How To Ensure A Hassle-Free Marine Service Department Visit

Boats need regular service department visits. These visits can involve preventative maintenance, which helps extend the model's lifespan and reduce the chances of future issues, or they can involve fixing problems, such as replacing broken parts or repairing broken systems. Whatever your vessel needs, a marine service department visit can help.

We've created the following guide for having a successful boat service department visit. If you need fast, professional service for your boat or want to shop boats for sale in New Jersey, contact Blue Water Boats. Our dealership is located in Cape May Court House, New Jersey, and we also serve those in Atlantic City as well as Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Know When To Rely On A Boat Service Department

Sure, there are plenty of maintenance tasks that you can handle on your own. The more experience in boat maintenance you have, the greater range of tasks you can tackle. It's great to save yourself the trip and price tag of a service department visit, but be realistic about what's in your wheelhouse and what you should outsource.

Remember that fiddling around with complex systems and machinery can quickly lead to creating new problems. When this happens, you often spend way more money on repairs than if you simply brought the boat to the service department in the first place. Playing cleanup can be costly. It's much better to let the experts handle more advanced projects and it can be more affordable in the long run.

Schedule Appointments Whenever You Can

There's not much you can do about an unexpected problem needing an immediate repair. But for preventative maintenance needs, schedule a service department appointment in advance. 

Keep in mind that your preventative maintenance schedule may be the same as your fellow boaters. Everyone could be prepping their boat for winterization and storage, for example, and heading to the service department around the same time. Book your appointment in advance to ensure you reserve your spot.

Pick A Service Department

Not all service departments will be a good match. The various dealerships range in their price point, dedication to customer service, number of available appointments, and distance from your home. Think about what features matter most to you, such as budget-friendly pricing versus a convenient location, and search accordingly.

Don't forget to look up customer reviews about a given service department before visiting them. Make sure folks are satisfied with the timeliness and quality of the maintenance.

Finally, consider booking a small maintenance project first. Think of it as a test run. If the boat service department handles a small task well, you can schedule a harder one. But if they bungle a simple task, you might not want to trust them with a more complicated (and more expensive) project.

Make Your List Of Needs

If you need more than one service task accomplished, know that it's easy to forget something in the meeting. It'd be a shame to get all the way home and realize you forgot to get a part replaced! Making a list of your needs helps prevent this.

If you visit a service department to diagnose an issue, make a list of the 'symptoms'. Write down any odd noises, performance problems, or other things you've noticed. This information can help them figure out the problem faster and, in turn, fix your boat faster.

We hope you found this guide to navigating boat service department visits helpful. For fast and friendly service or to shop boats for sale in New Jersey, visit Blue Water Boats. Our staff members can help with anything you need, from discussing our financing options to ordering replacement parts. Visit us in Cape May Court House, New Jersey. We also serve those in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.