Mid-River Marina

Edited to 1 star review original review below: We had two weeks to get the boat off the property since our contract was expiring as we were selling it and we were not renewing the contract. A good friend of mine, who has taken the boat out many times, was all set to take boat out for its first ride after we used the winterization service. He called the morning of to get the boat out on the water, which is standard practice. However, when he arrived, the owner was present and the boat was not out on the water. He seemed to have an issue with my friend using the boat. After a quick call to clear things up, my friend finally was cleared to take off. But the owner said he couldn’t take off in the normal area and head to use my truck to take boat off the property. The owners tone was very rude and didn’t provide the service we were accustomed to. The major issue was that the marina had forgotten to replace the plug after winterization. Not long into the ride, water started flooding the boat. Thankfully, my friend managed to bring it back to the dock, but by then, the water had reached above knee-height and even reached the motor. The whole experience was quite unpleasant due to how we were treated at the end of our contract. Owner was very condescending. We will not use Mid-River again. Original 5 star review. Last year was my first time owning a boat. Mid-River Marina did an excellent job educating me on various aspects of owning a boat. In regards to their valet and boat storage, they were always friendly and whenever we wanted to take the boat out they were able to get us on the water within an hour of calling the marina. They also do a great job of communicating throughout the year about their winterizing or changes in operating hours due to weather or unexpected circumstances.

No surprise they have poor reviews. Rick is absolutely the worst to work with. He scheduled a time for me to bring my boat down for a spring service. Upon getting there (never been here before) I simply and polity ask for guidance on we’re to park. He got condescending and then dismissed me on the phone.I call back just to get attitude and refusal of service. I deal with a lot of customers regularly and I’ll make sure they all know not to go to mid river marina. Worst customer service ever!

Initially, they provided good customer service and a safe lot to keep our boat, hence the hefty price which we were more than happy to pay. However, the minute you’re about to sell your boat and no longer require their services, the owner and his family who help run the business turn into the most rude and unfriendly people.

As others on this site have said do not let these guys work on your boat. I took my boat in for a spring tune-up and to fix my stern light and trim switch. After they finished the tune up they called to say the the light and trim switch would cost $400. I told them I would do it myself. The light took 5 minutes. Connecting 2 wires and 2 screws. The switch was a simple plug in and would have taken less then 5 minutes to fix if they hadn’t cut the wires. Since the switch was a plug in there was no reason to cut the wires. They did not tell me they cut the wires. I think they were mad that they couldn’t charge me $400. for something that cost me $30 and took 10 minutes to fix.

Never EVER EVER EVER have them work on your boat or keep your boat there! I hit a log underneath the water and it broke my prop. I asked them to take a look and replace the prop, Rick (so-called manager) quoted $75 to do that. They ordered the parts and the parts company sent them the incorrect hub kit. Guess what, more labor they want to charge ME because they had to turn the boat around again and found out it was the incorrect part! They said "Well it's not our fault". Then charge the parts company, not ME! It's not my fault either! They finally installed the prop, spun it, and it was hitting the housing, the prop shaft was bent. They wrote up the estimate "Estimate to repair damaged lower unit and prop" 2.3 hrs! No reason it should take that long to write up a repair estimate if you know anything about the motor you are working on. Yes, it also included pulling the boat out of the water. Their total estimate to repair my lower unit was $3517.81. The insurance company only valued my motor at $2500. Trying to figure out ways to get the costs down I asked Rick what if the labor doesn't take as long, can you charge me less?He refused said they will charge what they quoted! After doing more research I found I could buy the parts I needed for the re-build $900 cheaper than they were charging me (about an 80% mark-up)!! I bought the parts on-line told Rick I would bring them in and they refused to use them (it's against their policy, with an 80% mark-up on parts I guess I would make it against my policy too). I spoke with 4 different marinas that handle Johnson motors and they quoted a maximum of 4 hours to tear apart and rebuild the lower unit. MidRiver Marine quoted 8.19 hrs. We decided to get our boat out of there and settle up with them and they are telling me my bill is around $1000.00!!!! My labor cost for the whole job, complete lower unit rebuild was $1111.94. Tell me I'm not royally getting ripped off!! I offered to settle for labor to complete the estimate and 2 hours for tearing apart the lower unit (which those hours have been backed up by other marinas) for a total of $368 and he said that wouldn't even come close. I told him I was going to report him to the Better Business Bureau and get an attorney. He said "We will get our money one way or another (wonder what that means), do what I have to do" and hung up on me! (ha, ha, ha, great customer service) All the other marina's I talked to laugh and said we are being taken advantage of. Do yourself a favor if you don't have extra money to be padding THEIR pockets find somewhere else to take your boat!!