Interesting service bulletin from Mercury Racing

[Magicfloat]

Any blue motors that were invoiced to boat builder 3 years prior to retail sale will have no warranty.Over 8.5 litre,2 years from invoice,no warranty. With the market like it is,I'm sure there some new boats out there that will fall into this catagory. While I understand Merc's reasoning on one hand,sure is going to make it hard for the dealer to sell a brand new 2 or 3 year old boat if the engines will be sold "as-is". Fortunately,I don't have any that will be affected,but I'll bet there are some out there. Seems unfair to me,what do y'all think?

[Bgchuby01]

just another way of mercury saying they are broke

[HPOffshore]

Some of the marine diesel manufacturers(bigger inboards) are starting the warranty-clock ticking at a certain pre-determined time after dealer invoicing, regardless of the unit being retail sold or not.

[MattBMiller]

That's probably going to make alot of dealers think twice before ordering a boat for inventory....

[Davidmnc]

That's probably going to make alot of dealers think twice before ordering a boat for inventory....



Dealers are going to have to attach after market warranties to there aged inventory in order to get customers to take these older units. It’s hard to sell aged inventory to begin with. In the current market dealers are discounting no-so aged inventory like never before, and that makes 2-3 yo units that much harder to sell. At least that is what is going on in the RV world. Our friends in the boat bus can confirm if they are doing the same thing.

[J.T.]

8.5 liter and above means 850 and up,
.....how many of these new pieces do boat manufacturers
and dealers have lying around ?....I wouldn't think
it would be as common to have them sitting around
as say it would be to have the 502 based engines.

[Bradz]

Something to consider is this. How many time do we see boat never titled yet driven. Dealers use boats all the time for Poker Runs that Mercury is on the hook for. Then the boat is sold with the warranty. Lots of games are played on warranty time frames. When time are tight I can see why Mercury is doing this. If dealer has not sold a boat in two or three years that is a problem of another nature anyway.

[Chris]

I wonder if this conflicts with federal and state laws governing warranties?

[Magicfloat]

Wondered about that myself. The warranty for each product is printed and available to prospective buyers. But maybe Merc can change them anytime,it's their engine. However,if I bought a blue motor boat 3 years ago and have not sold it yet,shouldn't it still have the warranty it had when I bought it,1 year from retail sale?Merc may or may not be on firm legal ground,but it is still a poor marketing decision,IMO

[Marginmn]

Makes you wonder if they are seeing much higher warranty issues on engines that sit idle for years before being sold?

[Sean H]

i'd be surprised if the orginal contract didn't already have some sort of time limit already (I am sure merc has some good attorneys reviewing their contracts), maybe they are just enforcing it now? but really, where do you draw the line? 3 years? 5 years? 10 years?

and what happens to the valve springs that sit compressed for 3 years in that 1075?

[Wrinkleface]

BS, buyer looses again in an already stirred up industry & poor country economy!! I know of dealers that have driven the Chit out of a "demo boat" and not start the warranty until a customer took delivery!! That may need 2 B looked into! Can't disagree there! But in an expensive & elective market, I think Merc is given themselves a beer enema!!! More people & manufacturers should B look'n at other companies 4 engines if possible! U would almost think the opposite, give an extended period an get or keep a customer!!! Not screw somebody 4 buy'n a "NEW" boat!!!!!

[HPBoats83]

I agree, I think this is total Bull S. I think that it's going to start hurting the manufacturers more then anybody. The way that I see things happening are:

1) Manufacture builds a boat for inventory, doesn't sell due to economy or other factors, then one day,

2) Customer finally wants to buy a new boat, but wants a full warranty and forces manufacture to replace the engine in the inventory boat with one that has a full warranty. Atleast that's what I would do if I was to purchase a new boat, or I would look to a different manufacture/dealer.

[Offshoredrillin]

8.5 liter and above means 850 and up,
.....how many of these new pieces do boat manufacturers
and dealers have lying around ?....I wouldn't think
it would be as common to have them sitting around
as say it would be to have the 502 based engines.
I think it means 500/525's and up. my 496 in my truck is an 8.1

[Magicfloat]

Up to 8.2 blue motors,3 years,8.5 and up,2 years. Doesn't affect black motors,as far as I know.

[Wrinkleface]

Up to 8.2 blue motors,3 years,8.5 and up,2 years. Doesn't affect black motors,as far as I know.

