[toddco]

My local dealer wants $60 + 3 weeks to tune-up my 21” Honda hydrostatic mower.
1. Oil change
2. New sparkplug
3. New air filter
4. Sharpen blade

I can do this in 30 minutes. My questions:
A. Can I set the throttle adjustment if I don’t have a tool to measure engine speed?
B. Do I need to adjust anything on the hydro system?
C. What else am I missing? For what they charge they must be doing something magical. (grin)

 

[TLS]

He probably charges $60/hr and his minimum is 1 hr. Yes, just buy a Tiny Tach (or similar brand) and set the rpm's yourself.

This is where doing your own work can save you A LOT of $.

 

[BIG D]

This is a very fair charge but not a good turn around. If you are in the commercial business and its something you cant fix. Can he get you out quicker. I cant imaging keeping one of my commercial customers waiting that long. I would have a stroke or heart attack with all the negetive calls. I am sure its not just a plug and filter. If the carb needs cleaning he should clean it. If the cables need adjusting, he should adjust them. If the governor needs adjusting he should adjust them. I would check around and shop your business. If you bought your equipment from him and you are commercial there is no way I would do business with him. I am not the normal dealer in this category so my standards might be high but I am overnight on commercial and one week on residencial depending on parts. I used to mow lawns like you and the store I bought I had brought an engine to. I didnt need it real bad but when an employee changed the oil in it and never put more in I needed it very bad. I called them the next day hoping it was done (one week later). The guy that owned it said they decided they didnt want to work on it. So when I bought them out I vowed never to run a service shop like that. Hope this helps. Good luck