Holiday Harbor — Attraction in Town of Ellicott

I purchased a new 2016 Misty Harbor tri-toon boat with Mercury 150 4 stroke motor and a pontoon trailer from Holiday Harbor in the summer of 2016. They also sold me a Big Bertha tube and tow rope and said this boat would be great for skiing and tubing. The ski/tow bar bent that first summer causing damage to the platform. Holiday Harbor "repaired" it by adding an angle iron but attached it poorly, with bolts crooked and not flush with the metal (see photo) which will be a safety issue as it is used they wiggle loose. The next summer, 2017, the pontoons cracked at the seams and the right one took on water making the boat lean. I called Holiday Harbor several times and no one returned my calls. I took the boat to a local marina who pressure tested it and circled where the leaks were. They recommended a certified aluminum welder who made the repairs but he said that the pressure testing can only show leaks, not cracks that have not opened up enough to leak YET. The boat is beautiful but is poorly made - it is falling apart with light use. We only had the boat on the water 8 times in 2017 because of the pontoons taking on water! Holiday Harbor has emailed that they don't want to but will come get the boat to make repairs. However they won't give a date or time frame to do that and are not answering our emails except to say they will get back to us. It is a dangerous, poorly made boat sold to us by a dealer who was full of promises when selling the boat but has made a lazy repair, doesn't return phone calls, and rarely emails. Buyer Beware! The manufacturer said in an email that too bad for us that we purchased a boat from a dealer who is located hours away..... but they are the only dealer selling Misty Harbor boats in this half of the state of NY! No wonder other dealers don't want to sell these boats that are not made well enough to ski and tube behind without that breaking and with pontoons that crack and leak from, according to the manufacturer, from "trailering" the boat. So the boat is fine and the trailer is fine, according to Misty Harbor, but pulling the boat on the trailer is what causes the pontoons to crack. THAT is a poorly made and dangerously unsafe boat. And the dealer ignores it's customers once they've made the sell. When the boat was taken to them for repair in 2016, they said they would store the boat for the winter as customer good will. Great, right? But then we received a bill for $475. for storage. When we questioned it, the woman we talked to at Holiday Harbor yelled "pay the bill or we'll put your boat outside to rot!" So much...

We were referred to Holiday Harbor by another resident in the area. It was a pleasure to deal with Jamie who is very knowledgeable and very professional. Very recently, I was in their office to drop off the batteries for our pontoon boat. That evening, I received a text from an antagonistic individual in the neighborhood which included a photograph of me covertly taken while I was in the Holiday Harbor offices. The text included profanity and threats. It turns out that Charles, the owner of Holiday Harbor, took the picture and sent it to at least one individual in the neighborhood, who then used it to send a threatening message to me. That individual was arrested and, when confronted with his actions, Charles indicated he does this type of thing routinely. I have never encountered a business owner, particularly in a small community, that behaves in that fashion. It is astonishing that a local business owner would act in that manner, intentionally and deliberately creating a controversial and potentially dangerous situation. I strongly recommend, for your own safety, that you avoid doing business with Charles. He has a great staff, but he should not be trusted whatsoever under any circumstances. Regrettably, there is no option to rate this business with less...

A tale of two experiences:

We bought a used boat from holiday harbor in July and it was a great experience. They were in constant contact with us and made the purchasing experience flawless.

After we purchased the boat, I spoke with the sales person and asked if Holiday Harbor would be interested in selling my old boat. He said absolutely, gave me his card with his personal cell as well as the harbor number.

Full disclosure, I did not contact them about selling my old boat until I detailed it and made it ready for sale which was around late August. I sent a txt message to the sales person's cell as well as, called a left a message with the office. I haven't heard a whisper since.

It may be too late in the season to sell a boat. However, a simple phone call letting me know that fact and not just being ignored is how I prefer to do business.

Generally in my experience, Holiday Harbor is a good business but your mileage may vary depending on what service you...