It sounds like motor racism 2 me!!!!!:smilielol5:

[Magicfloat]

:)

[inbetween]

give an extended period an get or keep a customer!!!

I see this practice all the time at the auto dealer I work for. This has to affect the bottom line of the manufacturer, they're footing that bill. I wonder how this practice has affected the state of the auto industry.

[stainless]

Any blue motors that were invoiced to boat builder 3 years prior to retail sale will have no warranty.Over 8.5 litre,2 years from invoice,no warranty. With the market like it is,I'm sure there some new boats out there that will fall into this catagory. While I understand Merc's reasoning on one hand,sure is going to make it hard for the dealer to sell a brand new 2 or 3 year old boat if the engines will be sold "as-is". Fortunately,I don't have any that will be affected,but I'll bet there are some out there. Seems unfair to me,what do y'all think?

Sounds like Bullchit to me!:03::dupe::boxing_smiley:

[BOJOE2]

that suuuks

[Cash Bar]

There is a large selection of unsold 2007 models about to be functionally un-sellable due to this BS. I see a LOT of Donzis in particular still new on the lots.

[cigdaze]

What sort of contract are these motors sold with. And 3 years from when? When the mfg bought it? When the mfg installed it? First fire? Dealership delivery?

[JIMKIDMOTORSPORT]

the dealers brought it on them selfs by not registering theses motors for the warranty to start runninng the hell out of them in pker runs and then start the warrenty and want mercury to fix em for the customer self indused

[Magicfloat]

What about a boat that has sat in shrinkwrap for 2 years and the builder had it for a year before selling it to the dealer? I understand your point completely,there are lots of abuses,but some brand new,never run boats will fall into the trap. Merc should have a way to protect the real brand new boats.Somehow,I trust Merc will address this.

[Wrinkleface]

Somehow,I trust Merc will address this.

U R so politically correct Rob!!!!!!!!!:26:

[LaughingCat]

Seems logical that from this point forward, retailers will order the boats without power and have a rapid install process ready for the sale. buyers will contend with waiting a week or two for their new boat or buying something sitting around with reduced or as-is warranty status.

[jhenrie]

There is a limit on black motors too. My bud went through this with a pair of 350 mags. Dealer had them sitting for a while never registered. When he tried to register them after selling them and installing them in the boat , merc said they were too old! Now they're in the boat , no warranty. As part of this deal my bud traded in his 350 mags that the warranty was about to expire. The dealer filed a claim for warranty work on them , the old engines , and got paid for it!!

[Geronimo36]

where do you draw the line? 3 years? 5 years? 10 years?

and what happens to the valve springs that sit compressed for 3 years in that 1075?

Seriously, it's gotta be drawn somewhere....

And about the valve springs... Mercury should have some kind of proceedure, like loosening the lash, for long-term storage if they're going to honor any warranty...

This goes along with how I feel about boats that sit for a long time; I'd rather buy a boat with 75 hrs that has been used the last 3 years than a boat with 25 hours that hasn't been used in 2-3 years.

[midwest272]

Is'nt there a way for merc. to force the dealers to submit usage documents before warranty is issued. This could work for everyone, keep the abuse down and make deals for boats that have been ran.


Bye the way cool site

[BUIZILLA]

And about the valve springs... Mercury should have some kind of proceedure, like loosening the lash, for long-term storage if they're going to honor any warranty... great suggestion, there's a LOT of truth in this statement, especially blue motors.......

[TSPM]

Just had a long conversation the other day about BOAT mfg's vs AUTO/TRUCK mfg.

The boat industry is so so different.......dealers have to pay for part if not all boat show expenses where auot makers do national shows and support each event. Also boats are so much a component build......the use of several parts from different mfg's make up a boat just like a custom home. You have a drive issue its the drive mfg, electronics same thing and so on. Only the hull and the interior stuff is covered by the builder. Where if you buy a Ford, Toyota, Honda etc and you have an issue....its all their components and no passing the buck to this guy or that guy. Its difficult from the dealer side to chase the "OTHER GUYS" down to get something replaced under warranty. Advertising as well ...... most auot makers have national campaigns for the good of the dealer netwoork, REBATE too, as well as helping dealers move and exchange product to clear old inventory from stock....not so in the boat world.

