Does this sound right? Mercury 2003 15 hp 2 stroke

I've seen advertised shop rates from $75 to $100 per hour.
Then add on the parts including the retail markup...gets expensive fast.
Cost of a new 15 hp carb for a merc is about $242 on line, makes sense, including markup, of a charge of $300.
This is the reason I do my own repairs, and always get an OEM service manual for my outboard.
The initial cost of the manual pays for itself many times over in repair savings.
I have the time to figure out what the problem is and can wait for a part to arrive.
For someone who has limited free time and just wants to get on the water asap,
repair shops or mobile marine mechanics are the only choices.
Finding a reputable one can be a problem.

 

DO NOT PICK IT UP YET !

Go to the clerk of the circuit court and tell them what happened and see if you can "Bond it out"
if you can you will pay the amount of the bill to the Court and the shop will have to Justify the bill to get the money ...DOCCUMENT EVERYTHING !!!

Or pay with a credit card and challenge the bill

Or go to small claims Court

Or be Nice go to the shop owner see if they will adjust the bill and tell them if they do not you will Smear them sooo bad that they will wish they NEVER saw you ...


Or eat the $$$ and Consider it a lesson Learned !

                                                                                                                             Dave

 

Well, you kind of screwed up, but you know that and said so.  Out board parts are expensive, and I get surprised every time I go in to get some, so I can not speak to that.  They are blatantly in breach of contract if you set a $300 limit.  Tell me you have a copy of the work order.  It is my opinion that it should have taken an hour at most to find the problem, but I'm not a Merc tech.  I'm not used to carbs as small as that having needle bearings, that does not mean this one doesn't.  If the bearing was blocked/dirty/misaligned and you forced it to move, it could have torn it up.  This is also not the first time I've heard that some parts can't be bought OEM.  It may be possible to source the correct needle bearing and race outside of the industry, but it may cost you much more to have them replaced even if it is a $5 bearing. The advice to be polite is a good one, they have your motor "in the back" as it were.  I suggest you go in and have them show you what is wrong.  I would then negotiate with them about it, tell them you can't really justify putting that much (over $500) into the motor at this point in your life.  Tell them that $280 for a diagnostic is more than you bargained for.  Shops will often try to get the customer to pay up even if they put more labor than they needed into a repair.  Often customers don't say boo.  You can always pay the bill and order the carb yourself if negotiations break down. Then you can have someone else install and tune it.  If you go that route, at the very least get the OEM manual, install the carb, and then take it to get tuned.  If you lean out the carb too much you could fry the motor.

So the moral of the story is GET THE OEM MANUAL!!!!

Sorry for the troubles.  Hope it works out and let us know what happens.

ETA: You may want to call up Mercury and ask what the estimated labor hours for diagnosing your problem should be.

 

I think he Lost the little ball in the Enrichment Valve :-(

 

For new Merc service manuals the only supplier I've found is MercuryMarine,
older model manuals can be found on line at aftermarket suppliers.

I prefer the hardcopy, but CD versions are offered also.

https://mercnet.mercurymarine.com/litreq/welcome.do

 

I'd handle this in two steps:

First, go down to the shop and have them explain to you exactly what was done and the findings. What did they spend 3 hours doing? They should be able to justify the better part of that labor. Most diagnostic labor is "time spent" as opposed to "flat rate" labor. If the explanation doesn't make sense, ask for more clarification. Have them show you the part on the microfishe that cannot be ordered separately too, if you question that.

Second, you are fully capable of buying a new carb and installing it yourself, that's an easy fix. Save the additional labor and the local retail markup by buying it online. We can help you locate the correct parts if needed.

 

You have a PM

 

I can't imagine a real mechanic spending 3½ hours looking at a carburetor for a 2 stroke 15HP?

You need to find another mechanic. I hope you get this all cleared up.

Best regards,
Frank_S

Frank_S

 

Ah, not a needle bearing (which does not exist in the schematic above) on the butterfly shaft which is what I understood. Yes if you cranked down the needle valve enough to break it, then you may have wrecked the valve seat. Many small carburetors don't have replaceable valve seats. I agree I'd want to know exactly what was done in 1/2 hrs. I can take the carb off of my 25 hp Johnson and disassemble/clean/reassemble in 20 minutes, but I know my carb and engine. Now in all fairness, getting a motor in that a customer tried to fix first and got stuck on is a major PIA. I always hated it, took twice as long to figure stuff out sometimes. We often had a surcharge for things like that, but that was made very clear beforehand. The worst was when a box of parts would come in that I was supposed to put back together and make a chainsaw/trimmer/whatever out of. If it was a $60 trimmer we'd tell them to buy a new one for less than we'd have to charge them.

 

3.5 hours sounds excessive to me an hour maybe 2 at the most

 

the carb is held on by two bolts, a gasket, and two or threewires for fuel/timing. it aint hard, and dang sure isnt a 1 hour job, let alone a 3.5 hour one. i would say hears 100$ sorry for wasting your time, go on ebay and find a carb for $50. buy a new gasket and toss it on.

i would not pay 500$ for a new carb to be installed on a 15hp motor. even with retail markup, it should be honestly 370, if the price of a new carb is 300

 

This is the reason I learned to do my own repairs back when.
The guys working in the shop were simply following
the steps outlined in the service manual. I could see the
manual lying open on the bench where they were working.
For the cost of the service manual, a specialty tool or two,
and an evening of my time, I knew what was being done
and that it was being done correctly. The OEM shop manuals
really do have all the procedures, specifications, pictures
and installation/wiring diagrams all in one place.
The manuals are designed for use by even the marginally mechanically inclined.
My new manual arrived yesterday. $75 from Merc on line.
No telling how much it will save me in the long term.

 

I gave them a little "punt" for ya !

Reposted thread on FS ...LOL

 

I really don't know how bad you messed up the carb, but any outboard tech could do ANYTHING to a carb in 3 hours. Hell, it only pays 1.5 hours to rebuild one. If they really worked on it for 3 hours, either the tech didn't know what he was doing or it was really screwed up. A new carb from Merc retails for $221.67 (Part # 9726t18).

I would have recommended replacement if it was that bad, but I imagine the guy didn't know what he was doing, which in that case you shouldn't have to pay that much. Any manager would understand your concern at that point.