All safe Marine, Rockingham- my recent (very) bad experience
The short story -
My boat was running fine, but i decided to get the annual service done on the motor prior to cray season. That was the 13th october , so now it is nearly the end of december , i am $1000 out of pocket , and after 3 attempts , the (mechanic ? ) at Allsafe was not able to get my motor running properly. So i now have a hole in my wallet , my boat is dead in the water , and i have to wait for my old mechanic to find time to fix my motor and get me back on the water.
*** I understand there is now a sign on the counter at Allsafe Marine , saying they will not guarantee any work on motors over 10 years old , or something along these lines. I for one will never be taking my boat anywhere near them again !!***
The long story, as sent to consumer protection -
I took my boat to Allsafe Marine for an annual general maintenance service on 13thOctober. The boat was running fine prior to taking it for a service.
As the mechanic was very busy with other boats , i offered to leave my boat there as i was back at work for the next 5days , this he was thankful for.
The mechanic phoned me approx 5 days later , saying he had done the service , but the motor was running rough , and he would like to put a carby kit through the motor. I replied that i have owned this motor for over 10 years and it has never ran rough , but i said if he, as a mechanic , thinks it best to put a carby kit through the carburetor , i was happy for him to do this.
I collected the boat from Allsafe marine on 19thOctober with the service being complete , and paid the invoice of $1000 by cash.
It wasnt until approx 3rdNov that myself and my brother decided to take the boat out fishing.
Once in the ocean, the boat started fine , but it stalled as soon as i tried to move away from the jetty. I immediately phoned the mechanic , who said for me to bring it back in right away. I took the boat back , the mechanic made some adjustments , and he said to "give it another go " .
We headed straight back to the boat ramp , and once in the water , the same thing happened, the boat motor stalled 'under load' . I phoned the mechanic again , he said he was very busy with other boats, but to bring the boat back another day for him to have another look at it.
It was aprox 11th nov when i returned the boat to Allsafe marine.
I was contacted on approx 18th nov to collect the boat.
i picked the boat up the next day , the mechanic said there was an ignition problem, which he had fixed, i asked about the issue with the motor stalling , he said he did not find anything wrong. I paid $250 cash for the work done on the ignition system .
On the 1st Dec , i took the boat to the boat ramp for a test run. On putting the boat in the water , the same thing happened , the motor stalled under load.
When i arrived home , i phone Greg, the business owner , explaining the whole story. He was sympathetic, offering to get the mechanic to look at the boat again for no charge.
I told Greg i was not happy with the mechanics work, as he had already worked on the boat 3 times , and i was still having engine trouble...i did not want his mechanic to work on my motor again..ever.
I sent Greg a text on 1stdec saying i would settle for a refund of $500 , to which he has not replied.
paulbazza
Posts: 158
Date Joined: 24/11/10
a friends recent Allsafe experience
So my old crayfishing skipper from a couple of years ago, his brother had his 30 or 40HP motor recently serviced at Allsafe.
He put the motor leg in a tub , and started the boat at home after getting the boat back. He did this a second time , and the water had stopped comming from the telltail.
He took the impellor housing off , and found this -
http://fishwrecked.com/image/damaged-impellor
Francis
Posts: 326
Date Joined: 17/06/08
That sucks! Not the best time
That sucks! Not the best time of year for that to happen. Glad it didnt stall in a dangerous situation...
Sounds like a fuel problem to me - maybe check that the priming bulb (if it has one) is pointing the right way for the fuel flow?
I have seen those exact symptoms once and the issue was the bulb pointing toward the fuel tank, not toward the engine, so once under load the engine would stall.
paulbazza
Posts: 158
Date Joined: 24/11/10
dry land
It runs fine with the muffs on , but stalls when in the water. I havent even made it 1 meter from the jetty so no dangerous situations.
I have 0% confidence in my motor now , so when i can get a real mechanic to give it a thorough going over i will be happy.
paulbazza
Posts: 158
Date Joined: 24/11/10
google review
And i noticed the (mechanic ?) gave himself a 5 star review on google !