[Davidmnc]

Just had a long conversation the other day about BOAT mfg's vs AUTO/TRUCK mfg.

The boat industry is so so different.......dealers have to pay for part if not all boat show expenses where auot makers do national shows and support each event. Also boats are so much a component build......the use of several parts from different mfg's make up a boat just like a custom home. You have a drive issue its the drive mfg, electronics same thing and so on. Only the hull and the interior stuff is covered by the builder. Where if you buy a Ford, Toyota, Honda etc and you have an issue....its all their components and no passing the buck to this guy or that guy. Its difficult from the dealer side to chase the "OTHER GUYS" down to get something replaced under warranty. Advertising as well ...... most auot makers have national campaigns for the good of the dealer netwoork, REBATE too, as well as helping dealers move and exchange product to clear old inventory from stock....not so in the boat world.


The RV business is the same way. RV and Marine dealers stick there necks out much further than auto dealers do.

[HPOffshore]

The folks @ Merc Racing aren't blind...they've seen boats that are known to be in dealer stock, flying through the air @ 100mph in various poker run events and/or photographs. Not defending the "corporations", but they know that a 2yr.old boat from a struggling dealer that was used a couple of times, a couple of years ago and still not sold, might not have gotten proper care over time. Once again, an example of how economic conditions can change the entire landscape. When sales are good, a marine engine company can afford to support it's products to the end-users 100%(as well as dealers & builders that are doing the on-the-water marketing for them, by not cutting-off warranty access). When manufactures are slowed-down, engine sales are slowed down, everyone wants to cut costs and liability, everywhere possible. It looks like drawing-the-line is exactly what Merc is doing. Why would they want to warranty a pair of 850's that are in a boat @ National Liquidators from a defunct dealership that may have had questionable care & maintainence? Information is power...get the S/N's and check them for status and warranty eligability thru an authorized dealer.

[MarylandMark]

Smartcraft- any thing after say 10 hours, the dealer has to pay for warranty, lose the warranty or whatever.

New cars have like a 5K milage limit before they can't be sold as new that works some thing like this

[HPOffshore]

...just read the bulletin myself(not direct quoting here):
For units over 1yr. since factory invoice date, Merc has a verification procedure of maintainence items that need attention to preserve warranty status. This applies up until the unit(s) reach the cut-off date(2 or 3 years from invoice date). After that, they recommend noting on the bill-of-sale; "unit is sold as-is with no warranty", for purposes of customer satisfaction(or full disclosure, depending on your relative point-of-view). Units still need to registered w/ Merc Racing at time of retail sale so tracking of any outstanding recalls and TSB's can be taken care of.
MM,
The maintainence procedure for preserving the warranty eligability(after the first year) involves many things like spinning dry-sump pumps(drives & motors) to prime, changing of blower and tail-stock lubes, all filters, etc....not things that can be tracked by PCM/Smartcraft alone.

[Magicfloat]

Black motors have 6 years from date of manufacture

[cpmarine]

A lot of dealers and manufactures have been cheating the system for years. Sell a boat but not register the warranty with Merc for a year. The customer gets a year of extended warranty for free. They have to cut back somewhere, or Mercruiser will be just like the auto industry. I wonder when Brunswick is going to Washington crying for a bail out? They're hurting and have just as much right to it as GM or Ford.

[Fever Mike]

I thought the warranty starts the day a product is sold to the end consumer?!?!?

[MarylandMark]

MM,
The maintenance procedure for preserving the warranty eligibility(after the first year) involves many things like spinning dry-sump pumps(drives & motors) to prime, changing of blower and tail-stock lubes, all filters, etc....not things that can be tracked by PCM/Smartcraft alone.

Thanks for the info- I am clueless on how all that stuff works; turn batt's one, turn keys and go. LOL

It would keep dealerships from demo'ing them too long if that were one of the main reasons for making this move. Seems that it will do more harm than good- esp in this market.

My Merc warranty started the day I took delivery of my boat

They are Merc so therefore this is how it will be. :willy_nilly:

[OneBadInjun]

I know I would not want a new hi-perf motor, warrantied or not, that has sat for three years, without at least all the valve springs replaced.

[old377guy]

regarding the "demo" hours put on motors before a sale: isn't the whole run history on the ECM? why wouldn't the warranty start ticking after a certain electronically verified point?- Jeff