Commerce
Watercraft dealers could get retail-rate warranty pay
Senator Theresa Gavarone’s Ohio bill would require manufacturers to cover warranty and recall work through dealer agreements, including labor, parts and related service tasks.
Ohio watercraft dealers could see better pay for warranty and recall jobs. The bill would require manufacturers with dealer agreements to reimburse comparable work at retail rates and bar retaliation when dealers press for it.
- Manufacturers would have to cover warranty and recall repairs through dealers.
- Dealers would be paid at no less than their retail rates for similar work.
- The definition of watercraft includes trailers and motors too.
- Manufacturers could not punish dealers for asserting the new rule.
- Ohio watercraft dealers could see a much better deal when a warranty or recall job rolls into the service bay
Ohio watercraft dealers could see a much better deal when a warranty or recall job rolls into the service bay. Under the proposal, manufacturers with dealer agreements would have to handle diagnosing, repairing and servicing watercraft, and they would have to pay dealers at rates no lower than what those dealers charge retail customers for similar nonwarranty labor and parts.
The bill also starts by defining its terms. A dealer agreement is any agreement or other mechanism that lets a watercraft dealer sell a manufacturer’s product, and the measure defines watercraft, manufacturer and watercraft dealer up front.
The definition reaches past the hull
This is not just about the boat sitting on the lift. The bill says watercraft includes a trailer used to transport watercraft and a motor used to power watercraft, so the repair and reimbursement rules would reach those pieces too.
That broad definition matters for service departments that work on the full package a customer tows, launches and maintains. If the job involves the trailer or the motor, the same warranty and recall obligations would follow.
The service bay sets the price
The proposal gives dealers a way to establish the rate they will be paid. They could submit either ten paid and closed nonwarranty repair orders for warranty-like work or all such orders over a 90-day period, so long as the work was done within the previous 180 days.
Manufacturers could ask for more documentation if a submitted rate looks substantially higher or lower than the rate already on file, but they could not set the dealer’s retail labor rate or parts markup on their own. The bill also bars retaliation, including penalties, surcharges, shifted costs, reduced allocations of watercraft or parts, or other punishment because a dealer pressed its rights under the section.
For dealers, that is the difference between warranty work that keeps the service lane moving and warranty work that quietly eats into margin. For owners, it is meant to make sure the repair is available without turning the dealer into the one footing the bill.