SpotHound
Posts: 439
Date Joined: 06/02/14
What Motor
What motor is it? mAybe we can help if its something common !
paulbazza
Posts: 158
Date Joined: 24/11/10
Evinrude
1992 evinrude 70HP.
stricko
Posts: 224
Date Joined: 10/05/10
Check all the fuel lines
Check all the fuel lines sometimes a small crack or corrosion won't show up till the motors under load or warm rubber hoses have a bad habit of expanding when hot have had similar troubles with chainsaws carby off blaa blaa 2 years of fuxery turned out to be a inch long fuel line was getting tired and would suck air after it warmed up.
dano83
Posts: 790
Date Joined: 25/05/12
Evinrude? Take it to
Evinrude? Take it to mhuelling marine in Osborne park they done a few things for me and really looked after me with service
little johnny
Posts: 5360
Date Joined: 04/12/11
Pretty bullet proof
Motors . Be something simple .
little johnny
Posts: 5360
Date Joined: 04/12/11
Sad thing is
Way under $200 in parts .
paulbazza
Posts: 158
Date Joined: 24/11/10
was running fine
Thats the thing, it was running fine until the (mechanic ? ) got his hands on it !
If i hadnt taken it in for a service , i would be out there with the rest of you pullin pots :)
I just need to wait until my previous mechanic, who was very good, gets some time to look at my motor.
Then hopefully he can write a report for me, then i will make a trip to the small claims court.
little johnny
Posts: 5360
Date Joined: 04/12/11
To me sounds
Like you have been done over . I also Agee with response . About timing being played with . 80 percent of outboard people poke you in bottom. They don’t give a sh@t . U/tube amazing . Up to 30000 hours on mine now . Done mine since 50 hour service .after a dealer tried pulling a shifty on me . I put a T on all parts prior to taking it in ( plugs. Filters ) tried charging me for everything . I gave them $100 for oils . Never been back there since . Not saying there all the same . But there are a heap of wank$@s out there . Charge you for something they don’t do.. anyone who goes through dealers ./ mobile . I trust only a few . There is a few real honest ones . Just have to find them
SeperateKnob
Posts: 668
Date Joined: 28/11/16
Damn I would be very
Damn I would be very frustrated and like you say all confidence in the motor is now shot to buggery. Has anyone else had experiences with this dealership? I haven’t heard much about them
Shark1
Posts: 1086
Date Joined: 21/05/12
m8 has a whole spare motor -
m8 has a whole spare motor - 70 evinrude/johnson
he has jsut repowered to a 4 stroke - if u need spares pm me
you could probably get the whole motor (it was running) for a slab or 2 ;p
paulbazza
Posts: 158
Date Joined: 24/11/10
thanks
thanks for the offer mate.
i am hoping at this stage my mechanic can get it running , i think it either - needs to be tuned properly ( he f*@ked with the carby - spark plugs ?? he put an expensive set of plugs i have never had on my motor before - or throttle cable adjustment.
i appreciate the offer and will keep in mind if i need parts :)
Rob H
Posts: 5806
Date Joined: 18/01/12
It sounds to me like he has
It sounds to me like he has tried to adjust the timing and either got it wrong or done something to the timing advance.
First check though that all plug and coil leads are firmly in place, and start it in the dark with cover off to look for spark jumping from a lead
Theres a multitude of minor things that can cause what your describing.
But I'd probably ask about his qualifications.
While its a grey area, if he isnt qualified he should at least be supervised by a tradesman.
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
sea-kem
Posts: 15005
Date Joined: 30/11/09
I'll be devil's advocate
I'll be devil's advocate here, I can appreciate a bad experience at any business. But in situations like this I wouldn't be mentioning a business name until the whole issue was resolved one way or another.
Maybe the owner is just starting to realise the mech is a plonker or there's a genuine problem they haven't diagnosed or whatever. As mentioned above it could be a multitude of isssues.
I'd be horrified if my small business name was plastered all over a forum page because of a one time balls up that I'd be happy to rectify for the sake of my business goodwill.
This thread could have been written without the business name being mentioned just my opinion.
Love the West!
paulbazza
Posts: 158
Date Joined: 24/11/10
he has had an opportunity
I respect your point, and would agree somewhat, however ,I have contacted the owner by phone , he was aware of the situation. He was aware i was going to lodge a complaint with consumer protection.
He was also told that i would make mention of my experience on the internet. He has no interest in refunding any of my money paid.
