Warranty Question

[Old Barney]

It's about time to pull my boat out of the water...prices are going through the roof on Marina charges for service...The old IRA took a beating last week so I must cut costs whenever possible. Does the oil change have to be done by a dealer? I have some local folks who do this work for a number of the boat owners in my area, have a good reputation and will do the work for half the price. Will this void the warranty?

Thanks in advance for your help

 

[Dave LeGear]

No, not at all and you have options...

1. Take it to another dealer who services your "make" of engine and keep the repair order
2. Or do it yourself and keep the tickets of when you got the oil filter and feel free to use a higher quality of oil like Royal Purple. In either case, make sure you use a OEM oil filter for if you blow off a aftermarket one, good luck in having the OEM cover the repair...

 

[HighTechRedneck]

If you are picking up your own oil make sure its marine grade. Mobile 1 is great oil but does not make a marine grade oil so it is not recommended for boats. This info I got from Mobile 1 customer service.

 

[fridaysoff]

Old Barney,
Like Putershark stated you can do the oil change,lower unit change, and replace the plugs yourself and save all of the labor cost. It's not too difficult. I have a 150 Yamaha on my 195CC. It was a bit overwhelming looking at first because I had a 60HP Yamaha before and it was real easy to work on. I did all of the above maintenance on the 150HP in about 2 hours. I can do it in an hour the next time. Just make sure you go to a dealer and get the lower unit gaskets, oil plug gasket,etc.Always replace them. Get a new cotter pin for your prop and take it off and grease the spline. I always use Yamalube oil and filters. You can do it. Spend some money on purchasing a shop manual for your specific motor. Good luck.
John D.

 

[Old Barney]

Thanks to Putershark and High Tech Redneck for their replies...Now all I need is for my IRA to go back up! Good fishing-John

 

[NCangler]

From the factory:

Usually to keep a engine warranty you need to have service work done by
an authorized service facility for that manufacturer, however your best
bet is to contact the engine manufacturer and check with them.

 

[Old Barney]

Thanks for checking with the factory...I decided to go with the dealer services and avoid any possible warranty issues in the future. I will have to tighten my belt somewhere else! John

 

[BarryB]

Warranties...

Barney,

The Federal Trade Commission has information about warranties. Certain states have laws that give consumers certain rights about warranties. For example, car manufacturers warranties aare not voided if the onwer changes his own oil. If there were a problem with the engine, the manufacture has to prove the owner was at fault to deny warranty coverage. For starters, try this US Gov't web page:
Warranties

Then, search for more information. Nothing like having informaton on your side.