TimeOnTheWater07
Jet Boat Lover
- Messages
- 26
- Reaction score
- 11
- Points
- 72
- Location
- Michigan
- Boat Make
- Yamaha
- Year
- 2021
- Boat Model
- SX
- Boat Length
- 19
I know this topic has been beaten to death, but there still seems to be some debate around winterizing strategies in groups I follow on facebook and a few folks on here. For those who don't do it themselves yet, below is my experience having 2 watercraft winterized by 2 different dealers. It may or may not change or confirm your approach should you want to start doing it yourself.
Background/watercraft:
I have a 2006 VX110 Waverunner and a new-to-me 2021 Yamaha SX190 that I picked up in August. In southeast Michigan, there’s only 2 dealers listed on Yamaha’s website, Wonderland (Howell, Pickney, Waterford) and Freeway Sport Center (Fenton). No real reason as to why, but I wanted a dealer to winterize the boat for the first time.
Dealers:
For the SX190, I took it to Wonderland (Howell). I had my Waverunner repaired there at the end of last year for a new stator and winterizing. It wasn’t a great experience (was in shop for +3 months), but I figured a simple boat winterizing and oil change would go smoother and chalked up last year to an unresponsive service advisor and part delays.
For the waverunner, I took it to Rosenau (Dearborn) for winterizing and an oil change. I've used them for years aside from last, and went back to them this year. Even though they specialize in bikes and ATVs, they were quick, thorough, and it’s a shorter drive.
Attached are images of the invoices for both dealers so you can see the costs breakdown.
Reviews:
Wonderland (Howell) – SX190 Boat:
The boat was returned within 2 weeks. Winterizing for them consists of blowing the water out and fogging the engine, along with an oil change. They do not run antifreeze through it and the person who cashed me out said that it can cause problems in the exhaust. He stated, as it’s been said many times, that the engines are self-draining. The owner’s manual never mentions antifreeze as well. They start the engine and rev it a few times, that’s it. He couldn’t tell me the order of operations between blowing the water out and fogging though. I obviously won’t be able to confirm the fogging until I start it in the spring, and hope for some smoke. The oil filter is new, so I know that was done as I mark mine before taking it in. Nothing was greased except for the intermediate bearing, as it is specifically mentioned. I haven’t taken the cover off to see if I can prove it. They list “inspecting” things, but I have no report to show that they did. For the price, I don’t see why they couldn’t lubricate the boat. My fault for not requesting it directly, although I’m sure that would have added at least another $100.
Zero value here and I’ll be winterizing the boat myself next year. Even purchasing spark plugs with them turned out to be a ripoff, but again, my fault.
Experience gripe (feel free to skip):
Their entire service department is staffed entirely with people who absolutely hate their jobs and appeared annoyed when asked very simple questions about what I was paying for. I’m referring only to the “service advisors” – can’t speak for the actual techs. Unpleasant from start to finish and I hope I don’t have to go back for any repairs any time soon. The service advisor who wrote me up when I dropped it off was probably new, because it was taking so long for him to look up the pre-canned job for winterizing an SX190, that he turned the monitor toward me so I could help search for it. Just one example.
I also asked if they were disposing of any shipping covers, and got 3 different stories and a “we’ll take your name down”, which no one ever did. I know they are not included with new boat sales by default, based on getting a quote with them last fall when I was considering buying new. They don’t owe me anything here, but a little effort would have gone a long way to make up for lack of customer service.
Anyone that gives them a positive review online has an incredibly low bar for customer service or high tolerance for being treated poorly.
Rosenau (Dearborn) – VX110 Waverunner:
The waverunner was done in 1 day, dropped on Friday, picked up on Saturday. Oil changed, antifreeze run through, everything was greased from the throttle to steering – end-to-end. Little messy on the traction mats but nothing I couldn’t clean up. I asked directly about antifreeze and the service manager had a pretty strong opinion, which led me to think he’s had customer complaints/issues in the past. He actually took me into the shop to show me the device they custom built to run antifreeze directly into the pump. It was a portion of a 55gal barrel cut down to fit under the intake with an electric pump to circulate the liquid. They don’t run it through the flush port.
Summary:
For winterizing the boat, I don't think I’ll mess with the antifreeze. While Wonderland did the absolute bare minimum, what the service advisor said about self-draining and how they winterize would make me feel comfortable skipping that step. If they had a bunch of people’s boats freezing and cracking, I would think they’d add the antifreeze step into their process. In general, winterizing for the jet boat felt like a total rip off and one expensive oil change. My plan would be to oil change, then blow out the water, then fog.
