Don's Marine LLC

They order parts for me. Everything turned out perfect.

This spring, I was having trouble with my small outboard. It would start on the first try, but after 30 seconds or less, it would slowly quit. After sitting for a minute, it would start again, but still petered out after 30 seconds or less. I guess I’m an optimist, because I repeated this for maybe a half hour, and eventually I managed to lock up the starter and the flywheel. On the recommendation of my old motor mechanic, who retired a couple years ago, I called Don’s and explained what happened. It’s a crazy busy time of year, and I wasn’t surprised that they wouldn’t be able to look at the motor for a couple weeks. When I bought it in, I again sheepishly described what had happened, and left the boat. A few days later, the shop called and said the boat was ready. I drove over and picked up the boat. Next day, I took the boat to the landing, and was happy to find that the starter was firing once again, and the motor started up on the first try. But after 30 seconds, the motor died. Don’s had freed up the starter, but had obviously not attended to the underlying problem. I called the shop and told them what happened. The person I talked to pulled the work order, and told me the work order only said to free up the flywheel. He also said it would be another couple weeks before they could take another look. I was unhappy, because I had explained about the motor starting and dying, not just the locked up starter. I’m not a mechanic, and I didn’t write the work order, so I asked to talk to the service manager. I was told he was unavailable at the time, so I asked that he call me when he was able. A week went by, but I didn’t hear from Don’s, so I called again and asked to talk to the service manager. Again, I was told that he was busy, but would return my call “when he gets caught up.” The next day, I made an appointment to bring the boat to another shop (The Harbor at Newville—their customer service was top notch). Never heard back from Don’s. The mix up with the work order is understandable, but not the failure to return a customer’s phone calls.

I cannot express enough how awful and careless Don's Marine, and the owner, Andy, and manager, Brandon have been. October 1st, I dropped my boat off for winterization, and was going to pick up to store with a friend. I called in November after not hearing anything, and find out Don's Marine carelessly mistagged and LOST my boat. To my horror, my boat was stored under someone else's name in their storage unit, and they forgot to winterize It. Don's marine caused severe damage to my boat and CRACKED MY ENGINE amongst other things! Brandon, the manager decided to not inform me of the damage, and took It upon himself to try to order an aftermarket engine and install without my permission! Then, Andy, the owner got involved, and tried to get me to fix my boat at Don's. When I told him he would have to stand behind his work ( I have had three previous incidents of my boat coming straight from Don's for "repair" and being stranded on the lake due to "minor oversights by the technicians") Andy told me that having him stand behind his work was a threat to liability. When I wanted to have my boat fixed at a more reputable marina, Andy did everything in his power to make this difficult. When I was finally able to pick up my boat, Don's left trash and debris in my boat, and ripped the exhaust hoses! To add insult to injury, when I took my boat to another marina, they had found that the work I had performed at Don's in previous years was not only done incorrectly, but the clamps for the U-joint bellows were loose and facing in the wrong direction, allowing water in! (See notes from the other marina) The technicians at the other repair shop fixed this upon discovery, and when Andy, the owner came to look at my boat at the new shop, he took no responsibility (because the techs at the other marina tightened the clamp and put It on correctly when they were fixing Don's other damage to my boat.) Andy claimed nothing was wrong, and although parts that were supposedly new from previous repair work at Don's was failing, Andy refused to warranty the work at Don's.. In all, Don's Marine cost me $3,500 in damage in ADDITION to the insurance claim for the engine they cracked.. I don't know how they are still in business and would not recommend anyone take their boat here unless you would like to be mistreated and your boat to be improperly cared for, with a careless owner and a shady manager.

Exceptional service!! I had my boat into Don's for work on my trolling motor and my tilt and trim. They did the repairs quickly and everything works fine. I have a custom boat tarp that had three snaps that had broken over time. The tech took it upon himself to repair those when he put the tarp back on. This sort of service is unusual but very much appreciated. Thank you!

I highly recommend Don's Marine for the great prices and especially the friendly knowledgeable staff. We traveled from Central Wisconsin to meet with Jerry, the best salesman ever! Brandon sat with us for an hour going over the operation of the 2017 Competitor and the special features it had. Jerry called us a month after purchase to make sure we were happy and the boat was satisfactory. I would highly recommend Don's Marine and would travel the hour it took again to be treated so well. We went to two other local dealerships and the staff was rude and condescending. Never again! Our next boat will come from Don's no matter where we live in WI. Thanks again Jerry! If you need a boat and want courteous service and no hassle pricing Call Jerry at Don's . Dave Kaszuba Wisconsin Rapids WI.