Texas Marine Clearlake — Local services in Seabrook

Response to the Review my husband left below (Chad Markham) with this update to Texas Marine's reply:

The response below doesn't align to what actually took place. While I didn't share this in my initial conversation when I was first directed to speak to your manager I guess he didn't realize the phone wasn't on mute, because he was telling the person transferring my call to him that "do you think I want to talk to this f'n guy" and few other expletives that I'll spare the details around... Yet, despite that I remained professional when he did answer the phone and we discussed the issue at hand.

I was told by the manager that he would call me the next day to follow up after our conversation to see how they could try and remedy the situation... Then a week later it took me calling to follow up only to find out nothing had been done. This happened twice.

A few weeks pass and given my initial experience (the aforementioned call mute fail) I expected that they wouldn't do anything about our experience and the boat they sold that was unsafe and had broken down on our first trip to the water with it... Then I'm guessing his boss pressed the matter and all of a sudden I get a follow up call saying they were ready to try and correct the problem.

At this point I had found a repair shop to look at the boat, inform me that the throttle was not safe and needed to be adjusted (it was so tight that it took much force to throttle up and down, although we were told by the sales rep it would work itself out and was probably better this way for better control), the battery was not bolted down, there was metal shards in the oil, and the oil sensor had gone bad. They also told me initially they hooked our boat up to their machine (keep note of this), which was how this was all discovered.

What really upset me was the fact that there was a lot of deflection in the conversations I had with the manager. They threw the mechanic I was working with under the bus, citing incompetence on their part, and even said they told them they hadn't hooked the boat up to their machine that reads error codes for the boat to isolate the issues (like what they use for cars) when that was one of the first things the mechanic had told my wife and I that they did... along with other bs... But the icing on the cake came when after we received the bill from the mechanic that totaled up to nearly $1,000. When the manager asked me what they could to make this right, I asked them to simply pay the bill. I didn't ask for compensation for the time we wasted having to go back and forth about this for over a month and a half. I didn't ask for compensation for the time we lost not being able to use the boat. I didn't ask for compensation for the unsafe condition of the boat they had sold us and the risk/jeopardy they put us in so they could make a sale/profit. I didn't ask for compensation for anything more than to pay the bill for the damage and repairs. That's it. The manager's response was we'll give you $200. I politely declined it and reinforced that we wanted them to pay the repair bill. He said he'd talk to upper management and get back to me... Then the next day I get a text saying "After discussing this with upper management, the decision was made to not cover the cost of your repairs. They deemed that a 4 month period (although we only took it out one time when it broke down on us) of time had elapsed, therefore holding us harmless. So sorry."

So, please don't try and feign this caring and empathetic appearance in your response that you tried to correct and make this situation right for us. We asked, fairly, do what was right. Even though much of our time was wasted, the stress created behind this, and most importantly our safety put at risk, that all you had to do was do was pay the bill nothing more nothing less. Yet, you failed us once again. The sad part is that it wasn't even about the money. It was simply the principle of taking care of your customer as you so call claim you do... You've done nothing but...

TERRIBLE, just flat out Terrible... Buyer Beware!!! We live in Austin and happened to find this boat online. We then reached out to Texas Marine to setup a test drive. Before coming down, we got a call from the Sales Rep, Belinda, and was told that it was riding a little rough but they had replaced the spark plugs and that everything was fine. We then drove all the way from Austin to their Clearlake Location where the boat was and took the boat out for a test spin. Everything seemed fine, so we went ahead and bought it. During the sale, we were assured that all of their boats go through rigorous testing and that they don’t buy used boats to sell unless it passes their “high standards” and expectations. We were also assured that if anything went wrong with the boat that they wouldn’t leave us hanging and would do everything in their power to step up if something went wrong. Furthermore, we were also told that buying the extended warranty for the boat would further safeguard us in the event if something went wrong with the engine, etc. We walked out of there thinking we were in great hands and if anything went sideways, they’d step up to the plate… Boy did we get fooled.

First sign of BS came shortly after we left when we were told that they were including some life jackets with the purchase of the boat… Checked the boat, nothing was there. Called our sales rep Belinda, got her voicemail, left a message and she never called us back.

Second sign of BS came when we had hired a Captain to come out on our boat for lessons. After doing his rounds to check the oil, gas and other things before leaving dock he noticed how tight the gear shift was and immediately raised concern (we have a jet boat). Citing that it was not natural nor SAFE for the gear shift to be that tight and for whoever had sold us the boat “Should be ashamed” for selling this to us in this condition.

