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Nissan/Tohatsu warantee

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tinob
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1883 Posts

Initially Posted - 01/07/2006 : 12:05:32

I contacted Chris at onlineoutboards today regarding concerns expressed here about warantees. He assured me/us that, "NO PREDELIVERY INSPECTION form is required and that this is an attempt for dealers to scare people into using their extremely expensive services and overpaying for engines! IT IS NOT REQUIRED !!!!!!!!!!!The warranty is 100 % VALID without the pre-delivery inspection"

The above remarks are a quote from Chris.

Take a deep breath and relax

Val on the hard DAGNABIT # 3936

Val Bisagni]

Edited by - on

AADIVER
Admiral

Members Avatar

USA
966 Posts

Response Posted - 01/07/2006 : 19:57:02

All's well that ends well. Here's Chris' reply to my "beef":
And BTW, engine remounted, starts and purrs like a dream.

"Hi John,

I have had a chance to speak with my service manager at our dealership
and this is what we can do.

I understand your frustration with your engine not being able to start
using the electric start out of the box. I also understand this was a
simple fix by the dealer as the engine was slightly engaged in gear when
you attempted to start it, thus engaging the neutral safety switch, and
would not allow the engine to fire up. The neutral safety switch is a
standard safety feature on all outboards. It also would have been
corrected using the trouble shooting guide in the owner's manual, or my
initial response item #1 in our previous email correspondence.

Your "dealer" however, in my opinion, has ripped you off and has misled
you. We would NEVER charge anyone $85.00 for a pre-delivery inspection,
one that isn't even required by the manufacturer for warranty purposes
as they mislead you to believe. Your dealer has flat out lied to you
and you can contact the manufacturer directly to confirm this. ALL
Tohatsu/Nissan outboards are FACTORY TANK TESTED before being crated!
Tohatsu/Nissan's warranty labor rate (on covered items) is more along
the lines of $30.00 for this type of issue, not $85.00. The fix to your
issue took less than 60 seconds. The pre-delivery inspection should not
take more than 20 minutes tops. Keep in mind, that the problem you had
was not a warranty covered item as it is considered by the manufacturer
as a simple trouble shooting issue, kind of like not hooking up the gas
line or the safety stop lanyard properly. Another words, it would be a
standard check item as the manual states (making sure the engine was in
the neutral position). The problem is that people try to shift the
engine without the engine running, thus no back pressure on the
propeller and the bullet in the lower unit that engages forward-reverse
gears. The shift mechanism is mechanical and relies on backpressure from
the exhaust to slowly turn the propeller allowing the bullet to do its
job. If you notice, when the engine is in neutral the propeller is
turning just slightly. This provides the movement needed to allow the
bullet to engage the gear. When the shifter is moved while the engine
is not running, it causes it to jam and engage the neutral safety
switch. It is something to be careful about and check in the future
should you have trouble starting the engine in the future.

I understand you wish us to pay $85.00 to reimburse you for expenses
with your "dealer". We are willing to refund you $42.50 (1/2 your bill)
for your troubles with the following reasons:

1. This problem could have been resolved via our initial email (item #1)
or by phone, and it is an issue that would be classified as something
that could occur with any outboard on occasion (standard check item). I
understand that you may be new to this issue and not familiar with it.

2. We never heard from you following our first email to you (we asked
you to contact US if the 3 listed trouble-shooting items didn't solve
your issue, of which item #1 would have). We would have been happy to
help locate a reputable dealer to perform this work for you at a
reasonable rate if it proved necessary, which in this case it doesn't
seem it should have been necessary at all. In addition, most reputable
dealers would have performed this service at no charge, the neutral
safety issue fix, as it takes virtually no time to solve and educate the
customer about. We have done this with many customers who have purchased
elsewhere - its part of being a Tohatsu/Nissan dealer. Had there been
communication between you and our dealership we would have never
authorized $85.00 for this type of issue and would have gotten
Tohatsu/Nissan involved if necessary to see a more reasonable rate out
of this dealer or found another dealer who I'm confident would have done
it at either a much lesser rate or no charge at all.

If you'd like, we'd be happy to credit your card by $42.50. Please let
me know if you would like us to do so. We apologize you had this
inconvenience with your new outboard. We wish you would have contacted
us before electing to take it to this dealer and having this bad
experience. Please let me know if there is anything else I can help with
either now or in the future.

Thank you,
Chris Collins
National Sales Manager
www.onlineoutboards.com
Email: sales@onlineoutboards.com"

Edited by - on

AADIVER
Admiral

Members Avatar

USA
966 Posts

Response Posted - 01/09/2006 : 16:56:38

Again, from Chris @ onlineoutboards.com:

Hi John,

1.) Tohatsu/Nissan's recommended service center for your area is:

Company Min-Mar Marine Center
Address 1519 W. Anaheim St.
Long Beach CA 90813
Phone 562-590-5055
Fax 562-590-9271

2.)Duplicate bill of sale on the way per your request!

3.) Confirmed again with Allan in service @ Tohatsu/Nissan(and informed him
about your situation) that NO PREDELIVERY INSPECTION is required for
warranty purposes and you should never "dry-shift" the engine when its not
running because of the neutral saftey issue we've been discussing.

Hope all is smooth sailing from this point forward! Enjoy your new
outboard!!!

Thanks again,
Chris Collins
National Sales Manager
Web: http://www.onlineoutboards.com
E-Mail: sales@onlineoutboards.com

P.S. If you're sharing this with the board, you may want to post this
message so others in your area can see the recommended service center also.
We love helping all our sailboaters out there in need of engines with the
best prices around on one of the best engines for the job. We have many
satisfied sailboaters using engines obtained from www.onlineoutboards.com
and we value each of them and their referrals. The dealer mentioned in the
email above doesn't sell engines either; they are an authorized service
dealer only and specialize in servicing. Many "service-only" dealers exist
around the country and are sometimes a better alternative to the stuck-up
dealers that try to make a killing on the engine sale and the service
following the sale. A lot of these dealers try to scare customers with the
service aspect, but the truth is that the maker, Tohatsu/Nissan, is the
ultimate entity standing behind the product and reimbursing the dealer for
the expense of warranty service. I have sold Tohatsu/Nissan engines for 15
years and out of all the brands I've handled over the years they are the
absolute best when it comes to standing behind their product. Please wish
everyone on the board a Happy New Year from www.onlineoutboards.com! Happy
sailing!!!

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