Initially, I thought that MarineMax’s first priority was their customers. After working with them to purchase a boat through their brokerage program, however, I’ve learned that I was sorely mistaken: their top priority is to sell boats no matter the cost or negative impact to the perception of their brand. Although MarineMax may not be directly responsible for the boats they broker, I thought that the company would know the boat’s history, have standards and, consequently, provide a trustworthy brokerage program. However, my experience from the start has shown that the program—and MarineMax itself—cannot be trusted.
Throughout the process, I have been deceived. First, I was told that a 150-point inspection would be conducted to properly aid me in the buying process; it wasn’t, not only leaving me with a boat that was taking on water but also endangering myself and other road users when the trailer’s guide arm broke on my way home. While MarineMax had apparently inspected both the boat and the trailer, they failed to see that the guide arm had deteriorated so badly that it would easily break. Ultimately, this meant that I was uninformed of the damage prior to purchase and unable to make an informed decision. More crucially, MarineMax’s oversight made other road users susceptible to serious injury.
When I arrived home and put the boat in the water, water began spewing out of the engine compartment, the sinks, toilet and shower, leading me to believe that the boat hadn’t been properly winterized. What’s more, the bilge pump in the floor of the lower hall didn’t work, consequently allowing the cabin floor to become soaked.
Understanding that problems would arise within reason, I took ownership of the boat and hired a MerCruiser mechanic. When the issues began spiraling out of control, however, I contacted MarineMax only to be greeted with unhelpful reminders that the boat was brokered as well as further deception. For example when dealing with general manager Cliff D’Amico, he wrongfully claimed that MarineMax would pay for certain repairs to rectify my poor experience—something he made a point to tell me was not normally done; in actuality, the warranty company was covering those repairs.
Eventually MarineMax’s Vice President contacted me on the pretense of doing whatever he could to turn my experience around. After agreeing to pay half of my latest repairs he clarified that I would need to sign a waiver that kept me from speaking about my experience, calling into question how well MarineMax online reviews reflect the actual customer experience.
I contacted the warranty company when I noticed that some of the parts for this $4200.00 repair were listed on the warranty. I was told that the way the issue was reported to them was because of maintenance issues – so anything reported as a maintenance issue supercede parts that are on the actual warranty. At the same time, I was told in order to obtain this warranty MarineMax has to certify with an inspection that the boat is in “like new condition”. Clearly that was never done.
I feel if I were to document my entire MarineMax experience the end result would constitute an entire book. In summary, MarineMax doesn’t stand behind any of their promises and use tactics that are misleading at best. Moreover, once issues arose with my boat, the MarineMax team was not only unhelpful, but exceedingly unprofessional and incompetent, repetitively breaking what they attempted to fix, fixing what was not broken as well as exhibiting exceptionally poor customer service skills.
With no foreseeable end in sight, despite having spent an estimated $15,000 in two months in “repairs”, I am currently in the same position of having a MarineMax brokered boat that has been taking on water since its purchase and wondering where the incompetence ends. This ordeal has added a great amount of stress to my life, completely undermining the reasons for purchasing a boat as a means of relaxation and source of enjoyment.