Third sign of BS came while on the lake for the first time after leaving dock when the Oil Light Sensor came on and we had to immediately shut down the starboard engine. We limped the boat back to the dock and that was the end of our first experience on the water with our boat.

Fourth sign of BS came when we went to call our Sales Rep Belinda and then were told after we explained what happened that we “Bought the Boat as Is” and they couldn’t help. She said she’d call me back to at least help us find someone here locally who could repair the boat and we never heard from her again.

Fifth sign of BS came from the garbage Extended Warranty we purchased. We finally found a local repair shop that could work on our Sea Doo Boat and discovered that because of the Clutch Failure, it caused grinding that sent small metal shards into our oil, which was why the oil sensor turned on (and icing on the cake is that because of the metal shards it broke the sensor and that now needs to be replaced also). The repair shop then let us know that the warranty people would cover the sensor, but wouldn’t cover the rebuild and repair of the super charger, although a part of the engine, because it is a gas driven motor and not diesel… I’m sorry, please explain to me how that makes any sense? $1,500 to repair out of our own pocket.

So moral of the story is that if you are buying your first boat, like we did, don’t buy it from Texas Marine. They did nothing but sell us a broken boat, taken zero ownership for what’s happened, sold us a useless warranty that doesn’t cover what it says it’ll cover, and ultimately has ruined our first experience in so many ways that now all we want to do is sell the boat and never do this again.

I work with clients in their businesses and understand the concept of standing behind what you do as a company and your responsibility in sales to be there to support your clients if something goes wrong. What we’ve experienced with Texas Marine is shameful and inexcusable. Thanks for ruining this entire experience for us Texas Marine and vanishing on us when we needed you to step...

I bought a boat 3 weeks ago from here. Great boat, awesome salesman, awesome finance lady! However, the service department is a complete joke. See below:

There were some minor issues with the boat when I bought it (it was a used boat) that I was concerned with. Had some issues with the service department about these. Got a call from a higher up in the company (maybe the owner?) and he was very professional and friendly. He wanted to ensure all of my concerns were handled in a timely and professional manner. He mentioned to make sure I deal with a certain "service manager" when I go to ensure I get taken care of. I received a call from this "service manager", and could not get a word in on the phone....but he did seem to care a little bit. We scheduled to drop my boat off for repairs that following Monday. Upon arrival Monday, I also had a spot where I had chipped paint that was my fault that I was going to ask him about repairing. When I got there, this "service manager" handed me off to an employee. (Uneasy feeling 1) When he came out, we discussed all of the issues with the boat and I pointed out the area that was my fault that needed repair. He said they had a fiberglass guy that they work with all the time that he would have to call to get a price. 5 seconds layer, he pops out a price of $300 (no call at all). Fine....no big deal. I ask this "service manager" when my boat would be ready, and he said Friday at the latest with the paint work included. I attempted to call this "service manager" quite a few times Friday morning to schedule pickup, and he finally calls me back and states "we are done with our repairs, just waiting on the fiberglass guy, it should be ready this afternoon so you can get it Friday afternoon or Saturday before noon". I scheduled a pickup for today (Monday), because I couldn't make the noon deadline Saturday. I scheduled my workday and had my wife check my kid out of school early today (we are a one truck family and live 40 minutes away from the dealership) to ensure we would be there by close. I (once again) attempted to call to make sure it was ready with no luck. On my way home to grab my truck and family to pick up the boat, I stopped in my work truck (to make sure it was ready before driving 40 minutes home and 40 minutes back in my personal truck). Upon arrival, this "service manager" tells me they ordered the wrong part and it will be later this week before the new one comes in (after telling me last Friday they were done with their repairs and waiting on the fiberglass guy). I was told the new pick up day is Wednesday, however, I have no faith that it will be ready then. At this point, all I want is my boat back and i will fix the minor issues myself. I walked into a locally owned marine service shop and the owner was very nice and welcomed me with open arms for anything I needed. After I get my boat back from Texas Marine, I will not be dropping it off for service here anymore due to an inconsistent service department that has lied and ignored its customer.

I do rate it 2 stars ONLY BECAUSE OF THE SALES STAFF, FINANCE LADY, AND THE NICE PHONE CALL FROM THE HIGHER UP. I would not recommend their service department for...