auburn sports and marine rip off. took my scotty downrigger in to get it fixed. brack was slipping. went and picked it up and had to pay 52.oo bucks to get it back. thought there was a livetime warranty.they just kleened up the brakes. put a new switch and pully on with out asking me and also charged 25.00 labor. will never go back to auburn sports and rippoff again. should have known better, ihave had trouble with them before.

i had trouble reading that

New member to the board comes in and post a poorly worded complaint about a fishing store most of us like and expects us to do what? Boycott?

6x6, here is your sign.

6X6...

"Took my Scotty Downrigger in to get it fixed."

I suspect you have had trouble with others before. $25 labor charge? Unacceptable...send em down to my place to mow the lawn.

You should not return there. Head for Mexico soon.

King

so are you basically saying that Scotty downriggers have a rep of wearing out prematurely and breaking down? Seems to be alot of complaints on this site. Might go with Cannon's, I like how they swing out of the way,etc.

Peter, I pray you don't take a complaint like 6X6s too seriously.

wow...you guys are brutal

Scotty's policy is that the lifetime warranty only applies to the original owner. Previously they didn't ask about it (or require the repair shops to ask about it), so you could buy one off of Craigslist and still get the full warranty coverage. But Scotty apparently figured out that the secondary market with full warranty coverage isn't good for sales of new riggers, so within the last year or so they started requiring that your downrigger be registered to get the free service. My guess is that your rigger isn't registered.

For what it's worth, my experience with the Scotty repair guy at Auburn Sports has been fantastic. I've been shocked at the quick turnaround mid-season.

Never had issues with my scotty's, knock on wood...if you fish stuffs going to brake. I would have called Scotty first...

It's not like Scottys are space shuttles. You can easily buy every part to repair them. There are great manuals and exploded drawings of how they go together. If you're a boat owner (which is a safe assumption if you own downriggers), you should have a modicum of knowledge on repairing broke chit.

I am not saying scottys are bad.
I really like my scottys. I wouldn`t own any other.And they are registered. Some people on this site said to take them to AUBURN SPORTS AND MARINE and they will repair for free. So i did. Fact is that is not true. To bad some people on this site don`t have better things to do than criticize other people.

Perhaps you should have asked the cost before leaving the Scotty's with them?

Fixed that for ya.

Should have ask them to call you if there was going to be any charges for the warranty work.So you can OK the charge or move on.Good luck,
SZ

6X6

I guess people get a bit irked when the opening sentence uses the 'Rip Off' word that is pretty harsh on a local business that serves many of us with happy outcomes.

Some good suggestions from others above. No need to head South.

King

the warranty covers general maintainence not parts, you have to pay for the pulley, belt and whatever else is broken

6x6 what are you really complaining about here? It doesn't sound like you were ripped off, you paid a fair price for a set of needed repairs. Maybe Auburn (or the independent repair guy they sometimes use) should have called you prior to doing non warranty work, but that would have been best discussed with them, not slagging them here. If Auburn is guilty of anything it sounds like not anticipating you would be so prickly about a nominal repair bill.

Most guys I know who can afford electric downriggers and to fish enough to wear out parts are happy to pay a reasonable repair bill to get back on the water in a timely way. Maybe they went the extra step of proactively replacing those parts because you brought in a obviously well used DR and they thought you'd be REASONABLE and appreciate getting those things taken care of during this very busy time of year.

I needed a 72hr turn around on my last service issue with a 1106 DR. Turns out I didnt have my DR registered so Auburn went the extra mile to research with Scotty that I was the original owner and completed my repairs in less then 24 hrs.

Hopefully you'll do yourself a favor and either retract your claim of being ripped off, or substantiate how you were and what Auburn's response was when you raised the issue with them.

Sorry you didn't get what you expected, I understand that can be frustrating. ASM (Auburn Sports and Marine) has been good to me. They installed my engine and have been ever so helpful thus far. When contacted about an engine swap on a boat they gave me an honest estimate on cost which is more than the douche bags in Seattle gave me. I would rather drive my boat to Auburn and have their skilled workers handle my gear than take it to Ballard and get robbed. I would provide them business in the future. Good shop.

I can understand the frustration. If someone recommended ASM and said that it would be free, you drop off your DR and they do not explain that it will cost extra for parts and labor. You go to pick it up and it cost 52.00 clams.
ASM is 50% responsible for the confusion. I had one of my Scottys fixed down there a few years ago and it cost 0.00. It needed a belt and a relay.
I am glad that you posted your experience, I did not know they are charging for labor. I do not mind as long as I know up front. If Scotty or the repair shop is going to change the policy they should let the customer know.