Most Absurd Price Ever Quoted

[Pete]

Just read about a $50+ rail latch pin over on another thread. Small stuff compared to my $89.95 quote from L B Harvey for a 4" round black and white vinyl sticker (spot light control). So, for now I will claim the crown for most absurd part price (quote or purchase) for a mature Hatteras. How about others? Anyone want to compete for the crown (virtual)?

Pete

 

[jim rosenthal]

$125 for ONE spark plug wire, for a car I no longer own. Guess why....

 

[Walter P]

Nice try Jim but cars don't count, Pete said "mature Hatteras"

Walt

 

[Angela]

By now, I think I've gotten used to the price for old Hatteras parts. The first time I asked for a price on anything "Hatteras" was when I first got the boat and the yard had broken one of my engine room door latches. The price was somewhere in the $70 range, as I recall, for a stupid door latch - it's not even PRETTY! I was shocked. Guess what...JB Weld! I think I'll just glue that back together. LOL

Well, since then, I've laid out $700 for a tiny ice maker, $600 for two 32v blowers, 3 "poop grinders" at $600 each, an unmentionable amount of money on air conditioning, around $2,000 for a COMPACT washer/dryer set, plywood at $150/sheet ('cuz it's double sided teak), $50/can for varnish, and I hate to varnish....and the list goes on and doesn't even start to get into "the yard." Gee, I can't wait to start adding redundant systems! Welcome to the world of Hatteras ownership. I have to say, though, I knew going in that a Hatteras was the most expensive boat to maintain, and yet, I walked through that door anyway.

So, I'm not complaining, really, I'm just used to hearing those kinds of quotes for what appear to be silly little things...sometimes silly little NECESSARY things! Every now and then I find a jewel, like the wine cooler I found for $40 and two complete vacuflush systems for $1,500 for both, but those are few and far between.

But yes, you get the crown for the sticker for your spotlight.

 

[Brian Degulis]

The crazy prices are mostly for the original OEM stuff. The prices are like that because there is a very small demand and even smaller supply. On most 20+ year old boats OEM parts are simply not available. So you have to ask yourself which is better? Pay a lot but be able to get it or just not be able to get it at any price?

Brian

 

[Boatsb]

How about over $5/gal of diesel earlier this year. Does that count?

 

[Sparky1]

I saw the post about the $50 latch pin as well but didn't see the price as unrealistic at all. How often do you get to fix something on your old Hatt for $50?

Another thing some people don't think about with 20+ year old OEM parts pricing is what it cost to sit on that part for 20+ years. Let's say that part cost $15 way back when. You do the math.

As for complaining about an $89 sticker for a spotlight, sorry, can't sympathize with you on that one. I guess you could always come up with a photo of the original sticker, scan it, find yourself a copy machine you can dowload the image into which will transfer the image to a sheet of vinyl, cut out the sticker and glue it on. That should save you about, oh, nothing. But you'll have the satisfaction of a new sticker on your spotlight so you can once again see where you're going.

 

[Pete]

Sorry Sparky, no amount of sarcasm will change my mind on the $89.95 sticker. Like most, I look at value more than price. These stickers cost less than a dollar to replicate, after a die charge of maybe $50 dollars. And yes, someone had to scan the original into the computer. Their price for one sticker covers the entire investment. I just bought some plastic labels for my mature Hatteras for Sam's for $3 to $5 each that cost more to make than a vinyl sticker and have a greater set up charge, if it was required. L B Harvey tried to rip me off, plain and simple. Need I mention where I suggest they put their stickers?

Pete

 

[krush]

I see stupid prices on stuff every day. I was in gander mountain....you know them foam blocks that people use as archery targets? $60. It's a bunch of foam, shrinkwrapped togeter with a target stenciled on it.

Go to staples and see what they charge for filing envelopes ($12 for 15 hang type), plastic portable small filing boxes ($17) etc. I can buy a DVD player or computer printer for almost the same price as some hunk of plastic---both made in china LOL.

I can buy a prepaid cellular telephone cheaper than I can buy lumber.

 

[captddis]

The item that got my attention was the plastic spray gaurds for the shaft log. It was around 70.00! They break any time you adjust the log and are about as durable as a plastic milk carton.

 

[Maynard Rupp]

$125 for ONE spark plug wire, for a car I no longer own. Guess why....

Jim, you gotta stop buying those unusual foreign cars. Just go buy a great Chrysler mini-van like I did. You will love the car, parts are cheap and available, and I can honestly say that it is the best built car I have ever owned, and I am very fussy. Maybe you could help keep Detroit and the rest of the working country afloat also.

