Estimate vs actual bill was huge difference. On top of it, there were a number of things that weren't fixed at all and had to be done again. I paid to have the trim-tabs fixed twice, and then they still didn't work - his response was to say that the bumpy roads must have loosened something - and he charged me again to come out and fix. As soon as I got the boat back, I noticed my ground-wire for the engine/lower-unit was broken/dangling. His response was that I must have hit the dock when I took the boat (1. I *backed out*, 2. there's no way that anything could have reached that 6in wire without smashing the entire outboard).
Here's the best part: I had a brand new kicker that had 20 hrs on it, but I dragged it and spun the prop/lower unit out - I bought a new lower-unit but it turns out that water got into the head and it seized. I got Gordon to replace that with a brand new kicker, and I had him hang on to the replaced unit so I could eventually use for parts (new lower, electronics, trim pump). I just asked when I could pick that up and he told me "sorry... I took that to the dump a week after I did your job". He knew I intended to keep that, and just threw it out? What mechanic would throw away all those brand new spare parts? That's right - no one would. Hope he at least got good money for that...
It's a small community, and I've heard essentially the story thing from a couple other trusted buddies. read more
