I own a small vintage boat with a 1957 Evinrude 35hp Big Twin outboard that had been sitting for a couple of years. I took it out of mothballs and wanted to get it tuned up and running, but was having trouble getting it started.
There aren't many people who work on old outboards, so after a couple of obvious take-the-money scenarios, I found these guys, who claim that old motors are their specialty. I drove an hour to take them my boat, and they said they'd get back to me in a couple of days. The place is an old cinderblock building, with old stuff piled everywhere - Dirty, disorganized, and totally run-down. I should have run for it then...
A week went by before they called to say that my starter was bad, and that they couldn't even determine if the motor would run until they replaced it, which would cost "around 5-600$. This is an expensive horse you're riding". Their cost for a starter - $239.00. I had a spare strter, which they refused to use. I found an NOS one online for $150, but they wouldn't use that either. Finally I said never mind, and they began to call me and bug me about coming to get my boat.
I commute 1 1/2 hours during the week, which I explained to them, and said I'd be back on the next weekend to get my boat. I got 2 calls telling me it had to go. Finally I got down there and picked it up, and they charged me $89 for labor just to determine that the starter was bad. I also got a flat on my truck from pulling into their dirty, junk-strewn boat yard.
So next I took it to a trusted member of the Antique Outboard Club, which I found existed just after all this. The guy they recommended spent a day on it, charged me $125 to get it running perfectly, and said that there was NOTHING wrong with the starter AT ALL! Once it was cleaned and tuned, it was FINE. $600, eh, boys? Outright LIES!
And when the screw holding the case was removed, DIRT fell out, proving that Heritage hadn't even OPENED the motor!
So, I'm only out $89, but if I had trusted these cranky old shysters, I could have spend well over $600 for who-knows-what! COMPLETE advantage-taking by a couple of worn-out grumpy old men who think the world owes them a living for showing up to their cinderblock shack. DO NOT TRUST THESE PEOPLE - THEY ARE UNCARING AND UNSCRUPULOUS! Go to the Antique Outboard Motor Club and find a reputable mechanic!