 

[chris piazza]

How about a little over $400 for a set (4) 32v glow plugs for the Onan, Didn'T buy them. Also quoted $125 for the clear plastic cover for one side of the bridge engine instruments. $146 for one Qt of awlgrip matched to boat for minor touch-ups.........

Chris
Superior Nights 53C

 

[Finalee]

How about faxing to an 800 number at $1 per page.

 

[jim rosenthal]

Oh, I don't have it anymore. You are exactly right. I sold it and replaced it with a Cobra with a Ford engine in it. For what I used to pay for a plug wire, I could buy a whole water pump now. For what they wanted for a tuneup (which was done by the subsequent owner, not me) I could have bought TWO engines plus a transmission. Did I mention the new one is faster?

You DID say mature Hatteras; my apologies. I do vividly remember paying $400 for a little freshwater circulating pump for the Onan generator set that used to be in Blue Note. And that was a discounted price, as I recall...I made up my mind to try very hard not to own anything made by Onan in the future, and so far, I'm sticking to my guns.

 

[Sparky1]

Sorry Sparky, no amount of sarcasm will change my mind on the $89.95 sticker. Like most, I look at value more than price. These stickers cost less than a dollar to replicate, after a die charge of maybe $50 dollars. And yes, someone had to scan the original into the computer. Their price for one sticker covers the entire investment. I just bought some plastic labels for my mature Hatteras for Sam's for $3 to $5 each that cost more to make than a vinyl sticker and have a greater set up charge, if it was required. L B Harvey tried to rip me off, plain and simple. Need I mention where I suggest they put their stickers?

Pete

Just picking at you Pete, but I can't imagine very many people would be in the market to buy a sticker for a spotlight. Sounds like that company was just politely telling you that if you wanted an obscure sticker that badly, they were going to stick it to you so to speak. Just curious, does the sticker have user instructions for the light control or are you just being meticulous in a restoration?

I guess we should all be pretty well used to paying big bucks for anything to do with a boat. Even auto dealers charge $75+ per hour for mechanical work these days, so maybe that puts things into perspective. Looks like none of this is Hatteras specific, but the experience that springs to mind is the time my friend Carl Guzman had to have a prop removed from his 67CPMY while we were in Miami a few years ago. First question out of the prop guys' mouth, how big is your boat?

Sure, big boats have big props which require more effort, but it seemed he was sizing Carl's wallet as much as his boat. Telling him we were at Miami Beach Marina and being based out of Naples didn't help much either I'm sure. As I recall, he ended up charging Carl over $600 to R&R that prop. But he gave Carl a break to R&R the undamaged prop as to match the replacement set he had onboard, seeing as he was already in the water with all his equipment. Seems like he reduced his price for that to around $350.

To put this into perspective, I had paid a diver $250 to R&R a set of props on my 58 a few months earlier. That included him taking the damaged props as well as a second spare set of damaged props to and from General Propeller in Bradenton, FL.

 

[sgharford]

This is fun -Last year I was quoted $465 for 1 raw water impellar by Cummins Metropower in Brooklyn for a Cummins 903. The Jabsco model is $43. It's in the realm of your sticker ($0.50 worth of rubber?).

 

[Angela]

I had one of the regular divers on my dock quote Ed $250 to do the monthly scraping on my boat. Ed never responded, and instead Mario found us diver for $90/month. The $250 guy saw somebody else scraping the hull that next day (that would have been the $90 guy!) and had a frustrated look on his face when he saw that we used somebody else. He later saw me in the parking lot and asked me about it. We think he sort of felt like this was "his marina and his boat job", but at $250/dive/month, just didn't work out that way! I tell him, "It's just business, man." Greed is what caused me to run off my last diver and this even more greedy quote caused me not to even respond to that ridiculous quote.

 

[doc g]

How about 780.00 for a three way switch for a 27 year old watermaker ? I told them I wouldn't consider 780.00 for a three way with a couple of 27 year olds.(Olson twins excepted) They were going to cut me a break on and sell to me for 649.00 since I had done quite a bit of business with them. I found it at Grainger's for less than 100.00 . I think that was the worst one .....this year. It pays to shop around ...........Pat

 

[Sparky1]

How about 780.00 for a three way switch for a 27 year old watermaker ? I told them I wouldn't consider 780.00 for a three way with a couple of 27 year olds.(Olson twins excepted)

ROFLOL!!!

 

[newinlet]

How about $150,000.00 for a 87 55C complete turnkey - Sorry I could not help myself !!