Dealer rigging for warranty???

tod osier

tod osier

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I've been busy thinking about buying a new outboard today. It seems like on motors 40 and up all the brands require dealer rigging for warranty. I'm focusing on Tohatsu because they are the only ones that offer a short shaft - I found a great price, but they won't/can't sell the motor without doing the rigging per their agreement with corporate Tohatsu. No way I'm letting someone do the rigging for me, maybe if I had a diagram and was able to have the bolts 5200ed in and showed up with them installed and they just slipped it on (but I still don't want to pay for that).

Anyone have a comment, thought, or direct experience?
 
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As an addition, the requirement isn't for 30s and down. I'd consider a 30, but I think a Snow Goose would be a dog with it.
 
Don,t know about your dealer but rigging was built into price of motor I had installed on my 16 ' jon. Partly so boats wired right but also to make sure motors propped right and at right height for best hole shot. And even though my boats aluminum they did use a product, probably 4200 on bolts thru transom. Normally they'll use a adhesive, sealant that can be broke free when desired unlike 5200. Your thinking right on H.P. required 40 if not a 60 would be my wanted H.P. All depending on motor weight. Might want to consider if theres a dealer in area your moving to to cover any warranty issues on motor. I did have to take mine in for a sensor & water pump replacement at less than a year. Bad parts and they covered it completely. No issues since and on year 4.
 
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D. Hinton said:
Todd,
Dealer makes all the difference.
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I have not seen that. Maybe if you buy shit products that need constant support or can't afford a purchase and absolutely need a warranty (but then maybe one can't afford the product in the first place). I try to keep myself in a place where I have little need for the dealer.
 
roy brewington said:
Don,t know about your dealer but rigging was built into price of motor I had installed on my 16 ' jon. Partly so boats wired right but also to make sure motors propped right and at right height for best hole shot. And even though my boats aluminum they did use a product, probably 4200 on bolts thru transom. Normally they'll use a adhesive, sealant that can be broke free when desired unlike 5200. Your thinking right on H.P. required 40 if not a 60 would be my wanted H.P. All depending on motor weight. Might want to consider if theres a dealer in area your moving to to cover any warranty issues on motor. I did have to take mine in for a sensor & water pump replacement at less than a year. Bad parts and they covered it completely. No issues since and on year 4.
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No dealers of any of the brands I'd buy are within several hundred miles, so no benefit there.

Thanks for the dissertation on 4200 vs 5200, but I was not suggesting bolting a motor on with raw 5200, but I would (and HAVE) set the bolts in 5200 and installed a motor after cured.

As for setting up a motor right, I seriously doubt that they are going to dial in the motor as I would and have in the past. I'm not interested in paying for someone to make a mess of my stuff and charge me for it. If you see value in that - then great, I don't.
 
tod osier said:
I have not seen that. Maybe if you buy shit products that need constant support or can't afford a purchase and absolutely need a warranty (but then maybe one can't afford the product in the first place). I try to keep myself in a place where I have little need for the dealer.
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I think the point of his post. Blew right over your head.

Good luck finding what your looking for.
 
I think I'll talk to the dealers I talked to yesterday again quick and iron some things out.

However, where I stand is that when the boat goes out to WY, there will be 8 or 10 new lakes to explore and that is prime opportunity for me to further hone my lower unit rock finding skills - a job better done with an old vs new motor. I'm thinking I'll be happy to limp that motor along a few more years out there then repower.

Things I'd like to know about having the dealer rig your motor is if they would let me drill the holes ahead and then rig without sealant and then I can do a proper job when I get it home? Also how extensive is the rigging? For example, do all cables need to be fastened? I expect this would depend on the dealer and may be negotiable.

Can I pick up a cheap beater boat and have them rig it on that and then swap when I get it home? :)

I'd hate to lose out on the warranty if I'm paying for it, so I'd like to avoid that. Having said that, I do all my own maintenance and a major warranty claim seems like an uphill battle if you aren't taking it to the dealer frequently for service if it is in any way related to systems you are maintaining.

Getting a motor with gremlins would suck either way.
 
I wish you luck finding a workaround. The troubling thing for me is feeling the need for warranty coverage. We trust our lives to this stuff and it isn't cheap. Not saying you're wrong to feel the need.
 
SJ Fairbank said:
I wish you luck finding a workaround. The troubling thing for me is feeling the need for warranty coverage. We trust our lives to this stuff and it isn't cheap. Not saying you're wrong to feel the need.
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I wouldn't feel so much of a need for it if it wasn't baked into the price, part of that 7K is to pay for warranty (I think I'm also saying I'm cheap). If there was a deal such as: take 1K off and no warranty, I'd take it on certain brands and at a certain price point.
 
Part of the reason I went with a 30hp Suzuki rather than another 40hp Mercury was the motors are all setup for steering at the factory. In order to get a tiller was at extra cost of $1100 plus tax and installation for a tiller! Plus... PLUS the prop is extra! Add another $200. The Suzuki came out of the box complete and with a fuel tank and hose. No extra charge to hang it on my boat and connect the battery. Mercury dealer would have charged me for that too! My boat is roughly 670lbs and the 30 pushes it fine with 2 plus gear. No idea what your boat and gear weigh.
 
In my area commercial waterman can get motors cheaper due to no tax at sale but there's also a lessened warranty if any. Something to check in to if you've got a friend with commercial fishing/crabbing license. Myself with the amount of electronics & sensors that will put you in limp mode on a boat motor now i,ll take the warranty. They aren't the ol 2 stroke anymore for sure!
 
tod osier said:
I bet that moves when empty!

How much rigging did the dealer do? How extensive was it?
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Yeah, it gets up and goes. Nice to have, when boat is loaded with decoys, dog and three guys. Very little rigging involved as it's a tiller motor. Basically bolt it to the transom, connect it to the Racor and fuel tank. They also launched it and took it for a test run.

Get one with power tilt! Hand tilting my old Honda 35 was getting tough as I aged.
 
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