. They told me wake boats get this because we run the boats beyond their rated weight capacity on a regular basis.

This is just what I've been told, and by no means am I a gel repair specialist.

Most boat dealers have learned well how to game boat insurance companies when it comes to minor prop damage as I would define yours. True it's ugly but not nearly as bad as I have seen where there was no other damage besides the prop. Based on you have posted, I would need to be pretty desperate before I would return to that dealer. Order a $335 prop from Karl at www.boarditup.com and run it, I would guess your problems would be solved and you would be boarding in a couple days.

Don't Forget "weekend saver" Prop Tool Kit.

You had all this advise on the 1st post. get a spare- new prop, test as advised above and get your a@@ back on the water and quit wasting your summer. screw that dealer as well. find a trusted local mechanic as suggested.