If anyone in SE Michigan has a better dealer recommendation for future service or repair for jet boats, please drop a reply. I believe Grand Pointe and Wonderland are the only 2 dealers that sell Yamaha jet boats in the general area.
Background/watercraft:
I have a 2006 VX110 Waverunner and a new-to-me 2021 Yamaha SX190 that I picked up in August. In southeast Michigan, there’s only 2 dealers listed on Yamaha’s website, Wonderland (Howell, Pickney, Waterford) and Freeway Sport Center (Fenton). No real reason as to why, but I wanted a dealer to winterize the boat for the first time.
Dealers:
For the SX190, I took it to Wonderland (Howell). I had my Waverunner repaired there at the end of last year for a new stator and winterizing. It wasn’t a great experience (was in shop for +3 months), but I figured a simple boat winterizing and oil change would go smoother and chalked up last year to an unresponsive service advisor and part delays.
For the waverunner, I took it to Rosenau (Dearborn) for winterizing and an oil change. I've used them for years aside from last, and went back to them this year. Even though they specialize in bikes and ATVs, they were quick, thorough, and it’s a shorter drive.
Attached are images of the invoices for both dealers so you can see the costs breakdown.
Reviews:
Wonderland (Howell) – SX190 Boat:
The boat was returned within 2 weeks. Winterizing for them consists of blowing the water out and fogging the engine, along with an oil change. They do not run antifreeze through it and the person who cashed me out said that it can cause problems in the exhaust. He stated, as it’s been said many times, that the engines are self-draining. The owner’s manual never mentions antifreeze as well. They start the engine and rev it a few times, that’s it. He couldn’t tell me the order of operations between blowing the water out and fogging though. I obviously won’t be able to confirm the fogging until I start it in the spring, and hope for some smoke. The oil filter is new, so I know that was done as I mark mine before taking it in. Nothing was greased except for the intermediate bearing, as it is specifically mentioned. I haven’t taken the cover off to see if I can prove it. They list “inspecting” things, but I have no report to show that they did. For the price, I don’t see why they couldn’t lubricate the boat. My fault for not requesting it directly, although I’m sure that would have added at least another $100.
Zero value here and I’ll be winterizing the boat myself next year. Even purchasing spark plugs with them turned out to be a ripoff, but again, my fault.
Experience gripe (feel free to skip):
Their entire service department is staffed entirely with people who absolutely hate their jobs and appeared annoyed when asked very simple questions about what I was paying for. I’m referring only to the “service advisors” – can’t speak for the actual techs. Unpleasant from start to finish and I hope I don’t have to go back for any repairs any time soon. The service advisor who wrote me up when I dropped it off was probably new, because it was taking so long for him to look up the pre-canned job for winterizing an SX190, that he turned the monitor toward me so I could help search for it. Just one example.
I also asked if they were disposing of any shipping covers, and got 3 different stories and a “we’ll take your name down”, which no one ever did. I know they are not included with new boat sales by default, based on getting a quote with them last fall when I was considering buying new. They don’t owe me anything here, but a little effort would have gone a long way to make up for lack of customer service.
Anyone that gives them a positive review online has an incredibly low bar for customer service or high tolerance for being treated poorly.
Rosenau (Dearborn) – VX110 Waverunner:
The waverunner was done in 1 day, dropped on Friday, picked up on Saturday. Oil changed, antifreeze run through, everything was greased from the throttle to steering – end-to-end. Little messy on the traction mats but nothing I couldn’t clean up. I asked directly about antifreeze and the service manager had a pretty strong opinion, which led me to think he’s had customer complaints/issues in the past. He actually took me into the shop to show me the device they custom built to run antifreeze directly into the pump. It was a portion of a 55gal barrel cut down to fit under the intake with an electric pump to circulate the liquid. They don’t run it through the flush port.
Summary:
For winterizing the boat, I don't think I’ll mess with the antifreeze. While Wonderland did the absolute bare minimum, what the service advisor said about self-draining and how they winterize would make me feel comfortable skipping that step. If they had a bunch of people’s boats freezing and cracking, I would think they’d add the antifreeze step into their process. In general, winterizing for the jet boat felt like a total rip off and one expensive oil change. My plan would be to oil change, then blow out the water, then fog.
If anyone in SE Michigan has a better dealer recommendation for future service or repair for jet boats, please drop a reply. I believe Grand Pointe and Wonderland are the only 2 dealers that sell Yamaha jet boats in the general area.
