Two strokes and you're out

We get inquiry day in and day out now with people telling us that dealers will not look at their two stroke craft. There are a number of reasons that this is the case.

Firstly some of the watercraft dealerships have not been around long enough to have been immersed in the two stroke era so they do not have the techs with the skill set to work on them competently.

Second reason is that these craft have now not been in manufacture for over a decade in the case of runabout models leaving only the trusty Yamaha Superjet as a current two stroke model. This poses the problem that the factory service life for the craft is now over but as Kiwis we are never going to let that be a barrier.

Third and by no means the last reason is that under our consumer laws, If we touch your old ski and it has ongoing problems we can end up married to it irrespective of the initial problem we looked at not being the next problem that stops it. This is not a scenario any of the shops want to get involved in.

When a customer asks how much it is going to cost to fix a problem on an old ski, my answer may appear rude but it will cost what it costs. There is no telling how many bolts will break, how much wiring is rotten or how much water has been where it shouldn't have over time. Facts are they are bloody expensive to work on.

As a business its safe to say if I am ever owed money for a job its usually from a two stroke and some other issue has occurred that is now "my problem".

Just a thought when your next looking at a used ski and wondering who will be working on it come service or repair.