People have a right to make an informed decision before they part with their hard earned dollars. Alsoou need 100% confidence and peace of mind in your boat out on the water.
As i have said, i am now out of pocket $1000.
I could have given my motor a poor service myself and saved a lot of money !
I would not wish to tarnish the name of any other local business.
sea-kem
Posts: 15005
Date Joined: 30/11/09
Thanks for the
Thanks for the clarifications mate, now I can see you've done due diligence.
Oh well his bad luck if that's how he wants to do it, it's a shame as he could have come out of this looking peachy had he done the right thing.
Love the West!
paulbazza
Posts: 158
Date Joined: 24/11/10
he did offer
He did offer to get the (mechanic ? ) to look at the motor again for no charge.
But as i said to him , i have been to the boatyard 3 times to pick the boat up already, i have been to the ramp 3 times , each time the same issue.
I dont have that much spare time to be running around back and forth dropping my boat off, picking it up , taking it to the ramp and repeat .
pelagicyachts
Posts: 1322
Date Joined: 23/02/11
just my 2 cents worth - i
just my 2 cents worth -
i think the reason why he is not concerned about you going to consumer protection is that if he is offering to look at the motor again for no charge then i suspect you will have little success with your claim.
Appreciate that you have had a bad experience but i would be taking back to them to see if they can fix
paulbazza
Posts: 158
Date Joined: 24/11/10
never again
Consumer protection told me i had done the right thing returning the boat , i think i am only obligated to take it back once for them to be satisfied.
The motor was running fine before the (mechanic ?) touched it , he has had 3 goes at it, he will never touch anything of mine again!
Surely a simple service cant be that hard ?
Brock O
Posts: 3233
Date Joined: 11/01/08
Surprised he couldn't sort it
Surprised he couldn't sort it after the 3 or so visits, very disappointing for sure!
Could be a spark leak through leads or coil....but even with a leak these motors will run on 3 cylinders.
looking at my manual 2 stroke Johnno....its a fuel issue - leak / restriction through the tank filter, fuel lines or carby.
That or the idle speed has been set too low or the throttle cam pick up has been adjusted wrong.
Hopefully the above can be easily sorted by your other mechanic....at least you got new plugs, carby kits and water pump already sorted.
paulbazza
Posts: 158
Date Joined: 24/11/10
No Spark
The 3rd time i had returned the motor , the mechanic? said there was an issue with the starting system.
So , me wanting to fix any small issues before they became big issues, gave the ok for more repairs. $250.
i would start the boat in my back yard to keep things moving , and after starting about 4 times.....the boat would still turn over, but not start.
so i got Arthur Paige to come for a look. He said there is no spark , so whatever 'repairs' had been done, had failed.
now i had 2 issues. No spark , and stalling in the water !
paulbazza
Posts: 158
Date Joined: 24/11/10
The Conclusion
-The mechaninc? who botched my service at AllSafe has 'moved on'. Beware, he is out there.......somewhere !
-I took AllSafe to court. It took 2 appearances before a magistrate for AllSafe to agree to give my $1250 back. ($1000 for service, and $250 for failed electrical work )
-My faithful evinrude is still dead, cost wise not worth fixing, so sold for spare parts.
-i am now the owner of a brand new 90HP Yammie :)
SeperateKnob
Posts: 668
Date Joined: 28/11/16
Great outcome. Good on you
Great outcome. Good on you for sticking to your guns. Those yammis are bulletproof
NORUN NOFUN
Posts: 1035
Date Joined: 15/08/11
Great outcome and well done
Great outcome and well done on taking to court.
I had the same issue years ago on my tinnie motor - a 40hp 2 banger Evinrude.
Ran fine at rest, start to head off and she would cut out. Took to Muhling's in Ossie Park and left to be diagnosed, got a phone call 3 days later saying ready to pick up, paid the bill. Next weekend took the tinnie out for a fish and same shit happens again.
Out of frustration I took the bowl off the carby back at home and what do you know, there is a green jelly like substance in the fuel bowl, dropped all fuel, cleaned the tank and never had a problem since.
Turns out the jelly would move in the bowl as I went to drive off and would cut off the fuel float and close the needle, hence the cutting out while underway.
Sometimes just the simplest of things.