will mc dealer service disclose PO's service history?

[brucemac]

no problem or hate, just askin. just curious.

with hull id and motor s/n of course! :)

[Ric]

I cannot answer that but I often wonder what service history will do for you other than peace of mind? If you are still under warranty and they use the previous owners service history against you in a warranty case, I feel like they should show it to you. Otherwise, I don't know of its usefulness

[djhuff]

I would think it would not be in the dealer's best interest to disclose this unless it was an ideal, all oil changes and maintenance done at exact intervals at the dealership. Anything abnormal that may turn off a new buyer would probably be a little harder to get out of them, especially if the seller was looking t buy a new boat after the sale.

[Rich-Atlanta]

I purchased my PS 190 from Red Line Watersports in Madison, WI they disclosed all service records good and bad.

[brucemac]

yeah, just curious really. would be interested to learn more about it's service history is all. my boat came with pretty much no service records and i bought out of state from a private seller. granted it only had 60 hours on it when i bought it, but would just be curious to see what i could find out is all. no point really i suppose and i guess it's probably dealer dependent as well as the circumstances. no issues with the boat, just curiosity and also wanted to know for future purchases.

[JimN]

A dealer can contact MC with the hull ID and get any info on any warranty claims that were submitted. Trouble is that some dealers are pretty lax about this, which is really stupid, since they'll never collect for warranty work unless they file these.

I guess there are privacy issues unless the PO's info is deleted but all it takes to cover that is contact the PO and ask permission/inform them that the info will be given out.

If a dealer has integrity, they'll include everything.

Some info, like a string of previous overheats will make me ask:
A) Was the PO a stickler for details when it comes to pre-run checklist?
B) Did they just run it as hard as possible and never watch the gauges?
C) Was all of the other service done according to the schedule?

If I know a motor has been overheated, especially repeatedly, I wouldn't buy it unless the price drops significantly. Castings and gaskets don't like being overheated.

[brucemac]

jimn does that cost the dealer money to do that?

i have a hunch they probably did their first few scheduled visits and that's about it aside from winterization. i can't be for sure, but that's my guess. again only 60 hours. the paint on the impeller cover screws had not even been cracked so it appears they had never changed the impeller. i also know they had their calipers done under warranty (03 brake issue). aside from that, that's all i really know. oh, and i know they either replaced or repaired their prop and he gave me the story behind that. extremely pleased with the boat. just curiosity. oh, and it's in much better hands now. :)

[mayo93prostar]

call and ask the dealer! what do you have to loose, they say no?

[Roonie's]

I have 55 hours on mine and only two seasons now. First season had the 20 hour oil change new break in. Then had it all changed again at end of season for winterization including transmission. Thats it so far for my boat.

When I winterize it again in amonth or two I will have oil and tranny changed again as well as its first impeller change.

[JimN]

"jimn does that cost the dealer money to do that?"

If you mean call MC about service history, it shouldn't and didn't when I worked for the dealers. It may not come too fast when they're busy, but the other option is to have the dealer contact the PO and ask for all of their history or permission to give their contact info out to the prospective buyer.

"i have a hunch they probably did their first few scheduled visits and that's about it aside from winterization. i can't be for sure, but that's my guess. again only 60 hours."

If you read the threads and posts here, most don't want to take their boat to the dealer, regardless of whether the dealer is supposed to do certain things to make sure the boat doesn't have any inherent issues, like a new model sometimes can. The 25 hr is more critical than most others because some things can shift out of alignment and cause big problems but from what I see, most people don't do everything in the 50 and 100 hour intervals, yet I would guess that the vast majority of boat owners never do anything more with their cars than drive to the dealer for service, even though the car costs less. Look in the owner's manual or ask a dealer for the 25/50/100 hour checklist- you'll see oil/filter change, fuel filter, run diagnostics, tune up, prop shaft and strut alignment, check for loose bolts/clamps, grease steering components, and a lot of other things. Do most people do everything on the list? Not a chance, judging from the questions I see here. Do people perform a pre-launch checklist? From seeing that some people haven't had a working bilge blower in years, I have to say NO.

Now, in case anyone thinks I am saying that an inept dealer should see every boat they sell for service, along with all of the ones they sold before, I'm not. What all boat owners need to do is hold their dealers up to certain standards of quality. There aren't very many in the first place and a boat owner doesn't really have the option of going to another one a few miles down the road if they decide that theirs isn't doing a good job. A good dealer/servicer will be worth their weight in gold, to a boat owner. They'll get the job done right the first time, they'll waste less time searching for a problem that they should have learned about at training, they'll have the most commonly needed parts in stock and they'll save a lot of vacations from disaster. A bad dealer, not so much.