A few years ago, I purchased a new 15-foot skiff with an outboard motor. I only used it about a dozen times before life got in the way, and it ended up sitting unused for a couple of years. When I finally had the chance to get back on the water, I noticed the motor wasn’t running well. I took it to a mechanic, making it clear several times that I didn’t have much money to spend and requested an estimate before any work was done. He assured me each time that he would call with an estimate before proceeding with any repairs.

Two weeks later, the mechanic calls and tells me he’s worked on the motor, got it running great, and that I owe $800 when I pick it up. No parts were replaced, and I never agreed to any work beyond an estimate.

I don’t have $800, and now I’m worried my boat is being held hostage until I can come up with the money. The boat and motor together are worth around $5,000.

Is this standard practice, or should I challenge this somehow? I did not consent to $800 worth of work, and now my property is being held until I pay. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

when a boat sits for 2 years there are a lot of things that happen that has to be done draining fuel cleaning the fuel system water pump gear lube depends on what was done it may be a fair price . dont know how you expect someone to fix something that has a lot of possibilities. when someone tells me that their boat has set for 2 years i tell them to take it somewhere else so they can be mad at them.

The price sounds very reasonable under the circumstances BUT they were not authorized to work on it, only make an estimate. Tough deal, maybe try to compromise with a discounted price and release of boat, maybe with payments. Otherwise if you did not sign a service authorization they may have to eat the repair bill....

I can take both sides of this story. The bill sounds fair ASSUMING they actually did $800 worth of work, I'd have to see the invoice/repair notes. With most shops in the 100-150 an hour range, that's 8 hours (full day) to 5 ish hours (little over half day) of him tinkering with it, cleaning the fuel system, etc, although I am surprised there are not a few parts added to the bill. Spark plugs, water pump, gear lube, tune up/service type parts. But overall an $800 repair bill for the story you've posted sounds more than reasonable.

Now, as far as authorizing charges, this is a big gray area for us too. As a shop owner, we do our absolute best to work with people's budgets, and I believe that's part of our job to discuss a repair with a customer beforehand. It sounds like you attempted to do this with your shop, and they didn't follow through on their end. That's their fault.

I've gotten in the habit at our shop of getting a loose "spending limit". It's a hard thing to do, because you don't want to sound like you're pre-spending someone's money, but it gives our technician's a loose rope to run with to fix someone's motor. I used to have the catchphrase "call ya if it's over $500?" I've now amended that to "call ya if it's over $1000?", because with the increased cost of labor and parts, it's rare that we can fix a motor without getting into that range. Not saying it doesn't happen, but by the time we spend a few hours troubleshooting, a few hundred bucks of parts, bam, you're there most of the time.

In summary, the shop should've clarified with you better when you dropped it off what they thought they were gonna spend on it. I have a pretty good idea most of the time at least what range I think a boat repair is going to get into, and it's my job to communicate that with a customer. It's not uncommon that every few weeks, someone will go home because I give them a quote in the parking lot, they determine they don't wanna spend that much, so they leave. As much as I hate to watch business drive off, I think that's more professional than doing to them what was just done to you: spending more of their money than they were willing to pay, and ending up in a bad situation.

If you signed a work order acknowledging their hourly rate and asking for said repairs to be completed (we have every customer sign said release), then you are on the hook for it. If you did not, then you have some recourse with the shop owner. I'm sorry you experienced poor communication from the repair shop of your choosing, but rest assured that bill does sound fair, if you decide to go ahead and cover it and pick your boat up (assuming they did a good job!!)

What year, brand, and hp? 2 or 4 stroke?

$800 is about right. I would question the "no parts". If it has sat unused for that period of time, replacement of the impeller and lower unit oil should have been shown on the invoice.

Boat and motor maintenance/repair ain't cheap. This is why I perform my own routine maintenance. Parts for my 100 hour service was around $150. I can do it all in an afternoon and save the $300 labor fee.

Have a cop go with you and discuss your options...

Police won't get involved as its a civil matter

Be polite and discuss the issue with your repairman.

He probably thinks $800 is cheap.

BE POLITE !!

Everybody keeps talking about "$800 seems fair", but to me It seems to me the issue is not the cost, but that the service center/tech did the work without being authorized to do so... The OP even specifically mentioned wanting an estimate before any work is done.

Can't speak for everyone, but I would not be looking to pay that bill, and would be talking to the manager for an adjustment. I wouldn't expect it for free, but would expect them to remove the labor costs at least, and possisbly parts cost adjusted as well.