Boaters beware

[basscat1102]

Too all,

I would like to inform all boat owners to be cautious about who rebuilds your  out board motor. I recently had my 2.4 mercury rebuild by Blackbird Industries in PA. I contacted Mike Jr. through an EBay ad he had  concerning rebuilt Mercury motors.  Mike had told over the phone that he could rebuild my motor if I sent it to him for $2600.00 with a one year warranty.  I was excited to hear that because every shop in my area wanted more and less warranty. I was so excited that I told my fishing partner about what I had found, he also was looking for a rebuild. I contacted Mike Jr again a few days later and this time my fishing partner ( Don) was listening on speaker phone so he could  here the deal I found. Mike told us both  that If I sent him the entire power head complete, he would sleeve all 6 cylinders and rebuild the carbs and do a cylinder finishing called Plato Finishing which is supposed to make a motor last a lot longer. And he make sure all is in great working order to fish the 2009 season. He said he would do all this for $3000.00 plus shipping. I though this was still a great deal, because Mercury wanted $4000.00 for a all steel sleeved replacement motor plus shipping.  So I pulled it shipped it to him and sent the money. I received the motor back 3 days later, YES I said 3 days. I could not believe it. It looked perfect. ( on the outside ). I called Blackbird again to confirm that the work I was quoted was completed and had to talk to a female clerk. ( I assume she's a clerk). She confirmed that what mike quoted was done, so I asked for a work sheet of what was done or invoice explaining the work performed. YES they sent it back to me with no invoice. ????? I received the invoice and all it said was 2.4 LTR  MERCURY POWER HEAD/REMANUFACTURED . I again called to confirm that I received a 2.4 litter motor with all 6 cylinders sleeved and rebuilt carbs, She again told me that  what I was quoted is what I received.  I only wanted to make sure because the invoice was not describing the work received.

A few weeks later on a Saturday I decided to install the power head and complete the boat. After installation, we fired it up. After about 5 minutes of warm up time I noticed the head gaskets, pop it valve, rear exhaust plate and thermostat were all leaking water. (pretty bad) I called Mike back and asked him if there is some thing I missed or was supposed to do before starting it up. He replied NO just tighten every thing a little and go run it on the lake. I tighten the heads to his specs and tighten up all bolts but the water leaks did not stop.  I called Mike again but could not reach him, but I talked to a Stan. I told the story again. He requested we put new head gaskets on and replace the other gaskets, I agreed that this would make me feel better. I also told him that I found a crack in the rear exhaust plate and that appeared to be why there was a water leak in that area.  He replied he would send me a replacement. I waited for a few days and a package arrived but it did not  have the exhaust plate. I called again ( all this long distance every time). But was unable to reach Mike or Stan and had to deal with the ?@***<>* rude clerk who has no people skills at all. She informed me that it was on the way.  Today she calls me back and says they have to have a $100.00 deposit for parts until I return the un-used or replaced used parts. ( I thought it was one the way)

I could not believe what I was asked for. Upon further investigation, I pulled the heads to replace the gaskets and guess what??? No sleeves!!!!!! YEA , they only sleeved one cylinder, not all 6 and 12 of the head bolts where stretched. They didn't even replace the head bolts??????  I have been ripped off. Now I understand why the invoice only said remanufactured power head  There word is no good.  I have asked Mike about our conversation but he has amnesia I guess, he says he does not recall that. I sure am glad my fishing buddy heard all this on speaker phone that day. There is my proof.

All beware of Blackbird Industries, I was ripped off. If anyone wants proof I have pics of all the water leaks and pics of the invoice. I also have pics of the score marks still in the cylinders, where the Plato Finishing ???? send me e-mail and I will send you proof. Oh and stay away from the A** HOLE clerk.

[burleytog]

A perfect illustration of the old adage 'You get what you pay for'.

[-nick-]

Sorry to hear that I'm sure your pretty upset after that. Just goes to show if somethins too good to be true, it probably isn't true.

[5bass]

[movedhere] General Bass Fishing Forum [move by] five.bass.limit.

[bassnleo]

Unfortunately, your not the first customer that has had similar experiences with Blackbird from what I've heard.

I had a local dealer tell me to avoid Blackbird at all cost.

[bilgerat]

Man, I'm sorry to hear what you are going through. I've been a mechanic for 20 years (diesel) and it twists my nads when I read a story like this. Now you have learned a very expensive lesson.

1) In the engine world, as with the rest of the world, cheap does not = good.  We lose jobs because we're "too expensive". Then sometimes we get the job later after the first "bargain job" went to s*it. Now the owner paid twice. Where's the value in that ?

2) The fact that they give you the runaround says it all. I'll bet you don't get squat from this guy.

3) Telling a customer that just paid you to "tighten every thing up and replace gaskets" ?! Huh ? :-?

I don't want to kick you while you're down, but it seems like you have a trashed motor and no recourse.

[Micro]

WOW!  I did a google search on the company and there are an insane number of complaints.  

[retiredbosn]

Call your state's attorney general's office and complain to them.  A company that crosses state lines to perform work falls under different criteria that one who performs all their work on instate materials.  I know you shipped your engine, but if your state titles the engine then you shipped a part of your state to him for rebuild.  In short he can get into real trouble real quick doing shoddy work like that.

[cart7t]

Yep, Blackbird is well known for doing shoddy work.  Avoid at all costs.  

[Way2slow]

Dang, after all these years people are still falling for BlackBirds power heads.  Over the years, every boating site you go to have always been full of the horror stories about dealing with Blackbird Ind.  Some of the bigger sites won't even let him post on them, I guess that's why he moved to ebay.  I didn't even know he could still find enough unknowing people to sucker in to still be in business.

Sorry to hear about your dealings.  That's why I always say when dealing with stangers you had better do your homework.

[senile1]

Welcome to our community, Basscat1102.  If you need information on anything boating or fishing related, this is the place to go in the future, before you have any work performed.  Sorry to hear about your misfortune.  

[done]

yeah for anything mechanical, I will usually first hire them for something mundane. Liek an oil change or something I can do myself and something i can judge myself. provided they do a good job I will consider them for other work.

It is tough though to find good help sometimes. Sorry to hear about this dude. Hopefully you will get everything straightened out.

[fishfordollars]

Blackbird is well known for the quality of work and business dealings that define the shop. He is nothing more that a salvage yard that deals in crap. His word is no good!

[basscat1102]

Thanks for all the replies guys. I did some homework on this guy but found nothing really bad that stood out. I contacted a mercury rep. and he recommended him highly. that's the only reason I sent it to him. Thanks for the attorney general idea, I have not though about that. I have contacted an attorney and have an appointment next week. Ill keep all of you posted.

[fishfordollars]

I would start with the Mercury rep that reccommended this jerk. You would think he would be aware of his business dealings as many unhappy customers he has around the country. He had to know; otherwise he had no business recommending him. If it goes to court he could have a portion of the liability. Sadly that is the way the law works on occasion.

Good luck.

[Land Surveyor13]

How did you pay for the work?  Credit Card, Check?  If you want fast action make a claim on your credit card or go to your bank and file a complaint and put a hold on the check.  They'll fix it real quick do they get there money.