aje3721

I realize this is an old thread but I stumbled onto it and I think some information needs to be corrected. This is a long, twisted story so please be patient. It has a good ending. I wanted to re-power my Tracker PT 175TX to a 75 hp and started the never ending search for a viable used motor. Eventually, I found a 2011 Tohatsu 75 TLDI in the North Syracuse, NY area. I sold my little Merc 25 and headed to North Syracuse. The Tohatsu looked remarkably clean and ran smooth with the muffs on so I headed back to PA grinning from ear to ear. As it turned out, I dropped the ball. I purchased the motor from what I believe to be a shyster. My bad. DON’T EVER BUY A USED BOAT PART IN NORTH SYRACUSE. The block had a substandard JB weld patch which had failed after my first time to the lake. I discovered the patch while I was on the phone with Terry from Tohatsu service in Dallas, TX and at the time I had no idea the patch had failed. Terry did his best to put my concerns at ease and said a lot of patches hold on the water jacket without issue. After I got off the phone with Terry, I put things back together and found the leak. I then carefully chipped away at the JB Weld to see just how bad of a mistake I had made only to find a perfectly clean block; no crack, no holes. I put the muffs on, started the motor up and watched the water spray and drip from the area previously covered by JB Weld. I called Tohatsu service the following Monday (someone actually answers the phone; NO PHONE TREE) and spoke to Terry. He asked me for the serial number of the motor and requested several pictures of both the patched and the cleaned area of the block. I forwarded him same. Shortly thereafter, he advised me to take the motor to my closest dealer which was Lou’s Outboard Service in Duncansville, PA advising me that I would no doubt be dropping the motor there. I traveled to Lou’s Outboard and met Dave, Lou’s son and partner in the dealership. Dave started the motor, documented the leak and assisted me in removing the motor from my boat. Two days later I received a call from Terry at Tohatsu. Terry informed me that Tohatsu would be sending a new power head to Lou’s Outboard to be installed, labor included. Terry also informed me that Dave at Lou’s said he would cover the labor if Tohatsu didn’t. The power head was shipped on Friday and arrived on Monday. Now, it’s obvious that neither Tohatsu nor the local dealer had to do a damn thing for me. I am the THIRD owner of this motor which means I might as well have been the guy that found it laying in the scrap yard! Tohatsu stepped up and made a huge difference. There was no way I could afford to pay for the repairs that by all rights should have been my problem. I can’t say enough about the company, the fact you call and speak to a real person not some dumb a** recording, and their stance on assisting the customer. Terry’s explanation was that had the motor issue been fixed correctly the first time, I wouldn’t be experiencing this issue. I don’t know who posted this original, poor information but it needs to be known that Tohatsu is a stand up company with service techs that sincerely want to help the customer. And no, no one paid me to post this. All they did was allow me to keep my boat and continue to enjoy my time on the water. Tohatsu, Terry, Gemo, Lou and Dave… Thank You.